The Official Car Care Thread

[GoS]

meguires is to much work i usea pre wax and a compound last 2 weeks and i ketch meh tail to wipe off by hand use buffer and fail i feel i sticking to auto glim and mothers

[Rainman]

meguires is to much work i usea pre wax and a compound last 2 weeks and i ketch meh tail to wipe off by hand use buffer and fail i feel i sticking to auto glim and mothers

Why would u use a prewax cleaner then a compound? Buying expensive products will be a waste if your technique is sheit.

[Karim Khan]

The APC cleaned my wheels and tires better than the Meguiars All Wheel and Tire Cleaner.

In what way?

By the way this hazing effect only appears in the evening after washing the car. I tend to wash the vehicle after 6pm. During the day with elevated temps it is non existent.

^^ So its not an issue with the wax, its just the time of the day you are washing your car. This happens to me also.

bunnyears, try wShing the car with the SmartWash form SMARTwax
You'll be amazed at the results

MG man send some Smart Wash for me. I want to try it.

You did raise a good point on the HD Wax though, hazing is an issue with it....mainly cuz it's so silicone heavy (it's a synthetic "wax", not a carnauba).

HD Wax is a Carnauba wax. I have seen the raw materials and how they produce it at the Autoglym factory in Letchworth England.

Perhaps, but SRP might be doing more filling than anything, even with a PC. Ideally, I'd prefer to have a polish which doesn't have fillers (Griots polishes come to mind) to physically remedy swirls...not just fill them.

All compounds and polishes products has fillers the amount of fillers ? it depends on the brand and product.

meguires is to much work i usea pre wax and a compound last 2 weeks and i ketch meh tail to wipe off by hand use buffer and fail i feel i sticking to auto glim and mothers

Why would u use a prewax cleaner then a compound? Buying expensive products will be a waste if your technique is sheit.

^^^ Yes he need to get the technique down, but if you clay the surface before applying the AutoGlym Super Resin Polish (SRP)he should be good to go. The SRP is a all in one product with great cleaning abilities.

[Karim Khan]

Keep in mind i'm not saying to not go for perfection each time, just saying sometimes it might be worth it to live with very minor imperfections to make the clearcoat last longer too (cue 5ft rule from Karim when he reads this).

5ft rule works...

[DSM_05]

HD Wax is a Carnauba wax. I have seen the raw materials and how they produce it at the Autoglym factory in Letchworth England.

Is it? I keep getting different answers from different people at AG. Mark Docherty @ AG "hinted" that's it's mainly synthetic, which is why the expect it to outlast AG EGP in terms of durability.

Either way, it doesn't really matter. Great product all in all....but overkill for most consumers (since most may not do proper prep work) IMHO.

[pioneer]

Karim and others, while I know my headlights are in deplorable condition...I kinda restored them using a DIY method...so i'm looking for something to keep em clean/protected until I get new headlights/paint over.

I normally use meguiars nxt wax on them after each wash...is there anything I can use?

like this?

http://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-G17110-H ... protectant

Where sells it locally?

[SR]

somtimes it may just be cheaper to replace the headlights than to be constantly restoring them

[DSM_05]

^^Really? Headlights on some vehicles may cost like 3000 plus PER headlight.

And after resoptring DiY with a 3M, mothers, or Megs kit, using a headlight sealant will keep the headlight looking like new for years to come.

And a typical bottle of selant might cost...at most....200 dollars. And would probably last at LEAST a year....most often 2 years plus.

My math wasn't all that great, but to me the DiY makes more sense.


pioneer, you can get the Megs Headlight sealant as part of the Megs severe duty resto kit (available in WHS). If not, Lubetech may have some available.


pioneer, you can stop reading at this point, since what I speak of from here onwards is for those of us who purchase more "detailer" oriented products, which aren't available locally.

Personally, I prefer Wolfgang's Headlight/Plastik Surface sealant over the Megs sealant. I apply about one 25c sized amount to each headlight...every two months.

Headlight has been going over a year plus with no sign of getting back to how it was. It's quite resilient...but the trick is to leave it to cure for a long time before removal. Also, you have to keep it dry (after removal) for at least 8 hours (overnight basically).

And the bottle is a 32oz bottle, so it's gonna last me a LONG while.

I also may be trying some Diamondite Headlight "Armor" (sealant) or something from Prima, but it depends. Honestly, the WG meets my needs so far.

[Rainman]

I have tried the diamondite full kit on an 02 corolla (wife's previous ride) headlights were shot, I restored and armored in August 2010 and up to the time when the car was sold July 2012 headlights still looked like new. On my car I apply a thin layer of 303 and ive never had to restore headlights (my car is 7years old)

[nemesis]

Keep in mind i'm not saying to not go for perfection each time, just saying sometimes it might be worth it to live with very minor imperfections to make the clearcoat last longer too (cue 5ft rule from Karim when he reads this).

5ft rule works...

I'm still learning to actually live with it, but yes it does.


As for HDWax, I'm pretty sure it does have natural wax in it. Might be better described as a hybrid, in that it has both sealant and wax.

As for sealing headlights, many many products available. Yes plastic specific sealants work best, but you can pretty much drop any sealant on there and it'll work. Just may need to do some more often than others. I personally just spray my headlights with Dodo Juice RMT every few weeks and call that good. Works fine, and takes maybe 3mins to do both. Just need to do it more often than products like the wolfgang or Meguiars headlight/plastic sealants.

Agreed on the SRP as an All in one. It does what it's supposed to well and is so easy to use it's difficult for me to bother to even try other AIO's. And the new SRP is supposed to last almost 2x longer on it's own and fill better? If so you shouldn't really ever need anything else as an AIO.

And well, GoS, figure out what you doing before you say tings eh working.

[nemesis]

So with all that talk of wax hazing, what have you all come up with as an appropriate cure time for the HDWax?

[trinibajan34]

Good Night folks, after reading this 32 page thread , i must say i am really impressed with information given. One thing doh it has A LOT of products being mentioned but not all the places that sell them. Can a list be made for the products and the places that sell them,it would be a great help. also this might seem dumb after reading 32 pages but do you polish first then wax or vise versa ? also has anyone tried the meg wash and wax the yellow liquid one? Got a 2005 ford ranger that gets dirty at the drop of a shilling, so i hardly wash it. any advice given will be appreciated thanks .

[nemesis]

Wash->clay->polish->sealant/wax is the general idea. Actually if you did wax your vehicle it also takes a bit longer to look dirty since while you're moving a lot of the water runs off. If you have the idea of hardly washing it because it gets dirty easily, then you seem like you may need easy to operate products, like AIO's.
The reason there is no listing available for products is because there may simply be too many places that sell quite a variety of items. Granted that it would be nice to come up with a general listing, and i believe there is someone working on a specific forum that would include this. Just hold on a bit and it'll get going. Also keep in mind there are just product suggestions here also. Quite often there are many many options for getting the same job done. The key would be to figure out what you want to achieve, and then find a product to suit.
As for now, I'd suggest something like wash/clay then go to a good AIO like Meguiar's NXT or Autoglym Super Resin or Ultra Deep Shine.
If you're from south you can get the AG at Carplus or Bhola's Motorworks and the Meguiar's at Bel Air Store. Let us know how it turns out.

[trinibajan34]

thanks for the quick response, at the meguiar's car show i spoke to one of the reps and he said that annands supermarket in oropuche sells most if not all of the meg products. so i checked it out and he was right. so for ppl in deep south they could check there,oh and i live north and work in south. umm another thing what is AIO

[trvs]

All in one bro.

[Allergic2BunnyEars]

AIO means all in one. Some products do multiple things. e.g. Turtle Wax Liquid Ice Car Wash and Polish.

[trinibajan34]

thanks again

[Karim Khan]

So i had a very busy day today

check out the pics

[trvs]

Damn! What did you use on the seats Karim?

[Karim Khan]

^^^ I used the Meguiar's Leather and Conditioner.

[DSM_05]

As for now, I'd suggest something like wash/clay then go to a good AIO like Meguiar's NXT or Autoglym Super Resin or Ultra Deep Shine.

I don't really regard NXT 2.0 as an AIO, since it doesn't really have much polishing agents whatsoever. Mainly fillers, light cleaning, and mainly sealant.

...which is unlike SRP or Ultra Deep Shine.

FOr me, other AIO's would be:

1) Mothers Carnauba Cleaner Wax ( a true AIO)
2) Klasse AIO
3) Meguiars Color X (a REAL AIO)
4) Mothers SynWax (not as much AIO as the others, but it has more cleaning ability IMHO than NXT).


And all of these, except the Klasse, are available locally. And IMHO, AIO's are a great place to start for entry level detailers who may not have the time to go through multiple product applications on their car.

[pioneer]

Called Lubetech...seeing I from T.City they told me Xtra Foods in O'Meara would have the Meguiar's headlight protectant.

Makin ah turn this evenin

Will aware ya'll

[Rainman]

As for now, I'd suggest something like wash/clay then go to a good AIO like Meguiar's NXT or Autoglym Super Resin or Ultra Deep Shine.

I don't really regard NXT 2.0 as an AIO, since it doesn't really have much polishing agents whatsoever. Mainly fillers, light cleaning, and mainly sealant.

...which is unlike SRP or Ultra Deep Shine.

FOr me, other AIO's would be:

1) Klasse AIO
2) Klasse AIO
3) Klasse AIO
4) Klasse AIO

And all of these, except the Klasse, are available locally. And IMHO, AIO's are a great place to start for entry level detailers who may not have the time to go through multiple product applications on their car.

Couldn't Help it.

[nemesis]

Hah, ok. That mother's synwax eh really my kinda thing. Too difficult to work for doing nothing better than the others.
Haven't really been too heavy on the AIO's recently, but I'm sure there are many options.
And yes, it is the best place to start, so when you start to separate the products and take longer, you'll know if it's worth it to you.
I ain't buying another AIO till they bring the new SRP to trinidad. Not sure why it's taking so long.

Karim, good set of people you did work for there. Now you gotta do their other 39 cars?
Long time, but good money.

[DSM_05]

Hah, ok. That mother's synwax eh really my kinda thing. Too difficult to work for doing nothing better than the others.
Haven't really been too heavy on the AIO's recently, but I'm sure there are many options.

You haven't USED Synwax, have you?

Synwax is THE easiest product to work with out there...well one of anyway.


PERIOD. Fast cure time, effortless removal (I do mean effortless)


Even the folks on autopia/AG forums agree with that. To me, the only thing that easier to use (and barely) is SRP. And unlike SRP, Synwax is still easy to remove even with overapplication.

NXT, by comparison, is lots more difficult. NXT, for example, hazes very easily. With Synwax, I've never got it to haze, even with poor technique and short cure times.

Not sure why you all underrate it so much TBH. It's ease of use is why I recommend MOthers SYnwax to most newbie detailers. I still have to tgry their newest offering i.e. Synthetic Carnauba Wax. Reviews seem good....even more positive than Synwax.

[trinibajan34]

like no one has tried the wash and wax from meg ? just want to get a feed back about it.

[Karim Khan]

This is the power of AutoGlym Products







Super Resin Polish

On to another story
Today i was working in south and i ran out of a certain Autoglym product. The nearest place that had it was Carplus,so i went down there to pick it up. While in the shop one of the guys who work there recognizable me and we started a nice conversation about detailing. At the end i was given some new products to try out and review. I just cant wait to get sometime to test them out...

[DSM_05]

^^Looks good. Some more shots would be nice.

[Aaron 2NR]

This is the power of AutoGlym Products







Super Resin Polish

On to another story
Today i was working in south and i ran out of a certain Autoglym product. The nearest place that had it was Carplus,so i went down there to pick it up. While in the shop one of the guys who work there recognizable me and we started a nice conversation about detailing. At the end i was given some new products to try out and review. I just cant wait to get sometime to test them out...

you know a man doing great work when a vehicle detailing company calls you in to detail their personal vehicle...

[trvs]

^ lol for real.