I'm assuming your talking about winter - yuk - I'm originally from Ohio so I know what your talking about - -

All I can tell you is that I know my uncle in Ohio (who is retired and details cars as a side job) swears by the NXT stuff - - he loves it too - - I actually think the heat and rain we get here in Florida is just as hard on a waxed car

Give it a try and judge for yourself - - good luck

 

That is what I use and how I apply it. I've been quite satisfied with Black Magic, especially through the winter months.

 

clay bar and wax... i use nanowax between real waxings for up keep and it works wonderful.. Im going to use nxt this time but im odering the poorboy stuff.. zymol even the blue turtle wax is a good wax but its very high maintenance... pooboys is very slick easy to apply and is awsome to remove...

 

Because of the cold, right? If the water doesn't freeze instantly, you could always try this stuff for washing and then a quick spray wax too. No Rinse Wash & Shine Not entirely sure on how well you can detail in frigid weather.

When I lived in IL I'd just go to the wash booth places in the winter. Always wished I could hand wash, but that's not doable when it's below freezing.

 

Griot's Paint Sealant on my dd's. followed up with Prima Hydro every
other wash.

 

Do you have to be careful around the black rubber linings and door moldings with polymers (as with waxes)? I haven't waxed a vehicle in years so I'm practically a nubie when it comes to this topic. Come to think of it, do they still use the term "waxing" when using polymers??? What I remember is that if you get wax on the black plastic/rubber, it will turn white-ish.

 

Every type product has good and bad aspects. Polymer coatings have a way longer life than waxes. That "getting plastics white effect" may in fact be worse with polymers. You don't have to "WAX" (I don't use wax but that's the verb for apply a paint protectant) as often but every six months I actually mask off the plastic parts before waxing (applying polymer coating). Some polymer coatings, like Zaino which is reputed to be the best, claim that they don't cause plastics to "white out". I don't know since I haven't tried them all.

In case anyone's wondered there are forums exclusively about detailing who's members are mostly people who detail for a living.

DetailersClub - Car care for enthusiasts, by enthusiasts

Some of the recommendations on fitfreak as far as car care make me cringe.

 

Another big one is...

Autopia.org Car Detailing Forum :: #1 in Auto Detailing Discussion!

Over 50,000 members and 1 million posts.

 

I'm a member of autopia as well. Unfortunately that forum lacks objectivity. If autopia doesn't sell the product such as Zaino then they thwart discussions of that product. The moderators will actually post and try to divert the discussion to a product that they sell. It defeats the purpose of forums or open discussions. If you're OBJECTIVE then whether or not you sell that product should be irrelevant. By the way there is still knowledge to be found at autopia just not advice on purchasing the best products.

 

Autogeek is good too. Autogeekonline Auto Detailing Forum

Speaking of suggestions making you cringe, I once heard of a guy that wouldn't use soap when he washed his car because "it was too harsh" so his "baby never got anything but clean water." Wonder how scarred that car was.

I really have no idea what product I'm going to use next. I've heard tons of good stuff about tons of different products, and of course I don't have the money, time, or excess vehicles to try them all. I think I may try Menzerna or Klasse next..

 

Zaino....

David - Dallas
07 tw Fit Sport
91 NX2000

 

If you become a member of the autogeek forum then you can get free shipping at the autogeek store on orders of over $75. They have a superb selection of detailing products.

As far as polishes go Menzerna is world class (company has an affiliation with Mercedes). It's what most of the MFGRs use. They don't make a sealant anymore however. They used to sell menzerna FMJ but it apparently has been discontinued. Klasse's product line is old but still well respected. Supposedly theirs "waxes" or, as detailers like to call them, Last Stage Products (LSPs) are hard to work with.

 

somebody told me that keeping a good wax job on the fit will help it to get better MPG??? anybody have any experience with that? sounds like it might make sense...

 

That's funny, and clearly not true.

On wax vs. sealant. Sealant (I like Jeff's Werkstatt) looks best on lighter colors and silver. On dark, deep colors, nothing looks as liquid as wax. I've found that certain waxes (e.g. Collinite) go on well over the Werkstatt Acrylic Jett so you can have your cake and eat it too (both long lasting protection and deep liquid gloss).

 

I just tried this for the first time. So easy to work with.

 

Sure, why not? Less friction from the wind

 

It's all preference. To say a certain type is only for nice cars is silly. It merely depends on the consumer.

 

Must be at least .00000008 MPG increase due to less air resistance across the paint!!