[Tortfeasor STi]

Wow, after reading all of this it is clear that I am a neglectful owner. I have used and liked Mother's California Gold car wash. But I defer to the masters, they know way more about this stuff then I do. My car is dirty as hell right now anyway.

[jph]

Originally Posted by uncle lewie

Zaino is where its at.

Meguiars by hand is to much of a pain.

i have found it the other way around.

i was all sore after doing my car with zaino.
switched to meguiars, and can do two applications in one night without hurting a muscle.

i use pretty much all meguiars now.

- claybar and quick detailer spray for lubrication
- gold class car wash & shampoo
- NXT tech wax
- hot rims all wheel cleaner

- rain-x on the windshield

and a california duster

oh, i don't have or use any electronic buffers or other tools, all microfiber towels and elbow grease


J.

[uncle lewie]

Originally Posted by jph

i have found it the other way around.

i was all sore after doing my car with zaino.
switched to meguiars, and can do two applications in one night without hurting a muscle.

i use pretty much all meguiars now.

- claybar and quick detailer spray for lubrication
- gold class car wash & shampoo
- NXT tech wax
- hot rims all wheel cleaner

- rain-x on the windshield

and a california duster

oh, i don't have or use any electronic buffers or other tools, all microfiber towels and elbow grease


J.

Are you using their 3 step at all? The paint cleaner and paint polish? Then your choice of wax??? I think Meguiars definetely has the right way to do it, but that 3 step by hand is to annoying.

It definetely makes a car look awesome, but if you want me to post pics of a Zaino car to a Meguiars car, both wrb, you can see which one looks 10x better.

[jph]

Originally Posted by uncle lewie

Are you using their 3 step at all? The paint cleaner and paint polish? Then your choice of wax??? I think Meguiars definetely has the right way to do it, but that 3 step by hand is to annoying.

It definetely makes a car look awesome, but if you want me to post pics of a Zaino car to a Meguiars car, both wrb, you can see which one looks 10x better.

well, i decided to skip the paint cleaner and polish this time.
why ? well, i just got myself a new car (no sti for me anymore), and started out with a good wash, then claybar, then a few layers of wax. i don't think that fresh paint needed a polish.

also, i believe if you want to properly polish it, you need an electric buffer, which i do not have.

all i know is that i can effortlessly apply and remove the wax, the paint is nice, smooth and shiny, and i'm happy with it. that's all that matters to me

i still have half a bottle of zaino, and i'm not tempted to use it right now.

ps: that NXT smells nice too


J.

[uncle lewie]

Originally Posted by jph

well, i decided to skip the paint cleaner and polish this time.
why ? well, i just got myself a new car (no sti for me anymore), and started out with a good wash, then claybar, then a few layers of wax. i don't think that fresh paint needed a polish.

also, i believe if you want to properly polish it, you need an electric buffer, which i do not have.

all i know is that i can effortlessly apply and remove the wax, the paint is nice, smooth and shiny, and i'm happy with it. that's all that matters to me

i still have half a bottle of zaino, and i'm not tempted to use it right now.

ps: that NXT smells nice too


J.

I would never put a buffer on my car all the time, just not needed on the way I keep my car (doesn't see rain/snow/any of that). Buffing by hand works for me.

[Smoke]

Autotopia has some good stuff on their site and forum, I joined there like a month ago. Im looking into Menzerna polishes as well. What do you guys suggest for a really good clay bar? One mild and one medium abrassiveness is what looking for.

[BoostJunkie]

I use Pinnacle Poly Clay and it works very well, although I've also used Zaino, Meguiars, and a few others with similar results. IMO as long as you keep the surface lubricated properly almost any clay gets the job done. The Pinnacle does seem to be a little softer though so it's probably less likely to hurt the clearcoat.

[Nachos Libres]

Wash - Meguiar's Gold Class
Claybar - Zaino
Polish - Sonus SFX-1
Glaze - Sonus SFX-3
Sealants - Zaino AIO, Z-2 Pro, Z-CS
Wax - P21S Carnauba Wax

I may be changing my polish because on the STI the SFX-1 just isn't removing all my swirl marks. The car looks great but at certain angles with the sun out you can see minor swirls, and I think the SFX-1 just isn't aggressive as I need it to be.

[Nachos Libres]

Originally Posted by uncle lewie

I would never put a buffer on my car all the time, just not needed on the way I keep my car (doesn't see rain/snow/any of that). Buffing by hand works for me.

A buffer isn't needed at all, but to do a good job of polishing you would need a nice dual action orbital or rotary machine. Of course, one would really only need to do a polish once or twice a year as long as they wash, seal, and wax their car regularly.

Hand polishing jobs can be good as well, but it just takes so long to do a really good job.

[FleaDog]

Guys I bought the porter cable clay bar disk/pad from properautocare.com and it works pretty darn good! Massively cuts down on the time you need to clay by hand - which for me was like a hour per large panel. Just like polishing, its good on the large flat surfaces (hood, roof, doors, trunk, wing) put you still need to do it by hand on the tricky areas (creases, front bumper).

I like meguiars wax, polishes.

Look for deals on ebay for porter cable pads. I got a box of 6 for like $25 on closeout. Most places charge $10+ each... theyre friggen foam! ripoff artists...

[Nachos Libres]

^^ Wow bro, an hour per large panel just to clay?? I think I clayed my car the other day in about 30 minutes total, all by hand.

[FleaDog]

Originally Posted by SVT Amateur

^^ Wow bro, an hour per large panel just to clay?? I think I clayed my car the other day in about 30 minutes total, all by hand.

1x per year, yeah man, being really careful. if there's a lot of crap in the paint it takes forever to go back and forth over even small areas to take it out. sux.

[QuickSilverSTi]

Menzerna & BlackFire for the exterior

Adam's Polishes for the interior/exterior trim and wheel wells. Awesome stuff.

[Peleg]

Plus one for the Meguiar's claybar. I tried Sonus first, it and was like trying to squeeze a brick, it was waay to hard.

So the SFX-1 didn't do the trick? I believe for swirls you need their SFX-2 actually.

I'm detailing my STi tomorrow. This is my pre Winter major detail. The car will be taking a nice nap through the rainy season until the sun comes out again.

[Crewchief]

This is my paint, after a 14 hour, 2 day detailing job i did.




Like they say, go big or go home. That was the longest detailing job I have ever done, but $500 dollars in products, 6 meals later, and 2 completly dead arms, the car had never been so refletive in the entire time I've owned it. Hell I've never seen a black car with that type of reflection.