GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Quote, originally posted by ALi3N »And where can a guy go to get a clay bar, i have heard of them but never found one.Most parts stores should have clay - I think I've even seen it at Wal-Mart. Clay is simply amazing. A little trick I read about once that I still do every time I clay - before you start, get yourself a standard plastic baggie. Put your hand inside it, and run your fingers across your hood. Give one squirt of the loob, and clay for 10 seconds. Now run your hand in the baggie over the spot you just clayed. If that doesn't convince you that clay makes a difference, nothing will.If I'm going full-out, my system is:Wash (using Dawn first spring wash)ClayWashMeguiar's #7 Show Car GlazeMeguiar's #26 Hi-tech Yellow Wax (order corrected from original post)Micro-fiber buff - with detail spray or water in a spray bottle (brings out some sparkle)We just picked up a brand new Vibe today - literally just found this forum about 30 minutes ago. Planning on giving the Fusion Orange the Clay/Wax/Glaze treatment tomorrow!

Welcome to the site, scott! As I'm sure you'll see, you can find just about anything Vibe related here. Drop a line in the Vibe Lounge if you'd like to say hi and tell everyone a little about yourself and your new Vibe.I have a question though. I've been doing auto detailing here and there for several years now, and I've always noticed that conventional wisdom is that you generally follow the process of detailing with 1) thorough wash 2) clay or chemical deep clean 3) glaze/seal 4) wax. Is there a reason why you wax and then glaze? I've been told (and read) that the process of glazing will remove the wax. Just wondering if you know something about it that I haven't learned yet.Again, welcome to the site!

Quote, originally posted by Stang2Vibe »I've been doing auto detailing here and there for several years now, and I've always noticed that conventional wisdom is that you generally follow the process of detailing with 1) thorough wash 2) clay or chemical deep clean 3) glaze/seal 4) wax. Is there a reason why you wax and then glaze? I've been told (and read) that the process of glazing will remove the wax. Just wondering if you know something about it that I haven't learned yet.When I went to work on the Vibe today, I realized that I had written it wrong on my post last night. You indeed do the wax last. I'll edit my original post to correct.I had never really gotten into detailing until I got my Maxima a couple years ago - now I've got two cars to keep looking nice. Always had cars that I wasn't overly worried about before... The Fusion Orange looks mighty nice after the #7/#26 combo! (I left out the clay this time around - will do it when the Minnesota weather gets a little warmer).

They both look very nice! Good luck with them, I know it takes a lot of work to make them look nice and keep them that way.

I had to add KLASSE ... the klasse twins (AIO and SG) are a great pair

HERE is a rating by GURU reports....""Guru Reports (www.gurureports.org) tested 4 different Zymols in their 2002 wax test. The top rated Zymol (Carbon Carnauba) ranked 29th (Grade = C) out of 46 waxes tested. Zymol SUV (Zurtle) was 35th, Zymol Titanium Carnauba was 36th, and Zymol Concours Carnauba was 40th. Top rated was Zaino Brothers Polish, P21S Concours-look Carnauba was 2nd, and Klasse All-In-One & Sealant Glaze was 3rd. Among the cheap readily available waxes, Rain Dance Premium was 7th overall, and Mothers California Gold Carnauba Cleaner Wax was 8th. Meguiar's Gold Class, which seems to be popular, ranked 18th, just behind Nu Finish. Five other Meguiar's waxes ranked lower.""

last weekend i did a duo wax : first I used Mothers California Gold Carnauba Cleaner Wax and then followed with Meguiar's Gold Class, smooth.

I did exactly the same thing 3 days ago and the finish is nice .Btw i too have a Salsa Vibe and after using Mother's Cleaner wax and Meguair's Gold class the colour is definetly deeper and richer .Plus the finish it also smooth . I gave a second coat of Gold class after 12hrs & it gives a much better finish .But it is a pain in the arms ,But then no pain No gain

Like everyone else it seems, I too used to use Zymol, but quit because it just doesn't hold up long-term if you wash your car frequently. Now I just use Mother's Carnauba Cleaner Wax (paste only, two coats separated by a day or two). I know a lot of people follow this up with a coat of Meguiar's, Zaino or Klasse, but my Moonstone paint looks good enough with only the Mothers. BTW: Does anyone use the Mother's Phase 1-2-3 system? I'm thinking of trying it out on an old Mustang with it's original paint (it's somewhat oxydized) but I'm wondering if these products are okay to use on non-clear coat paint jobs.

I use the Klasse duo and highly recommend them.

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I have been using Mothers car wax (the one with the T-bird on it) for atleast a year now. I've gotten more complements on my car then I ever have with anything else. Maybe its the way I wax ... or maybe its just my sexy self, loldan

Quote, originally posted by silverawd26 »Compliments are good, but actual durability and the duration of how long it lasts is what makes or breaks a Wax. Well, my cavalier sat outside all year long ... and the wax lasted about 3 - 4 months, and the rain still beaded up.Or maybe, im just letting it sit on there too long. After I get done washing it. I let it sit inside the garage about 45 minutes for it to cool down, wax it in a circular motion, let that sit for atleast 45minutes, then I would take it off (doing circles again) using the same material I put it on there with and then just wipe off the excess dust from the dried up wax.Does that atleast sound right??dan

Found this site doing liquid wax reviews...http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/p....htmland herehttp://www.autoexpress.co.uk/p....html

Meguiar's of course!

Which Zymol were you using? It depends which one in the range you get, their waxes are good though.

Zymol is good, I used to use it myself. But @ $30 a bottle you can do much more with the proper Meguiar's products. Zymol's big kick is that it's used by dealers such as Porsche and the like. On new paint surfaces that have fairly hard paints. Essentially for cars that are not driven daily and kept indoors during weather.A product like Meg's is what is needed for cars that are constantly exposed to the elements and it keeps your paint and clear coat looking fresh and new while still protecting it with better coating than a Zymol or the like.Put it to the test, wax up the car really well and use Zymol as a top coat, heck put two on if you feel the need. Then wait 3 months before waxing and see what shape your paint / clear coat is in. Then do the same detail using Meguiar's and compare 3 months later. Guaranteed that it will still be holding up and making your car looking great.

i use meguiars gold class, i've yet to experiance any other waxes cause i went right for the megs and that was it

Gold Class is a fantastic wax, it is carnuba based. They also offer the NXT Gen Tech Was and Tech Wax 2.0 which is a slight upgrade on the current #26. The Tech wax is synthetic so no carnuba and really does well for darker colors, especially those with metallic flec. The Gold class works well on lighter paints like whites, and flat colors like reds.

I have always used 3M products to detail my cars. The numbers on the bottles match the numbers that Meguiars uses but adds 800 to the begining. As an example the 3M liquid wax is no. 80026 which is the same number as the Meguiars Hi Tech Yellow wax, no 26. Are they the same product or just made to directly compete, Does anyone know this for sure?

If anything I would assume one of the two:1) 3M provides Meguiar's with the chemicals to produce their waxes, of which Meg's adds their own blends.2) 3M mimmics Meguiar's product number in a way to help keep things on the level for consumers. i.e. your not buying Meg's #26 and 3M #80, as 80 in Meg's relates to their polishing swirl remover.I think it would be option 2 as Meguiar's does most of their work and product manufacturing in-house. Plus Meguiar's and 3M are BIG competitors in the Marine market so keeping the numbering system similar would make sense. As 3M has a pretty dominant role in marine where Meguiar's is harder to find.

Zaino Wax or Meqiuar is probaly the best wax

I just used that new(ish) Turtlewax Ice stuff last week. It went on easy, but seemed to require more buffing than usual wax. Although the trade off was not having to worry about getting any on the cladding!!

Did you try putting any on your cladding? Somebody on here recommended it to protect the cladding, but I haven't tried it yet. I was waiting until I used up my bottle of Black back, or whatever it's called.

The new ICE seems too easy to work with to be a long term benefit. But that's just my opinion. I would rather have a wax last months than weeks.

Used Tech 2.0 (liquid) today on my carbon grey GT. Went on & off easily.... looked good, but not awe inspiring. Won't be spending $17 a bottle for it again. One PIA is that it dries in kinda a grey haze... not good on a grey car, in the shade it's hard to tell where you've been taking it off. Does the Gold wax dry to a white haze?

175 dollars of pure shine. Its worth the money from what I hear.

Quote, originally posted by Whelan »The new ICE seems too easy to work with to be a long term benefit. But that's just my opinion. I would rather have a wax last months than weeks.Is this the stuff made by turtle wax?

Quote, originally posted by The Lox »Is this the stuff made by turtle wax?Yes.Don't buy it.Compared to the NXT there is no comparison.

To add a note, throwing wax on the car does not CLEAN the paint. It just smooths it out and lusters the finish and protects it. So if you didnt clay bar, swirl remove, follow the other proper steps, etc. Then the wax is not going to work as well as thought. Wax in itself is not some magical product that sweeps away the grime and makes your car shiny and clear. It takes work, patience, and a lineup of materials to get the proper showroom finish.I can't even tell you how many times I watch those Auction shows and cringe lookin at some of the finishes on the cars, all the swirls in the lighting just make me twitch. Would it kill the owner to clean it up.

Does clay bar use, help take out the swirl marks, as well as clean up surface impurities? And how often do you use the clay bar on your car, Whelan?

Clay Bars are used to clean the pain and give you a fresh, smooth surface to work with. It cleans out the industrial fallout, sap, and other contaminants that can get into your paint (clearcoat). I use clay barring twice a year when I do my full detail. Reason being is that using a clay bar removes everything. Think of it as a degreaser, it removes any old wax or product and gives you a nice clean slate.Failing to use a product especially on a dark car can result in streaks and difference in how certain areas of the car look due to product not being spread evenly.

Finally got everything I needed for the big spring cleanup. I've been wanting to give the vibe a full service for a few weeks now that the sun is back.I tried a new Wax this time and I'm not too convinced. I used to buy Napa Polymer Wax but this time I tried Simoniz liquid wax extra glow. I found it too liquid and harder to apply and it left a sort of greasy residue. I does the job but it's average at best.EDIT: The car has been sitting in the driveway for 3 hours since I finished waxing it and it's really horrible. Insted of a uniform glow you see lots of streaks and it's really the worst wax job I ever did on a car. This wax is really low-quality. I'll have to redo everything next week to try to cover this up.

Since your car is newer you should try the following.Get yourself a Clay Bar Kit (Meg's or Clay Magic), doesnt matter which brand as they all do the same thing. Now wash your car with a bit of Dawn dish soap. Yes I know the bain of all cars. The reason they say no is that it strips the car which is what you want, a clean slate. But they say not to use it because people wash their cars with it and leave it be. That can be VERY harmful. While the car is still wet from the rinse, use the clay bar per its instructions. Then rinse and dry completely. One killer thing is that the car is not TOTALLY dry. I mean let it sit in the sun and dry, get a towel and work it into the panel gaps to remove any standing water. Water and wax do not mix well with application and cause streaking. Also not having a uniform smooth paint to start can cause this.Then if you want you can go two ways. Get Meg's #80 Speed Glaze (professional product in tan container) normally only found online. Then some Meg's #26 Tech Wax. Do the #80 and then do the #26.I swear you will think your car just came off the assembly line.

I think that personally for the money the meguiar's gold class is a fairly decent wax. However it hasn't ever lasted more than a couple months for me. It also doesn't even compare to wolfgang's FUZION wax for me. I put some of that stuff on my wife's lazer blue metallic equinox. and it just glowed and made the metal flakes pop. However, i would say that the best wax out there is probably made by Zymol, they have a wax that cost i wanna say 45,000 dollars refillable for life and specially engineered for a single car's paint.

Whelan, should I use the above method for the following circumstance & color: 2009 Vibe GT, Red Hot Met., just brought home w/200 miles on it now. I have a few chips to fix, once I get the touch up tube(one on frt. air dam & one on door edge). Do I fix them before I put anything on the finish? I never have been a big WAXER of my vehicles, but since this is my first red car, I think that I'd better be learning the proper techniqes. Thanks for any guidance you can give me.G.W.

If you wanna give it a good wash and then inspection. If it came from the dealer it could still have some light webbing on it. If not, throw on some Tech Wax 2.0 or the Gold Class Mirror Glaze.The good thing with a new car is that there is not a lot of maintenance, just upkeep and beautification.for very very light swirls certain waxes like the Mirror Glaze can also help remove and clean slightly cause of the carnuba base. Tech Wax is synthetic based.

I should touch-up the chips before I put anything like wax on it, correct? And what do you mean,"webbing"? Thanks for your input,G.W.

webbing, the spide webs you see in swirls. When you look at the paint in the sun and see lots of little halo rings around the sun itself.Chips? Your in a whole nother category with chips. How big and how many. Cause there is a proper technique for chip repair.

Just 2 chips that I can see. One, on the door edge, looks like someone took a knife and put a very small notch in the edge. The other is on the front lower fascia(probably from the 160 mi. DX) and is apprx. 1/16", the result of road debris.Sorry if this is off topic,but I wanted Whelan's opinion before I went out & purchased the"Best Car Wax".

I remember reading somewhere recently that 3M bought the Meguiars company so the two product lines are probably intermingled somehow. You can't go wrong with either one.

Just because a company is bought does not mean they change the whole lineup. Ford bought Volvo and you don't see T5 engines in Fords in the US.However I am sure some products will be mingled, but Meguiar's and 3M both have great products and a huge fanbase so melting Meguiar's completely into 3M would be dumb. Their products are different in many ways.

$175 bucks for wax? Wow for that price it better come with someone to put it on for me LOL!

Quote, originally posted by cptnsolo77 »$175 bucks for wax? Wow for that price it better come with someone to put it on for me LOL! & She better be NAKED !!!

That's not bad. I usually get 150-200 for anything from a small car to sedan. SUVs and Trucks run higher in the 250+ range. That includes:-exterior wash/dry/degrime-swirl removing-wax application-Simoniz System 5 coating-engine clean up (simple green, wash, detailer)-wheel cleaning (scrub down, dry, polish, tire dress)-clad/plastic cleaningInteriors are a separate charge anywhere from $75-200 depending on the shape and size.

Anyone here use dodo juice brand waxes. I used it on my vibe when I had it, and now I use it on my 3. Everytime I tell someone what I use they say they have never heard of it.

always used meguiars. The few times i tried something else I was disappointed. But I'm about to try a gel wax a read about today

Quote, originally posted by A Psycho Martyr »always used meguiars. The few times i tried something else I was disappointed. But I'm about to try a gel wax a read about todayPost the results!!!! and pictures, too.

will do

Last year ALDI set out some "Quixx Wax" as a special purchase, it was $10 so I decided to try it out. It's some sort of German product so it is hard to find here (and I don't think they make it anymore..) Goes on easy, no effort for removing either. Beautiful shine, no streaks or swirls, seems to last forever.I just bought enough bottles off ebay to last me quite some time since I wasn't sure how much longer I could easily obtain it.

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Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »Last year ALDI set out some "Quixx Wax" as a special purchase, it was $10 so I decided to try it out. It's some sort of German product so it is hard to find here (and I don't think they make it anymore..) Goes on easy, no effort for removing either. Beautiful shine, no streaks or swirls, seems to last forever.I just bought enough bottles off ebay to last me quite some time since I wasn't sure how much longer I could easily obtain it. Oh Aldi. Such random gems can be found there.