Best Maintenance Combo?

[vp920b]

Re: Best Maintenance Combo?

Yup bos. I know. hehehehe...

[akimel]

Re: Best Maintenance Combo?

I tried the ColorX/NXT2.0 combo every two months, and in between maintaining it with UQD after every wash, but dont know why for some sort of a reason the durability isn't lasting too long...
I think its the mean weather down here in Indonesia, it rains so much for so long, and the sun suddenly appears making all these water spots.. I wash my car with GC shampoo 2-3 times a week or at least every morning after raining, but after 3-4 weeks, I dont see any beads on the roof,hood,trunk any more..

I just recently got a hold of the UQW, maybe maintaining with that would last a longer than my previous process..

If the weather is forcing you to wash your car three times a week, then I'm not surprised you are only getting one month's durability from NXT. Clearly your car is taking a beating from the elements. I congratulate you on the effort you are investing in the care of your vehicle. I'm sure it looks excellent.

By all means add UQW to your detailing regimen and see if the additional protection helps. I haven't used it yet (I'm in a carnauba phase), but the testimonies on its behalf have been overwhelmingly positive. Good luck!

Al

P.S. Thanks for the compliment of my Luthien. Just yesterday a the local shopping center a 1997 BMW Z3 parked next to her in the parking lot. When my wife and I returned to the car at the precise moment that the Beamer couple returned. They oohed and ahhed at Luthien's shine. I was pleased.

[Ganesa]

Re: Best Maintenance Combo?

thanks, im definately doing my best on maintaining the shine..
so I figured it must be the weather conditions that played a role in the durability of the wax on my car, since compairing that almost everyone on MOL seems to get 2-3 months of beading..
Yup, I still haven't tried the UQW yet in my detailing, but everyone seems to be speaking so much about it, that it made me just had to have it in my arsenal.

I must say Al, seing people being speechless of the shine and gloss of a maintained paintwork is just priceless :]... congrats on that.. you should have taken a picture or recorded their expressions.. hehe

[OhioState87]

Re: Best Maintenance Combo?

Ganesa, think of UQW as a booster, meant to extend the life of your wax. It might be possible to get your two-layer NXT waxing down to every other month by boosting your wax with UQW once a week or once every other week.

I also noticed that you use ColorX, which is a polish AND a wax, meaning that you're basically putting down three layers of wax. I wonder if you would get better results using a pure polish instead of the ColorX and then using your two layers of NXT? (FWIW: It's good to allow a decent amount of time between adding additional layers of wax as the previous layer needs to have time to "bond" to the car. If not, you're just going to be "moving the wax around" rather than adding on top of a layer. 12 hours is a safe bet between layers of wax, IF you have the time to spare.)

You also mentioned that you wash the car 2-3 times a week. I know GC Shampoo & Conditioner won't remove wax and is a great car wash, but you're averaging 8-12 washings a month, and I'd think that would have to contribute to you seeing decreased duribility of the wax, even with a wax-safe wash. Is it possible to wash less, or maybe use UQD in place of a wash every now and then?

Just some food for thought. I don't live in Indonesia and experience the weather conditions you do, so I can't say anything is going to work better than what you're already doing, but I'm just throwing some suggestions out there!

[Ganesa]

Re: Best Maintenance Combo?

Yes i also knew that just by using the uqw would be just as a booster.
I figured using a pure polish would cut down too much of the clear coat when I am maintaining it every month to remove those water spots. So I am currently using either the Cleaner/Wax or ColorX which are both AIO products and top it off with two layers of NXT2.0... I use UQD at least once a week to maintain that layer of wax and the hydrophobic polymer.

I wash the car at least 2-3 times a week because if I dont wash the car after heavy rainfall then the next day and the days after I begin to see all those dirty water spots t(the pollution down here is quite heavy down here and sun is just Hot).
I had thoughts about using the UQD to replace the regular wash, but was just not so confident, as my cars daily route always gets hit by dirt, sand particles, dust, pollution, etc which lands on the surface of the paint, and would think that using the duster might not be the best solution.

I thank you for your suggestion, I am here to learn, and is always happy to hear and learn any new information.

[OhioState87]

Re: Best Maintenance Combo?

I figured using a pure polish would cut down too much of the clear coat when I am maintaining it every month to remove those water spots.

You could use a pure polish that is non-abrasive, like the Deep Crystal System Polish. It is clear coat safe. All it does is conditions and nourishes by replenishing valuable oils.

ColorX is actually abrasive, so you may not want to be using it as often as you are. ColorX also has chemical cleaners in it (since it is a mild AIO), so each time you are using it, you're removing any prior protection and also taking layers off since it is abrasive. Here's a thread about how Mike Phillips used ColorX to restore the paint on a 1986 Ford Bronco. Maybe you could try a cleaner like the Deep Crystal System Cleaner which isn't abrasive, then a pure polish, then wax.

The thing is, there are so many different products here in many different categories, it's hard to know what to use, what does what, and how abrasive or not one is compared to the other. I found this chart below in another thread (here's the original post). It might help a little more; it's helped me some, but it doesn't have ALL products.

1. Cleaners (least to most aggressive):
DC1
Body Scrub
MPPC
ScratchX

2. Cleaner/Polishes (least to most aggressive)
#9
#82
#80
#83

3. Polishes
#7
DC2
#81

4. Polish/Waxes
Gold Class
MPCC

5. Waxes
NXT
#26
#16
DC3

6. Cleaner/Waxes (least to most aggressive)
#20
A-12 Cleaner/Wax
#6
ColorX

Again, there are so many products and so much info, if anyone notices something that I say is wrong or that I have something mixed up, please correct me. I'm here to learn!

[Pdub34]

Re: Best Maintenance Combo?

I would try to invest in an Absorber so when after it rains its a quick way to dry your vehicle spotless. Then use UQD or UQW, better to do that instead of letting it dry then washing all the time. If it does dry and leaves water spots the UQD will remove it. But i would every evening or morning prior to the rain dust the car and use UQD so when it does rain all you have to do is wipe off!

I have a Black G35X and before i started using UQD it rained an i washed because of water spots, but since i frequently put a layer UQD at night or in the morning before the rain it beads off and wipe off the excess with an absorber and it looks flawless!