Subject says it all. I have had my max for almost a year now and have washed it at least 3x every month. The thing is i want to go beyond washing my car now. After reading a little bit on this forum, i realized the car wash i was using wasn't the best (was crappy to say the least)..i hear a lot of good feedback from the Meguiar products? Anyways i want to restore my paint ...What 4-5 prducts would you recommend me getting to help me do that (what type of wash, wax, polish?). I see TONS of products, and of course i would like to buy them all, but due to funds i cannot..SO a few of the best recommendations would help. Thanks

 

I personally use Meguiar's products. Gold Class car wash, Scratch & Swirl Remover, Scratch-X (for deeper scratches and swirls), Gold Class wax, and Endurance for the tires. Others here have different preferences. Check out the stickies here for some basic info and check out autopia.com (these guys are into detailing). Good luck and be patient. Restoring paint after a year might take a few applications. Oh yeah, I almost forgot about using a clay bar (I use Clay Magic) to get surface smooth (very important).

 

Depends if you have deep swirls or not. If you have deep or even moderate swirls you will not be able to take them out by hand. You will need a rotary, a porter cable might cut it. As for washing, meguiar's gold class is very good. For a polish I use klasse All in One, but this contains NO abrasives, so if you have swirls before this it will do absolutely nothing for you. A good sealant is platinum ultimate paint protection, and a good wax is s100 or pinnacle sovereign, i like liquid souv a ton also. PM me if you need any of these products, ill get them for you when you get your intake.

 

I would go with Zaino. www.zaino.com. The kit is expensive, but has eveything you need. $84 for the kit.

The wax (well Zaino is not a wax but a polymer, I believe) does not come off like Meguiars does. The more coats you put, the better the shine.

I compared my wife's 02 Maxima (12K miles) and my 350Z.

She has Meguiars Gold class and I have Zaino. We both have Pearl white paint jobs (exactly the same paint job).

Their is no comparison, Zaino blows away the competition.

Out of 48 waxes and polymers tested, Zaino came in #1.

Best stuff I have ever had.

Zaino even has swirl and scratch remover in the kit.

The web site has some very good information on how to detail you car. Very informative.

Also ensure you use a clay bar to remove contaminents. Also use liquid dawn to strip all previous waxes, and ensure you wash with reg soap after the dawn application. And only use 100% cotten towels "MADE IN THE USA" for polishing and waxing. Not made in Pakistan (they contain polyester and will scratch and make swirl marks).

Just my .02 GL.

 

In this forum as well as www.autopia.org, you will see a dizzying array of products used to achieve the goal of a perfect shine. However, that end is achieved mostly by surface preparation. That means, the steps you take before you apply the polymer or wax to remove any surface imperfections or embedded contaminants.

With that said, let me give you a rundown of what I would use to restore your car's finish.

a) Car would be pre-treated with bug and tar remover, then washed with Dawn to strip all waxes. The wheels and tires would be cleaned with full strength Eimann Fabirk Hi-Intensity.

b) After the final rinse, I would clay the car with a Clay Magic clay bar to remove the embedded contaminants in the paint. You can get this from Wal-Mart or AutoZone for $9.99.

c) You might want to consider getting Meguiar's #83 Dual Action cleaner Polish. You will also need a Porter Cable 7424 or 7336 Orbital Polisher and pads from either Meguiar's or www.properautocare.com. I advise going over the car with DACP and a white pad (Yellow, if the swirling is moderate). This step should reduce swirls.

d) After the swirl removal, I would go over the car with Klasse All In One using the white pad. After applying AIO, I would apply Klasse's Sealant Glaze and let that cure for 24 hrs and then apply again.

e) After the final coat of Klasse Sealant Glaze has cured, I would top it with S100 Carnuba Wax to add depth. You can get S100 wax from your local Harley Dealer for $14.95.

All of the products I listed (with the exception of the Porter Cable) are in my personal "arsenal".

What do you plan to use for your interior vinyl?

 

Wow guys, i really appreciate the detailed responses. I will definitely pick some of the products you guys mentioned up and begin immediately. Hopefully it wont be too cold this weekend , here in Jersey. Im not sure what to do to clean CLOTH seats...other than that my interior is in great shape...dash is somewhat clean already, and i just put new SEL mats in. Any suggestions for cleaning tan cloth seats? Id really like to clean those as well.

 

Easy solution for those cloth seats.

1. Vacuum them first.
2. Get some Hot water and mix it with Woolite. 1-2 caps should do.

3. Get a small brush with not so hard bristles. And start away on those seats. Don't press to hard but enough to get all the grime and dirt out.
Do this step twice.

4. Let seats dry overnight or in the sun.

5. Next day, apply scotchguard. Ensure the seats are dry before you spray the scotchguard. Let the scotchguard dry for a few hours.

Or you can take it to a detail shop and they will charge you about $40-100 to detail your interior.

GL

 

Heated water extractor works wonders. I have one if you wanna stop by or you can rent em from a shop for 15 bucks or so for a day.

 

Hold it guys!


Question 1: What shape is your paint in?


This is where product recommendations should start. You may not need everything that is usually suggested because it really all depends on what you have to fix. Is the paint swirled? If so, how deeply? Does it have any oxidation or water spots? Scratches? Those are some of the more common ones, but you should try to evaluate your paint's health and condition first, which will help you decide what corrective action is needed.

It can get more complicated too:

- Mail order or locally bought supplies?
- By hand, or by machine?
- Do you want to get really hardcore with detailing, or do you just want the basics to keep your ride looking good?
- Polymer sealant "wax" or carnauba wax?
- Budget?

I'm sure I'm forgetting a few things, but those are some of the things for you to ask yourself when you decide you're going to start taking better care of your car's appearance. Believe me, you can run the gamut all the way from a few basic, carefully chosen supplies, up to sitting in a room surrounded by a small fortune in detailing products and equipment.....

Like some people above, I really suggest visiting Autopia.org and reading not only the forum info, but the well written detailing articles that you can find by clicking the Learn! picture at the top corner of most pages. Those articles (or the Autopia eBook, which is even more detailed) will cover most processes and will be a good primer for you to get started. Quite often it will do things using high-end boutique products, but some processes can be done with easier to get products. Also, many basic and fundamental principles can be boiled down so they apply to even non-enthusiast use (car washing method is a good example).

I hope this encourages you to start some reading and self-education about this, and didn't just confuse you! It's really something that can almost be as simple as you need it to be, or as detailed and meticulous as you want it to be. It's ultimately up to you though. HTH