Detailing tips (from WAUD thread)

[Aurora40]

Letitroll98 said:

The heck with you you piker, you've been holding out on us. That site, www.autopia-carcare.com/index.html is awesome! So how long were you gonna keep this under wraps, heh?

Seriously though, great web site with cool stuff. What do you think of the Sonus that's so prominently featured? Also here's a quote from one of their pages that is right on topic with your last post, please comment:
Show Car Tricks

Detailers that prepare show cars will often layer a carnauba wax on top of a synthetic wax. The synthetic wax acts as a gloss layer, while the carnauba wax adds depth and a wet-looking appearance. One combination that works well is an initial coating of Klasse All-In-One followed by one or more coats of Pinnacle or P21S Carnauba Wax.

Apply and buff the first coat of wax as you would normally, and allow it to cure for 12 to 48 hours. Follow with a second coat. Note that the first coat of wax must have time to cure. If the wax does not cure (harden), the second coat will not improve your car's appearance or protection. With properly applied coats of wax, you will see a noticeable improvement in depth, richness of color and gloss with the second coat of wax. Adding more layers is a subjective matter, although many concours winners use multiple layers to produce the desired depth.

The main reason I could think of for doing this is that you will get the durability of the sealant, but add some beauty to it with a wax. In my opinion, the sealant doesn't really enhance the look of the wax on top, but I suppose it could add some shine? There are waxes though that have very high shines, but always tend to have some depth to them, it seems inherent in a natural wax to have some depth.

I never entered a show, but my car looks absolutely the best when it is glazed and then waxed with a carnauba wax. I find this gives the best deep, wet, rich look, and there will still be plenty of shine. Maybe if I had a silver or white car I'd like shine more, but on my dark red, I absolutely love a deep wet gloss.

I have been very pleased with synthetic products like Blackfire followed by a wax like #16 or Souveran, but I find it is easier and as good looking to just use #16 instead. I really don't care much about durability as my car is garaged everywhere, I wax it all the time, and I can always use #16 if I need it to last. It goes months and months. If I went back to driving it everyday, I may consider a sealant base again, but for me it just doesn't add anything I need.

On the Nissan, AutoGlym is a synthetic, and is very much like Klasse. I don't want to put a carnauba on it because I mainly care about durability, though I like it to look decent (it's what I'm seen most in). I can use the car wash, and also toss on another layer of AutoGlym Extra Gloss Protectant when I want to refresh it. If I put on a topper of carnauba, I wouldn't be able to do that anymore. EGP does have some gloss to it, and lots of shine, and that's good enough.

On the Regal, Pinnacle Liquid Souveran is a carnauba with some polymers added. I am thinking about putting Klasse on the car (mainly just to use Klasse again), but the LS has just lasted so well. It's kind of surprising. Also, it looks very nice, shiny, and fairly deep. It's a great product for light colored cars I'd bet. And the pearl on the Regal looks better with shine than with depth. So since it looks nice and is lasting well, I don't see the point in trying something else. I'm sure when it comes time to polish the car out again, I'll try something else. But for now this is working and looking great.

Products like Klasse are awesome on wheels, and I used to use it all the time. But lately I find it's easier and the results are similar to use Meguiar's MPPP or ColorX. I like Klasse, I just don't find myself using it a lot.

Sonus is a line of products just for that store. I haven't really used any of them, but I imagine they are all good quality products (the guy who owns the store is a great guy, and I've bought many other things from him). Were there any products in particular you were considering?

Here is an excellent compilation of car-care tips. I didn't think I had been holding out...

www.bettercarcare.com/

[Aurora40]

Oh, and one plus of all of it is that you can always try anything and see for yourself. It's a lot of fun. Give it a try just with the products you have at home. Maybe top some NuFinish with Turtle Wax or something. See if you like the result better, or if it lasts how you want, etc.

There are lots of different products for your car, and almost all of them are good. It will come down to very subtle differences or factors that you prefer from one over another. Maybe one beads a little more and you like that, maybe one smells better or is easier to use. Maybe you feel one looks a little deeper or a little shinier or something.

My product experience and product knowledge pales in comparison to a lot of other enthusiasts, but one thing we all have in common is we all started out small and with one or two products.

[Letitroll98]

Thnx guy. I knew nothing from nothing about wax other than you put some on. Never could really figure out why it worked so well sometimes and not others. Then a number of years ago one of my truckdrivers suggested the Mother's three step system and I was hooked. Worked like a charm and have been using it exclusively for years. Now I'm begining to see the subtleties here and it looks like fun.

Although I'll be set on carnauba wax and glaze preps for the Aurora, I may try some acrylics on my GF's car, a black Probe GT. It has interesting problems of total neglect, a black color that would suggest carnauba wax, but a cleaning regime that cries for acrylics. Should be a fun project. I can also experiment on my truck, a much lighter Teal Green than the Aurora, perhaps some acrylic with a touch of carnauba wax on top. Geeze, I feel like a wine tester.

[Aurora40]

Liquid Glass is a polymer that you can get locally. I've never used it but I've heard nice things about it. Same with #20. Both should have high shine and good durability.

If you want a lot of gloss, I'd suggest you try Meguiar's NXT. I don't really like it that much, but it is glossy as heck.

What you might do is just get one polymer-type product, and one carnauba-type product. See how you like them, what you like/dislike about each, etc. Then it will help guide you as to what to try next. You'll have a better idea of what you really want out of a product, and then you'll have a better idea of what new product is likely to be the one for you. In reality, its more about using the right product for the job, and using the product properly than it is about who's products you buy. Who's you buy comes down to which ones have the subtle differences that you prefer.

[Letitroll98]

Yes, my idea exactly. We see a lot of this comparative reference thing in high end audio, gourmet coffee, and wine tasting (all hobbies of mine). There is an underlying science to it all, but mitigated by so many subjective factors that the aurguments continue ad infinitum. Great fun.

BTW, are we the only two guys who wax and detail our cars? Or are we such blowhards that no one else bothers to read our posts. ;D

[JimW]

Hey, I detail my car meticulously (sp?) but I find the diamond white just doesnt reflect like the metallic finishes of your cars.

So I just read up on this goldmine of detailing information. Besides Mr 40 doesnt leave a whole lot for us to argue with in the world of automotive detailing

[omegaic]

I for one am overwhelmed. I never realized how much there was to this. Before ACNA I didn't know the difference between polish, wax and glaze. I have a lot more homework to do before commenting so as to not sound like an idiot.

[Letitroll98]

omegaic said:

I for one am overwhelmed. I never realized how much there was to this. Before ACNA I didn't know the difference between polish, wax and glaze. I have a lot more homework to do before commenting so as to not sound like an idiot.

Me too! I just don't mind sounding like an idiot. (Obviously) ;D

And borne out by the info from Mr 40, if you ask sometimes, you can get what you need (apologies to the Rolling Stones)

[Aurora40]

JimW said:

Hey, I detail my car meticulously (sp?) but I find the diamond white just doesnt reflect like the metallic finishes of your cars.

Yes, white in general is hard to get a lot of shine out of. And pearls don't seem to reflect like metallics do, though the pearl has a cool look all its own.

I think on your paint, high shine products would look the best. This is probably why you love WAUD, since it is very shiny.

One other thing about white is that it can often be kind of dirty/faded, but it isn't that obvious. But once you use a paint cleaner on a section, it can be amazing how much cleaner, brighter, and shinier it can look. If it has been a year or more since you've used such a product, you may want to give one a try.