Lento

In honor of the first day in MA that I could get away with licking a pole and not getting stuck to it, I have decided it's probably a good time to wax the car.

I figure I will go with either Meguliars or Mothers 3 step process

1) Grime/Oxidation remover
2) Polish
3) Wax

Mothers comes with a paste wax out of a tin, where Meguliar has the synthetic liquid wax. The # 1 and #2 are liquids for both companies.

Anyone use these? Is one better than the other?


Also going to get a power washer from Home Depot or something. Anyone know what % nossel is ideal for washing a car with (% or degree or whatever the heck it is )

Thanks

Anomaly

iTrader: (7)

Typically, I don't use a hose nozzle for rinsing the cars. Just let the water flow over the paint from top to bottom and create a forceful stream with my thumb when needed.

As for the Megs vs Mothers...

I like both Megs 3-step deep crystal system and the Mothers 3-step California Gold system. But to be honest, I thought that Mothers 3-step was easier to apply/use.

And you can alternate the wax product on these 'systems', too. For a while there, I was using the 1st two steps of the Mother's 3-step (pre-wax cleaner, Sealer & Glaze) then finishing up with the Mother's Reflections car wax then the Top Coat...Or, use Megs NXT.

Hope that helped.

Lento

Yea thanks. I personally love how the mothers paste wax smells Good to know I can use different steps from different companies.

I find the Meguiars is much easier to find around me and is also a lot cheaper. I can order mothers online but they rape me on shipping charges from CA to MA. I was thinking about doing the 3 step Megs process then just coating synthetic wax from Megs with the paste wax from Mothers.

Will this work ok?

b-ron

iTrader: (1)

if you aply the past over the synthetic you will simply remove the synthetic wax. a past is alot harder wax and gives you longer protection then a liquid wax

redlude97

iTrader: (11)

Where did you come up with that one?

OP: I would leave out step 2 of the process and proceed like this after washing:
1:Claybar(meg's, mother's or clay magic)
2:Paint cleaner(deep crystal or mother's equiv will work fine, even meg's scratchx would be a good substitute)
3:Sealant/Wax. If you need an OTC product, I would recommend Meg's NXT 2.0, or #26 hitech wax. Both can be found locally for a decent price.
About the same amount of work and more effective IMO. The step 2 is not absolutely necessary but you can include it for a 3 step process, but the claybar will do more good if you are short on time than the polish/glaze

SuperBlack350z

iTrader: (59)

i hate megs three step cleaner thing. horrible gimmick.

ZSpectrum

iTrader: (4)

If your serious look at superblacks write up and my product recs. Stay away from most otc stuff. i will occasionally use an otc clay bar, but thats pretty much it.

Anomaly

iTrader: (7)

It would be easier if you only did steps 1 and 2 of the 3-steps and then applied your favorite wax at the end as step 3.

I believe that the 3-step systems are typically set up in the following manner:
Step 1 – Paint Cleaner step to remove old wax and chemically clean/polish the paint
Step 2 – Glaze step used to fill in swirls and some scratches; adds some gloss
Step 3 – Wax step to protect the paint and add some shine to the finish

As you’ve probably read, these are usually hard to work with (my experience with the Meg’s 3-step) and do not truly remove the majority of swirls or scratches; only covers them up for a while. Meg’s ScratchX does remove scratches but may take a few applications (3+ sometimes).

Now a days the wax sold OTC have fillers in them and technically could replace step 2 of the 3-step systems (NXT is one such product) thus reducing the amount of time and effort required to get *some/any* results. And the cleaner waxes are developed to be more of an “all-in-one” for polishing and waxing.

So, you could clay bar the car using a good QD and follow up with the paint cleaner and NXT. That would give you quite satisfactory results. Then just reapply the NXT about every month.

Definitely read the detailing thread by Superblack. Also, visit Detailed Image’s website for other products and information.

Lento

Thank you.

After all the reading it seems as if the best plan of attack (considering I am doing this by hand) is to:

1) Wash the car

2) Clay bar the car

3) apply the polish/wax.

4) Put paste wax over it for a gloss

Does this look right?

Superblack thank you for your write up btw, and thank you everyone for helping me out with this.

My biggest issue has been what is what. I see so many names and products flying around I find it tough to know what is what, and which one goes first, and what is compatable with what.

1) I am going to buy an over the counter clay bar and lubricant. (clay is clay...? I think)

2) Buy NXT polish/wax (maybe zanio...it is stricly a polish right?) Hell even the mothers polish.

3) and paste wax with the highest carbuna rating...? under 30 bucks I will most likely go with mothers unless I can find that Pinnicacle Sovergn stuff for a deceint price.

I am probably just going to pick the stuff up at Autozone, and grab what they have in stock.

I bought my car in Dec 07 and it kind of ticks me off that the factory wax or what not wore off so quickly. I would figure they would put a dense coat, but anyways I can feel contamenants all over my car after I wash it.

I am obvioulsy a noob at this and am afraid to get into anything abrasive because something tells me ill only F up the paint more. I really do not mind just filling the scratches for now and if it gets to the point where it is really bad, pay my local detailer to get rid of the swirls.


Mainly I just want to get the easiest system to use and make the car look shiny. It doesnt have to be the absolute best on the shine scale, but enought to get that just waxed look.

Anomaly

iTrader: (7)

Again, just pick one wax or the other.

If you decide to get NXT, then you won't need to buy a wax (paste or liquid) from Mother's.

In other words, after applying the NXT you are done!

j.arnaldo

Has anyone tried Prestone's Synthetic Auto Polish? I recently bought a bottle,
but haven't tried it, yet. We'll see!

ZSpectrum

iTrader: (4)

sucks.

Lento

Thanks

turismo

iTrader: (33)

Thanx for the info guys

03aeroZ

iTrader: (11)

so, if you use a carnuba wax and the NXT, is this over kill? my thought process was clay bar, megs cleaner wax, megs NXT, then megs gold class to "seal" everything in with a carnuba. Am I way off? I am a total noob on how using correct wax products.

BlueBoxer

iTrader: (13)

A liquid wax will typically last longer than a carnuba, but then again you will be hard pressed to find a decent carnuba over the counter. If you are looking for ease of use the Meguiars #3 Machine Light Cutting Glaze followed up with the Meguiars #7 Mirror Glaze and NXT will give you decent results with minimal effort. However, if you can find 3M Imperial Hand or Machine Glaze or Swirl Remover, they are a little harder to remove, but in my experience yielded better results. I would be patient and just order some quality stuff online, detailedimage has reasonable shipping and you save on taxes. Check out their Poorboys lineup if you are trying to stay inexpensive or step up to the Menzerna for some great stuff.
Polish Menzerna
http://www.detailedimage.com/wax.php...h-II-FPII-P73/
Klasse Sealant/Glaze
http://www.detailedimage.com/wax.php...n-One-AIO-P54/
Wax
http://www.detailedimage.com/wax.php...Paste-Wax-P30/ bargain good stuff
http://www.detailedimage.com/wax.php...auba-Wax-P136/ a little more premium.

With what you save in shipping and the 10% discount you get, you will get much better results for slightly more of an investment and wait.

Good luck with what you go with, remember the wash and prep is 80% of your results IMO.

03aeroZ

iTrader: (11)

i have very minimal swirls, so i hoped i could do most by hand. can you apply the above by hand? also, i keep hearing make sure you wash and prep....is that the wash and clay bar?

BlueBoxer

iTrader: (13)

You can apply the final polish by hand, of course you just about always get better results with a buffer. A nice product that I have used by hand and was pleased with the results was the P21S Cleansing Lotion. It is fairly mild and just fills in the swirls until the wax and polish wear off. I think using a sealant after the polish would give you the results you are looking for. The Klasse above is a great product and really adds the final pop and finish. The prep is ensuring you remove all the debri and contaminants embedded in the paint before you start polishing. The claybar really helps with that. I usually wash once, claybar with a lube and then wash again before I start.

P21S
http://www.detailedimage.com/wax.php...-Cleanser-P82/

Clay
http://www.detailedimage.com/wax.php...-Clay-Bar-P41/

Wash
http://www.detailedimage.com/wax.php...sh-Gloss-P178/

You can finish it off with the P21S wax above or a liquid wax if you prefer. I always liked applying carnuba waxes by hand and liquid by orbital. I have tried and loved the products above, except for the wash, but I am using it as soon as I get it in the mail. Its biodegradeable, won't strip away your protection, or dry your paint like most over the counter washes. I used the P21S wash, but I didn't like it's minimal suds.