The 5 Step Paint Care Cycle

[Whelan]

As told by the Dali Lama of car care Mike Phillips of Meguiar's. It's a base overview of the process. He doesn't get into such details as when washing for a detail, use a nice beaver hair paintbrush to work into door jambs and between panels http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/thread/15512.aspx

[ajconover]

Interesting read... and given some of the complaints about apparent premature paint wear, I plan on doing my best to keep up with the cleaning on the new Vibe.My question is: With the 5 step paint care cycle, do you have a personally recommended list of products that the average person might want to use? If I wanted to buy a complete line of Meguiar's consumer products -- there are a number of car washed to chose from as well as waxes, etc. For example, I'm not really sure which was would be more approprate: The Cleaner Wax (which I already use), or the Deep Crystal® System Carnauba Wax. The number of different wash choices is a bit overwhelming too.Another question is about the car washes in general, they all seem to indicate that wont damage existing wax, but isn't it a good idea once in a while to get all of the old wax off to remove all the contaminates it may have collected? Or will a clay bar suffice here?(With my Lumina -- and you'll probably shudder to read this -- I actually used Dawn dish soap on the whole thing once every few years to get the grime and old wax off. I would even hit up stubborn spots of pine tar with some isopropyl alcohol. I would then immediately apply a coat of fresh wax, and then a second coat about a week later. Even after 13 years, the finish still looks nearly as good as it did 10+ years ago -- certainly better than a lot of the fairly new cars I see on the road.)Thanks in advance for any added advice!

[Whelan]

I'll try and list everything I use and such, hope this helps. When washing the car, I do stick with a microfiber wash mitt and microfiber Water Magnet waffle pattern towel. The car wash itself is a little trickier. For me there are two that work the best. One is the Mother's California Gold Car Wash (first picture), it works well and does not contain a lot of those waxes that you speak of. Nowadays a lot of car washes include some kind of wax polymer because people are lazy and don't want to hassle with car care. The other which I try to use is the Meguiar's Gold Class version (second picture), they offer a NXT Generation Car Wash as well but for me I tend to stick to anything that is a amber tint to the liquid. I will also admit I do break the rule when BIG detail time comes twice a year and put a dash of Dawn (not Joy, or any other brand, Dawn is the safest) into the bucket in order to really strip the waxes off. Clay barring will do this also, but if you don't use a lot of Dawn very often, and follow the detailing process right after, the effects are non-existent.When Clay Barring the car, I really don't feel it is necessary to buy the best kit out there. Clay is clay and the sprays do not matter that much. Meguiar's uses a bottle of their Quick Detailer whereas Clay Magic is a soap style lubricant, Meg's kit is like $15-$20. I use Clay Magic, it's $9 and I only use one bar per car, once its done I throw the clay away.When it comes to polishing and swirl removal, compounding is out! Not many people use this form anymore as technology and polymers have come into play. When you polish/swirl remove, you are literally taking away very fine layers of clear coat. Think of your clear coat as a knife edge with ridges and such, they are not all the same so you see swirling, with polish you even that out and make a smooth flat surface. Meguiar's offers a large range of polishes and removers depending on how bad your paint is. For the Professional line of products they all come in tan colored bottles with no frills logos. Their 3 Step process however is in shiny red bottles that you find at your local auto supply store (aka Auto Zone). I have used the red 3 Step but if you truly want a professional shine and cleaning, stick with the tan. They are available online at places such as http://www.autogeek.net or http://www.autodetailingsolutions.com. Here below you can see Step 1 for the consumer brand is the Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner (pictured first). This product safely removes road grime, surface contamination, light oxidation, swirls and light scratches to restore damaged and dull finishes. It works great for lighter cars such as silver metallics. If you have deeper swirling and scratching then I go with the big boy heavy duty stuff called Meguiar's #83 Dual Action Cleaner/Polish. This stuff is insane when it comes to removing swirling and scratches. You will notice the ruler bar on the left of the bottle (pictured second), this gives the user a scale of the abrasiveness and type of swirling it can remove. You really don't wanna go above this product unless your car is totally oxidized. It can get out most anything. Typically they will recommend using a lighter polish (mentioned next) and if that does not work, going to #83. It is a very tough product to work into the paint, takes 15-20lbs. of pressure on the machine to work in, must be used in small areas 2'x2' or smaller and taken off immediately or it dries and becomes a pain. But the results are incredible and you may even have a bit of fine swirling afterwards which can be taken out by the next step.Now moving onto the actual polishing to make the paint ready for wax. Meguiar's Step 2 Deep Crystal System Polish (first picture) does the trick for the everyday consumer in cleaning and is not a wax, but it also doesn’t cut. It is a pure polish that conditions and nourishes the paint and creates a nice deep, wet-look shine. On the other side I use the Meguiar's #80 Speed Glaze (second picture). Note the scale on the left of the bottl and how it is lower than #83 as I mentioned above. This will do incredible things to your paint. The wetness and shine is incredible and your car feels like it is already waxed after applying this. It removes light swirling, fine marks, and really gets the paint to explode. #80 also works fast and with a little elbow grease can really do wonders to a cars finish in protecting it.Now onto the fun stuff, waxing! Nothing pleases me more than getting to this step and letting it sit, dry, and watch the shine that pops when your done! Typically you would jump to Meguiar's Step 3 Deep Crystal System Carnauba Wax (first picture) but I did not. I went for the Meguiar's Gold Class Liquid Wax (second picture). This stuff is so good they actually put it in a box for you to open to get to the bottle, lol. But seriously, this has been my final step wax of choice for over 5 years now. It allows you to shave using your hood as a mirror, and that's no joke, it's serious shine. I have since moved on to something that is even crazier. If you have metallic fleck in your paint, there is only one thing to make it gleam. Meguiar's NXT Generation Tech Wax (third picture). Gold Class is a pure wax while NXT is a polymer wax and man does it shine. At $18 for a 16oz. bottle it really is worth money. It too comes in its own box but this box is very shiny, just like the bottle inside is shiny, and it smells great! Again if you have a metallic fleck or dark colored finish on your car, this is the stuff to get, hands down you will not be dissappointed.I hope this gave you some insight to the products available for washing, polishing, waxing. This only covers paint care products and not the how-to. Either the Professional (tan) or Consumer (red) brands can be done either by hand or by machine. I use a Meguiar's G100 Dual Action Orbital Polisher (pictured below) which is the same as the Porter Cable 7424 but it comes with a lifetime Meguiar's warranty. They run about $150 but you can get them on ebay sometimes for a little cheaper. I use only Meguiar's pads, typically their #8006 polishing pad and their #9006 buffing pad for the final wax application. It has adjustable speeds 1-6 of which 5 and 3 are the most used. When doing things by hand I recommend using a foam applicator pad instead of microfiber and terry cloths. The foam breaks the product down better and gives you a more consistent and thorough coating. When removing the product always ALWAYS use a microfiber towel and use different parts of it. Make sure you keep one towel for each product and do not mix and match. Enjoy!

[ajconover]

Wow...I was just hoping for maybe a short list, but it's obvious that you really get into auto detailing! Thanks for all the advice and recommendations... I'm sure I'm not the only one here who greatly appreciates your time/efforts.My Vibe is (or will be -- I'm picking it up this Saturday) Stealth, so the NXT Tech Wax might be worth the investment. It's a 2006 from near the end of the model year, so it's only seen the light of day for a little less than a year. I guess my first order of detail (after changing the oil -- the first thing I do when buying any car) is to really get it good and clean and get some Tech Wax on it.Do you recommend doing anything to specifically remove any old carnauba based wax before applying the polymer based wax? Perhaps a couple drops of Dawn in the wash bucket?

[Whelan]

Since the car is new to you it may have some wax on it when bought. Normal wash and do a clay bar system before you put on your NXT. Should be good after that!

[BLAQJAQ]

i read about this a few yrs back i did all the steps all day process...the car i think still benefits from that treatment paint still pops..i have plans to do it all again...good article for all

[kevera]

Well I spent all day on my B-day cleaning the Vibe.I did the clay bar and then the NXT Tech wax.Looks shiny new again.That Tech wax isn't as good as I thought,but still did a good job.

[nygiantzz1]

I've been using Meguiar's 3 step for years. It's well worth the money and time invested. My wife's last car was a 1996 Camaro RS in black. It would take me 7-8hrs, but it looked incredible when I was finished. I always did her's by hand to avoid swirls(I'm not that good w/ a buffer), I would only use the buffer after step 3 with a new polishing pad to deepen the shine. If I ever find the CD I saved all my older pics on, I'll post a few. It was a beautiful car.

[Mario]

Do you need a buffer to polish?

[Whelan]

Nope, using a foam applicator pad by hand works just as well. There is a difference in buffer types as well. You can get the Mikita style ones where it is a "wheel" as they refer to it that uses a wool pad for "cutting" the paint. This action actually removes paint from the car if it is really really bad. The unit I have is a polisher with Dual Action Orbiting. It takes that $30 10" buffer they sell at the Auto Store, adds more power, speed selection 1-6, smaller pad for better work area, and the motion of the pad is not oscillating it mimics what you hand does but about 1,000,000 times faster.

[kevera]

I guess I take that back.I had many compliments today on how shiny the Vibe was.So,I guess that NXT Tech wax is great stuff.I must of been too tired to notice.

[Whelan]

I gotta say Kev I've never seen a Vibe with the plastic molding then a lip kit under that. But for some reason it looks really good with your color.

[Mario]

One mroe question: I have a random orbital buffer, is there a special technique I should use when polishing and waxing my car?

[nygiantzz1]

Whelan, I wanted to thank you for all the car care tips you've been posting. I've used Meguiars 3 step for years, but have never tried the clay bar until last week. I started out washing Michele's new G5 GT with Meguiars Deep Crystal car wash, then I clay barred the entire car with a Mother's clay bar kit (Meguiars was not in stock). I skipped Meguiars Step 1 since the clay bar cleaned the paint really well. I then applied Step 2 (polish) and Step 3 (wax). The car looks amazing. I knew after sitting on 2 dealer lots for the last 6 months that the paint had to be filthy. Again, thanks for the tips, my arms and shoulders were sore as hell, but the car came out amazing.

[Whelan]

MarioTake your time and apply to proper amount of pressure. For swirl and polishes use 10-15lbs. of pressure, for waxes 5-10lbs. I would recommend pushing down on a scale to get an idea of pressure. Basically push till it almost stops orbitting and let up a bit, thats about 15lbs. or so. Next do small areas. Take the hood for example, I do it in six sections, door panels in 4, etc. Also your pattern is very crucial. I go up and down being sure to overlap half of the pad with each pass, then side to side, then up and down again and side to side one more time. This way you get 4 passes on each part of the area you are working on in different motions and the product breaks down better allowing more complete and even coverage.GiantzzFirst off, are you glad M.S. is coming back or wish we had some new blood on the team for the upcoming season. Moving on, I'm glad you had the opportunity to use the clay bar system. To me it doesn't matter what brand you use, just use it. I use Clay Magic cause its about $5 cheaper than the Meguiar's but you get the same results. Skipping Step 1 was a good idea cause your car is so new it would not have made a difference. The clay bar really does a good job cleaning the paint and prepping it so you get even coats and no streaking.

[nygiantzz1]

The Giants don't need Strahan, but I would like to see him end his career as a Giant after he plays another year. If he's going to be greedy about it, then bye bye. They have plenty of depth at DE and I think Justin Tuck is ready to step in.

[joholste]

so my question is have you ever done a double layer of wax??? if so how did that work out for ya??

[Whelan]

I'll be putting a second coat on once I get a chance after 3 weeks with the new bumper. It does help add protection and a thicker coat.I agree Justin Tuck is def. ready to step in. Maybe he can get some good plays this year to prove it too.

[Kevzaz]

This needs a bump. So... BUMP. Great info. =]

[bull77]

Quote, originally posted by Kevzaz »This needs a bump. So... BUMP. Great info. =]I agree --- the original link didn't work so I searched and found this one:Updated Link: http://www.meguiarsonline.com/...=2409I don't know if that's the original article

[Kevzaz]

Ya, thats the original article, I remember it.

[Whelan]

Yeah the Meg's site was hacked out after I posted it so it was moved to their new site.