Cleaner Wax????

[97t-bird]

Ok I recently recieved a bottle of the consumer meg's cleaner wax and I am a little confused because it says on the back that it has the to remove slight swirl. And to my knowledge the only way to do anything about swirls is to hide them (fill them in) or remove paint as in taking the swirl/scratch out.

I have been looking for a product that I could use everytime I wax, could I use this everytime I wax (I like to wax at least once monthly) or does it contain abrasives. When I do this I like to apply a pure polish usually 81 cause its based for clear coats. I want to really push it over the edge and don't get me wrong #81 toppped with any meguiars wax is extremely hard to beat but I have ben looking for something that will clean without being abrasive seeing after I do my major detail for the year #83, #82, #81, #21(havent tried yet but going to) all applied with G-100. I wont have any swirls in sight unless there are ones that will reguire a rotary. I want something that I can use to clean the paint with out removing any. I was wondering is this the product I need or would the proffesional offer more of an advantage?

Sorry about the long post will the consumer or professional cleaner wax hinder the ability of a a pure polish #81 from working seeing I love to use that then top with a wax or sealant.

Any opinions or new ideas i would greatly appreciate. Greg
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[Mike Phillips]

Hi Greg,

All Meguiar's cleaner/waxes utilize both chemical cleaners and diminishing abrasives. They are non-abrasive in that the diminishing abrasives that we use in these formulas will not inflict swirls and scratches.

The Meguiar's Consumer cleaner/wax is actually a very light cleaner/wax in that it is not real aggressive and is not formulated to treat heavy oxidation, deep swirls, scratches, etchings, etc.

It will remove light swirls and scratches in part by removing them a little and in part by filling them in a little. Remember, all quality waxes, (or paint protectants by any other name), if they leave anything behind on the surface then they act to fill (at some level), because they are depositing themselves on the finish.

Also remember, when it comes to removing below surface defects, such as swirls and scratches, that besides the product, in this case a cleaner/wax, there are other factors that can affect how aggressive, or non-aggressive the cleaning action is. This includes your choice of application material and process. Process could be by hand or machine, it could also be how aggressive you use your hand, (or gentle), and in the case of a machine, the pressure you exert or the speed setting in the case of the variable speed models.

Meguiar's A12 Cleaner/Wax is an excellent maintenance wax for daily driver after you have restored their finish to your expectation levels because it's not real aggressive. As such it is excellent for maintenance.

As far as how will this cleaner/wax affect the performance of our M81 Hand Polish goes, Meguiar's always recommends applying a pure polish before applying a wax as the polish will have the best chance of penetrating into the finish to create the brilliant gloss Meguiar's polishes are famous for. That said, it is impossible to completely seal a finish with something you pour out of a bottle, so while it is better to apply a polish before a wax, if you have applied a wax to your finish, you can still apply one of our pure polishes and effectively push the rich polishing oils past the wax and into the paint. In some cases, you may need to pay a little closer attention to to removal and don't over apply the product.

Hope this helps...

[97t-bird]

any suggestions??

Does anybody have any suggestions on something that I could use every time I apply a wax that could clean the paint with before a pure polish then finishing up with a wax or a sealant. The catch is that it has to be safe everytime I apply a wax and I like to do that at least once a month. Any help would be appreciated. Greg.

[tguil]

Greg,

I've been at this a long time and consider myself pretty darned obsessive when it comes to maintaining the finish on my vehicles. My obsessive condition became worse from messin' with this forum and a few other detailing forums.

Greg, my friend, you are in worse shape than I am.

The finish on my black Hemi is lookin' good and I haven't polished it since last summer. I simply apply another coat of NXT Tech Wax every 4-6 weeks and use the NXT Spray Booster in between applications of the Tech Wax. I'm also darned careful not to cause marring when I wash my truck.

Tom

[minibleu]

Can #6 be applied by hand? By hand application, would it be able to remove slight swirls? ColorX and ScratchX are more abrasive right?

Lastly, can #6 be applied fornightly?

Sorry for the long questions.

[Tim Lingor]

Hey,

Yes, Meguiar's #6 Cleaner Wax can be applied by hand. It will do a great job of cleaning the paint while providig a durable wax coat.

From my experience, I have found #6 to be slightly more aggressive than ColorX. However, if you are trying to remove swirls by hand, your best bet would be to use the ScratchX and then top it with the #6.

If you mean fornightly as "fortnightly" or every 2 weeks, then, yes you could. The cleaners in the #6 are not that aggressive when used by hand. However, you could use the product monthly which would be much more than adequate, IMHO.

Tim

[SwipeTest]

Greg,

I used the maroon bottle cleaner wax monthly for years. The cleaning action is extremely mild. I have used it for a gentle pre-polish step and for topping DC#2. In both cases, I was very happy with the results. I say go for it!

[Mosca]

Tim,

Do you think #6 is a bit more aggressive than CX? I think CX is a bit stronger, and its glossiness is far superior. CX is an unsung product in my book, probably the best bang for the buck in the entire catalog. Next would be A12 cleaner wax.

Where does #66 fall? I'll prolly never use it, because I don't want a gallon of it. OTOH, if someone were to decant perhaps a pint, and trade it to me, well that would really kick.

Tom

[Tim Lingor]

Hey Tom,

The chemical cleaners combined with the diminishing abrasives in ColorX work very well on oxidized surfaces, more so than #6, IMHO. But if #6 is used with a PC (or especially a rotary), the diminishing abrasives seem to take longer to break down. This extra time may allow for a little extra cleaning ability, albeit only slightly more over the ColorX. But I do agree, the glossiness of ColorX is better than #6.

From using the #66, I would say that it's cleaning ability is on par with #80 when used with a rotary. With a PC, I would give the #80 the edge. Of the cleaner waxes mentioned, #66 is probably one of the most unrated products when used with a rotary buffer. Top it with #20 Polymer Sealant; the look is awesome, especially on black!

Tim

[the other pc]

It’s just my personal opinion from using them but I think that you could use A12 or M6 cleaner/waxes every month and never see noticeable reduction of your finish thickness in our lifetime.

Be that as it may, if you really want to leave as many original molecules in place as you can try something like A22 Deep Crystal Wax or M26 Hi-Tech Yellow Wax. They won’t remove paint or clean anything for that matter but they’re great waxes.

Cleaning without removing anything is kind of an oxymoron. You wouldn’t be cleaning if you weren’t removing something.

M16 paste wax would be great too but if you want to try it you’d better start looking around. It’s out of production and when the distributors run out of stock it’s gone.


PC.

[minibleu]

Thanks guy for the feedback.
Guess I better stick back to A12 as i would like to use as often as I could without hurting too much on the paintwork.

[thejazzguy]

I agree with Mosca that ColorX is the unsung hero of the Meguiar's lineup. ColorX is great for a one-step product. The gloss is much better than the maroon cleaner wax. I find that ColorX is the easiest wax to remove, even easier than NXT, which makes it fun to use for a quick wax between more thorough detailing sessions.

[Tim Lingor]

Hey,

Just so everyone is clear as to which products are being discussed in this thread:


ColorX




Meguiar's Cleaner/Wax





#6 Cleaner/Wax




#66 Quick Detailer





Each of the products have their own specific characteristics. Meguiar's #66 is used more by Pros for high demand reconditioning work with a rotary buffer, though it and the others can be used by hand, orbital and DA as well.

Here is a link to see what #66 topped with #20 looks like (the combo I mentioned above in my post). Here is Joe's (Superior Shine) write-up:

Write-Up Winner! BMW 745il

Cheers!
Tim