What products do I need?

[mr._bowtie]

First things first, Im a newbie to this forum and so far it looks like alot of helpful people and great info. Im looking forward to learning some new tricks on here. Anyways here is my question.
My dads truck is a Chevy Silverado and its the indigo blue. Its a very pretty color but you can see all the swirl marks in the clear coat VERY well. What do I need to use to hide those a little? Should I do the Deep crystal system? I am a big fan of the NXT line but just the NXT wax alone can only do so much to get ride of the swirls and light scrathces.

Also on my car, whats the BEST thing to use to maintain the finish. Should I just continue to use the NXT or should I set up a base with the Deep Crystal System and then maintain it with NXT? I will be striping the wax off the car and then clay barring and redoing all of the protectants, so what should I use? It will all be done by hand.

[soonercivic]

Re: What products do I need?

Originally posted by mr._bowtie
First things first, Im a newbie to this forum and so far it looks like alot of helpful people and great info. Im looking forward to learning some new tricks on here. Anyways here is my question.
My dads truck is a Chevy Silverado and its the indigo blue. Its a very pretty color but you can see all the swirl marks in the clear coat VERY well. What do I need to use to hide those a little? Should I do the Deep crystal system? I am a big fan of the NXT line but just the NXT wax alone can only do so much to get ride of the swirls and light scrathces.

Also on my car, whats the BEST thing to use to maintain the finish. Should I just continue to use the NXT or should I set up a base with the Deep Crystal System and then maintain it with NXT? I will be striping the wax off the car and then clay barring and redoing all of the protectants, so what should I use? It will all be done by hand.

Hey, welcome. You will learn a lot on here. i have. On your dads truck since your doing it by hand you may want to consider this process.

1. wash, nxt wash is awesome.
2. clay the entire truck, this can be done while before you dry it
3. sctrachX by hand on a foam applicator pad
4. #80 with a different foam pad
5. #7 polish
6. 2 coats nxt wax

After all this your arm will be dead so it may be worth it to invest in a Porter Cable Dual Action Polisher, you can pick one up at lowes for $99 I only got it for my car and its been well worth it. Heres a link

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=51472-41735-7336SP&lpage=none

Then get the pads and backing plate from Meguiars. By hand that system should do pretty good for you though. The scratchX will remove a majority of the swirls but you will need to work it. #80 has a lot of ts oils in it for polishing but also is slightly abrasive. #7 is a pure polish, i always use it before waxing because i love the shine it adds but you dont have to because #80 has so much in it. Then 2 coats of NXT, about 12 hours apart if you can, to allow it to set properly before the second coat. The polish will add shine but the NXT will remove a little shine but add a ton of depth. On dark vehicle, mine is black, you really need 2 coats of NXT otherwise you may see some streaking. The same system, with the exeption the the scratchX unless its necessary. Claying the car also isnt necessary everytime. This system produces some great results. Over time you will develop a system that you like yourself. Hope this helps some. Check out my gallery for some picture of this system. I did use a polisher though.

[mr._bowtie]

Awsome!! Thanks for the info! Ill have to get some of those ordered. Most of the places around here dont sell anything that serious. Im lucky if I can get the NXT wash and wax let alone anything for serious detailing. What do you think about the TA? How about this new #21? Is that something that I might want to give a try?

[soonercivic]

the TA is sweet, i wish they kept the F-body style, hope some camaro and TA comes back. A lot of people use #21 and like it. I have no personal experience with it. Do you have an Oreilly Auto Parts in your area? they can order the Meguiars products. Sometimes they even have better prices than on here, usually a dollar or 2 cheaper. If you dont, the ordering process is very easy from meguiars, and if anything is ever messed up, Meguiars takes full responsibility and will take care of you which is always nice! You may want to try out a few processes sometime. There is nothing wrong with doing a portion of the hood with one product and the other portion with another. You can always go over it again. Just take some time and find a method that works for you. Also make sure to post pics, sometimes the feedback you get (good or bad) can help a lot. There are a ton of professional detailers on here and also a lot of car nuts who spend all their time doing it for themselves. Look at old posts too, youll learn so much.

[soonercivic]

I just saw you are wanting some ADR wheels. When you do, check you www.buywheelstoday.com thats where i got my konigs and my toyo proxes for a better deal than anyone else. they included a installation kit also. its a great deal, just letting you know.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: What product do I need?

Originally posted by mr._bowtie
First things first, I'm a newbie to this forum and so far it looks like alot of helpful people and great info. I'm looking forward to learning some new tricks on here. Anyways here is my question.
My dads truck is a Chevy Silverado and its the indigo blue. Its a very pretty color but you can see all the swirl marks in the clear coat VERY well. What do I need to use to hide those a little? Should I do the Deep crystal system? I am a big fan of the NXT line but just the NXT wax alone can only do so much to get ride of the swirls and light scratches.

Hi mr._bowtie,

Welcome to Meguiar's Online!

A Chevy Silverado is a large vehicle to remove all the swirls by hand. I would encourage you to think about investing in a dual action polisher. This is the fastest, easiest way to remove swirls in paint. Just a casual look through our Detail Days at Meguiar's forum will show you stunning before and after results through the use of a few simple procedures.

Wash
Clay
Machine polish with M80 Speed Glaze
Machine Wax with NXT Tech Wax
Maintain with with a quick detailer and a spray wax in-between normal washing and waxing

Also on my car, whats the BEST thing to use to maintain the finish. Should I just continue to use the NXT or should I set up a base with the Deep Crystal System and then maintain it with NXT? I will be striping the wax off the car and then clay barring and redoing all of the protectants, so what should I use? It will all be done by hand.

By hand,

Wash
Clay
ScratchX the entire finish
Deep Crystal Polish (one application)
Two thin coats of NXT Tech Wax, either liquid or paste

By hand, your car's finish will be 99.9% of its maximum potential.

I can guarantee you will be completely floored if you were to polish both vehicles using a dual action polisher and our M80 Speed Glaze followed by wax however. You just cannot duplicate the polishing action of a machine with your hands.

[mr._bowtie]

sooner.... Thanks for the compliment ont he TA. Ill defiantly check them out for the wheels. Always looking for a better deal!


Mike... You aint a kiddin its a big vehicle lol, and to make it worse its a extended cab long bed!! Id love to get a polisher but at the moment just cant afford it. Ill get one one day, I know that you cant get results by hand like you can using a polisher. So for now Ill just have to make do with the right arm! (I used to play ball so its pretty strong )

Ill defiantly use that process on my TA. That should really only take me one afternoon. Which is about what I spend doing it now anyways. I really appreciate the info and cant wait to get all the products in and give them a try. Whats your opinion on the M-21? Would that be something that I should look into, or am I better off with NXT? Can the 21 be applied by hand and still see awsome results?

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by mr._bowtie
Whats your opinion on the M-21? Would that be something that I should look into, or am I better off with NXT? Can the 21 be applied by hand and still see awesome results?

M21 is a very easy product to use by hand or machine, like any wax as long as you apply a thin coat to a properly prepared finish, it will wipe off easy and look great. The thing about M21 is that you have to purchase it by the half gallon unless you visit www.AutoDetailingSolutions.com as Rick sells a 12 ounce sample size for $9.00 plus shipping. You can also get the Meguiar's G100a dual action polisher, (Same as the Porter Cable unit at ******), for a special of $149.99



I think you'll see stellar results with either product. All things being equal, I don't know that if you were to do a side-by-side comparison of M21 and NXT that you would see a dramatic difference in appearance. You might, but you'll never know till you try as both products produce clear, reflective, high gloss results. The key as with any LSP is in the prep work. If you do the right prep work for the condition of the finish, then you're choice of Meguiar's LSP is going to look great no matter which one you use.

[mr._bowtie]

I think I might give it a try and see how I like it. I know that NXT is awsome stuff but Im always trying to find something I like better. Either way Ill get all this stuff and do a full detail and get some pics up to let everyone know how it goes! Thanks everyone for the help, its exactly what I was looking for

[RDVT4ME]

That's a very unusual color on that TA. Is that a factory color?

It looks like the new daytona sunset orange available on the C6 corvette.

Your TA looks great!

[mr._bowtie]

Originally posted by RDVT4ME
That's a very unusual color on that TA. Is that a factory color?

It looks like the new daytona sunset orange available on the C6 corvette.

Your TA looks great!

Yes sir, It is a factory color. Its called Sunset Orange Metallic. It actually made its debute in 99 on a very small handful of cars. In 02 there were only 304 WS6, 6 speed cars in SOM. I would say that the new vette's daytona sunset orange is the same color with a different name. Its a very pretty color, its very bright in the sun light. I have a fried that described it as "retina-frying" lol. Here are a few pics to show how it looks in different light conditions. OHH and BTW these pics were taken right after a NXT wax


Here is are a few full sunlight shots...






Here are a few in the shade....

[RDVT4ME]

Pix don't show. All I see is X's

[mr._bowtie]

They should be working again. Dont know what happened, they were working good when I posted it up, but then they quit???

[Mike Phillips]

I see them on my browser.

Looks good!


I always wonder how long photos hosted on places like CarDomain will be available? By this I mean, in a year from now, if someone pulls up this thread, will they still see the photos? Will the photos still be on CarDomain's server?

[RDVT4ME]

Pix are there now. NICE CAR!!!!

I've owned 5 F bodies (all camaro's) in the past. They are great cars.