CIN'S DODGE

Ok you all I really must be slacken reason is you all wash and wax once a week in the summer,try this one on,I wash my car then I will wax it,Then I will use the Maguiars detailer wax/mist a couple more times that week.Notice you see how clean those Trucks are.

bentwings

I live in Minnesota and only wash mine once a week rain, snow or shine. It still is getting a few rust spots underneath. I cry every time I see a new one. I spend about $2.00 just washing the underside everytime. I wish there was an automatic washer for the underside that I could just install on the truck and wash it underneath as I drive.

I'd really feel for anyone caught behind me.....get fogged in by black smoke then hosed with overspray from a bottom wash .haha It would be like getting a free black paint job.

RowJ

Thanks for all the replys!
No industry experts... but enough respected members who like this system that I feel better about putting in the time it takes to do a three step waxing.
Downside - It's much harder to see the positive results from a wax job on an "earth tone" colored truck.
Upside - My truck looks a lot cleaner after a work day on back roads..... mostly dirt.

Thanks again for the feedback!

RJ

jfpointer

The Meguiar's has always worked really well for me. Clean, polish, and wax... I use the cleaner once a year, since my truck is mostly garaged. Takes all the gunk off of there and leaves the surface very slick. Polish to make it shine, then wax to protect the shine. I will say that I think Mother's wax lasts longer, though.

Mother's chrome polish is an outstanding window cleaner; I use it on side and rear windows and mirrors, but not the windshield (I think it would make the blades chatter). Mother's Preserves is a great plastic protectant. When I don't have time for even the two steps of the Meguiar's regimen, I use Protect-All to polish and wax at the same time, and it does a great job without requiring me to spend a full day just on the paint.

hotdram

That out to make it easy enough for an Okie to figure out

~neverwaxedhistruckyetRob

HOHN

Deep wallets? HA! I'll see your Zaino bros and raise you some Zymol Antlantique:



At only $823 a pop, I'm sure it's pretty good stuff

http://www.zymol.com/alant2.htm

HOHN

RJ, I'm no pro, but I did once have paint finishing as my occupation (pre-USAF). When I was learning, here's what I was taught:

1) Clay bar first-- always. I like the Mother's clay bar and the Meguiar's.
2) Some kind of gentle polish to remove light oxidation and swirl marks, and give it a little gloss. This is NOT a step to protect the paint-- just to make it look better. 3M hand glaze is good (used in most body shops), and despite the name, works well with a real buffer. I also like the Meguiar's "pure polish" is great, but you usually have to go to an autobody supply place to get it.

3) Then apply your top coat(s). Believe it or not, the Meguir's NXT stuff is REALLY good. I was always a fan of "real" wax (carnauba based), but the NXT won me over to the "polymer" camp.

A couple other observations:

1) The "Nu Finish" in the orange bottle is STILL the longest lasting "wax" you can get, though it doesn't do well at enhancing appearance. It may make a great topcoat if you do all the other prep to make the appearance look good.

2) Paste waxes are generally better than liquid. They have a higher solids content (which is a GOOD thing) and usually apply more evenly.

3) A pro-grade buffer (not some random orbital Crapsman thing, but a real one that looks like a big 9" angle grinder) is your friend. Mate it with a professional foam pad setup like Meguiar's or 3M and you're set.

Yes, they are normally $200 for a new one. But I got a Milwaukee BRAND NEW for $63 Let's hear it for clearance sales and ignorant Sears managers!!



In the end, stick with the better Meguiar's stuff or 3M and you'll get results that almost anyone would be happy with.

RowJ

Actually marketed that way for red necked Texans who can't spell simple words like "ought"!
RJ

hotdram

Aighhh!! I can't believe I did that!!!

Touche RJ
(See you on Sunday?)

~Rob

jfpointer

I'm jealous.

ratsun

[QUOTE=HOHN

3) A pro-grade buffer (not some random orbital Crapsman thing, but a real one that looks like a big 9" angle grinder) is your friend. Mate it with a professional foam pad setup like Meguiar's or 3M and you're set.




In the end, stick with the better Meguiar's stuff or 3M and you'll get results that almost anyone would be happy with.[/QUOTE]

________________________________


Agreed!
One note to remember:
3m products are designed to be used with the foam Waffle pads
Meguires products need the Flat foam pads.
Dont get a polising pad to apply wax and vise versa
I like the Makita polisher for the money (when some one dosent error and give you one LOL) and it also has the soft start feature that is nice and it can be had for arround $200cdn on sale.

RowJ

Me too!
I got a Dewalt from a weekend Tool-Sale in an aircraft hanger for $99.00 and thought I was doing well??
I use it for my front bumper... and a few other things, but have not had the guts yet to try it on my CTD.

If I can ever get my daughter to bring the VW home from college, I'll do my training on that! Buffers, to me, are like menopausal women.... very scary!!

RJ

HOHN

Yeah, the ironic thing that I had decided I was going to bite the bullet and spend $200 on the Milwaukee.

So I went to Sears (the only place in town that had it), and I could NOT find it when I got there! I searched all their shelves to no avail.


Finally, I decided to give up on the buffer and just scrounge the clearance to see if there was anything I could use. There it was! It had about 7 markdown stickers on top of each other. It was NOT in the box. It was also missing the cord.

But it just so happens that Milwaukee's "quick lok" cords are easy to come by, and I just HAPPENED to have a milwaukee sawzall and drill that each have one of the two varieties of detachable cord. So, I knew that one cord or the other would work on the buffer.


Sure enough, it worked! So, after a quick trip to the auto body supply place, I was into a "professional" buffer and Maguiar's foam finishing pad system (and wax) for <$100



Don't be afraid of "swirl marks". The new foam pads and matching waxes make this a non-issue.