SeaCoupe

I know it isn't about a Mercedes, but I just washed and waxed my gals BMW 328. I was AMAZED at the results that I got from Meguiar's Polish and NXT 2.0.

In the past I had seen Phil's car and complimented him, but this was my first time using a combination of products after having attended the Meguiar's detailing class. The results just blew me away.

In the past I got a result similar to this from days and days of work using Zaino and the goofy multi step/multi product hugely expensive system. How silly is the system when even the order taker cant guide you to the right products? Nor explain the procedures. To make matters worse, when I emailed Zaino, TWICE, I never got an answer.

Nothing else will ever touch the surface of my car's paint.

Let the pictures do the talking:


This was the hood before starting


Now notice how the reflection has coloration and depth


Trunk prior to starting


Trunk after polish and NXT wax

Ed

splinter

Wow! Looks good, E.

Nice reflection of those California palm trees, too. She ought to take you to dinner.

bumpnzx3

no wonder you made yourself that mongo sub for lunch- you had your work cut out for you.

i like meguiar's as well as superior car products.

i am a fan of doing a wash with dish soap to strip everything off, meguiar's #7 glaze, meguiar's nxt wax, then superior car products diamond luster wax. although this combination made my white car look fantastic- it made my dad's vette look even better. that's what he got for father's day- i gave his weekend car a once over.

SeaCoupe

I'll have to try that next time. I have #21 Mirror Glaze, but I wanted to insure a lasting paint protection.

I think I'll ask on the forum if I could get a deeper shine with it.

Splinter...Yep, she took me to Flemings on Saturday. I provided the $99 coupon. Two Filets, two Lobster Tails, two Sides, and dessert.

Yum!

E

Tangerine

I've tried that combo before and they don't last long. I've switched to Wolfgang polish and S100 wax. But that does look shiney.

Moviela

Smart looking shine. Barry's products have always impressed me. I think you might be able to increase the depth of shine. From the dull look in the photo it looked like extreme surface contamination. A good deal of that will come off with the car cleaner wax, but the clay bar is what will make the surface baby butt smooth. The smoother a surface is, the more specular light it can reflect. This is what makes a deep shine.

You can also do better if you buff using a polisher. If Meguires polisher were cognac, it would be on the top shelf of every bar in the city. Hand buffing is good, but the machine can save your mits a lot of fatigue.

A lot of people think you can increase the shine by adding a second "coat" of wax. Unlike painting a hallway, when you put the new wax on the old wax the solvents in the new wax strip the old wax, and you are left with a coat about the same thickness as the one taken off.

Moviela

Please don't do that. You are taking off part of the paint. Many paints have water soluble organic compounds in them, and the detergents in dish soap specialize in making an emulsion out of greases and oils. Unless some nudnik fried a couple rashers of bacon on your hood, you should stick to car wash soaps.

The cleaners and waxes used after washing have solvents and grit that will remove old products. Do not worry.

SeaCoupe

I did, but now you are making me wonder if I took it too easy. I claybar'd the car, but honestly I didn't spend much time doing it.

here is a quick vid with a walk around:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXuPfYl1ya0

E

kompressorc230

Awesome job! That reminds me to detail my car soon. The claybar really helps picking up all the dirt and grime that you can't see!

Tangerine

Meguires products top shelf??

Polishing by machine is superior than doing it by hand.

Shine and gloss comes from polish, not wax.

SeaCoupe

I'll say that having spent some $25 maybe $30 on the two Mequiars products, and over $100 on Zaino, I'd much rather spend $30 to get the same if not better effect.

I did use a high speed rotary to get the products on, and hand work to get them off. I used my hand because I didn't want to get swirls.

But I will admit, I was lax with the clay. The car has 10k miles on it, but my girl has not paid any mind to her paint, and I was tired of seeing hard water spots and mild paint etching from bird droppings after a good hand wash.

E

krisv420

Make sure you get there Quik Mist & wipe Detailer best thing ever!!!! you'll see trust me and a few micro fiber cloths

ohlord

you are washing the car in preparation to clay bar and polish glaze seal and wax it is perfectly safe to wash it with dawn dish soap.To the poster above
This strips the wax,as prep before claying.
As a regular car wash you are correct use a good car shampoo.
If you guys singing the praise of meguires saw the show car results of claying,polishing with a few stages of menzernas polishes,glaze,a coat of full molecular jacket and two coats of carnauba wax,then you would know what a real show car shine was

SeaCoupe

I don't want to speak out of turn, but what did that cost you? I have tried the high dollar waxes, and they required high effort. From your post, I'm reading a number of applications. From the photos, what you see is a girls car with neglected paint. $30 bucks to make it look like this. It was clay bar, 1 coat of polish, 1 coat of wax. Done. Only thing I am unclear of, is how long the shine will last. I'd like to seal it. So, I have a bottle of Meguiar's #21 Mirror glaze looking at me. I just don't know if it will keep the shine longer than the NXT.


E

B189s

I've been using Zaino myself since I bought my car and YES, you're right, so many steps and more expensive

Maybe I'll give these products a try once my Zaino are done OR I'll just try and do what you did to protect my car from this year's winter

Been really lazy waxing my car especially with those steps..

mac911

Meguiars, for me is #1. These guys are passionate. I used to think they are junk just because they are reasonable prices and some of the products are available in regular stores.

That might be true for some things, but not Meguiar's.

I use their clay kit, paint cleaner, #7 polish, and then any of their great waxes to finish it off.

Moviela

Please consider this from Proctor & Gamble, the manufacturer of Dawn

Can I use Dawn to clean things other than dishes?

Dawn is so effective in cutting grease on dishes that over the years, consumers have used Dawn on other greasy messes around their homes, from cleaning kitchen messes like grease build up on the stove range hood to oily spots in the garage.

Dawn is not recommended for window cleaning, car washing, body wash or washing hair.


Let's also consider what's in the bottle.

http://www.pg.com/content/pdf/01_abo...Ultra_Dawn.pdf

Mostly anionic surfactants, enzymes, and Ethyl alcohol, which you really don't want on you paint. It also has a pH of 9!

As for removing the wax, that is not necessary if you are going to use kaolin (clay bar) on the paint to remove and trap undesirable solids from the cars finish. The clay will take it off. Maguires makes two types, mild and aggressive.

Claybars need a lubricant to work properly, and liberal amounts of #34 final inspection work well. You can tell when you are finished, the surface will feel smooth to your finger tips.

Adding a second application of polish or wax will not result in a thicker coating of product on the paint. Polishes can be buffed off as soon as they are applied, whereas wax must be allowed to dry prior to buffing. Just like Pledge furniture polish, no matter how many coats you put on, there will never be a waxy buildup.

Mu9enx

i like meguiars,
and from that class we took, meguiars seem like good honest people. sure their stuff is less expensive compared to other brands, but it works well for what i need. if i had a really $$ car, i would use $$ products, but meguiars is affordable and easy to use, perfect for a DD car like mine.

FrankW

lol...but did you take the pic of the before pic when it was a little shady Ed?

I need a detail, but DSLR makes ****ty paint look good

nlpamg

good stuff E!

bumpnzx3

i agree that it's not good to use as an every day wash, as i, you, and others have stated- it takes all of the wax, polish, etc. off. however, it's perfectly fine to use when you are going to give the car a complete once over. i have yet to need a clay bar on this car- as it never gets driven in the elements. a good way to see if it needs clayed or not is to spray a little detailer's mist or something of the sort on the paint, sticking your hand in a plastic baggie, and rubbing it on the paint. if you feel specks/bumps- then it needs to be done, if not- you are good to go. 95% of all detailing articles/websites i have read state that standard dish soap is what you should use when doing a complete detail- unless of course the article or site is written by one of the car care product manufacturers- naturally it's going to pedal their product.



on a different note- i've never used any kind of automatic piece of equipment to apply or remove any of the polishes/wax/sealant, etc. What's a good piece to use? i've always been scared of swirl marks. granted, on a white car it would be hard to see- but i still have always been scared of any of the automatic things.

bumpnzx3

my understanding of synthetic vs a standard carnuba wax is that a synthetic lasts a fair amount longer than carnuba, but carnuba leaves a better looking finish. with that being said- the nxt should last quite a while since it's synthetic.

johnand

Porter Cable 7424 Dual Action Polisher w/ 4" pads Pretty much fool proof, so not much worry on damaging the paint.

SeaCoupe

I think it was about the same amount of sun. Both were taken in the afternoon.

Realize this was with a crappy camera.

E

drexappeal

Wow, E! That looks amazing! Kinda makes me wish I went to the class with you guys...then again, I'd rather be able to walk than wash my car.