Meguires

[Garret]

Meguires might be a little costly, but all of their products are AWESOME! and they smell good. BTW-walmart carries them, and that's were you'd get "the lowest price" :p

[ayton]

MOTHER'S also makes great stuff.

[J!m]

Be careful with Mother's stuff. They use a lot of Silicone. Typically, if (any) product does not say "does not contain silicone" it most likely does.

Silicone is great for porn stars, but not for paint.

[Travis]

I personally use Maguire's paint-prep products, but not their waxes (they don't seem to last as long as Zymol, and I'll spend another buck per 4 hour wax job just to make it last longer). Zymol waxes are available all over the place, but not at Wally world.

I have heard from others that silicone is bad juju for automotive finishes, but I don't know why. I did see a silicone demo at Ziebart a few years ago on my absolutely oxidized, clapped out Audi Fox, and was mightily impressed with the little bit of trunk-lid they treated.

Also, There is a detailing group (or 10) on Yahoo groups. I haven't been by, but you might give it a shot.

[J!m]

I was using the Meguir's yellow wax for a long time. Then I learned about the possibility of the silicone in the wax (that wax has a $#IT load of silicone in it) reacting with the paint. This seems possible, expecially with todays crazy paint formulations to meet EPA requirements. Remember what happened to all those Neon's from the mid nineties? The paint came off in sheets. This was due to using water-based paints for the first time.

Maybe far-fetched, but I have since given away my yellow wax for 1Grand blitz wax.

Same problem with interior plastic- the silicone DOES react with the plastic and break down the chemical chains. Use something without silicone for the interior plastic.

Silicone also attracts dust like a magnet. This is why you freshly Armor-Alled interior has a thick coating of dust in a day or two...

Zymol is cool stuff, but unless you wax often (like every other wash or so) it does not hold up as well as the Blitz does. However, the Zymol has a greater depth of shine than the Blitz. Both are excellent products, but I'm a lazy bastard, and only wax three times a year. Therefore, I go for the longer lasting wax.

[Travis]

Jim:
1 Grand Blitz... Three times a year... Where do I get that stuff, I'll try anything to get past so much waxing!

-Travis

[J!m]

To get the best stuff available, and great advise too:

Car Care Specialties Inc.
116 South Main Street, Unit 2
Lodi, NJ 07644-2251
(877) 796-8300

He carries just about everything, including a lot of stuff you've never heard of before. He hipped me to some great products.

Zymol, Harly, 3M, Meguiar's, One Grand, Connoly, P21S, Porsche, Ritz, Sonax (awesome interior cleaner), Surflex, Wurth etc.

If the order is over $75.00- shipping is free. He usually throws in a free wax applicator cloth or something too. I guess it depends on how he's feeling...

You can get everything you need to detail your car the right way, and it all comes in one box. No spending all Saturday running all over hell to get one thing here, and another thing there. I hate that.

[agentf1]

Meguiars products have been going down hill for years. NXT last about 2 weeks or 2 rainstorms, whichever comes first. #83 creates a real mess with all the dust it creates. I cannot say how dissapointed I have been with their product recently.

[L84THSKY]

That's insane!!!! I remember seeing all those neons with paint chipped off right near the gas cap. My brother, other brother, had one, and his paint chipped too.


Remember what happened to all those Neon's from the mid nineties? The paint came off in sheets. This was due to using water-based paints for the first time.

[cali-ti]

J!m, what do you use on the platic in the interior (that's silicone free)?

[aceyx]

i just use a bit (i'm talking about a few drops) of woolite and water on a sponge, and wipe dry with a terry towel.

[J!m]

J!m, what do you use on the platic in the interior (that's silicone free)?

I use stuf called "vyniltex" or something like that- it's in a blue bottle, and most Pep-Punk type stores actually have it. The guy in New Jersy has it for sure. On exterior plastic (the black trim) I actually use a 'M' product, plastic cleaner and conditioner or some such blather. Just a spritz on a rag does wonders to remove the over-wax residue and re-blacken the grayed-ot plastic trim.

A good wash and wax still looks crappy unless you detail the black trim. THEN it's done.