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**X3M Corsa Freak** · Jul 15, 2005, 12:56 AM

If I were you I would use the clay to remove all old waxes (including the Gold Class), then I would use the NXT wax and top it with Gold Class!
If you look at www.meguiars.nl at the forum and search for "topping" you will find a VW Golf (black) which is done this way and the result is superb!!!!!!

Greetings & Good luck with the car!

Stefan

**Tim Lingor** · Jul 15, 2005, 04:35 AM

Hey j333_76484

Welcome to Meguiar's Online

Firstly, Yes...you can top the GC with the NXT with no problems at all. Meguiar's products are designed to work as a system and are therefore compatible with one another.

Since the car is new, it will probably have bonded contaminents like rail dust etc on the finish. Claying the finish will remove these bonded contaminents, leaving you with a very smooth surface. You can either clay now and then apply your NXT or wait and clay later. In either case, I would suggest that you use 2 coats of NXT as the second application provides a more uniform coat and adds more "Pop" to the paint! IMHO!

Cheers!

Tim

**Mike Phillips** · Jul 15, 2005, 06:01 AM

Re: TECH WAX over GOLD

Originally posted by j333_76484
Hello folks,
I am new here and this is my first post. Hello to all. I am a new Meguiar's user and thus far and happy with my results. I just bought a new Honda Ridgeline (White, for ease of care) a couple of weeks ago and I became very aware, very fast that although Honda makes a decent automobile, there painting process stinks. I can't afford a new paint job so I'll have to live with it, for now anyway.

Anyway, after having bought the thing and not knowing much about auto care other than washing and waxing periodically. I decided to do a little research. Did the Autopia thing and looked at Zaino and Zymol but soon figured out I wanted to go with the idea of trying to stick with one Manufacturer as much as possible for most of my needs. Hence my ending up here. Meguiar's was a full line of apparent quality products that I think I'll be sticking with.

Hi Jeff,

Welcome to Meguiar's Online

The logic and decision making process you have shared into how you arrived here is an interesting story and a story I'm confident is repeated all the time although I'm confident it is a story that most new members don't take the time to outline in the manner you have shared. Thank you for sharing your background story, we promise we will do our best to answer your questions and supply you with the help and information you're looking for.

I have spent a few hours looking through the forums over the past couple of nights getting some decent insight on how I wish to go about things.

When I first bought this thing a couple of weeks ago. I started washing it. As it was new, I used straight water. Then I bought one of these new Mr. Clean rigs and used it once. After using the Mr. Clean rig, I started putting 2 coats of GOLD on it. I am currently about 1/2 way through the second coat. BTW, I don't intend on using the MR. clean rig much. But it does seem handy right after a rain.

Here's our first suggestions, to help prevent instilling scratches during the washing process, invest in a Grit Guard Insert, this will trap dirt and other abrasive particles you've removed from the truck on the bottom of the bucket thus preventing you from reintroducing them to the finish.

You also might look into some of our new accessories for washing and drying your new Honda Ridgeline.

Just a couple of days ago, I ordered the NXT GENERATION COLLECTION and plan on switching over to that once I have all the right stuff in hand.

OK, now after having been long winded about having gotten to where I am, now to my queries.

1. My plan is once I have 2 coats of GOLD on the thing. The TECH WAX should be here by that time and I'd like to put the NXT TECH over the GOLD.

I have poured over the forums as best I could and can't really find much feedback on putting TECH over GOLD but there are quite a few threads concerning putting GOLD over NXT TECH.

So I guess my question is, will it be OK to do this like I laid out above, TECH over GOLD?

You can apply the Tech Wax over the Gold Class, however Meguiar's teaches the law of diminishing returns as far as layering goes. That is you truck's paint can only hold so much wax before applying more coats of wax becomes in essence a waste of time and product. Meguiar's recommends 2-3 coats of wax maximum during any one detailing session. After that it's time to stand back and admire the results, not continue to apply more and more wax as is taught on most other forums.

The idea being that wax, or a paint protectant by any other name, is a sacrificial-barrier coating intended to slow down the deterioration process when your truck's paint comes under attack from the things it is exposed to in the outdoor environment you expose it to. Then after the wax has worn off, (as all wax wears off), the idea is to re-apply more wax, or re-apply this sacrificial barrier coating.

My signature line states what it states for a reason, that's because most of us driver our cars as daily drivers and when that's the case, common sense tells you that normal wear and tear is going to take it's toll you your car or truck's finish as well as all the rest of the exterior components and if you always want your car to look like it was just detailed, then you need to maintain it on a regular basis. The best way to maintain it is to,

"Find something you like and use it often".

If you find a product you like, then apparently the results look good in your eyes, if you use it often, then your finish will always look great. It's only when you begin to neglect or abuse the finish that it goes down hill. How often to wash and wax your Honda Ridgeline to maintain it at a level that meets your expectations will depend on your local environment. Barry always says, "Frequent car care is fast and easy car care", and he's dead-on right.

Since this thing is brand new, I am thinking I'll do the best I can with it from now through till the end of winter. Then I hope to strip the wax off and then CLAY and POLISH starting from the Clearcoat and have nothing but NXT TECH on it at that point. I would do this now but I don't see the logic on stripping fresh wax off a vehicle.

The NXT Tech Wax contains a slight amount of special cleaning agents to insure the finish is clean, to help eliminate swirls and to help the ESP polymers to efficiently adhere to the paint, although the amount of these cleaners is small, and strength of these cleaners is minimal, they will probably remove some or most of the Gold Class Wax already on the surface replacing it with itself, some of the Gold Class wax may remain in the microscopic imperfections present on the surface of the paint.

You see, paint is not completely flat but is irregular in shape with microscopic surface imperfections throughout. When brand new, (like your truck's finish), it is it's most impermeable, that means it is it's most closed-up as possible. With time and wear and tear, the surface becomes more permeable, thus more opened up with more microscopic surface imperfections such as pockets, pores, cracks, fissures, interstices, etc. It is these microscopic imperfections that you want to try to push the wax into and leave behind that helps to create a uniform layer of wax over the entire surface.

Point being, you can apply the NXT Tech Wax over the Gold Class Wax but chances are good the NXT Tech Wax application will remove the Gold Class Wax that is on the surface, but possibly not any of the Gold Class Wax that is present in any of the microscopic imperfections in the paint. The result however will be a uniform layer, or matrix of wax protection.

I figure after winter, a good clay job will be the way to go. BTW I live in Maryland just off the Bay so I am in Salt air city. Plus they use can use a little too much salt on the roads. So I figure I might get in the habit of claying/polishing each spring from here on out. I am not looking for a showroom finish here. The is a daily driven, non garaged car. But the more I look at it and rub on it the more I like it. The ladies seem to go for it as well. HMMMM

Claying the finish after the winter and then using a paint cleaner to insure the paint is completely clean is a good practice and will insure you are starting with a fresh base onto which to apply your wax. On a personal note, I like the Ridgeline and which it were available when we purchased our 04 Pilot. The dealership had a poster of the Ridgeline on the wall, but that was it at the time. I'm sure you'll really enjoy your new truck.

Anyway, thanks much any feedback you could offer, specifically about putting TECH over GOLD and also about possibly waiting till spring to do the Clay/polish thing and continuing with that each year. And of course, any other tips and advice would be most helpful.

I hope my explanation about how our car waxes will work on your truck's paint will be helpful. As far as applying and removing, here are two articles that will help you...

Circles or Straight Lines?
How to tell when a Meguiar's wax is ready to remove - The Swipe Test,

BTW, my feel is that any company who can develop the Rep that Meguiar's has and can put out so many fine products. And at the same time has people who work for them that chime in on near every post put in these forums is very much welcome to my auto care dollars.

Meguiar's, I think you have just earned yourself a loyal customer. Keep up the great work.

Jeff Smith

We aim to under promise and over deliver! If you have not discovered and read the below thread, it will bring you up to speed on Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Cary Cycle. The article itself has a ton of information.

Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle

**Jeff Smith** · Jul 17, 2005, 11:42 PM

Re: TECH WAX over GOLD

OK, I finally got my second layer of GOLD on it this weekend. Then of course we had a storm so I just got finished QDing the thing.

Now that I have read through the replies offered up thus far. I think I will go ahead and bite the bullet and ramp up to start the claying process now. I will likely do it again in the spring but I am very curious as to just how the results will turn out. Comparing a brand new paint job with having done nothing more than washing it and applying 2 coats of GOLD to a Paintjob that has been clayed, cleaned polished then re wax should prove interesting. I am already getting quite a few comments which really make the results worthwhile.

Fortunartely, for me , I work at night as Security on a Military base and have a 2-3 hour window, each night with which I can use to knock this out. So I think I'll just plan on doing this panel by panel until its done.

This weekend I picked up Steps 1 & 2 of the DEEP CRYSTAL SYSTEM.

Unfortunateley I can't find anyone local who carries Meguiar's Clay System so I'll have to order that online if their system is back up, or call again while I am at it I will go ahead an order up the other products that Mike Recommended.

In the meantime, I'll puruse the forums reading up on claying, cleaning and polishing and look for tips and lessons learned from others. The plan thus far is NXT WASH>Clay> DC step 1> DC step 2> NXT TECH WAX (2 thin coats)

I would not think there would be any problems by my doing the panel by panel approach. Things might look a little odd until I am completely done but by this baing a white paint, I doubt it will look to unusual.

As far as layering the WAX goes, my plan is to keep it at 2-3 coats. This is no show car but I want to keep it well protected and looking nice.

Thanks to all for your input. I'll spend the next few days wainting for the clay to get here reading up on things.

Thanks Much,

Jeff

**Tim Lingor** · Jul 18, 2005, 04:32 AM

Hey Jeff,

Years ago when I was at University, I had a white GMC S-15 mini truck. I too had only a couple hours here and there to detail my own vehicle. So I would complete one or two panels at a time. Just make sure that if it rains or heavy dust, that you wash the vehicle first each time. If it is light dust, then just use a QD, and then clay and polish.

Trust me, you will love the results of claying. Take your time. On white paint, you will see these little brown/orange specs (some are bonded contaminants like road debris, or rail dust). You need to look closely and try and remove the little spots with the clay and lots of clay lubricant. You will be surprised what stuff will come off your paint!

Good luck and please keep us posted!

Tim

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