wash wax and polish opinions

[jasn78]

[QUOTE=BI65ND;368250]How come everyones so anti-Meguirars? QUOTE]

like the other guys said mate, nothing is actually wrong with it just not the best out there

[carcareproducts]

Hi Guys,

Some great advice and comments here and I just wanted to add a couple of points.

Yes a lot of people still go for the off-the-shelf products and to some extent it does amaze as the 'good stuff' doesn't have to be expensive - in fact it works out cheaper:

e.g.
Megs Nxt Gen Tech Wax about $50 for 500ml, fairly easy to apply and lasts anywhere from 3-8 weeks depending on driving conditions. Probably get about 5-8 applications per medium car. Lasts about 1 year?

Duragloss 105 Total Performance Polish about $27 for 500ml, very easy to apply and lasts anywhere from 3-6 months (more if combined with 601 PBA) depending on driving conditions. Probably get about 15-20 applications per medium car. Lasts more than 1 year!

Same goes for washes with mothers or megs usually suggesting 30-40ml per gallon of water (a 1 to 120/140 ratio), the likes of Dodo, P21s, Optimum, Duragloss are massively concentrated - (1 to 600/800+ ratio) therefore 500ml bottle equals a 2 litre bottle of the cheap stuff but DG Car Wash only costs $15. Quality washes will also clean more effectively, lubricate against dirt better and rinse more freely leaving a lot less streaks or residue.

I used to use some of the off-the-shelf stuff as a detailer some time ago and due to mixed results and the 'search for the holy grail' moved to the so-called premium brands. After spending less time per car, achieving better results and actually saving money in the long run have never looked back.

There are products to suit everyone's budget, lifestyle and level of OCD for their car so please never be afraid to ask us - we guarantee to find you a better solution for your personal situation and stand behind every product sold.

Cheers,
Mike

[Manaz]

OCD

I still don't understand why they call it a disorder...

[Mrk_Mickey]

I haven't bothered with canuba-based waxes, as my car is white and I won't get the depth of shine that darker cars get. I also prefer the "harder" aspect of synthetic products and their superior longevity between applications.

Try it man, or at least take a look at my car on Tuesday night...there's depth, trust me

Hi Guys,

Some great advice and comments here and I just wanted to add a couple of points.

Yes a lot of people still go for the off-the-shelf products and to some extent it does amaze as the 'good stuff' doesn't have to be expensive - in fact it works out cheaper:

Same goes for washes with mothers or megs usually suggesting 30-40ml per gallon of water (a 1 to 120/140 ratio), the likes of Dodo, P21s, Optimum, Duragloss are massively concentrated - (1 to 600/800+ ratio) therefore 500ml bottle equals a 2 litre bottle of the cheap stuff but DG Car Wash only costs $15. Quality washes will also clean more effectively, lubricate against dirt better and rinse more freely leaving a lot less streaks or residue.

I used to use some of the off-the-shelf stuff as a detailer some time ago and due to mixed results and the 'search for the holy grail' moved to the so-called premium brands. After spending less time per car, achieving better results and actually saving money in the long run have never looked back.

There are products to suit everyone's budget, lifestyle and level of OCD for their car so please never be afraid to ask us - we guarantee to find you a better solution for your personal situation and stand behind every product sold.

Cheers,
Mike

This information is gold, everyone! Bottle it up and remember where you keep it because it's priceless.

I was the same before I learnt about detailing cars. I used off-the-shelf stuff and to be honest, I didn't have a clue why it should have been any more ''expensive''.

To give you guys a literal idea of off-the-shelf versus premium stuff, I used armour-all wash on my car for about 3 or 4 months (that $10 stuff you can now get from woolies). My paint couldn't hold wax and it would always get heaps dirty after just one week.

Now that I've got a premium car wash, I've been using the bottle since early november last year (it's 500ml i think) and I'm still not out. I cannot stress enough that a premium car wash will not strip the wax off your bodywork!!! All the premium range of car washes are pH balanced so they are only cleaning, not stripping or adding.

[No457 Snowy]

My favourite wash is Meguiars Soft Wash, I buy it in the 5 litre bottles for about $30 and that's 18 months worth of religious weekly washes. It definitely doesn't strip wax (and I'm fussy with my paint), has great lubricity to release and carry grit from the paint surface and rinses well leaving the surface nice and glossy.

With waxes/sealants, I found the key best practice is to find a product you personally really do like for whatever reason and use it often.

As a side effect of buying an R/O for polishing, I found many of the advantages of the boutique wax products were also somewhat negated as I could then use a perfectly good off the shelf product like the Megs Tech Wax, and use far less product than I previously did. I was getting a thinner, more uniform coverage, in half the time, and because the R/O took so much elbow work out of the job, I enjoyed waxing the car more often to top up and maintain good protection, (while still using less product).

Snowy.

[Manaz]

Try it man, or at least take a look at my car on Tuesday night...there's depth, trust me

Yeah, I know there's some depth to be had - but the reward vs effort isn't as good as it is on some of the deeper colours.

The Opti-Seal gave a pretty good finish (though I see I have some scratches in my topcoat again, will have to sneak another stage-one detail in at some stage), and it's a hard enough struggle as it is to justify 2 hours washing/claying/sealing the paint to my wife/son when I could be spending that time with them, without spending another hour adding and buffing off a coat of wax or two.

[G-rig]

There are some pretty too how-to's on the Wax-it site.

[Swallowtail]

I've been using the Prima products recently (available from Joel at ZAS http://www.zas.com.au/browse.php?bra...eld.y=1&cat=-1)

Been working really well, I love using Hydro as a spray wax as you dry sealant. It's brilliant.

[dynamictiger]

For washing I use DP Extreme this is designed for pressure washer foaming baths. This is applied first then the car washed using the two bucket method.

For Polish I really like Chem Guys polish if the car has swirls or oxidation. This polish is a one step for most blemishes and produces great results.

If I am in serious swirl reduction I like Prima Swirl Remover. Not as agressive as some and on more newer cars just what I need.

In my experience on lighter coloured paintworks, Silver, White, Light Blue a good layer of polymer sealant is the way to go. I am using Prima Amiga and Epica for this, and it has the advantage of covering up any not quite perfect work.

For darker colours and specifically reds, I apply many layers of sealant and then follow with a Wax. I have tried two or three different waxes ranging in price from $40 to $190 a jar. Although I like the smell of the $190 stuff, the wax I use the most is DP Max Wax it leaves an amazing finish on the car and IMO is far better than off the shelf products at Supercheap and the like.

About three times a year I use Swissvax Samurai and although this is a premium wax I can't say I can tell the difference really. I am simply using it up now.