Ok, I hope to have my new maxima -preowned 01 GXE, silver- by the end of this week, so I'd like to already have some products and a plan laid out for it to make it look even better. The paints in pretty good shape except for a few scuffs and scratches here and there, but nothing very deep and that a polish shouldn't take care of.

I've never detailed a car before besides your average joe "get a bucket of hot water, dish soap, a few rags and bath towels, and a lawn hose and go at it", so I figured I'd come to some experts like you guys hehe.

Basically I want products that won't have to be reapplied all the time, but look good. Something like maybe once a month or once every other month for waxing.. washing I don't mind doing once a week or every other week, but waxing would get tiresome every week.

I hear i should get several microfibre towels, a few wash mitts, and 2 buckets.. other than that I don't really know.. I see alot of people love mcguires #26 Hi-Tech Yellow Wax..

What's the best procedure for a first time detail to get it looking immaculate, then a normal once a month procedure to keep up the shine?

Also, I see alot of you takling about clay.. I've never used or seen this done.. Can anyone explain this a little to me? To me it seems like clay would be hard to use if you were to "rub" it on the car.. like little ***** and pieces would rub off all over the place, and leave coloration behind.

Thanks for any help! Yes, I know i'm a noob

 

Oh yeah, and what about interior care? I hate really glossy and greasy products like dealerships like to put on everything for some reason.. ugh.. I just want something that will protect the dash, keep the same low gloss look, without attracting tons of dust. My uncle uses a swiffer to keep his dash and stuff clean. Is this enough or should I use something to protect it from the sun?

 

The quick detail used with clay allows the clay to glide over the paint. Clay is a MUST IMHO. The prep you do with clay has a huge effect on your results.

If you want the longest lasting wax, go for the acrylics: Klasse all in one (AIO) or Zaino. www.zainobros.com or klassedirect.com. These both last around 6 months.

Interior: 303. Not glossy. Very popular. Get at autogeek.com

 

ah, so that quick detail is a spray right? That makes alot more sense for using clay. Cool, thanks for the advice.

 

Les,

First, I'd like to extend a hearty welcome to the detailing forum. One of the things you will see here is that everyone's willing to give a helping hand, including the moderator.

With that out of the way, I am going to outline a plan for you that will give you some nice results.

Exterior:

#1: You can use dish soap every once in a while to remove old layers of wax, but to wash your car every time with it is not a good idea. As previously stated, the waxes and oils are stripped from the paint much like the natural oils are stripped from your skin after going swimming in a pool with chlorine. Also, you are running the risk of damaging the trim.

#2: After washing it, I definitely would recommend claying it. Claying is equivalent to exfoliating your skin in that it removes embedded contaminants that can cause damage to your paint. I personally use Clay Magic's kit which you can buy at your local Wal-mart or auto parts store. To save time, you don't always have to use the lube. You can always start claying after the final rinse. Also, you can feel free to clay the glass and the rims if you so choose.

#3: I recommend a good polish to remove the swirls and restore luster to the paint. My suggestion for your situation would be meguiar's #83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish and a Porter Cable 7424/7336 Random Orbital Sander/Polisher with pads purchased from www.properautocare.com. If you don't want to go for the machine approach, I'd recommend Einszett's Paint Polish and maybe follow up with Metallic Polish or the Menzerna Twins (Intensive and Final).

#4: After the polishing step to get rid of the swirls and restore lustre to the finish, I'd use housecor's suggestion and get Klasse or Blackfire. Both of them are very easy to use and will last a long time (6 months or more).

#5: After the last coat of glaze is applied, top with a carnuba to add depth. I personally have S100 and Pinnacle Souveran. Of the two, S100 would be your best bet. Don't get me wrong. Souveran Paste is to die for in terms of gloss and ease of use. However, it costs $70. S100 gives the same gloss but costs $14.95. An alternative would be Pinnacle Liquid Souveran which costs around $20.

 

While Prinz's recommendations are great, they may be somewhat "hardcore" for what you had in mind (I don't know, how seriously did you want to get into this?).

At the other end of the scale you can keep things fairly basic, but "correct" for good paint care.

Washing technique and materials is quite important. Quite often a car becomes scratched and swirled simply because the owner uses improper materials or methods to clean the paint. Use the 2 bucket method (it sounds like you've read about this already) and make sure the mitts you choose are a safe material.

Claying is a great way to really get more "into" detailing as the results can be quite impressive. After that it's perfectly acceptable to just use a cleaner wax of some kind, but to get rid of light scratches and swirls for an even better appearance, polishing is usually the next step if you really want to get into it.

My personal suggestion is to start things off simple at first, and try it out for a little while to see if you like this little (if sometimes costly ) hobby. It's no good to load up on a ton of products and equipment only to find out you bought more than you really wanted to get into...

 

Yeah, I wanna take it slow.. dont' want to get in over my head on my first go around! lol.
So how's this sound..

1.) Rinse off car
2.) Wash with Dawn using 2 bucket method and a couple of mitts or sponges (what do u guys recommend for these that wouldn't be very expensive?)
3.) Clay with Clay Magic. Do you rinse after claying, or do you need to go over it again with soap/wash? If so, use dawn again, or a car wash?
4. Klasse AIO or Zaino to seal 'er up
5. And if I have time or feel up to it, top it with a layer of (not sure yet) to add more depth and pizazz. I hear alot of people using NXT or #26 for this, which I think are pretty easily attained locally. That S100, I've never heard of it until now.. how does it compare to those others, is it easily attainable (or do i need to buy it online?), and how much does it cost compared to NXT/#26 ?

Thanks for all your guys' help. I'm trying to learn all of this stuff as fast as I can.. I really am a noob though, this being the first I've ever even cared about taking care of my car. My old one was a real piece, and putting this kind of time and effort into it woulda been a waste :P