Alright, I've been using Turtle Wax and occasionally Zymol, but with summer coming, I figure its time to get a bit more serious with paint care. Here's the low-down on the car. It's a '95 T-Bird with a blueish-purple-gray paint. Overall it is a rather light paint. It shifts color in different lights, although not nearly to the extent of the Mystic Cobras. All of the horizontal surfaces(hood, roof, trunk) were completely repainted this past November(long story) and the rest of the car is original paint. The new paint is the reason that I'm not going as heavy on the swirl removers and such, although I may get a bottle of Meguiar's ScratchX for the old paint if it needs it.

I am somewhat budget-limited(college isn't cheap), but still want to keep the finish looking new. Here's what I was thinking for a setup:
Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner(Step 1)
No. 7 Show Car Glaze
No. 20 Poly Sealant
No. 26 Hi-Tech Liquid Wax OR NXT Generation Tech Wax

I picked some of the mirror image products over the Deep Crystal in hopes that it would make more of a difference on the lighter paint. One thing I was wondering is if its ok to mix and match processes such as Deep Crystal and the Mirror Image Products. I am assuming that it would be, but just wanted to make sure.

Do you think this combo would produce good results? Also, can anyone tell me where I can find the No. 20 Sealant? I've checked Autozone and they have the Show Car Glaze, but no sealant. And can anyone recommend a quality clay bar for a reasonable price?

Thanks a ton for any info, advice, help and opinions guys. Here's a (crappy)pic of the car, too, just so you get an idea of the paint.

 

The mirror image products will work great. You may can get away with just the NXT though. Its a really great product.

 

so you think I could just ust the NXT wax w/o using the glaze or sealant and still get a good enough shine?

 

I'd try the glaze and then see how the NXT looks on top. But if you wanna go all out, go ahead and do them all. The only issue i can see is that the NXT seems to be a all out cleaner/polish/wax protectant that would basicallly strip what work you did on the other steps and do it all at once.

 

ah. that's a good point about the NXT. Hadnt even thought about that. It wouldnt be an issue if I went with the No. 26 wax, would it?

and I know you've tried both, so which do you feel provides a better shine? the glaze and No. 26 or the new NXT stuff? Thanks for all the help btw.

 

anytime you use mulitple products to acheive the same effect, its going to be better. the no.7 / no. 26 combo I think would be better than the NXT by itself, but the NXT is pretty friggin good, i'll give it that.

 

you wouldn't happen to know where to pick up the poly sealant, would you? I've tried a few auto parts stores, but cant seem to come up with it. Also, any recommendations for a good clay bar?

 

only place I ever found it was ONCE at Napa, and then at www.properautocare.com

 

Claybar is a claybar, just keep it and the surface lubricated very well. I always take a squirt bottle with your favorite car wash mixed in to where it becomes good enough to glide across the surface well.

 

alright. thanks again for all the help. Much appreciated.

 

If you are looking for a Polymer Paint sealant (which I highly recommend using a paint sealant at least once on the car), try ProWax.com.

Paint sealants are hard to find and I just got done using the P-73 Profection on my '04 Cobra. It worked great. You could visually see a difference in color saturation of the paint.

If you have older paint, use the P-39 Polymer II instead. Since I already had the P-73 I used P-40 Duz-All with the P-73 on my older car.

I followed the paint sealant up with a very very thin/light coat of ClearKote carnuba moose wax. The paint is so reflective in garage lighting that you have a hard time making out what color the paint is.

I'll add some pics tonight if I remember.

 

Here are the pics I promised...

 

man, that is somehting else. hood looks like a mirror. awesome car, man.

 

That's a beautiful car. What kind of paint sealent and wax would you guys suggest for a silver car? It's my mom's 98 Civic (not riced, just driven like a civic should, as a commuter car ) - I promised her I'd get it so shiny she'd blind other drivers in the sun.

 

Oh, and any idea on prices? In Canadian dollars preferably, but I can just use XE.com if you guys only know american prices. Thanks in advance.

 

Epic, gorgeous car and great shine, especially on the hood! that does look like a friggin mirror!!!

 

I used ProWax.com P-73 Profection paint sealant with a light coat of Clearkote.com Carnuba moose max on top.

Thanks for the compliments =)

 

Just as a followup, I finally got the car washed and waxed. I wound up using the following process:

• Mr. Clean Autodry
• Mother's Claybar
• Meguiar's Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner(Step 1)
• Meguiar's No. 7 Show Car Glaze
• Meguiar's No. 26 Hi-Tech Yellow Wax

Needless to say I am now a strong supporter of Meguiar's products! The car looks absolutely beautiful, and the shine is like I've never seen on my car before. I did all of the application and buffing by hand. I'd post some pics, but it started raining the next morning(just my luck) and has only recently stoppped, so I might try to get a few pictures soon. I also have a bottle of the No. 20 Poly Sealant on the way, but its not here yet, so that will wait until next time.

Overall, though, I am extremely impressed with the products and want to thank Scott and everyone for pointing me in the right direction.

 

Glad you are happy!!!

now

 

Here are a few pics. Unfortunately it was completely overcast, and while the reflectivity os kinda evident in the pics, the shine of the paint didnt come through at all. But here we go.