Garnet Canuck

I don't have any personal experience with Dodo Juice, but Natty's Blue is formulated for darker colors and it looks great. Migliores (whom is a forum Sponsor here) Original Blend also looks really good on darker colors as well.

KnoxvilleG37

Agreed on the Natty's Blue paste wax!!! I've seen it last for MONTHS, nice gloss, cheap price compared to the other names. Has looked great on my Platinum Graphite. Only problem is it can be a bit stubborn to wipe off when dry. If you give it a try, definitely only do 1 panel at a time instead of the whole car (like it says on the jar). If it's still tough to take off, spritz some distilled water or quick detailer on a MF towel, and it should help take it off easier. Good luck with the hunt for your perfect wax!

Retromoe

iTrader: (4)

I may go with the natty blue paste wax then, the price is pretty decent, But ive seen some pics of a car with dodo juice used and it looked amazing.

KnoxvilleG37

Oh yeah.....Detailed Image has Natty's Red and Blue on sale for a limited time for like $14! That's a freaking steal. Stock up now!!! And if you wanna see some impressive Natty's Blue pictures, check out Black Betty's photo album. As I remember, he has an OB and uses N.Blue.

Retromoe

iTrader: (4)

Poorboy slick and suds won't strip the current sealant or wax correct?

BACsader

Hey Everyone. I have had my G37 for a little over 8 months now. I wash it regularly and wax it about every three months. Before I wax I use mequiar's clay lube which is excellent then wax with Mother's Carnuba cleaner which is also very good. I see that a lot of people use polishes. What is the benefit of using polishes if you use a clay lube?

Car Soap: Right now I use Armor All Wax Cleaner

Clay Lube: Meguiar's

Wax: Mother's Cleaner

Leather Cleaner: Lexol

Tires: Armor All

YeeP

This is my first car with a touch screen(nav).... what do you guys use to clean that so it doesn't get damaged? I have some stuff that I use on my flat screen t.v. that is safe for sensitive screens, which I thought might work. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Here is what I have, just as an FYI:
Amazon.com: Monster Flat ScreenClean Small 45ML: Electronics

Raizon

iTrader: (7)

This what I use...
Plexus Plastic Polish, Cleaner & Protectant

This stuff is great to use on Clear Bra too!

YeeP

Oh nice. I used to use that stuff on my Jeep soft top windows.... when it had a top. Good stuff right there. Thanks.

barry moss

I HAVE TRIED MOST POLISHES AND WAXES OVER THE YEARS AND HAVE FOUND 'GRIOTS' EXCELLENT THEY HAVE EVERTHING RELATED TO DETAILING. I HOPE THIS HELPS ARE MEMBERS. BARRY MOSS. PS PHONE # for brochure 800 345 5789.

philter25

iTrader: (4)

I have a 2009 Black G37 and a 2007 Dark Blue Toyota RAV4.

So heres my garage:

I have a cabinet for towels..... my microfiber towels are el-cheapo's I picked up at Target.... they are the Vroom brand. I personally like them and they get the job done. I have an 8 pack of the orange ones, which are a little thinner, which I use strictly for drying the car. And then I have a 4 pack of the striped ones which are a little thicker which I use when detailing for buffing.



I use the Porter Cable XP with Lake Country Pads. Polishes are currently Megs M105 which is fantastic which I primarily use an orange pad with for cutting. Then I have Menzerna Power Finish which I use with a green or white Pad for light cutting/polishing, and then Menzerna P085RD as a finish polish on a black pad. And then goes the Menzerna FMJ with blue pad.

Has anyone used the new Lake Country Hydro Tech Pads? My orange is on its last leg and there were a few scratches on my wifes tailgate it couldnt cut through, so I was debating getting a new orange and yellow pad, and then I saw the new Hydro Tech Cyan pads. Heres the description:

Sounds exactly what I was looking for and looked to be a great match with the Megs 105. If this pad can take the place of a yellow and orange and finish down nicely and maybe take a polishing step out of my process, that makes me happy. But a few reviews have stated that the pads tend to shred and fall apart. Has anyone used this pad before? Comments?

I also saw the new Hydro Tech Tangerine pad, which looked to be a great match with Megs 205. From the description:

Has anyone used these yet? Comments?

Im all about minimizing my setup, but I want to make sure that before I get rid of a white and black pad for this pad and Megs 205, that the new combo will produce an equivalant job than what Im using right now.

Overall, Im very happy with the polishes. My car has little to no swirl marks on it, so I can use a mild combo of the Power Finish and the the PO85RD to get rid of the swirl marks and leave it nice and shiny. Ive done a few friends cars which had some major swirl marks and needed the M105 and followed it up with the Power finish. None of them had dark cars so I stopped with the power finish. For my wife's RAV4, last time I was able to do a 1-step detail using the power finish with a green pad and it finished pretty nicely so I didnt feel the need to use the PO85rd. When I run out of the power finish, Im debating picking up the M205 to go along with the M105 and use that as my light cutting polish. I really like the ease of use with the Megs M105. Has anyone used the M205 and can compare it to the Power Finish? I think the Power Finish has just a tad bit more cut, but overall they look to be on the same scale.

I also have Megs Scratch X which I use in between polishes if the car gets any small scratches on it. It can lighten up LIGHT scratches or swirl marks, but thats about it.

Theres nothing I like more than minimizing my setup, and Ive read that the M205 finishes down pretty nicely, so If I can replace two steps with one polish, then that puts a smile on my face.

Every 6 months when the car gets their pre-summer and pre-winter treatment, it get the P21s total auto wash and clayed with the DI fine clay.

QDs: Im currently using OPT QD diluted 3:1 as a clay lube and I use it when the car is slightly dirty and I want to give it a quick clean.

Im also currently using Menzerna High Gloss Acrylic Shield as a QD after each wash.

I also have Megs D103 all purpose cleaner which I use in the wheel wells and on the exhaust pipes which I really like.

I also have the Poorboys Wheel Sealant. Im not a fan. It was a major PIA to put on and get everything off. Maybe with other wheels that dont have as many spokes as we do this might work better..... but the difficulty of use really turned me off. Since I still have 95% of the can, I'll use the rest of it on friends cars that have a basic 4 or 5 spoke wheel, but it seriously took me 2-3 weeks and a few microfiber towels to get it all off my wheels. I'd prefer an easier spray and wipe wheel sealant for keeping brake dust off.

I have another spare cabinet which I keep my cleaning gear in. And yes, thats a plastic bottle of Armor All interior wipes. I use the cheap stuff for wiping down my plastic parts on the interior and dusting.



My current protection is the FJM sealant and then after every wash, I use the HGAS. I liked the idea of a sealant that can last 4-6 months and then a spray on QD/sealant that I can use after each wash to maintain protection. However, based on the water beading on my car, Im pretty sure that Im not getting 4 months protection from the FMJ. So recently I have been puttin on 2 coats of the FMJ during 2 consecutive weekends to get a thicker coating on. Since with the FMJ you use SO little product, I still have more than half the bottle left after using it maybe 6-8 times. But I noticed that DI isnt selling it anymore so has anyone used the Blackfire sealant/polycharger QD/spray sealant combo? Comments?

The last product Im using is a spray on wax. And its a cheap bottle of Eagle One. I probably picked it up last year at autozone or target. Thats right, Eagle One. 6.99 maybe for the bottle and personally, I really like it. It sprays on and wipes off like a QD and it doesnt haze and the application is really really easy. I did a wash of my car, my wifes RAV4, and put a coat of Eagle One on BOTH my car and hers this weekend, took me under an hour for each car, and both came out fantastic.

A few pics from this weekend:






I know a lot of people have said black is a PIA to maintain, but in under an hour I did a complete wash and dry, a coat of spray on wax over my FMJ, and RainX'd the windows.

Pictures were taken in direct sunlight, about 90 degrees outside.

Detailed Image

iTrader: (2)

philter25 - M205 would be a nice compliment to the M105 since they are both non-diminishing abrasives unlike the Menzerna polishes. If you thought M105 was easy to work with, M205 is even easier. I do think PO85RD will offer the most depth and gloss, but M205 comes close.

Regarding the Poorboy's Wheel Sealant, perhaps you are applying it too thick. You should apply it as thin as possible. I've never had an issue removing it, it's usually a breeze and leaves the wheels super slick and glossy. If you want an easier solution for your wheels, Optimum Opti-Seal, simply spray on a coat or two of sealant protection on your wheels, it'll protect just about as long as anything else out there.

Hope that helps.

philter25

iTrader: (4)

The M205 would probably replace the power finish when I run out of it. Im running low on the power finish. I have the 32 oz bottle of the P085RD and still have a lot of that left. Ive been doing a 1 step polish with the power finish on my wife's RAV so the M205 would take over those duties.

Could be Im using too much, I had some pink globs all in the cracks around my lug nuts and had trouble getting it all off in the cracks where the spokes come together in the center of the wheel. I'll probably go to a spray on in the future for ease of application, but as of now I still have 95% of the poorboys left.

I appreciate the replies, helpful as always.

CougarRed

What, no carpet cleaner? I guess nothing more to be said about carpets than Folex?

CougarRed

What's the best product for cleaning shoe marks off beige plastic near my floor board?