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iTrader: (2)

The P21S Concours Carnauba Wax is still a great all around wax for that price range. You'd have to bump up to around the $60 price range or so to notice an improvement in some of the wax characteristics.

The key to the maximum shine is properly prepping the paint by removing as much contamination and as many imperfections as possible prior to sealing or waxing your paint.

If you were looking into a new wax, consider Blackfire Midnight Sun. We used to sell it in a kit with a towel and applicator for $79.99 and dropped the kit and now offer the wax alone for $20 less @ $59.99. For that price, I think it's one of the best options out there. You should experience a tad more depth and gloss, great water beading and easy maintenance with it. Another option is the Dodo Juice waxes, or Pete's '53. You can always try a Dodo sample to see if you notice / appreciate the differences.

Let me know if there's anything else I can help with.

cmori

Thanks a bunch George!

You are a great resource here, it definitely helps us to make the right decision when it comes to detailing our cars.

That is the kind of "customer support" that encourages me to be loyal to a store. Not to mention your 10% off!

Black Betty

iTrader: (60)

George,

I have a question about pad cleaning after something I read in your Ask A Pro section of your site.

There are lots of way to clean your pads that wont hurt them. Me being the frugal guy I am, I was thinking about a way that would effectively remove product like polishes, wax, and sealant from my pads without damaging them. And of course it had to be cheap. One day I goth the bright idea to use the same thing I use to strip wax off of the paint - isopropyl alcohol. It's dirt cheap. And it's really effective - the product just melts right out of the pad. I wring the alcohol through them a few times then let them soak a bit before washing them with MF detergent. Is the alcohol going to hurt them in any way?

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iTrader: (2)

Thanks for the kind words. If there's anything else I can give you a hand with, please do not hesitate to ask.

This is a good technique you can follow to help degrease your pads. I don't think there is any issue of the alcohol hindering the adhesive keeping the velcro attached to the pad. Another common thing to do is to use some dish detergent or a degreaser, like Grime Reaper, Power Clean, etc.

IMO the most important thing you can do to keep your pads fresh for as long as possible is the second you are done using a pad, soak it in the water / degreaser / alcohol / detergent / etc. solution. The longer you let a pad sit with product on it the more difficult it is to clean and restore the pad. I keep a 5 gallon bucket ready for any pads and microfiber towels and as I'm done with each one it goes right in the bucket of cleaning solution.

Hope this helps.

Kwang

iTrader: (1)

Hey George,

I saw the article on "Water Spots" on your website. I tried to remove some with a clay bar and the water spots go away, but the area that was clayed shows a pattern of imperfections... Not quite sure how to explain it... Also, the pattern of imperfections cannot be seen unless a light is directed at the area.

I hope you know what I am talking about from experience, please let me know of any solutions.
I'll try to get a picture if needed.

Thanks in advance!

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iTrader: (2)

The imperfections probably came from the clay bar on the soft Infiniti paint or perhaps some light etching of the water spots. What you'd need to do is follow up with a polish to remove the imperfections, then reprotect your paint to help prevent this from happening again. Here's a link to our polishing guide to reference.

Let me know if there's anything else I can help with.

George

edge540

iTrader: (1)

George,

I want to get into detailing my car for this summer but I have a few questions on what products I should use on my 08 PG Coupe. I have never done anything other than wax her 3 times in the past 2 years, so she is way overdue for all this. Here is the list of items I was looking at picking up;

DI Package Clay Bar and Lube
Chemical Guys Extreme EZ-Creme Glaze with Acrylic Shine II
Menzerna FMJ
50/50 Limited Concourse Wax

I would obviously pick up a bunch of MF towels and Applicator pads to do all this. One thing is that I dont want to get a buffer so all my detailing will be done by hand. Are these products easy to get great results by hand? Or are there other products that I should be using instead? Is there anything else that should be picked up at this point to go with the other products?

Also I unfortunately have a few swirls on my trunk from when I debagged the girl, so I want to try and get them removed or masked as best I can. They can only be seen currently when you shine a light on the trunk. Is the glaze going to be able to do this or is there a fine polish I can pick up that can be used by hand to help this out? I want her to look her best all summer.

The free shipping and 15% is very tempting for me to pick up all these things that I have been waiting too long to get.

Thanks!

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iTrader: (2)

Hey good questions. Everything you have listed looks great and will give you some outstanding results from a hand applied combo.

For the swirls and debadging marks, you're going to need an abrasive polish to remove those. I'd recommend looking at something like Meguiar's M205. This is a great finishing polish that has some nice correction capability, especially on soft Infiniti paint. The more pressure you apply when applying it the deeper it'll correct. As you are winding down the polishing, you want to be using less and less pressure so that it finishes down finer and finer.

Let me know if there's anything else I can help you with, the 15% off + free ship is a nice time to jump on these products!

Thanks for your support.

George

FourT2

Hi George, another question about waxes. I have a silver sedan with a clear bra. My clear bra installer told me to not use any yellow waxes on and near the clear bra. I just try to keep it clean with Plexus cleaner only and did not apply any sealants on it. But I also heard that people seal and wax clear bras.

So I was wondering about the best wax for my color and clear bra. I am leaning towards Blackfire Midnight Sun Carnauba Paste Wax. Is it safe to put on top of the clear bra? Or do you just tape off the seam and not avoid putting this on clear bra? Any other waxes that would work as well or better (Dodo Juice Banana Armor or P21S)?

Thanks!

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iTrader: (2)

Hey FourT2,

Bang for the buck, the BF Midnight Sun you mentioned is one of the best waxes you can go with. It has tremendous depth and gloss, nice water beading and protects nicely.

For the clear bra, you have the right idea, you want to tape off the edges of the clear bra when you do the paint and tape off the edges of the paint when you do the clear bra. This will help prevent product build up on the edge of the clear bra which can be an eye sore. Personally, the way I care for clear bras is to use a chemical all in one polish that cleans and protects. It will remove oxidation and put a protective layer on the clear bra. Something like Klasse AIO is a great choice.

Let me know if there's anything else I can help with and be sure to keep us posted how the detail turns out.

George

chasemyaccord

iTrader: (2)

Hey George,

If you don't have a PC or some other polishing tool, can you still somewhat remove swirls and scratches by hand? I know it won't obviously be as effective, but just wondering. If so, what kind of products would you recommend to achieve this?

What about this AIO polish/sealant? Or is it better to do it separately? I'm not too **** about my paint (at least not anymore haha), so I'd like something that will save me time. Thanks!

FourT2

Thanks George. I just placed an order for Midnight Sun and some other things.

For taping, do you just use regular masking tape that can be found in home improvement stores?

Buckeye G

iTrader: (4)

Hey George a few questions. Ive got a VR coupe. It has some scratches in it Im thinking is from the dealership carwash. I had them send it out to be fixed and they were charged like $330 to fix but Im assuming that they only polished the car and they are coming back. I normally wash clay and wax a car. Can I use Dodo polish and Wax after I wash and clay? I dont own a polisher but I do have a power ball for paint. Would that be ok to use with the polish and then put the wax on by hand? Im thinking about hitting up the dealer again about the scratches. How long will I need to wax my car with dodo? Will twice a year be ok? Thanks

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iTrader: (2)

Good question. With the soft Infiniti paint, you can achieve some decent correction with a finishing polish by hand. I'd recommend looking into Meguiar's M205 for this task by hand. It's a non-diminishing abrasive polish so the way it works is you get more cut with the more pressure you apply. In the beginning, you'll want to test various amounts of pressure to see what results your getting, then towards the end of your polishing, ease up so you finish the paint nicely. If you apply the polish too hard, you could potentially create some marring, but the key is to start light and work in a tiny area until you get the results your looking for.

After polishing, you could use an AIO to clean up the paint and protect in one step, or you could go right to protecting the paint with a sealant or wax.

Let me know if there's anything else I can help you with and keep us posted on what you end up going with and how things turn out for you.

I'd go for the low adhesive 3M blue painters tape, which can be found at Lowe's, Home Depot, and most other automotive stores. We have some Meguiar's automotive tape on order, but it isn't available yet.

Let me know what you think of the BF Midnight Sun. Thanks again for your support.

Unfortunately, if the scratches are coming back, it's because of one of two things. 1) they never corrected it in the first place and used a filling product to temporarily hide the scratches and imperfections or 2) your washing and drying technique and process is creating swirls, which is where a majority of imperfections stem from.

Using a clay bar can add swirls and scratches to the paint, you want to ensure you are using the proper technique there. I also always recommend polishing after using a clay bar and should only be done a couple times a year.

Don't use a power ball on your paint, that's asking for more problems. I'd either invest in a quality buffer or hand apply the polish. If you plan on hand applying a polish, I'd recommend using Meguiar's M205 in the fashion I described above.

Most Dodo Juice waxes will last between 6 to 8 weeks. At that pace you'd want to reapply at least every other month to ensure full protection year round. If you're looking to only apply a product twice a year or so, you'll want to switch to a sealant, something like Blackfire Wet Diamond or Optimum Opti-Seal.

Hopefully this helps answer your questions. Let me know if there's anything else I can give you a hand with.

George

philter25

iTrader: (4)

Hey George,

I finally used my PC for the first time yesterday. I noticed when I took it out of the box it came with a white pad with a backing plate already installed on the pad.

I didnt use it. Is there a specific function to use this pad with, or is it just like the lake county white pads only it had its own backing plate installed?

I ended up using the lake county pads I got along with their backing plate.