Ive tried various products on my cars paint to help it look good/better.

I know with our cars being 10+ years old the original finish doesnt look as good as the day they were born...

Currently im using Meguiars products...

Quick Clay- Gets all the crap out of the paint that you can feel when you run your hand over it...

Deep Crystal 3 Step Cleaner/Polish/Wax(even though I can NEVER find step 1 at any store!)

Quick Detailer and quick wax between washes...

Just wondering what everyone else uses or reccomends...

 

A garage or a car cover.

 

lol

 

 

From what I hear alot of the guys down here in Houston like the 3m wax. From what I have seen it does a very good job.

 

Use a real buffer on it once (not those cheapie slow ones, but one that acutally has some *****). After that, just maintain it with some mothers or meguiers, or better yet, good zymol. Also, liquid glass used to work really good, but I don't know if its still made.

 

i use 1 Armor All Heavy Duty Car Wash(green one)..excellent stuff
2 Gliptone Pro Buff Wax
3 Armor All Cleaner and Armor All Protectant on Interior and Tires

 

Dude...Armor All? that stuff is like putting....well its bad. Go to any detail shop...they will tell you that its crap. yeah looks good for the first two days...after that... it pulls out the oils and drys it out. thats when you dash starts to crack

 

I'd stick with what you're using!!!!! Meguiars makes excelent products.

 

i use meguires, and where the finish is still perfect on my car, its stupid shiny, but those not so shiny parts look horrible, [ clear coat chips]

my car needs some TLC from a pro. that is to look perfect... no rusty, the finish was taken care of by previous owner.

 

OMG..i prob been using Armor All longer than you have been alive and none of my cars have cracked a dash.."go to any detail shop and ask about it" hahahaha yeah right,all the peeps who work in detail shops are either high school drop outs or illegal aliens who cant speak english,no thanks.

 

lol...for real. I've used Armor All for a long time and my dash looks brand new. I think as long as you use a sun visor in the summer, it should be fine.

 

eraser some guys up here in toronto use KLASS all in one..

one of my friends use it
even in this salty canadian weather
his car is CLEAN but he only drives it during the dry days


this was a couple of weeks ago
his friends use KLASSE also
they klasse it every weekend and DAMN it's shiny, water beads off it, and check it out with 7 coats of it


i'm gonna get some of this CRAZY stuff when i head down to the states

 

Eraser........Your doing fine with that combo.... ...Meguiar's works pretty good on my car......

 

Zymol
Meguiar's founded by Pasadena natives

 

3M, no heavy waxes! Downside is it only lasts about a week or two, depending on rain and temperature. No one beleives that I still have the factory paint, though, and trust me, my car is no show queen, it's got some rust in the rear, and under the gas tank filler (Damn midwest salt!!!!!!). I'm gonna redo those spots, and air brupoo poo out, but the point is, for a show car, or if you really love your car, 3M is the way to go! Just ask all the old hotrod guys what they use, even if you don't like the cars, you have to admit that they put every import paint job that I've seen to shame!


[Modified by CRX-RX, 6:39 AM 2/8/2002]

 

a garage is the best thing. we don't have one anymore.

Carnuba wax is the best for your paint and finish, IMO.
Diamond luster carnuba
waxing is sooo tedious, but it makes the car look nice.

 

Meguires, Zymol, Mothers', basically almost any products that contain carnuba wax are pretty good. The 3m stuff is mostly fill-in glaze, for after you compound the car, hence they're not really meant to retain a shine for long periods of time. That is what the wax is for. Clay kits are excellent for cars that need a little tlc, but not a full blown polish job (polish and compound are considered the same thing, abrasive liquids or paste that cut into the paint surface to remove oxidation, and or foreign particles in the paint surface).

Washing is more subjective. Some folks use commercial car brands, others use dishwashing liquid. All are good options, as long as they have surficants to lift the crap off the paint. When I have the time and not rushed, I use 1 part kerosene to 3 parts warm water; mainly because it will clean a lot of hard to remove stuff (tar, oil, etc), and because I can get it at my father's body shop. Just have to be sure to thoroughly rinse the car if you try this option. Otherwise it will lift off any fresh wax you try to put down. Good idea to rinse off the ground as well, or you could bust your keyster.




[Modified by usdm, 1:38 PM 2/8/2002]

 

zymol that stuff even brought out a shine on my crappy *** paint job!

 

3M Products for me.

 

I know what you mean by tryin to make old paint look good!
I used some of the MEGUIRES products.
I forget wich ones but it was some body cleaner then final stage wax.
i dont have any before pics but it did come out hell of a lot better that i got it!
look here:
http://photos.yahoo.com/jdm_boy

 

i have a time budget problem..so unless one of the kids are at home..i just get a free car wash at the nearby cheveron station when i fill up..then i twice a year i put a coat of House of Wax on it..goes on like a glaze and comes off real easy...the kids help of course..since ive been stuck with buying each of them cars of their own

 

I use the Turtle Wax instant spray wax. Works great, easy to use and gives you a quick noticable shine.Use it a couple times a month and your car will shine.

 

I can't believe nobody has mentioned ZAINO. This has to be the best wax and line of car care products in the world...Zymol is great if you're on a budget, but Zaino is the best.

http://www.zainobros.com/

Oh, and using dishwashing soap to wash your car is bad. Dishwashing soap is to be used to remove the wax from your car, so unless you're doing that don't use it.


[Modified by manveer, 1:09 AM 2/11/2002]

 

Zaino is a good product..easy to apply, lasts a long time, looks good..

But a synthetic just can't provide the depth that a carnuaba can..

I use a couple different products.

Blitz Wax followed by 2 coats of Pinnacle Souveran. You guys probably haven't even heard of those waxes before, huh? Well, they are very high quality, expensive (at least the pinnacle is) waxes..

For all your detailing needs: http://www.properautocare.com They only carry high quality products.

As for Armor All, it's really dumb to use it. It provides no UV protection and will actually trap the heat inside., and uses silicone oils that will attract dust and dirt. Why not just use a higher quality product? Most vinyl manufactueres will suggest against using Armor All (or any products with silicone oils).