I mean, seriously, how much time do you guys leave between before you do a full detail?

I've bought a ton of detailing stuff in the past year (well over $500 now) and ALL SUMMER, i haven't detailed once.. what's wrong with me?! It's like, I don't have the time, but before I used to MAKE time. My car looks like CRAP right now.

I think the only time I really did spend time detailing was when I bought new stuff and got all excited to use it... hmmmm , what should I buy? I'm tempted to check out souveran..

what about 1Z Glanz wax?


I think i'm going to give it a shot this weekend

 

I feel the same way. My car goes longer and longer between washes. It seems any free time I get I am fixing the car.

 

Let us know how 1Z Glanz works.

It's so true that one's interest kinds of wanes. I too have a ton of stuff, and about once a year in the spring I can manage to get motivated enough to use it all properly.

Or last month when I bought my Max . . . well that weekend was spent. It was raining out, but I wanted to shine her up, so there I am out in the rain washing a car. Neighbors are all convinced I'm nuts now.

So a good idea would be for the wax vendors to all sell small quantity bottles that we could buy to try, without the whopper investment. Oh, on second thoughts, that wouldn't be a very good idea for the products vendors. :-)

Cheers,

Jerry

 

you bring up a good point. My brother's celica crapped out on him and I spent hours on weekends trying to diagnose it and fix it... i guess I felt that my "car" time was already spent... felt guilty washing and making my car pretty while his just sat there not working. Either way, that's pretty much done for... we bought him a replacement car, another 4th gen maxima , and the celica is fixed now too.


anyone else feel that they're not keeping up with the car washes? I used to be real diligent about it, and now my stuff is just sitting there.

Speaking of which... what's the best way to get the longest "life" out of the polishes and such? Once in a while, I shake all the bottles lol.

 

Well, I only do a full detail in the spring. Then about every 6 - 8 weeks I add another coat of wax. Parking in a garage and using my California duster keeps the car pretty clean (barring rain) for a couple weeks at a time. I make sure to put 1 final coat of wax on in fall and then just wash occasionally through the winter. This routine is fairly easy and I don't get burned out on taking care of the Max. Car still looks great after 3 1/2 years. I'm using Meguiar's products - they're relatively inexpensive, easy to get and last quite a while. Just my .02.

 

I wouldn't worry buddy. Have you taken on new things lately? Do you have a new girlfriend or is school taking up a lot of time that maybe it was not taking up before? Can you think of anything that you have "replaced" the time you used to spend detailing with? Maybe you are spending time on something else that you enjoy alot and you don't even realize you are spending a lot of time on it? Just thoughts.

Maybe you are just taking a break from detailing. I have done that in the past. I will go a few weeks or whatever where I am just sort of burnt out or I have other things that I need to do, so unfortunately, I put detailing on the back burner. Sometimes I feel bad for spending so much time on my car and feel that I need to take a break for a few and spend more time with my wife. She is very understanding though.

Anyway, it will be cool, hang in there.

 

My prediction is that you'll like it very much.

I was a loyal Meguiar's guy but was unimpressed with the performance of their "Deep Crystal System", especially the polish. Close inspection revealed too many fine scratches left from the paint cleaner stage.

I purchased 1Z Lack Politur (Paintwork Polish, green can) and Glanz Wax from Open Road Motoring Accessories. I applied the Lack Politur with an R/O buffer and the Glanz by hand, each according to their website instructions.

I'm very impressed with the results. Those crazy Germans have a very nice product here! I was hating having a black car up until I finished this detail, and now I love it. The polish was just right - perfect amount of cut, very easy to apply and remove, and totally eliminated the fine swirls. The Glanz is also really good - again, easy application and removal with a very nice shine. I'd say the reflectivity is equal to Meg's #16 which is one of the best pure waxes out there. Everything I've read says that the Glanz will last a lot longer than #16, which is a nice bonus.

Good luck - post your thoughts on here after you're all done.

 

the deep crystal system is really for novice
but yea i think it the weather, i used to give my car a good wash and wax every weekend, now i simple dont have time nor the patiences. i think my issue is with that big scratch on my passenger side doors. i get so discourage after i see that
why bother?

 

Don't worry Nadir, I have the same problem. Tons of cleaning product, yet it doesn't get washed. Too much time that ish takes.

 

well... i never got around to detail on the weekend, had another project come up.


BUT, i found NXT car wash! It was at walmart for $6 per bottle.... i bought 3 lol. Now I just need sheepskin washmits.... and I need to take a trip to the laundermat to wash out all my towels.

 

I wash my car once it gets dirty. If it takes a week to get dirty, then I won't wash it for a week, but I always find time to wash it if it gets dirty, I can't stand it being dirty. But sometimes I get lazy/busy and it won't get cleaned for a week or two, but that doesn't happen much. I'm 17 and have no life just work, spend time with my girl, play the guitar and always find time for the car.

On full details, I do it every 6 months. As a matter a fact I started yesterday on the full detail preparing for the winter time. I clayed the car, and today I put on some Zaino (Z5/Scratch and Swirl Remover) and Z6 (Gloss Enhancer). Tonight I'll apply another layer of Z5 and Z6. Then tomorrow morning Z2 (Show Car Polish) will go on along with Z6 again.

Yesterday was the first time I ever used the clay bar, and well I am truely amazed. This has been the cleanest the Max has ever been. I also have to do all the detailing by hand, I need to invest in an Orbital.

Here some alright pictures I took today!

http://4drspeed.com/images/maxima/max%200033.jpg
http://4drspeed.com/images/maxima/max%200044.jpg

Small driveway, hard to take good shots, more to come.