[s-cars] RE: Car detailing

[Olek]

Clay bar followed by 3M Swirl Mark Remover is my favorite, if I have time to do so. I do
have 3M Imperial Hand Glaze, but do not use it often, if at all - I found that glazes does
not change appearance of the polished paint appreciably. If I do not feel like spending
the whole day (weekend, 2 weekends) detailing the car, I found that Mothers Reflections
does surprisingly well for one-step product (applied with Porter-Cable orbital as well).
Zaino is also a great line of products (and it lasts a LONG time), and I have heard a lot
of good things about Klasse too. In my opinion, products that you are using does not
matter as much as a process (as long as you stay away from el-cheapo bottles with turtles
on them and other extra-cheap stuff).

Choice of detailing products will also depend much on color of the paint, condition of it,
how much you care about appearance, protection, how often are you ready to reapply it, how
easy application should be, and after all - there is no one way to do it right.

Here is my opinion: for nice clean fresh black paint nothing beats good carnauba wax, P21S
in particular - surface look so good, so wet, so deep. But any pits and stone chips on the
paint are becoming very visible than. Also, it have to be reapplied about every 2 to 3
month if you care about protection. For a black beater (that is my car) polymers like
Zaino or Mothers Reflections are giving nice mirrorish look that is masking imperfections
(since your eyes are focusing on the things in the mirror, not on the mirror itself), but
look a little grayish comparing to carnauba wax. Polymers lasts 2-4 times longer and
seem to provide better protection, and are easier to maintain (hand washing is much easier
with slippery polymers), that is why I like it more. Again, that is my personal opinion,
reflecting my experience and my taste.


regards,
   Olek

On Mon, 10 May 2004, TM wrote:

> Olek-
> Thank you very much for the info- I need some more P21S wheel
> cleaner, and if the local H-D dealer has it, that's awesome.
>
> What do you use for a glaze/polish prior to waxing, then?
>
> Taka
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Olek [mailto:lists at olek.dhs.org]
> Sent: Monday, May 10, 2004 11:18 AM
> To: TM
> Cc: lee at wheelman.com; s-car-list at audifans.com; 'Qlist'
> Subject: Re: [s-cars] RE: Car detailing
>
>
> Hint: you can buy P21S wax (that costs $25 and is availabale almost
> exclusively online) from your next-door Harley-Davidson dealer for $15.
> Ah, forgot about small detail - even that it is same wax from the same
> company in the same jar, label does say "S100 cycle wax". Marketing
> miracle ;) And yes, it does work very nicely on black paint, although
> now I prefer polymers. Again, you can grab P21S wheel cleaner in the
> same place while you are there (again with a price break and relabelled
> as "S100 cycle wheel cleaner"). As usual, disclamer, YMMV, it is almost
> 1 year since I was there last time.
>
> And, AFAIK 3M Imperial Machine Glaze is more of a filler, not polish -
> it will make your paint look better, but only temporarily, utill it
> eveporates.  If you like 3M products (I
> do) you could use 3M Swirl Mark Remover (for light or dark cars -
> difference between them is insignificant); it is very mild polish that
> makes it safe in hands of novice, and it DOES remove swirls and very
> minor scratches, when used with Porter-Cable orbital buffer.
>
>
> regards,
>    Olek
>
> On Mon, 10 May 2004, TM wrote:
>
> > Lee-
> > I'm happy with the P21S wax that I've used last, makes the black car
> > look very nice indeed.
> >
> > I have to question using the swirl remover and HD cleanse with an
> > orbital buffer- are these products specifically made to be used this
> > way?
> >
> > I'm using 3M Imperial Machine Glaze to very good effect with our cars,
>
> > made a fellow lister's car look much nicer as well.
> >
> > Taka
> >
> >
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>
>
>