freq

STOP hand drying your car and buy a leaf blower!!!!!

s2krazy01

you actually got me thinking for a moment. stop giving me ideas!

i'll test the wax on one spot before I do the whole car. Being my first time doing a full detail process, I just want my car to look better than it ever has. Red is more forgiving but I'm also picky about my finish.

kctheflish

"Strive for perfection in everything. Take the best that exists and make it
better. If it doesn't exist, create it. Accept nothing nearly right or good enough."

Sir Henry Royce, co-founder of Rolls Royce.

Nothing worse than a sports car owner with OCD!!!


Here's the quote from the detailers handbook that got me looking at mixing products.

Don't Mix Your Wax:
Carnauba and synthetic waxes don't mix well. If you've used a lower quality grade wax, strip it off using our Paint Prep before using our carnauba wax. Otherwise the
wax won't adhere well or you'll notice hazing and smearing.

Here's the link to the handbook. It's a good read with solid info even if you don't use their products.

http://www.griotsgarage.com/pdfs/DetailersHB_BW.pdf

s2krazy01

I wonder if that statement is product specific? I've read about a lot of people using AIO and then carnuba...

The guide also says to apply wax by machine for best results. I was told that wax is better applied by hand, which made sense to me since wax needs to sit atop the paint, not in it. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

MikeyC

That statement in the Griot's guide is a little misleading. You certainly don't want to literally mix a wax and a sealant but you can definitely use both on your car. Typically, you want to have the first layer on the paint be a sealant. Sealants bond best directly to paint without wax on it. Once you have your sealant down you can put on more sealant or top it off with wax. As wax doesn't bond to anything (it just sits on top) it has no problem going over a sealant.

Hopefully, wanabe will chime in here. I know he has in the past successfully alternated between layers of sealant and wax.

kctheflish

I must beg to differ, they don't mean mix the two together. They specifically recommend not to use there carnuba over sealant or vice versa. In fact they recommend you remove all sealants, glazes or silicones from the paint prior to use because it causes hazing. The product is called paint prep...check it out. I use it all the time to remove the old wax on all our cars.

They aren't making the statement as a generalization. I believe it's specfic to there product line however, I found it interesting that it might be a source of problems so I don't layer the two.

Not many people on this board seem to use or have much product knowledge relaitve to Griots. I've been using them since 96 and have no complaints. Often times people have said there product costs to much, but I'm pretty sure that's a subjective statement and not one based on fact. To be perfectly honest, my opinion of the stuff is based on my subjective view. I have no data to offer you showing you how the cost of Griot's products compares to some other high end products.

I do live on the coast in central Florida and drive pass all the major paint companies test stands on the beach every day so I figure I'm in a good spot to subjectivly rate waxes based on our climate....a least for me.

MikeyC

Sorry if you didn't quite catch the meaning of my post. I guess I didn't write it well. It happens. I realize that Griot's is not really saying to not literally mix carnauba and sealant. They are saying not to layer the two. I think any detailing aficianado will tell you this viewpoint is flat out wrong. Sal Zaino also says not to top his product with a carnauba BTW. He's wrong too. If you skim most posts on the various detailing forum websites I think you'll find many, many people use a wax and a sealant simultaneously on their paint. I've done it myslef on several occassions and definitely feel it adds to the look when compared to just using a sealant.

Not many people on detailing forums generally speaking use Griot's products. Some are overpriced as you suggest (especially the hard items like tools, creepers, etc.), but mainly whenever the subject of Griot's comes up most people just feel their product performance is very average.

If you like Griot's products, that's great. "Find something you like and use it often" is a famous detailing mantra. Detailing product selection is all about personal preference. However, don't be afraid to try other products because the search for what you like is never ending. I know I am always finding things I like better.

kctheflish

No problem...My initial concern is that to many times posts contain statements that are not entirely factual. Case in point, your statement that "most people feel the product performs average" is a perfect example of making a blunt generalization. Just because we read some post on the Internet proves nothing. We've got no data to support our arguments so to speak.

I guess what spins my wheels is that I find it hard to understand how a product that produces average results could also consistently win multiple concourse events across the country and be used by car museums and collectors to protect some of their very expensive investments. I'm pretty sure they don't use average stuff.

In the final analysis that's what really caught my eye with the Griot guys. If it's use it on million dollar collector pieces then it's got to be a damn fine product.

My motto has always been, pay attention to the rich, they never waste there own money.

MikeyC

I think you're taking my quote somewhat out of context as they say. When I say most people I am referring to most people who post on detailing forums. I don't base this statement on a single post that I read. I base it on having read many, many posts by people saying they don't like Griot's products for the reasons I've stated. I've used many Griot's products myself and would rate them ranging from good to OK, but nothing I used was spectacular. Of course, that's just my opinion.

There are a lot of different car care brands which can make the claim that their products are used in museums or on show winners. Once upon a time I was impressed when people made that claim as well. Here's what you have to realize though . . . cars in museums and concours shows generally have very, very expensive paint jobs which are in perfect condition. I could take any product from my local AutoZone and make these cars look just about as good. 90% of the "shine" comes from surface prep and these cars have been prepped to perfection by the body shop long before a detailer ever sees them.

Interesting motto . . . however this is even more of a sweeping generalization than my statement that "most people feel Griot's products are average performers." I know a lot of people who are very well to do. Some of them are very wise with their money and some are not.

Here's a great example . . . the townhouse two doors down from my parents is owned by a guy big in the Kuwait cement industry. This condo is worth ~$2M and he uses it about 4 weeks a year. The condo fee alone is probably close to $12K per year. He stays there when he visits his son who goes to a local university. Is this a wise use of money? I'm sure staying in a hotel for 4 weeks would be much cheaper.

animeS2K

[QUOTE=MikeyC,Nov 7 2006, 10:21 PM] There are a lot of different car care brands which can make the claim that their products are used in museums or on show winners.