Even if your car is brand new it can have fallout and rail dust in the paint. Always good to clay if you haven't. That way you know your starting fresh. I use collinite 845 as my base layer and use either nattys red paste, or optimum opti seal which ever mood I'm feeling like. And keep up in between washes with optimum car wax

 

Agreed! I had mine clayed about a month ago. Made my upkeep much less frustrating!

 

Crappy iPhone pic!

 

I'll throw my 2 cents in the pot here. There really is no BEST out there. It all depends on what YOU like and what your priorities are. Anyone who tells you that their stuff is the best all around is full of and I will explain why.

There are three different types of protection out there. There are waxes (which are a carnauba based product that does not contain synthetic polymers. There is no such thing as a pure carnauba wax. That is just a cheap marketing ploy. The natural wax is mixed with other various oils and products to give you the finished item you get in the can or tin), sealants (purely synthetic products) and hybrids (products that are a mix of the aforementioned two). With all three types come different trains of thought. It is generally thought that sealants outlast waxes in longevity. This is usually true for the most part. However, there are waxes out there like Collinite that rival many sealants in longevity department. Now, that being said, on the other hand it is felt by many enthusiast that carnauba waxes give a better look. This all depends. For me, I like a "warm" deep look to my paint so, yes, I feel a product like Meguiars #16 looks better than NXT 2.0 which has a more "candy shell" look. Now, there are anomalies in this area too. A perfect example is Wolfgang Deep Gloss Sealant 3.0 which is said (and I concur from using it) to give a look that rivals carnauba waxes while protecting for up to 6 months. And then you have the hybrids like Wolfgang Fuzion Estate Wax which combine the technology of a sealant with the look of wax. Personally, I feel the Wolfgang DGS 3.0 does the job for me so that is what I tend to use for the most part, although I frequently go to M16 for the times in between my Wolfgang "sessions."

All of this aside, you have to chose the product that is right for you. If you have a "trailer queen" that only goes to shows and you are waxing it every other week or so then a wax like Pinnacle Souveran (which only last about that long) may work perfectly for you. On the other hand, if you have a daily driver that you only want to tend to (sealing or waxing wise) a couple times per year then Wolfgang DGS 3.0 or Meguiars Ultimate Wax may be your best bet. And then you have guys like me that have a daily driver but meticulously maintain them. I tend to wax/seal once a month so I use Wolfgang DGS 3.0 as a base coat and then M16 to keep it looking nice. I also use CroftGateUSA Quick N' Slick or Meg's Ultimate Quik Wax after washings to keep it fresh. Is it necessary? Nope. Just personal preference.

Truth is, you have to find what works best for you looks wise and in protection. You should also not be afraid to try new things. You may find a different process that works better than what you were doing before. Anyone who tries to force their product down your throat as the "best all around" is ignorant and probably has never tried anything else out there with an open mind.

Thanks for reading and have fun!

Andy

 

Andy, thanks for the very thorough post. Lots of good info and bunk-busting.

 

Good info Andy-->

 

+2. I've been debating about trying Meguiar's Ultimate Wax and will start with that along with their clay kit. Hopefully it's not too difficult to remove.

I purchased the Croftgate sample pack and like what I see so far but I'm not sure about their Quick and Slick wax for use after claying my car.

 

I like to use Collinite 845 or 915 simply cuz it lasts so long and it works wonders! Then as a top layer i use meg's gold class for that deep gloss. Inbetween i like Corftgates quick n slick mixed with a lil bit of water as a quick detail spray.

Poor iphone pics, oh and the truck is my dads. Just gave her a wash this mornin(:

 

Mequiars all the way for me. Clay, Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner, Deep Crystal Polish, NXT Wax 2.0.

For heavier scratches etc (rare...car is covered and garaged at home, covered and parking garaged at work) Mequiars Rubbing and Polishing Compounds do the trick.

 

It all depends on the paint and color, if its a flat color, i use Meguires NXT wax, if its metallic i use Turtle Wax Platnum Ultra Gloss Paste Wax(ebay no longer sold in stores), makes it look like you can take a step into the paint. I have been detailing since i started to drive(11 years ago), there are many products out there, it really comes down to your preference and budget. Some stuff is 30-40 bucks for an 8oz bottle and the product might not work well on your finish. I live by Meguries, Simoniz and only the Turtle Wax Ultra Gloss, i find the new ICE line i find to be terrible, their spray detailer is ok, but their polish and wax leave oily residue on my paint. The new Meguires Ultimate line is amazing for retail products, beats out the Gold Class line and i would say is a hair ahead of the NXT Line they have.

 

I have become a fan of the Adams product Line. I have used the claybar, wax, polish & glaze and am quiet happy

 

+1. Really great stuff.

 

Collinite 915 is absolutely amazing!

 

Been using Blackfire Wet Diamond on the Mustang since I bought it. Thought about going with Collonite 845 for a winter wax, but didn't bother.

I was speaking with the owner of Autoality the other day (Pittsburgh based detail store in a mall) and he was telling me who actually owns which brands. Long story short, Palm Beach Motoring owns about half of the market. Warner Chemical makes the Chemical Guys and Adams line, along with some others. The rebranding across the market is insane. Even Blackfire was recently sold to PBMG, and from what I was told, some of their formulations have changed a bit from the original. Luckily, it appears that WD remains untouched.

For winter use, I'm giving the Optimum No-Rinse a try. I've never been fond of the idea, but since the car stays outside, this might just do the trick to clean it up until the weather breaks enough to detail it.

 

+1 on Blackfire. I've heard lots of good things about Adams, will be giving them a go soon... I wish you could buy these products in brick and mortar stores... It seems like all the really good products have to be ordered and you lose your *** on shipping charges.

 

Adams Polishes is not made by Warner Chemical. I know a lot of stuff is re-branded but they make their own stuff.

http://my.is/forums/f171/adams-stuff...oducts-349014/

 

Funny, the guy from Adams comes in and no one really believes him. The link to Autopia hints at the same thing I was told. While they may have some proprietary items, a portion of their line (and other brands as well) are just rebrands. I'll see if I can find out for sure from some detailers I know.

 

I often see a lot of talk about Adam's products, and I suppose because they're one of the bigger "smaller" companies, they're often the one talked about for relabeling. I'd like people to keep in mind that many large companies aren't chemical manufacturers. Do you guys think Meguiar's has a huge chemical manufacturing plant somewhere?

The truth is, most companies have things custom formulated. The extent that a product can be developed and tweeked can be directly related to how deep their products are, so a company like Meguiar's can afford the additional R&D to make crazy products that have yet to be seen. Of course sometimes this makes me mad because they come out with things like M101...but don't release it in the US.

I've heard, just like you, that Adam's are from Warner Chemical. If so, no biggie to me. Few companies stand behind their products the way Adam's does. I find it odd that people will defend Griot's Garage because they offer a lot of cool things and have great customer service, but if Adam's does the same they're shady and a rip off.

In the end, use what you like and what works.


Oh... and don't trust Overboost. He's lying. The real word is he only uses Zymol Solaris

 

Marc, don't give up my secrets so easily. Here's how I do it:

 

Just wondering what wax works best for the Kona blue. I have usually used paste, but now that I have a new car, that I want to put in shows, I want the best out there.. Any ideas?? Thanks