Come some please reply for the better/best washing chemicals and waxing products to help maintain a great showroom looking car. My S2000 in particular

Maybe some tips on application too??

Thanks guys!

6/26/2008 1:02:36 PM

Yes, I know I misspelled the title

6/26/2008 1:03:05 PM

car wash = meguiars gold class (its at walmart)
wash mitt = shmitt
wax = p21s / s100
polish - Klasse AIO.

if your car is new and they didnt fuck it up "washing" it for you the Klasse will be adequate otherwise you will need something more abrasive. I personally prefer menzerna(sp) brand polishes.

Dont waste your time trying to apply without a machine.

If you don't know how to properly wash a vehicle you really shouldn't wash it at all. You can cause more damage then good.

What color?

[Edited on June 26, 2008 at 1:23 PM. Reason : (sp)]

6/26/2008 1:17:31 PM

Metallic Silver, and yes they washed it at the dealer. But it has next to none of thoose swirls that the automatic buffers leave.

6/26/2008 1:24:26 PM

your paint should have a sealant applied at the factory that should last at least 6 months, all you need to do is gentle washing and drying until the water stops beading up properly and the shine begins to fade noticeably. Touchless automatic car washes are fine in most cases and i would hope that the top can hold up to a little water pressure on a brand new 30k+ convertible.






car wash: duragloss
drying: the absorber brand synthetic chamois is great, but I recently started using a thick microfiber drying towel. keep whatever you use as clean as possible, dirt in it will cause scratches.
wash mitt: hardly ever use a mitt. i prefer brushes, with the proper amount of soap they do better than a mitt and will not scratch. also keep as clean as possible, rinsing during use and after, then drying prior to storage.
wax: duragloss CCP is nice, also meguires #26 show car, or even the NXT is good. but before you need to wax that new car, you should claybar it. even then, you should be fine for at least 6 months. there is no way you need to machine apply anything on a small car like an s2000.
glass cleaner: stoner invisible glass aerosol
tire cleaner: bleach-white and a stiff brush (keep this shit of the paint)
wheels: get some brushes and use them only on the wheels, no where else. eagle one makes the best OTC wheel cleaners in my opinion but if you arent riding on chrome or dealing with abused wheels damn near anything is fine.


[Edited on June 26, 2008 at 2:49 PM. Reason : ok]

6/26/2008 2:40:14 PM

you outa your mind, my shit aint going through a automatic wash, HAHAHA

make a payment and then we might talk

6/26/2008 2:47:42 PM

Quote :

"tire cleaner: bleach-white and a stiff brush (keep this shit of the paint)"

Thats the worst thing you can put on tires, just use store bought or diluted simple green etc, bleach-wite will dry your tires out.

6/26/2008 2:52:42 PM

not sure what you mean- a touchless automatic car wash wont hurt anything, its good quick exterior maintenance. i hand wash mine about every other time, because the touchless will miss areas. obviously before any waxing you need to hand wash.

6/26/2008 2:54:23 PM

^^ simple green is OK but wont get the tires nearly as clean. ANYTHING that really cleans them is going to dry them out, thats why you have to apply dressing after.

6/26/2008 2:56:13 PM

^hes right
http://youtube.com/watch?v=nY4zlX47KSM


[Edited on June 26, 2008 at 3:03 PM. Reason : .]

6/26/2008 3:01:14 PM

cmon safety pin!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aO3aWRUmoSs

[Edited on June 26, 2008 at 3:12 PM. Reason : LUCILLE!]

6/26/2008 3:12:04 PM

I USE NU FINISH

6/26/2008 3:27:13 PM

i have tried them ALL and i must say that the new meguiar's tech wax 2.0 is by far the best i've used. it provided the highest gloss and is the easiest to use. i do agree with optmusprimer about the clay bar. learn how to use one properly and it is the next best thing to compound buffing. the next best wax i've used is zaino but it is expensive and i've found it to be difficult to work with.

1. wash the car with any dish soap.
2. clay bar the entire car.
3. wash the car again with dish soap.
4. dry well (i use my backpack blower but if a blower isn't available then use a QUALITY microfiber towel (see below about towel quality)).
5. apply tech wax 2.0 very sparingly (a little goes a long ways. use about a dime size amount for a 3x3 section) with provided applicator that is damp but will not drip water if wrung out.
6. let wax dry to haze.
7. remove with QUALITY microfiber towel (like the ones that megiuar's sells. don't use the cheap ones or any terrycloth towel that are mixed with polyester. that is what causes the very fine scratches that are commonly referred to as "swirl marks".
8. between coats use a gloss enhancer spray and remove with a QUALITY microfiber towel.
9. repeat steps 5-8 two more times.

again, i cannot emphasize enough how important the quality of your towel is. i've done a shit load of research on what causes swirl marks and it's the cheap towels that are the culprit!

6/26/2008 7:15:09 PM

Quote :

"there is no way you need to machine apply anything on a small car like an s2000."

If you want to get swirls out with any kind of polish you're fucking insane if you dont use a machine.

Hell I use a machine on my hardtop and its "tiny".



[Edited on June 27, 2008 at 12:01 AM. Reason : i obviously wax by hand]

6/26/2008 11:55:41 PM

hah, apparently i commented in this thread 6 years ago...i still have the same bottle of nu finish since i haven't washed my saturn in that long

so now that i have a new-to-me car (white 2010 mazda3), i'm planning on taking better care of it than i did my saturn...it's a couple of years old and has some small dings and scratches, but all in all is in fantastic shape

is there an (updated) suggestion for chemicals to use to wash and wax? i have an electric buffer with some generic terrycloth (i think) covers...can you reuse those after they've been washed, or should you use a new one each time? is terrycloth okay?

2/24/2014 8:38:58 PM

i'm leaning toward the trusty nufinish (a new bottle, since i wouldn't trust the old stuff to be chemically stable anymore)...teh intarwebs seems to agree that it's a pretty solid choice as long as you avoid plastic and rubber

[Edited on February 24, 2014 at 9:36 PM. Reason : .]

2/24/2014 9:27:23 PM

I've used high end stuff. I've used other cheap stuff. NuFinish is a winner.

For washing, I use Dawn.

[Edited on February 24, 2014 at 10:11 PM. Reason : .]

2/24/2014 10:10:43 PM

dawn is good, but I like to use it with a brillo pad to make sure i get all the dirt

2/25/2014 9:32:45 AM

Paging Brandon1...what's some shit we can buy that won't break the bank.

2/25/2014 10:05:53 AM

SMH - do NOT use dawn. Dawn will strip off all of the remaining polish/wax/sealant that's left on paint. If you're going to do a formal wash/clay/polish/seal/wax process 1-2x a year, dawn is appropriate as you want to remove anything between your clay and polisher with the paint. For all other washes, get a wash that's designed for your car (e.g. gold class at wally world, as previously mentioned, is a good product).

NuFinish is rather outdated but it does a decent job at protecting, but doesnt do much for shine/gloss. It's your call on what you're after.

Best bang for buck (IMO, for those not too serious but want something nicer):
Wash - megs gold class
Mitt - some microfiber dreadlock style mitt from wally world
Wax - Collinite 845, Einzeitt (sp?) wax, or megs nxt spray wax
AIO - Klasse AIO, good general cleaner for paint, not required but is handy
Sealant - Duragloss 105 is great bang for buck, strictly for protection
Interior Spray Cleaner - 303 aerospace (very matte) or Vinylex (low shine)
Tires - use a gel, not a spray

2/25/2014 10:21:27 AM

I had some pecans fall on the top of my car and some of the brown color baked into my roof a bit (mostly around corners and joints)...assuming wax doesn't take it off, what are some good products to try to remove it?

2/25/2014 10:24:46 AM

^^Good advice, please take it.

Also, throw that buffer and terrycloth away...seriously.

Visit http://www.autogeek.com and poke around their DIY section. Great vids on what to do.

In general, by hand, wash with car wash, use clay bar, Griots Garage All In One Sealant (autozone) and microfibers.

2/25/2014 9:41:31 PM

Listen to the Junkman!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiIEHn-9qo8

2/27/2014 8:14:37 AM

Just bought some

Megs D151 and a HF dual action polisher (Orange and white)

Going to see how this stuff works on the crv.

Planning on doing 2 passes with orange (mild correction) and one finishing pass with the white?

3/31/2014 9:36:52 AM

^Have you ever claybar'ed your car's paint finish? If not I would recommend doing that first.

3/31/2014 10:09:22 AM

Yea going to clay it first.

I'm wondering if the d151 is too song to use 2x a year with the da and a wax pad

3/31/2014 11:31:06 AM

You could use D151 every day for the rest of the cars life and it would be ok. Its a pad dependent abrasive, the harder cut pad the harder 151 cuts.

151 has decent cut, and finishes very well. It does not last very long, so you will want to top it with something durable.

3/31/2014 11:22:49 PM

i got some of the d156 for refreshes... and i have some NXT 2.0 text wax that should be here in another 2 or 3 months.

4/1/2014 5:00:19 AM

i got some of the d156 for refreshes... and i have some NXT 2.0 text wax that should be here in another 2 or 3 months.

4/1/2014 5:00:19 AM

for us guys without any shade, what's a good method for waxing - in the evening before sun goes down?

5/3/2014 9:37:56 AM

^put your stuff in a bucket and carry it to a parking garage.

5/3/2014 9:42:33 AM

Have you been to Iredell county before?

5/3/2014 9:57:31 AM