So I bought some of Meguiars Quick Detail, and after reading the instructions, saw nothing about having to wash your car first. Now, common sense dictates to me that you need to wash the car before applying any sort of polish, yet they make is sound as though you can just spray it on and wipe it off, whether the car is covered in grime or not.

Anyone had experience with Quick Detail, or know what the proper procedure is here? The instructions are woefully lacking in critical details.

Thanks...

 

I have used Quick Detail in between car washes. It works well, but not on a completely filthy car. Usually if it's just dusty, I wipe it down with my california car duster, then spray on quick detail and wipe off, it brings back a nice shine.

 

Quick detail is great. I usually use it after every wash to bring out a nice shine. I would say to only use it on cars with a light dust. I don't trust anything if the car is filthy. I would just say to use caution. I'll use the quick detail a few days after I wash my car, but after that I like to wash it before using it.

 

I think to be on the safe side I'll just give the car a wash - even just using one of the wand washes - dry it down, then apply the quick detail.

Sort of difficult to gauge how dirty is TOO dirty for Quick Detail; then you have the added complexity of what kind of dirt is best avoided with Quick Detail (anything beyond dust or pollen?), etc, etc, etc.

 

My rule of thumb is DRY dirt - i.e. dust or pollen are OK. If it has gotten wet then wash first. Generally speaking nothing big is going to stick to the paint without getting wet first. I just did my car last night to remove the day's pollen accumulation.

 

Bassically its a pollen and dust remover. I use another brand and its more of an inbetween spray wax(I'll post the name later) and it does a phenominal job. Super bright and deep deep shine. Although this spray is as time consuming as waxing a car. If your not rubbing hard enough or quick enough you leave nasty swirls done right and you got a head turner. Haha its a love hate thing.

 

Personally, I wash and put a good quality wax on the car. I use the quick detail spray in between washes and I use it at the shows that I go to for a quick shine. It really works well and is easy to apply and wipe. But nothing beat a good wash and wax!!

 

It works really good when sitting at a car show and some dust has formed. I've never used after the car hasn't been washed for more than a couple of days.
Basically it puts a nice shine on a car that has been sitting for a minute or two!!

 

You all keep talking about washing and waxing instead of the Quick Detail. How often do you wax your car? And do you strip off the old wax everytime?

 

To answer your questions, I wax my car 4-5 times a year with Mequiars Gold Class liquid wax. I don't strip off the old wax first because I'm using the same stuff all the time.

 

Stipping of old wax is not really necessary. But the time you are ready to wax a car, there probably isn't much wax on there...if any.

RE: QD - as stated above, it's fine for a clean car that had been sitting long enough to accumulate dust and pollen. It's also great for spots (like bird cr@p) or if a relatively clean car drives through a puddle. But I wouldn't use it on anything that could be considered a "dirty" car - although I've seen it done at, of all places, a Meguiar's Car Detail clinic!

Quick Detailer is great stuff. If I could get it in a 55 gallon drum, I would! (I also use it when using clay bar.)

 

Dude i am not kidding, i use quick detailer on everything, my friend had alot of light mud from road water spray and it came right off and left a nice shine, i use it on that too

 

Yeah, I've already done the full wax - was referring to in-between waxes, which for me, won't be more than three time a year.

Thanks for the replies, guys. I will definitely use Quick Detail only when the car is dusty or lightly soiled...but mostly right after a wash and dry.

 

I have it but never use it.I use a cal duster (as long as its just a light dust) .I use meguires quick wax when I don't feel like spending all day waxing and meguires cleaning wax when I plan on total dertailing and if there is a spot inbetween waxings , I lighty wet a mircrofiber w/ water to get it off..I don't see the big deal in the quick detail stuff..just another way to get your $$ IMO

 

Ding ding ding! I've used it thousands of times, we also use it on the showroom cars. It's also good for getting rid of drip marks/mineral deposits if water drips after you've dried the car(which always happens unless you used compressed air). Its also good for getting off bird droppings and other spots on the fly. It 'lubricates' the dirt so with a dropping or spot of sap-you can flick off/brush off any build up, soak it with a few squirts of QD, and wipe it away with a spare cloth.

But I would always carefully dust the car first, even if you are driving to the local hangout and you want to get the road dust off the rear of the car. I washed my car on the way out of work tonight, and will hit it with the duster and QD before I go out tomorrow to get rid of the pollen. Even if you wiped the car down with a rag with touch of spring water , you can still see a streak, especially under a street light, not to mention the marks left over from the chamois. Its also a very safe way to remove bugs from the headlight lenses. Best car care invention ever.