washing and waxing gurus

**mpfranks** · 03-17-2009, 09:45 AM

ok so heres the deal. i have a red ws6. it has low miles so the paint, overall, is in excellent condition. the car only sees water when its being washed. however, i do seem to have some swirl marks on my hood and rear fenders. some of this may have been caused by the products that i have used in the past. i am very meticulous about keeping the car cleaned and protected. im looking for new products to use from washing to waxing. price really isnt an issue, i just want to get the best possible outcome.

previoulsy this is what i have done. i have gotten excellent results form this process and have had tons of complements, however i think i am ready to try something new.

wash with meguiars gold soap with sheep skin mitt.
dry with absorber and microfiber towels. (absorber prob caused the swirls)

3M rubbing compound (buffer)
meguiars paint cleaner (buffer)
meguiars polish (by hand)
turtle wax ice wax (by hand) (i realize people on this forum hate turtle wax, but i have had great results with this, but i do want a change.)

then between waxes i use a quick detailer, usually TW ice again.

the 3M compound gave me excellent results because there was some dirt in the paint that is now gone, and i dont use it every time i wax, only about once a year. the meguiars 3 step seems like a decent product, but there are prob alot better products out there. and im not overly impressed with the TW ice, directly after applied its great, but it seems to wear off quickly.

ive heard many combinations of products guys use on this forum. ive heard great stuff about zaino, but heard its not the good for darker cars. im looking for whatever products will give me the deepest shine.

any input you guys can give would be greatly appreciated. and sorry for the long post.

thanks again.

**Mr. Luos** · 03-17-2009, 10:08 AM

I now use nothing but Victoria's Red concours on my T/A.

The paste wax, the quik detailer, and the super wash.

**4get gto** · 03-17-2009, 04:34 PM

Boy I don't know if I'd do to much different. You've got good residence in what you're doing.

Maybe do away with the T.W. stuff.
I'd go with NXT 2.0 instead......Over the counter and kinda cheap. And will work well for you.

As far as Zaino goes......I was always impressed with the way Z2/Z5 worked with darker paint...... Does great with white too.... No matter you really won't go wrong with Zaino.

**superman4evr** · 03-17-2009, 05:29 PM

I've owned the same color & car as you. There's so many great products you can use.
My suggestion is this. After using the 3M Rubbing Compound with the PC or other buffer, Use a nice polish. 3M machine polish or a CarBrite Black Pearl #4 is great. Poorboys has excellent polishes too. I used the Black Pearl on mine. I couldn't be happier with the results. I then used 2 coats of Meguiar's NXT 2.0 Tech wax(Buy 1 get one free at Advance Auto Parts now). Then I will use 1 or 2 coats of Collinite 845. Which I've heard great things about. And at $13.00 a bottle, you can't go wrong.
ClearKote Carnuba Moosewax is another great wax.
Zaino is excellent too. You just have to find what works best for you.

**mpfranks** · 03-17-2009, 05:56 PM

where can i get these products that you guys are talking about? youre naming a lot of products that ive never heard of....

**superman4evr** · 03-17-2009, 05:59 PM

Originally Posted by mpfranks

where can i get these products that you guys are talking about? youre naming a lot of products that ive never heard of....

Carquest sells 3M rubbing Compound. Advance Auto sells the Meguiar's NXT and the CarBrite Black Pearl is only sold at special stores that cater to dealerships. But anyone can buy from their.
Collinite 845 can be found on Ebay for $13.00 shipped. Cheaper than autogeek.

**Pony_Eater** · 03-17-2009, 06:00 PM

www dot autogeek dot net has good stuff

**LETHALxLS1** · 03-17-2009, 06:56 PM

Originally Posted by Pony_Eater

www dot autogeek dot net has good stuff

+1 Brother!

To prevent as many swirls as possible here is a good system-

1) Buy a quality car wash that contains essential oils which lubricate the vehicles paint while you wash which greatly reduces rubbing grit into the finish which in turn- reduces swirls.

2) Buy a quality microfiber mitt to wash with- the larger pores will hold grit away from your cars finish.

3) Buy a Grit Gaurd- a plastic screen that goes on th bottom of your wash/rinse bucket that sits a couple inches from the bottom-the grit/dirt falls into the bottom of the bucket and you can't pick it back up in your wash mitt. Also works well for scrubbing your mitt against it to remove dirt/grit.

4) Two bucket system(use a grit gaurd in each bucket)- use a wash bucket with car wash soap & h2o and a bucket of clean h2o. Before dipping your mitt into the soapy wash bucket(after washing a section of your car) dip your mitt into the clean h20 and rub it against the grit gaurd to clean the mitt. You wont believe how dirty the clean bucket of h2o will get- this prevents you from rubbing grit/dirt back onto the car. Put fresh H2o in clean bucket as needed.

5) Foam gun- if you have the $ this thing works really well in preventing swirls and also allows you to "pre soak" your vehicle.

6) Waffle weave microfiber for drying your vehicle. The huge pores on this microfiber and silk edges that cover stitching prevent swirls as much as humanly possible while drying IMO.

These are some washing.drying tips I have learned. Here are a few really good videos

If you scroll down a bit on this page you will see a ton of videos that show how to do all types of detailing-

http://www.autogeek.net/detailingtips.html

**SSNAKEATER23** · 03-18-2009, 08:53 AM

Man you guys are throwing out some things that I've never heard of either.....

What I would go with as far as wash and waxes is...Meguiars washes and 3 step cleaner polish and wax. Before I do anything I throw down with the Mothers Clay Bar kit. Pulls all the dirt out of the paint and when the wax goes on it's smoooooooth!!!!!

**PhillyLs1** · 03-18-2009, 09:19 AM

Get a porter cable w/ menzerna
Menzerna intensive polish and a white pad, then nano polish and a black pad
Never dry with a towel. Use a leaf blower. Yes I'm serious.

**4get gto** · 03-18-2009, 01:58 PM

Nothing but good information..........
Could'nt argue with any of the guys above.............

**Mr. Luos** · 03-19-2009, 05:20 PM

My arm is tired.
5 hour detail on the daily driver today.

Wash - Meguiars gold class
Dry - Sonus waffleweaves

Prima Swirl with orange LC pad (PC)
Prima Finish with white LC pad (PC)
Prima Amigo with black LC pad (PC)
RejeX with black LC pad (PC)

Looks pretty decent for 100K miles.

**sstg** · 03-19-2009, 05:31 PM

Originally Posted by Mr. Luos

My arm is tired.
5 hour detail on the daily driver today.

Wash - Meguiars gold class
Dry - Sonus waffleweaves

Prima Swirl with orange LC pad (PC)
Prima Finish with white LC pad (PC)
Prima Amigo with black LC pad (PC)
RejeX with black LC pad (PC)

Looks pretty decent for 100K miles.

Pics?

**Mr. Luos** · 03-19-2009, 05:44 PM

Originally Posted by sstg

Pics?

Maybe tomorrow evening when I get home for work.

It is currently dark.

**Mike's TA** · 03-20-2009, 09:59 AM

Originally Posted by Mr. Luos

Maybe tomorrow evening when I get home for work.

It is currently dark.

Alright, Where they at?

**mpfranks** · 03-20-2009, 10:42 AM

Originally Posted by Mr. Luos

I now use nothing but Victoria's Red concours on my T/A.

The paste wax, the quik detailer, and the super wash.

where do you buy this?

**mpfranks** · 03-20-2009, 10:49 AM

so after all the input here is what im thinking...

ill use the 3M compound, then the menzerna intensive polish, followed but either the nano or finishing polish. all of these applied with a buffer. are the different pads going to make that much of a difference? i just have a regular buffing pad on mine.

after the menzerna finishing polish, should i still apply some type of wax/sealant by hand? if so, which one should i go with? maybe the Collinite 845 or the meguiars 2.0. any other suggestions?

**Hi-Po** · 03-21-2009, 08:53 AM

How long do these Prima bottles last you? How many uses you get out of them? So far, I am looking at buying the Prima swirl and Prima finish and Prima Amigo. Shit is expensive. What is a LC pad? PC? Im a total newb detailer

**LETHALxLS1** · 03-21-2009, 05:46 PM

Originally Posted by mpfranks

so after all the input here is what im thinking...

ill use the 3M compound, then the menzerna intensive polish, followed but either the nano or finishing polish. all of these applied with a buffer. are the different pads going to make that much of a difference? i just have a regular buffing pad on mine.

after the menzerna finishing polish, should i still apply some type of wax/sealant by hand? if so, which one should i go with? maybe the Collinite 845 or the meguiars 2.0. any other suggestions?

Dude.The pads make ALL the difference. Do not use the 3m compound unless you have scratches that are deep as hell. Try the Menz SIP and Nano on a 2x2 area and see what happens. I suggest using a Lake Country White polishing pad for both polishes. If the white pad doesn't get the desired results try a Lake Country Orange pad with the SIP and follow with the White pad with the Nano.

The Menz SIP and Nano take a little practice to get right. The temperature and humidity affect the Menz polishes big time so one certain day it may take 3minutes to break the polish down on a 2x2 area and on another day it may take 5minutes. You will want to keep a spray bottle of distilled H2o to prime your pad and sometimes spray during polishing if the polish dry prematurely.

You really should go and read up about Menz on Autogeek forums-so you have a better idea of how to use it and what to expect. You should read about pads as well.

Good Luck.

**Mr. Luos** · 03-21-2009, 07:37 PM

Originally Posted by Hi-Po

How long do these Prima bottles last you? How many uses you get out of them? So far, I am looking at buying the Prima swirl and Prima finish and Prima Amigo. Shit is expensive. What is a LC pad? PC? Im a total newb detailer

I bought mine over a year ago....still at least half full.
And I do more than one car. Used Amigo on several cars.