synthetic sealants and waxes

[beefy z]

i'm in a dilemma. i've been reading alot about these synthetic acrylic sealants(klasse twins) and waxes (Glanz) lasting longer than the old faithfuls like carnauba. the acrylics are suppossed to last longer & in the winter months that could be beneficial. but a good friend of mine advised me to stay away from them as they will eventually get under the clearcoat or paint and make it crack. any truth to this ?
aditionally,i'm under the impression, that after claying, one should then polish. at this point, since you've clayed, its not necessary to use a polish/cleaner, right ? you can go straight to the wax. i'm also reading that even with a da, while you're polishing your also "removing paint". so how many times can you safely polish your vehicle ? any suggestions as to products. thanks for time & consideration in answering. ps-my showbunny is a last year '02 camaro in sunset orange metallic. its always been garaged, (hasn't been rained on) yet has a few of those nasty webs & swirls. i've tried scratch-x by hand but it doesn't seem to be working. you cannot "feel"any of these scratches so i'm considering buying a da. should i go the clay route(never been clayed), followed by #83, then 80, and then what wax ?

[Mike Phillips]

Re: synthetic sealants and waxes

Originally posted by beefy z
i'm in a dilemma. i've been reading alot about these synthetic acrylic sealants(klasse twins) and waxes (Glanz) lasting longer than the old faithfuls like carnauba. the acrylics are suppossed to last longer & in the winter months that could be beneficial. but a good friend of mine advised me to stay away from them as they will eventually get under the clearcoat or paint and make it crack. any truth to this ?

Sounds like an old wives tale to me. Here's what I know about Klasse SG, if you pour some out onto a peice of cellophane and let it dry, you can peel it off and it resembles dried Elmer's glue in that it's not clear, its opaque. Also, the recommend procedure for using this product is to wipe it on, and then immediately wipe it off, anytime I see something like this a red flag goes up and I have to wonder, What's wrong with this picture?, and the deal is, if you don't wipe it off right away, because it dries like Elmer's glue, you will have a terribly difficult time getting it off.

aditionally,i'm under the impression, that after claying, one should then polish. at this point, since you've clayed, its not necessary to use a polish/cleaner, right ? you can go straight to the wax. i'm also reading that even with a da, while you're polishing your also "removing paint". so how many times can you safely polish your vehicle ?

Clay removes above surface contaminants, paint cleaners like Meguiar's ScratchX and cleaner/polishes remove below surface defects, two different problems, two different approaches to correcting them.

any suggestions as to products. thanks for time & consideration in answering.

ps-my showbunny is a last year '02 camaro in sunset orange metallic. its always been garaged, (hasn't been rained on) yet has a few of those nasty webs & swirls. i've tried scratch-x by hand but it doesn't seem to be working. you cannot "feel"any of these scratches so i'm considering buying a da. should i go the clay route(never been clayed), followed by #83, then 80, and then what wax ?

There are so many pictures on this forum showing the kind of results you can get with ScratchX if you know how to use it. Likewise, there are just as many pictures showing before and after when using M80 Speed Glaze.

Here's a system that works very well by hand on most paint types.

Wash
Clay if needed
ScratchX to remove swirls
Deep Crystal Polish to restore brilliance, clarity and rich color
Wax to protect the paint and lock in the results from the above

Here's what can be done with ScratchX,

Often times when the topic of removing swirls is being discussed on our discussion forum, or some other detailing forum, it centers around the dual action polisher, foam buffing pads and somebody's compound or polish. Yet many people don't own a dual action polisher. So here at Meguiar's Garage, we like to show people how to use the what they already own... their hands!



Like most detailing enthusiasts, I personally love a challenge, and with Tom's car, I believe most people would agree, his car's finish presents a challenge!

BEFORE - 700 Pixel-wide cropped out section from an un-touched, original photo of rotary buffer swirls in a clear coat finish.




Using some painters tape, we taped-off a section of the hood to separate the before and after results. Then, we applied three, well worked in applications of Meguiar's ScratchX all applied by hand using Meguiar's High-Tech Applicator Pad






The secret to removing swirls by hand using Meguiar's ScratchX is all in your technique. You see in order to remove swirls out of your car's finish, you need to remove a little bit of paint. If we we're to look at a horizontal view of what gross rotary buffer swirls look like in the paint, it would look something like the diagram below. In order to remove these below surface defects, (swirls), you need to remove enough paint from the finish to level the upper surface with the lowest depths of the swirls until you've restored the finish to a flat, level surface.




To do this by hand with ScratchX, you need to,

• * Apply to a small section at a time
  * First spread the ScratchX evenly over the area you're going to work (before working it in)
  * Work the microscopic diminishing abrasives against the finish applying a little passion behind the applicator pad
  * Repeat this process with multiple applications after first removing the residue from each application after working it against the finish

Remember that Meguiar's paint cleaners, like ScratchX do not need to dry before removing. Drying adds no benefit. The only Meguiar's paint products that need to dry before removing are Meguiar's waxes.

Technique Tip

The question is often asked,

"Which direction should I move my hand when applying a Meguiar's paint cleaner?"

A common mis-conception, often espoused on other discussion forums, or by some car care product manufactures, is the technique of only rubbing a product in a certain direction to keep all of your scratches going in the same direction.

Meguiar's teaches that if the products you're using are non-abrasive, that is they are not instilling scratches into the finish, as such, it shouldn't matter which direction you move your hand!

If the products you're using are inflicting scratches into your car's finish, the correct thing to do is to stop using the product! Don't try to camouflage the scratches to your eyes by instilling them in straight-lines as determined by the movement of your hand.

ScratchX can be applied using straight-lines or circular motion and for this particular demonstration we used a combination of both.

Removing ScratchX using Meguiar's Supreme Shine Microfiber after working the product against the finish until the product has broken down, turned somewhat clear and begun to dissipate.



At Meguiar's Saturday Detailing 101 classes, we go through a power point presentation that covers a wide spectrum of detailing topics, one of which is Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle , which includes;

• Step 1 Wash
  Step 2 Clean
  Step 3 Polish
  Step 4 Protect
  Step 5 Maintain

After cleaning the paint with a paint cleaner like ScratchX, we then apply a pure polish, in this case, Deep Crystal Polish which is a non-abrasive pure polish.



In Meguiar's line, we offer two types of polishes, cleaner/polishes, which contain a diminishing abrasive, and pure polishes, which are completely non-abrasive and are used solely for the purpose of creating brilliant gloss. Deep Crystal Polish is a pure polish.



The way you apply a pure polish is akin to applying a skin lotion to your skin. That is you apply the polish to a small section at a time, work the product in thoroughly.



After thoroughly, (but gently with care and passion), remove any excess polish with a clean, soft premium quality microfiber polishing cloth or 100% cotton towel.



Like ScratchX a paint cleaner, it is not necessary to let a pure polish like Deep Crystal Polish dry before removing it. Allowing a polish to dry will not add anything beneficial to the process, so after you work it in well, go a head and remove it.

At this point, we have cleaned and polished the finish. The cleaning step removed the swirls and the polishing step restored optical clarity, depth, reflectivity, richness of color and brilliant gloss. Next we're going to apply a coating of Meguiar's new NXT Generation Tech Wax Paste



NXT Generation Tech Wax Paste is identical to NXT Generation Tech Wax Liquid except that it comes in a paste form. There are two types of paste waxes, the difference is in their consistency. The practical application difference is in how you remove them from the can and then apply them.

With a cleaner/wax (paste), like Meguiar's A12 Meguiar's Cleaner/Wax you can scoop out a small amount and with your applicator pad and then apply it to the finish and work it in.



With paste waxes like Gold Class Clear Coat Wax Paste, M26 Hi Tech Yellow Wax, and NXT Generation Tech Wax Paste, instead of scooping wax out of the can, you can twist, or spin your wax applicator against the wax while it's in the can and this little bit of agitation will help to liquefy the wax and enable it to seep, or penetrate into your applicator pad whereupon making it easier to apply to the finish.





Paste waxes like NXT Tech Generation Wax offer good gliding action and tend to apply very easy. Remember a little bit goes a long ways and it's important to try to apply a uniform, thin coating.

After applying the Tech Wax Paste and allowing it to dry, we removed it using a Supreme Shine Microfiber polishing cloth and the Tom backed his Mercedes-Benz out into the sun where everyone could look at the results and see with their own two eyes what can be accomplished by hand with the right products and the correct techniques.







Here's the owner Tom inspecting closely!



And here I am capturing the results with our Sony Digital which does an excellent job of capture swirls in the sun.



Before



After
















Perfect? No.

dramatically improved? Yes!

Most importantly, we fixed by hand what someone else inflicted with a rotary buffer.

Next up, we'll see what we can do to the same finish using Meguiar's G100 and the right products and techniques.

[Mosca]

Mike,

You've done some fantastic "play-by-plays" on this forum and others, but this is one of your best.

ScratchX is all about the technique, and it's not easy to describe. Once you "get it" it's simple; but it's one of those things that takes a couple seconds to show and is almost impossible to write out correctly. "...[A]pplying a little passion...." says it well!


Tom

[beefy z]

thanks, mike

mike, what else can i say....i'm humbled. what an answer.
i will try again and do exactly as you have written. its not that i don't want to continue to try by hand; i've been doing that for 35 yrs now, but i'm feeling old, buddy. plus i'm maintaing 5 cars in the family and the arms and kness are getting a little soft and soar. i wanted to "treat" myself to the da but i will use your suggestions first and also continue to try and read all the other excellent advice in this forum. i thought i knew alot, maybe i did back then, but this clearcoat stuff and all the new products has me stumped at times.
regarding my original concern, what if i still wind up with the swirls. i know meguiar's teaches first use the least abrasive products. what would be the next step. and could you explain "working against" the finish. thanks again.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: thanks, mike

Originally posted by beefy z
its not that i don't want to continue to try by hand; I've been doing that for 35 yrs now, but I'm feeling old, buddy. plus I'm maintaining 5 cars in the family and the arms and knees are getting a little soft and soar.

Hi beefy z,

If you've been hand polishing and waxing for 35 years, and are taking care of 5 cars, you have earned a dual action polisher and deserve one!

I have never met anyone that has regretted purchasing a dual action polisher. Get this tool, then pick up a quart of our M80 Speed Glaze, if you don't have some detailing clay, make sure you have some of this for removing bonded contaminants. Order one of Meguiar's pad kits, which includes two polishing pads and one finishing pad. With these tools, and a wax of your choice you can put out as good as work and probably better than most detailers and you can do it faster than working by hand, and a whole lot easier!

[tguil]

beffy z,

You're feeling old after 35 years of hand waxing? How about 45+ years like me?

Do like Mike says. You'll love a pc, especially on dark colors or shades of red. After you get the finish to the condition that you want, I suggest applying a coat of NXT Tech Wax liquid using the pc. Then after a 12 hour wait, apply a coat of NXT paste wax by hand. Just do it for "old times" sake or more importantly, do it because I think that the NXT paste wax leaves a little darker wetter look than the liquid wax. You'll not need a carnauba topper. The NXT is great as is.

Remember -- growing old sure beats the alternative.

Tom