I have already clayed quite a bit of the car, used the 3 step Meguiar's:

1. Paint Cleaner
2. Polish
3. NXT Tech Wax

Of course, I washed the car, using a two bucket system with NXT wash, dryed with an Absorber/Water Blade. My Fit is golden, seriously. I get comments all the time about how nice the Vivid Blue Pearl really looks.

 

yikes! I am a car detailer and I frequently have to try and fix customer's carelessness when they try to remove blemishes or contaminants themselves. Simple isopropyl alcohol 70% or commercially available tree sap removers will disolve the sap without harming the paint. Be careful with the alcohol, if you "rub" the spot with it, it will easily leave scratches in the clear coat.

There are alot of great waxes available today to fit any price range. One that I love is p21s/s100. It is a white paste wax that is so easy to use and if it is applied following a proper preparation (good wash, clay, polish, etc) it will give the paint a wonderful deep, glossy shine. It is actually one of the longer lasting waxes that I use. You can get the s100 which is the rebadged p21s for the motorcycle market at any harley dealer for like $16 a tub, or the p21s is available online for $30 or so.

To the guy above who said he doesnt like "rub on waxes," is there any reasoning behind that? The spray on "wax" you get at the car wash will be gone alot sooner that you think and even if it was long lasting, it would be applied to a car with a paint surface that wasn't properly prepared for the wax.

 

I've tried them all, Meguiars Gold out shines them all. I only use Megiuars (tire shine, interior cleaner ) was recommended by my Honda dealers, service mgr. I thought all waxes were the same. You gotta try this stuff !!!

 

gold class wax is decent for consumer products, but there are many products on the market that are easier to work with, glossier, and longer lasting.

 

Ok I think that report was crap (and I signed up to consumer reports just to read that ). First of all, they left out "Mother's." I'd definitely like to know how it stacks up against the others. Secondly, notice how the paste wax got very low durability scores compared to the liqiud wax? It is mostly because of how they rate durability by "beading." Polymer (scientifically engineered) based wax don't really make the water "bead;" they "sheet" water. This is better than beading as it means water should just slide of your paint even without beading. Most paste waxes contain a certain percentage of polymer. You might also notice that most of Macguiare's stuff are rated the lowest, while they are usually the most expensive ones in there and have the highest amount of high grade polymer in there. Oh, and the test also doesn't take into account the different kinds of shine.

On that note, I think the Macguiar's products are great, but they shine like polymers generally do: very bright, but not warm, and does not bring out the true colour of the paint. Polymer does have the advantage of chemically binding with a car's clear coat, thus protecting it much better and stay on much longer. The highest grades polymer waxes are often called "sealant" because they completely seal a car's paint from any corrosion and last very very long compared to other waxes. In this grade you will find names such as Zymol, Zaino, Pinnacle, Klasse, and P21S (the one "743 power" recommends). All these brands compete to provide all the advantages of high-grade polymer sealants, but retain the warm, rich look of the best all natural wax (99.99% Carnauba). Also, the best grade polymer waxes and polishes contain no solvent and are usually water based. They might contain oil that has lubricating quality and no solvent quality. Lower grade polishes usually lie and contain some solvent when they say they don't.

I just ordered a Blackfire complete care set to try on my week old VPB FIT. It's a small family-owned brand in USA that is suppose to rival those brands in quality while cost a little less. Will report back soon on the result after a full clean (wash, clay, polish, sealant/wax).

P.S. A question to "743 power," or any knowledgable detailer. How do I best remove dead bugs from my clear coating without damaging it. I know I'm not suppose to rub really hard while I wash my car, less I risk getting minor scars or swirls. Will clay and lubricant work?

 

Anyone here tried Zaino products? My brother swears by them.

 

clay with lube is what I use, just have to rewax it every time as the clay will strip te old wax. There is sponges out there that get bugs off pretty easy without messing up the paint. Also, spraying a mild degreaser on the lower half of the car, and the front bumper grill area will make the bugs dissolve while you wash, but you will also have to wax those areas.

Griots garage makes a spray on bug remover/repeller. I am going to try it when my car comes in.

 

Thanks! Hope you get your car soon.

 

Ok now, this is way tooooo much info.
Can not compute Will Robinson(lol)
Will someone kindly tell me which wax is best for my BOA.

Thanks much
LBW
Have a great weekend!

 

Check out www.meguiarsonline.com.

 

Personally on a daily driven car I use collinite wax. It will actually last quite long. I wouldnt recommend waxing it only once a year, but if you put two coats of 476s on your car before winter it should last through until spring. It's a pretty rock solid wax for a daily driver. Mothers and Meguiar's and such seldom last more than a month. But honestly don't expect a 'once a year' wax to last more than 4 or 5 months, but in general they last longer than normal waxes.

 

What is a "BOA"? And it really depends on what you want. Do you want to spend more time waxing? How often do you want to wax? How do you want your car to look (very shiner or deep lustered shine)? In what condition do you drive? Do you need a lot of protection? How often do you drive your car?

Answer all these questions and I'll suggest something.

I wouldn't recommend Collinite products since they contain some petroleum based solvent. Although, it is minuscule, overtime a car's clearcoating might disappear and the paint coat might get damaged. Water based waxes are the best.

 

Machine polishes are best lest for more experienced car detailers as it may easily cause accidental abrasion to clearcoating without skilled hands. If a car is less than a month old and has not seen much rough condition, then a wash and claying should be enough for pre-wax preperation.

That test was crap, as they rated durability by beading and synthetic wax don't necessarily bead.

Then how come cars that are driven off the dealership beads properly? They usually don't come waxed.

[quote=hqly]I normally don;t wax my car but decided to treat the fit well and do some waxing. I bought some Mcguire Gold class and all it says is to apply a thin layer.. did just that but i don't really see a nice shiny coat..
Should i apply more or am i using the wrong kind of wax to get that nice shiny look?[quote]

Macguaire's gold class is a decent wax. Why your car doesn't shine depencds on many factor. Did you wash your car properly before waxing? Did you clay (very helpful, but not necesary)? Did you polish (if your car is older)? Finally, did you buff it enough in cool weather, under shades, away from dust? If you did all this, then maybe your expectations are too high. If your car is new and you apply it properly your car should shine a little bit more as it already has clearcoating.

 

Got some Meguiars at Wal Mart. I believe in paste wax frequently when the car is new to build up a protective layer of wax. Then I was with only water. This leave the wax and the dirt comes off easily because of the layer of wax.

 

Mother's is cheaper though right?

I just ordered a set of Blackfire products from them too =). Hopefully they'll be good. To answer your question, it really depends on the wax you happen to use. It's about the chemical compounds and how they react, sometimes brands work together and sometimes they don't. It might be better if you just try a simple sprayon-synthetic wax after the acrylic coating, then see if you're satisfy with the result. The acrylic coat alone should be enough protection when you first apply it though. Use the synth wax to reinforce it.

 

[QUOTE]What is a "BOA"? And it really depends on what you want. Do you want to spend more time waxing? How often do you want to wax? How do you want your car to look (very shiner or deep lustered shine)? In what condition do you drive? Do you need a lot of protection? How often do you drive your car?

Hi 29FSE,

Blazin' orange
Not too much time
2-4x's a year
Deep lustered shine
NY weather(not near water)
Not too little but not alot alot of protection, what ever is considered above normal I guess
Everyday driver
Thanks so much

LBW

 

I've beeing using Turtle Wax's new line Ice. I'll take some pictures of the Fit tomorrow during the day, but who said Tafetta White doesn't shine .

The stuff is very easy to use and doesn't leave any residue behind.

 

My Dealer tried to sell this to me for $495.00. (for the interior and exterior) read all about it here: http://www.simonizusa.com/demoend.asp
Guarantees the paint and interior against damage (birds, trees, UV, puke, soda, etc) for 5 years. Never have to wax your car for 5 years. Its some Dupont Teflon stuff. If its true I'd do it in a heartbeat. 5 years = at least 20 waxes = 60-80hours of my life. Almost sounds like a bargain when put into perspective. If your paying someone to detail your car then you could save some serious bucks over 5 years. If you ever have to make a claim they pay up to $50/day for a rental.

 

It doesn't do jack.
I'm a detailer (www.MirrorWorks.bz) and i've done a Honda Pilot that is 3ish years old. They had that protection and there was already rust forming on the roof. Although the paint felt healthier than if it didn't have the protection, it still allowed rust to accumulate, which means its not worth $500.

tre

 

I actually just tried it this weekend. I was hoping I could get out a rubber scrape on my bumper from some idiot parrallel parker. Anyway, it did buff out some other minor scrapes, but on some more deeper scratches it did very little. On the rubber scrape, some of it came out but I think that was more of my own elbow grease working it out than the ScratchX. I thought of trying the Nu-Finish next but I have a feeling it won't make much more of a difference.