Detailing car tips?

mwmorph

Diamond Member
Dec 27, 2004
8,877
1
81
I'll be doing a full detail for the first time and I's confused about some things.

I think the steps should go
1. Wash Car
2. Clay Car
3. Cleaner Wax car
4. Polish car(?)
5. Wax car


The only thing I'm not sure on is if I should cleaner wax. It's Mother's California Gold Cleaner Wax and the regular wax is Meguiar's NXT Tech Wax. Would the 2 products react to produce undesired results?

Also, anyone have any additional tips they'd like to share?
 

mwmorph

Diamond Member
Dec 27, 2004
8,877
1
81
Originally posted by: SVT Cobra
See sig, that should help you out. :)

I did a search for that thread in the garage and didn't find it :eek: . I do remember it form last year and actually printed it out but I never could figure out where it went.
 

BD2003

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
16,815
1
81
Originally posted by: mwmorph
I'll be doing a full detail for the first time and I's confused about some things.

I think the steps should go
1. Wash Car
2. Clay Car
3. Cleaner Wax car
4. Polish car(?)
5. Wax car


The only thing I'm not sure on is if I should cleaner wax. It's Mother's California Gold Cleaner Wax and the regular wax is Meguiar's NXT Tech Wax. Would the 2 products react to produce undesired results?

Also, anyone have any additional tips they'd like to share?

My understanding is that NXT has cleaners and polish already in it, and might not mix too well with the rest.

Last year I went with a cleaner wax, meguiars polish and el cheapo wax. The cleaner wax did wonders, the polish was excellent, and the wax didnt do much over the polish.

This year around I started to use the cleaner wax, but it didnt do squat - I guess it was already clean from last year so I didnt bother with the rest of the car. The polish is an absolute necessity on a black car...it really deepened the black. And then meguiars gold class on top really made it look beautiful.

The paint isnt everything though - don't forget the lights and trim. PlastX works great for the lights (and some sunroofs), and back to black is decent for the trim. Although IMO turtle wax ICE does just as good a job or better than those products for trim and lights...just don't use it over your paint for at least a few weeks.
 

fstime

Diamond Member
Jan 18, 2004
4,382
5
81
Wash, Clay, Polish, Polish 2, Glaze, Wax.

People usually use a more abrasive polish first and then a mild polish afterwards (for swirl and scratch removing).

Best detailing guide on the net imo.

Link

Check out the rest of the forum, it has some pretty good info.