My scheme table of car care,need your advice

[nelsonliao]

Dear MOL fellows:

I'm a VW Golf Gti vi(red) owner,wish to make it like a show car everyday

the country I live is Taiwan,where the weather is humid and harsh

and this is my scheme for car care,please give me some suggestions if there's something not right or should be better

thanks in advance



Here are the reasons why I choose the product

For Wash step: If I plan to put on the wax ,I'll use DAWN(dish washing),because DAWN can easily remove the old wax

for CLEAN&PREP step: ScratchX is milder than UC ,as Mike has mentioned before(choose the least aggressive product which will work effectively)

for WAX step: UW always surprises me for its reflectivity,long lasting lifetime and hydrophobic surface

for MAINTAIN step: I usually don't use detailer after just washing the car,at this time I think UQW is more functional
and M135 is more cheaper than UQD,and only use it for fresh dirt remove

Is there any advice in each step should be modified or some product in the table(only Meguiar's lineup) is even better??? please offer your opinions

thanks again



let me show some pics of my GTI (UW applied)
(directly from camera,only hide the license plate)

[Murr1525]

Re: My scheme table of car care,need your advice

For Wash step: If I plan to put on the wax ,I'll use DAWN(dish washing),because DAWN can easily remove the old wax

No real need for Dawn. I would rather see Gold Class or Nxt or something for when you dont feel like using UW&W. The clay, and paint cleaners will easily remove the old was as well, so no need for a strong soap.

for CLEAN&PREP step: ScratchX is milder than UC ,as Mike has mentioned before(choose the least aggressive product which will work effectively)

If you are just using the ScratchX when a defect shows up, that is ok. Otherwise, the Ult. Polish has some mild cleaners for just basic dirt. SwirlX or #205 would be inbetween as well.

for WAX step: UW always surprises me for its reflectivity,long lasting lifetime and hydrophobic surface

2 thin coats is good.

for MAINTAIN step: I usually don't use detailer after just washing the car,at this time I think UQW is more functional
and M135 is more cheaper than UQD,and only use it for fresh dirt remove

Got a little lost on this one. UQW/D156 would be good for after washing, and would leave the most protection behind. But they are only for use on a clean surface.

[greg0303]

Re: My scheme table of car care,need your advice

Your car looks great !!!

You really take a good care of it.

I would recommend the following:

No Dawn - replace it with NxT Car Wash which has very good cleaning ability (clay and paint cleaners will remove old wax anyway),
ScratchX 2.0 - replace with Ultimate Compound, more cut but much more economical way to go due to its size, ScratchX is rather for isolated small problems.

Which cleaner/ wax do you use ?

Definitely after detailing you want a gentle approach - Ultimate Wash & Wax and M135 Synthetic Spray Detailer. You could also add some gloss/ protection by using Ultimate Quik Wax (UQW) after every car wash.

[wifpd4]

Re: My scheme table of car care,need your advice

Very nice table.

Just a couple of comments, I'm sure some folks will have others.
You will need a test spot to determine whether ScratchX is sufficient of whether you need to step up.
Will you be dressing your tires after cleaning them? Or protecting the rims?
Will you be cleaning and protecting the vinyl or plastic trims? Ultimate Black/Protectant
As you have indicated, more than light dirt will require something more like washing rather than quick detailer.
I personally don't feel there is a need for routine washing with Dawn.
As you have indicated, using Ultimate Quik Wax as you dry after washing will help boost your base coat of wax.
VW looks very nice.

[nelsonliao]

Re: My scheme table of car care,need your advice

Thanks for quick and helpful reply

However,I have another doubt that can I roughly define Ult. Polish as a mild cleaner(stronger than cleaner wax A12) and polish(contains abrasive) combo product?

as only light defect, can I immediately use Ult. Polish then proceed with wax on the finish?

[greg0303]

Re: My scheme table of car care,need your advice

as only light defect, can I immediately use Ult. Polish then proceed with wax on the finish?

Sure, you can.

But remember that Ultimate Polish is not really designed for below surface defect removal, as you said - it's a mild cleaner/ polish. On the other end - it produces great gloss.

You might like this chart, Ultimate Polish would be slightly below M205, (it was originally posted and tested by Mike Phillips):

[nelsonliao]

Re: My scheme table of car care,need your advice

Your car looks great !!!

You really take a good care of it.

I would recommend the following:

No Dawn - replace it with NxT Car Wash which has very good cleaning ability (clay and paint cleaners will remove old wax anyway),
ScratchX 2.0 - replace with Ultimate Compound, more cut but much more economical way to go due to its size, ScratchX is rather for isolated small problems.

Which cleaner/ wax do you use ?

Definitely after detailing you want a gentle approach - Ultimate Wash & Wax and M135 Synthetic Spray Detailer. You could also add some gloss/ protection by using Ultimate Quik Wax (UQW) after every car wash.

Cleaner wax A1216 is on duty,can I change it into M06?

From my remembrance, they both have same capability

[nelsonliao]

Re: My scheme table of car care,need your advice

Very nice table.

Just a couple of comments, I'm sure some folks will have others.
You will need a test spot to determine whether ScratchX is sufficient of whether you need to step up.
Will you be dressing your tires after cleaning them? Or protecting the rims?
Will you be cleaning and protecting the vinyl or plastic trims? Ultimate Black/Protectant
As you have indicated, more than light dirt will require something more like washing rather than quick detailer.
I personally don't feel there is a need for routine washing with Dawn.
As you have indicated, using Ultimate Quik Wax as you dry after washing will help boost your base coat of wax.
VW looks very nice.

Thanks for the praise ,David

After cleaning , I dress tires with endurance tire gel and vinyl with gold class trim detailer

but never protect the rims

[nelsonliao]

Re: My scheme table of car care,need your advice

Can applying Ult. Polish and wax to fully replace cleaner wax A1216

I quess detailing process like this will get better result than A1216,is it correct?

so embarrassed with asking so many questions

[greg0303]

Re: My scheme table of car care,need your advice

Can applying Ult. Polish and wax to fully replace cleaner wax A1216

Yes, but it would result in two steps instead of one. Also ColorX is like improved version of A12 Cleaner Wax (ColorX is sometimes called cleaner wax on steroids).

I quess detailing process like this will get better result than A1216,is it correct?

Overall results will be better.

so embarrassed with asking so many questions

That's what The Forum is for.
You should see my questions from earlier times.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: My scheme table of car care,need your advice

Looks like some of our regular members have you pretty well covered here, Nelson. We agree with skipping the Dawn wash altogether; you don't really need to strip the old wax before applying anything new, and if you're waxing every several months then odds are there isn't a whole lot of the earlier application left anyway. Wash and dry the car, clay if needed, use ScratchX 2.0 or Ultimate Polish to clean up any isolated defects, and then apply your wax. If you do have to clay and/or use one of those light cleaners then either process will remove what's left of a previous wax application anyway, so that's just more reason to skip the Dawn wash.