so i went to the store to pick up some wax, and i just went ahead and picked up all the meguiars products they had. i have the cleaner wax, gold class clear coat wax, nxt tech wax, and quik detailer spray. i know what it says on the side of the container, but i was wondering if the stuff i picked up will work, and how people that have it apply it. i checked the meguiars website, but it didnt have what i was looking for. and i noticed in other threads some guys were saying they use meguiars #6 or whatever, but i didnt see any numbers. do you have to get it online for that?

TIA
chris

 

I use the Meguires Cleaner Wax and the NXT wax.

I think the cleaner wax is a good product, I use it in the prep stage when I wax my car..before the polish and wax.

The NXT tech wax is awesome, easiest product ive ever worked with, the results are nothing short of unreal.

Never used the Gold Class CLear Coat, but I hear all thier Gold Class products are top of the line. Never tried the Quick Detailer spray, but I hope its easier to use than the NXT Booster Wax

 

Meguires is right up there with the best OTC products you can buy. Their "Professional" line on their website is better, but harder to find in stores. The big stores only carry a fraction of Meg's products unfortunately.
Once again, the best place to learn (even the Meg's numbering system) is AUTOPIA

 

Or you may want to try out meguiarsonline.com. It's a very good board where you can ask Meg's employees questions on detailing, or even find a local "detail day" to attend.

The professional product line is numbered, but you can most likely only find #7 and #26 at your local auto store. If you can find a PBE, you should be able to find more of their products. Also, Meguiars recently released their new line of professional products called their "Detailer" line. I've only used their "Last Touch" product, which is this lines quick detailer, but it is definately awesome stuff.

 

I use mainly Meguiar's products.
Here is my process
1. Wash car (I used to use Meguiar's Gold Class Car wash, but this weekend I tried Mr. Clean AutoDry and it works well)
2. Mother's Clay Bar
3. ScratchX where needed -- optional
4. Meguiar's ColorX
5. Meguiar's NXT

I used to use Gold Class, but then I tried NXT and stuck with it. The combination of ColorX and NXT gives a better & deeper shine than Gold Class. Its also easier to apply and wipe off.

BTW
You dont need both Gold Class and NXT, just pick one. If you decide to go with NXT, get ColorX and do a layer or two of that before the NXT. The Quick detailer is for bringing back the shine and smoothness after a wash between waxings. You might also want to buy some microfiber towels. Walmart and Target carry some. They will make wiping-off the wax a lot easier/quicker.

 

i used the gold class for some time until my brother picked up the nxt wax. in my opinion it looks better might just be in my head. also i was in walmart last weekend and picked up the new nxt car wash soap. does a good job and smells pretty good

 

I would personally stay away from cheap microfiber towels (wal-mart etc...) there is a huge difference in quality from the good one's.. Just to give you an idea check out THESE QUALITY TOWELS.. They cost alot but there is a whole world of difference.

 

The Walmart/Target microfiber towels work fine for me. I just rip off the little tag before using it. They remove the compound haze very well and dont cause any damage. They seem soft enough. They look just like these:
http://www.pakshak.com/images/16x16_lightblue1.jpg
(these are the regular and not the ultra fine)

I guess I'm a bit lazy and cheap when it comes to car care products: I stick with what I can buy in a physical local store.

 

Here is what I use:
1. Wash car (Meguiar's Gold Class Car wash or Mr. Clean AutoDry, I still shamy dry the car because I don't like to wait 1.5 hrs for the car to fully dry)
2. Meguiar's Quik Clay Detailing System
3. ScratchX where needed -- optional
4. Deep Crystal System Polish
5. Gold Class Clear Coat Car Wax

I love these products! I hope it is sunny this comming weekend

 

I used the Mr. Clean Auto Dry for the first time this past weekend and the car dried quickly, but then again its a black car (although it was a cool day, 75* max). I only had to dab up a few minor areas.

The Mr. Clean Auto Dry "kit" only has enough soap and filter for 3 washes (or only 2 if you do a SUV and a f-body the same day -- end of day, its out).

 

thats for all the info. seeing as now i have basically every meguiars product that regular stores sell, i dont think i can screw it up too bad.

 

Pakshak is extremely cheap if you take advantage of the Autopian discount. Email Ranney about it. ranney@pakshak.com

 

I cant find any meguiars around here either...so i order online

 

well last night i was outside waxing, and i think it looks pretty damn good. but it seems like some stuff just wasnt going anywhere. ill see if i can take some pics. on both rear fenders, in almost the same area, i would almost like to say it looks like something rubbed against the car, but its in the same area on both sides. ill take some pics, cause it didnt come out. and what exactly does a clay bar do? does it take a long time?

 

clay bars remove all ofthe surface contamination. it depends on how "dirty" your paint is. it should take 30-60 minutes to clay a car. maybe less, myabe more.

i use the megs detail spray with their clay but use eagle one wet wipe and shine for a QD

 

SLide your hand over your car when it is clean and if it feels rough it prob needs a clay bar, if its very smooth then the clay bar wont make a big difference. IMO i think that the mr clean system sucks. Tried to wash my moms 01 black vette with it and it looked like crap. again JMO.

 

Did you follow the instructions to the letter? If not, then it might not turn out right.

1. rinse thuroughly with the regular water setting
2. suds the car with the soap setting and scrub with a terry covered wash mit or terry covered sponge sponge
3. rinse thuroughly with the regular water setting
4. rinse thuroughly with the filtered water setting
5. sit back and watch it dry spot free
6. dab up any minor left over water

If you did, then ... I dunno. I guess I got lucky.

As said above, it remove contaminents stuck into the paint. Its the stuff that you might not see but can definatly feel. Removing these contaminents will improve the ease of applying the wax, make it look better, and IMO last a bit longer (due to better adhesion to the paint).

--VIP1