HGL1668

I just got my car a month and a half ago, and because I need a car wash quick, I did some research on this site to see what do people use and do. Most people say:

First, wash it with
Soap: Optimum
Sheep Mit

Second,
Clay bar it without drying, with some lubrication, all clay bars are almost the same

Third,
Polish it with Zaino (but people say its not really a polish, and I dont' know what to use here, Should I use zaino to take out swirls, or does it just hide swirls), (and what are all these Z2, Z5 stuff?)

Fourth,
Wax it with s100, P21s (what Brand are those by the way)
for quick and easy use NXT
Remove wax: with Viper MF towel

For glass, I dont' know what to use.


However, because I need to wash it today, I went ahead to walmart and Kragen and picked up some

-Gold Class Car Wash Soap
-Sheep Mit
-A MF towel that cost 6 bucks (dont' know if its good, but for 6 bucks, it better be good)
-NXT Paste Wax
-Mother's Clay Bar Kit (Comes with Clay Bar, Showtime Detailer lubricate, and canuba cleaner wax)

I dont' know if I should polish a brand new car yet, or even clay, do I need to clay and polish so early?

I am thinking with those, I will wash the car, clay bar it, wax it with NXT. and what should I do with the Mother's Canuba Cleaner wax,(this is that for and whats canuba.

tekstar

hey, hugo right? if you need some help let me know, i get off work at 6. but here is the process you would want.

wash
dry
clay
polish
seal
wax

you might need to clay your car. you can check by seeing if your paint surface seems smooth to the touch (try using a sandwhich bag over you hand and see if you can feel if the surface is rough).

can you see swirls in your paint? your swirls would be very minimal since your car is new.

your process sounds fine (wash, clay, wax). the mother's carnuaba cleaner wax i have tried before, and didn't really notice a difference.

where are you washing your car? do you have a driveway i may borrow

remember to pick up some 303 for top and interior and invisible glass for the windows the next time you're at kragen. may as well pick up some lexol for the leather as well.

Mystiqueskillz

This is what I did for my first detail. I washed it with the two bucket method using two grit guards and a sheep mitt. Left it wet, and then clayed barred it, after that I waxed it. Prior to this detail, I was washing my car with the one method bucket and I got a lot of fine line scratches on my paint now.

tekstar

you can look up more information on zaino, but essentially zaino is a line of products that are synthetic polishes/sealants. alot of people like to top zaino with p21s for the ultimate shine (wanabe )

p21s and s100 are the same thing, they are carnauba waxes.

HGL1668

Have I met you before tekstar?

Whats synthetic, and carnauba, and cleaner wax?

So I guess, I dont' need to polish it yet, and why sealant and wax? I thought just choose one of them since they are almost the same, and I heard wax is better?

Thanks

Hugo-

tekstar

no, i don't go out to meets much. but i remember you posted in the sac forum and we both goto davis.

synthetic waxes are manmade waxes while carnauba waxes - Wikipedia

the difference is while a synthetic may provide longer protection, carnaubas provide more depth and shine (although alot of this is personal preference)

i mentioned sealant because a sealant under a wax will provide longer lasting protection.

wanabe

i was about to post and saw that tekstar has the basics of what i was gonna say...

there is no "right procedure" for all cars. the first step of detailing is inspection. its from inspection that you can tell what the car needs. not every car needs to be clayed. not every car needs to be polished.
inspection tells you what it needs.

HGL1668

Thanks, I just wasn't sure if my minimal swirl marks needs to be remove with some zaino before I wax it with NXT or some s100. Maybe the NXT will remove those little ones. I will just do the basics first before I buy all the expensive goodies online. I going to clay bar it, rinse, dry and wax with NXT. After NXT, should I top it off with the Mother's Carnauba Cleaner wax? or Carnauba wax than the NXT?

PS, Tekstar, I just moved and I have great place to wash my car under a shade. If you want to come by and wash your car, pm me. I will be washing my car today. My new apartment is in West Davis, Adams Street

philbert

i realize i may jeopardize my 'wacko' status by writing this, but the 80/20 rule applies here as well... a 2-step process, consisting of a quality wash and one of wax/polymer should get you enough of a shine to impress just about anybody. clay is a good idea at first, since the car can have some surface contamination from shipment/sitting on the dealer's lot. going forward, you shouldn't have to clay often (not every wax).

there was a thread earlier on nufinish/turtle wax, and what could be gleamed there is that much of the talk about this product vs that product really boils down to ease of application/removal, and some degree of brand snobbery.

also, having a new car, especially one that isn't black, red or other bold, solid color, means you have an easier time keeping it looking good rather than always having to make it look good.

cheers,
phil

tekstar

since it's a cleaner wax, you would want to do that before the nxt.

thanks for the offer hugo! i will definitely have to take you up on that did you move into one of the town homes there? i used to wash at a buddy's house, but they moved and my apartment doesn't have any hoses around

if you want to try out some jeffs werkstatt prime and trigger, it's what i've been using currently.