Meguiars 3 Step

[Dave57]

Professional results. Excellent product!! Just needed to two step on my car but used the three on other cars.

[magellan498]

Originally Posted by 3000gtwis2

The Meguiars Quick Clay Detailer is the BEST! It takes a long time to do, but if you take your time and follow the directions it is sooooo nice. ANY dirt, water spots, swirls, and tiny scratches are GONE when your done. You get a mirror shine and your paint feels like glass. When you do this, first wash the car really well...use the clay...and then wax. Some people like to wax and then use the clay because any left over wax will be picked up by the clay, but its all personal pref. The other brand to try is Zaino Brothers. They have an online store where you can get everything you want shipped to your door. They are more expensive, but the product is 2X better than any thing else out there. My uncle uses Zaino on his 4 year old truck, and it looks like it just rolled off the showroom floor.

Meguiars Clay is pretty good, but a larger concensus of professional detailers will tell you that Mother's clay is superior. Don't get me wrong, they're both grade A, just Mother's might be easier for a beginner.

And claying will NOT remove scratches or produce a mirror shine. In fact, if you go about it wrong then you are going to introduce marring into your finish. Also I would not recommend claying after waxing. The layer of wax you leave behind after buffing is already thin enough that claying would be counterproductive. Use a good quality Microfiber towel.

And I will agree with you that Zaino is a great product, but you're comparing it to Meguiars wax is not accurate. Meguiars waxes are carnuaba based (at least the consumer grade ones) and Zaino is a polymer based synthetic sealant. To use Zaino, you must have a completely contaminant-free surface, or it will not bond properly. That means no waxes, polishes or the like can be under the Z1 or, as stated above, it will just not work. Now after the final coat of Z2, or Z5 you can switch to your favorite LSP (last step product) which would be a good carnuaba wax. (S100 is my recommendation for a GREAT topper. And most people can find it locally at Harley dealerships or specialty auto shops.)

Now for a great finish, all of the above info about waxes is really useless because wax is a last step. If your paint looks like crap before you wax, then you're not ready to wax. POLISH/PREP WORK is the key to a mirror shine. That's where DA polishers, pads, polishes and that whole business come into play. It's too much to get into in one post, but if yall want more info, ask me.

Ok hope that helps a little bit.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Pro Detailer,
~Miguel

[chuckgrill]

I've used only Meguiars's for years now. Best stuff out there.

[haaj]

This thread is funny... gets like one post every month. But hey, why not? Miguel, since it's been a couple months since you posted in this thread, would you mind explaining how to go about polishing a car before the claybar/wax, including necessary materials? If anyone else has some expertise in this area your input would be appreciated also.

Thanks

[Zprime]

http://www.nsxsc.com/nsexcitement/waxtest.html

I am not sure if it is biased or not...but at least it is a handy reference for further exploration....

[VR4swoosh]

I use Griot's Garage for all of my waxing and detailing. I have used many types of Meguires products and liked Griot's better. The only one I haven't tried is Zainos. I heard they are pretty good too. Griot's sponsors all the Ferarri and classic car events. They are a little more expensive, but worth it in my opinion. I purchased a Porter Cable random orbital and Griot's foam pads (which will not scratch or burn your paint like some of the cotton bonnets will do) Here is the link for anyone interested.

http://www.griotsgarage.com

[93stlth]

Originally Posted by VR4swoosh

I use Griot's Garage for all of my waxing and detailing. I have used many types of Meguires products and liked Griot's better. The only one I haven't tried is Zainos. I heard they are pretty good too. Griot's sponsors all the Ferarri and classic car events. They are a little more expensive, but worth it in my opinion. I purchased a Porter Cable random orbital and Griot's foam pads (which will not scratch or burn your paint like some of the cotton bonnets will do) Here is the link for anyone interested.

http://www.griotsgarage.com

I also use Griots products and highly recommend them. My Stealth is 12 years old with 184,000 miles and most of the paint is original. Most people assume my car is brand new because it looks brand new, but I have Griots products to thank for that.

[magellan498]

Hiyas,
I've not checked this thread in quite a while!

haaj: The polishing process would come after the claying and before the waxing/sealing. The clay removes all the contaminants so you've a clean slate to work with. Then the polishing is all about smoothing that slate (the paint) out. Now the term polish is kind of a hard one to pin down. Some people take it as something that fills in all the imperfections in the paint (with oils and such, dealers use this alot in the showroom to cover marring) and some take it as a substance used to level the paint mechanically with abrasives. In this case, I'm talking abrasives and not covering anything up.

The process for actual polishing varies from paint job to paint job. You have to take into account whether you have a single stage or clear coated finish. Then you must access the condition of the paint. Oxidation can be removed with a chemical cleaner (http://www.properautocare.com/kla-16.html). Always start with the least agressive choice when dealing with scratches, swirl marks and the like. There are QUITE alot of polishes out there, ranging from botique products to your professional lines like Meguiars and 3M. Some are better than others, and experimentation for what works best for you is always the answer. VR4swoosh has the right tools for getting 95% of marring out of a paint finish via the Porter Cable RO polisher (http://www.properautocare.com/basporcab74p.html). Though, it's impossible to burn the paint, no matter what pad you use. The PC is a very user friendly tool. Just explore this site (http://www.properautocare.com) to get a good idea of what's out there. And check http://autopia.org. That's where I come from. Sign up and be ready to read, read, read. Immense ammount of info, and very experienced and informed people. Hope this helps.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Pro Detailer,
~Miguel