TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

^^clay bar should be used maybe once or twice a year pending how much the car lives outside. this is typically part of major detail sessions. clay bar will remove any contaminants from the paint surface to keep it feeling slick and clean to allow the paint to pop after wax application.

the wax...carnuba has short durability and once a month is not too much. that's probably about what you want to do if using a "pure carnuba". synthetic "waxes" have longer durability with claims in upwards of 5-6 months, but i wouldn't necessarily go by that. maybe 3-4 months.

weather

^^^^ I agree with what she said! She knows her stuff

Sculldog3

Mine has finally arrived, and I'll be picking it up Friday...weather permitting...it will be Zaino'd up by Sunday!

nj2pa2nc

I have never "clayed" my tsx.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

once you clay your car and see what crap comes off of it...you'll never turn back. and if you thought your car was slick now...

my MDX i'm sure never got pampered as it has with washes and details before i owned her. i clay barred the car...and pulled off 2 yrs worth of crap on the paint the car looks WAY better than when it left the dealer lot.

nj2pa2nc

some day I might do it but priorities have taken over-Like spending time with my mom who has lung cancer (never smoked). Her last scan was not good. My car has numerous chips, swirl marks when the light hits it just right but I drive it. From a distance it looks excellent. Mechanically it is in excellent shape-told the brakes were still good. I am now in NJ until the 24th, in NC until 8/13 then back to NJ until after Labor Day. I rather been on the beach for an hour or so between taking my mom for chemo, dr. appts, cleaning her house, making meals, etc.

lamw001

Lots of good advice, thanks!

Domm

+1 to Weather about Collinite. The man has good taste in waxes (sounds strange). Use collinite 845 if you want ease of use. It'll blow zaino and meg's out of the park in terms of durability/water beading. Meg's is more of a "beauty" wax because it smells nice and is geared more for looks. If you're looking for extreme durability, use Collinite 885 (the same as 476, but you get more per container. This is because they're directed to different markets; 885 for boats and 476 for automotive, but they will openly admit they are the same product.) A bit harder to use but easy if you apply a thin thin thin coat.

happy_chrissy

I just purchased a 2013 4WD Base RDX on 6/30. I received my Certificate of Origin and the date on the certificate shows 6/7. I already put a spray wax of Zymol on the car however, I just brought the Optimum Spray Wax.

1st question, since the certificate of origin date was 6/7, should I have waited a few weeks or months before I used the spray wax?
2nd question-Since I already used the zymol spray wax, how long should I wait before I can use the Optimum Spray wax? I really want that wet look.
Thanks!

happy_chrissy

What did you use to make your car so shiny?

Domm

I'm glad you're interested in protecting your car. Spray wax is more used as an amplifier in between waxes. You wax your car which lasts for, say 3 months, and every week you wash your car, you use the spray wax to maintain your current layer of wax until you need to re-wax after 3 months. You can use spray wax every time you wash your car, but you should invest in a legitimate wax for protection and shine.

What kind of wax you want really depends on preference. You say you prefer shine, but are you willing to wax your car every 1-2 weeks? Carnauba wax is the best at bringing out the shine in your car, but it doesn't really last long. Of course, if you want more durable wax (less carnauba, more synthetic polymers), you sacrifice some shine.

What color is your paint? If you ask me, the differences in shine are very small and if you have brand new paint then simply waxing your car with a durable wax is enough to maintain the shine and condition of your new paint. You can also layer a durable wax/sealant with a pure carnauba wax over it to get the best of both worlds, but its added work for double coating.

Based on your current preference, check out collinite 915 reviews to see if it matches your expectations. It has the highest concentration of carnauba wax of the collinite products for deep shine along with the legendary durability of collinite.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

to answer your first question...no. you do not have to wait. the factory paint is baked onto the car before full assembly so the paint is completely cured by the time it leaves the factory. unlike body shop paint work which needs a curing time before applying any wax to the resprayed panel. not all shops have baking booths, and even if they do, they cannot reach the temps that the factory does b/c your car now has guts in it which maybe sensitive to high heat.

you can wax right away on a brand new car.

2nd question...already answered by domm. i would agree with his spray wax usage. if you really want great info...head over to the wash and wax section or check out detailing websites like autogeek.net. lots of good info there with high quality products (it can be overwhelming). you can use a synthetic based sealant then layer a carnuba based wax over it to bring out the depth (work better with darker cars IMO).

beernale7

hey weather, really impressed with your car's maintenance when it comes to washing/waxing so I'm going to try out your routine. Just a question...what do you use to apply the Mothers product and the collinite? I ordered the products not really sure if application material comes with it or just any kind of towel will work. thanks for the help!

Domm

I think a foam applicator will work just fine. Routinely check underneath the pad as you are waxing to make sure there aren't any material that can potentially scratch your paint. If you find any, just pick it out or use a new pad. The pads from meguiars are reusable so it's quite the deal!

weather

THANKS for your kind words I think you will be happy with the outcome and make sure you remember the basic tips that I gave already:

1. Never apply wax on a hot car or in the sun.....Apply in sections at a time. For me, I'll do the trunk (no trunk on the RDX but you get the idea), roof and hood, then go and remove the wax. Then do the one side, then remove it, then the other side and remove, then front/back then remove. DO NOT ever touch the black plastic portion with wax!!

2. When you apply the collinite, you don't need to rub it in as deeply because the sealer and glaze from Mother's will do that. You don't need to apply a thick coat of Collinite as that stuff is easy to spread around. Do the whole vehicle, let dry for another 15-20 minute then remove. If you don't let dry enough, it will keep on spreading and is harder to remove.

Now to your question....For me, I always use old T-shirts (with no graphics on) and cut them out in pieces. Even old flannel bed sheets will do...don't take cotton bed sheets. Now if you live in the southern States, flannel sheets may not even exist there as these are used in colder climates....just make sure you use something soft. Old T-shirts usually does the trick for me Best of luck and tell me how you made out ....

beernale7

thanks for the tips weather! car being delivered to me tmr and once I get all the products gonna go straight to waxing this baby! will let you know how things go

weather

^^^^ I'll be looking forward to seeing how you made out! You will be so impressed by the beading power of the Collinite Insulator wax!

Mikey Dallas

I ordered the colonite 845 online. I did not get a sealer or glaze. Are those a must with the 845?

Sculldog3

Picked up my Basque Red II on Friday the 13th, did the full Zaino treatment Saturday -- wash with Dawn, claybar, regular wash, Z5, Z2-Pro. So in answer to the thread....it's never to soon! Supposed to be sunny tommorrow, will post pictures. Can't say enough about Zaino products. Product goes on and off easy, is inexpensive compared to many others on the market, no wax residue that ruins trim pieces or dries up in the little cracks and crevices, etc. Also, while it sounds like some late night infomercial, you truly can do multiple coats and it gets progressively better. Lasts much longer than any wax I've used in the past, including various products from maguires, griots, zymol, etc., and produces results that cannot be matched.

On a side note, the clay bar pulled very little off the RDX, not sure how Acura transports these, but whatever they do, not much rail dust or debris on the paint. Still worth doing initially, but went pretty fast.

weather

Hi Mike...from my experience, the Collinite works best as a repellant/beading product. I don't find its as good as removing any debris in the clear nor will it do as good as a job for hiding swirl marks. That is why I use the Mother's first then apply the Collinite after. I am curious about this Zaino stuff that everyone seem to rave about...not even sure if I can get it here.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

zaino is fairly expensive at $50 a bottle. i looked into it at one point. once i found out how much it was, i asked myself how much do you love your car? i love my car a lot, but not enough to drop money on products that expensive when there are others that can do the job almost as well. if i had a show car, then yes, i would prbably go all out and get the zaino products.

i go with the tried and true stuff that has long standing history as a great product and not break the bank (more money for mods) .

and weather...after looking over many a review and forum talk of collinite 845...a bottle of it happened to fall into my most recent order from autogeek. for $15/bottle...it's hard to pass up. i have a few extra steps (that i noticed you don't do) i take prior to the LSP step to get my cars looking great.

nj2pa2nc

Even tho the Zaino store is not that far from where I am in Nj I have not tried their product. I Personally like either Mothers or Mequiar products. They aré more in my budget.

weather

I agree that Mother's is pretty good and I guess if it ain't broke, why fix it?! I'll likely stick with my Mother's/Collinite combo as I have always had good results since I started using them together back in 2007.

weather

Well...I like my cars alot but then again, they don't to experience alot of the element as most other Canadian car owners here do (salt, sand, crap) so Zaino is likely overkill and as stated just above, my combo has been working pretty good thus far so I'll stick to it.

As far as your purchase of Collinite....congrats! That stuff is a great finishing coat and if you (or ANY OTHER ACURAZINE members) have any questions on applying it or anything else, please let me know. I don't want to be playing favorites here so I am offering my help to all.

15$/bottle is a great price...I pay like 24$ here but I am due for a trip in the US to do some shopping, especially now that they have increased significantly the amount of duty free we can bring back in Canada after 48h. I may try and see where I can get some in Me and pick some up.

What other steps you take? Are you referring to the Clay bar? I am not sure I need it since my car live a fairly sheltered (and pampered) life but I may succumb at some point and give it a Clay Bar treatment....I know I am going to sound dumb for asking but I'll blame it on my French language for my ignorance but what do you mean by LSP?

Sculldog3

$50 a bottle for zaino?!?! It's in fact 14.95 USD for the Z2-Pro, another 19.95 for the flash additive which is helpful, not essential. (It lets you do multiple coats in a day, but the straight Z2 works fine solo, you just do one coat a day.) Look at zainostore.com for details, they sell other products, for glass, tires, leather, etc., but the Z2-Pro and Z5 are what I'm familiar with and use. I'm actually somewhat agnostic for other products -- I use griots leather care, invisible glass for interior windows, rain-x for exterior windows, any tire product since none last more than a week or two, etc.

The reality on any wax based product is that it's great initially, but won't last nearly as long as the more modern sealer type solutions. Add to this that the carnuba waxes can be a pain if you get any them on plastic trim pieces, and are often more finicky in heat/sun situations, and I'm not sure I see the value.

The other advantage is that I used the zaino on the paint, the headlight/brake light assembly's which are plastic, accessory rims, etc, and it protects and shines them all. Wheel cleaning? Piece of cake with a couple of coats of Zaino, brake dust flushes right off.

I started using Zaino after reading a "Guru Car Wax" report back in the early 2000's. They rated a few dozen products and Zaino came in on top. Prior to this, I'd done Maguirs, Griots, Zymol (talk about expensive, and maybe the previous poster meant Zymol, which is $50+?) Can't find the article, but a link at another Acura forum has some details, can't get the link to work, add the brand of our car to the word world with a forward slash and the data below for the link.

/forums/f108/guru-reports-wax-test-40869//

Not to rain on folks parade, but Zaino won by a fairly huge margin, and the Collinite is down at #9. Here is the top 10, with their rating and composit score:
Grade ( A to F) / Rating (out of 4)
1) Zaino Brothers Polish A- / 3.53
2) P21S Concours Carnauba B+/ 3.18
3) Klasse All-In-One Sealent B / 2.94
4) Armor-All Protective Barrier B- / 2.73
5) Pinnacle Souveran Carnauba B- / 2.60
6) Pinnacle Pate Glaze Carnau. B- / 2.53
7) Rain Dance Premium B- / 2.53
8) Mothers Calif. Gold Carnauba B- / 2.52
9) Collinite Marque D'Elegance B- / 2.51
10) Mothers Cal. Gold Pure B- / 2.51

Not in anyway affiliated with this product, but I'd recommend to anyone, and anyone who has seen my car with this is always amazed at the results.

weather

Sculldog....I agree that Collinite on its own is not the greatest as I have stated to others before but used in conjunction with Mother's (for me), the final result is simply amazing!

That being said, I will be the first to admit that I have not tried Zaino and most other products you have listed so it is quite possible there are better products than what I use but I hate trying new stuff when what I use is already doing an amazing job

Appreciate your post though and you provided people with great reference material.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

sculldog-if you are looking at the quantity of product to price...then yes, zaino is pricey for what you get.

oh good...at least Klasse ranked at #3 that's part of my arsenal too.

what the car looks like is pretty subjective. my car is shinier than yours!!!! i say go with what works and what you like.

Sculldog3

As the new guy here, owner of an RDX for roughly 48 hours......I want to tread carefully. Think we are of a similar mindset, and both fairly maniacal on maintenance...but hard to believe that stacking two products that are not as well rated would lead to better results.... I too was pretty happy with the Griot's wax I used..but sometimes we need to embrace change....

I will speak of this no more, (or not much more anyway...) but truly feel that Zaino will get better results and require less overall maintenance/time and at a very reasonable price point. How often for example do you do the maguirs / collinite process in a given year? Once I establish a base, I'm looking at maybe 3 times a year, more likely 2 since I run out of time or the weather (!) doesn't cooperate. When I was using carnuba based products, quarterly was the norm.

Sculldog3

Meant to comment on the quantity to price response above as well. While the 14.95 is for an 8 ounce bottle, realize that if used as directed, that is good for potentially 20 coats. Unlike shampoo, these guys aren't trying to move product and encourage you to use less of their stuff!! I've never mastered using this little product, so I tend to use an ounce or so per layer, but that's still about 7-8 coats from a bottle, or potentially 2 years of usage for a "normal" user.

weather

Sculldog.....No need to worry about offending me! I am the most easy going/laid back person you'll ever meet. I am not claiming to be a professional detailer by any means but I do get alot of feedback on how my cra looks and I have done several of my friends with quite amazing results. Is it as good as it could be? I'll never know until I embrace the change you are referring *lol* I may try something different but keep in mind that I live in a small town in eastern Canada and we don't have access to all the fancy schmancy stuff you guys have

I usually wax my vehicle 3-4 times a year but not always because I have to, but because I enjoy to! Like TLtrigirl stated so well, its that bonding moment you have with your car. Nothing like spending several hours in the garage, tunes playing and just tuning everything else the world throws at me.....Just me, My Acuras and my Wax!
(OK...maybe some Waylon, Willie, George and the Hag too) *lol*

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

i've done the klasse twins then layered meg's on that, the klasse twins then meg's then natty's blue...it certainly will give plenty of wow. these major details are done 2-3 times per year. the in between maintenance washes are followed with detail spray and/or optimum spray wax. no doubt zaino is a great product...i just don't want a whole collection of product without a use so far, i like what i use and it works for me.

and as we speak...the evil thunderstorm is knocking on my door to crap all over the clean cars i did earlier today. oh well...at least i got the layer of dirt off. stupid rain.

weather

...you are not gonna blame me for that are you? Actually, the latest Sat Pics do show quite alot of convection all along the Eastern Seaboard (Mostly from New Hampshire to Virginia) --- Such a good weather friend and you don't even ask?! *lol*

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

^^no. i'll just blame myself for washing the cars. you know murphy's law...you wash car it'll rain if they say there is a chance of rain. you dont' wash the car, it'll get a little cloudy make a little noise and not leave a drop. i mean really?! (sigh).

nj2pa2nc

Birds seem to like clean cars. They seem to holdout until after I am done and then. It is Even worse after they have eaten berries. That is the worst IMO.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

^^at least bird bombs can be spot treated. sometimes i wonder WTH birds eat...THAT came out of something so small??!!

weather

[QUOTE=TLtrigirl;13906168... sometimes i wonder WTH birds eat...THAT came out of something so small??!! [/QUOTE]

*lmao* Well, I see them hanging by the fast food joints around here (leaving the name out) and I know what you mean by judging at the 1/4 poound of "you know what" they leave on the hood!

People always look at me funny when I curse a blue streak in French as Seagulls *lmao*

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

the poo's are one of the reasons i keep a bottle of detail spray in the car!

weather

....we are still talking about the bird right?

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

chirp chirp chirp...splat!

nj2pa2nc

My car spends lots of time parked near the ocean. When we leave the beach we sometimes have droppings from seagulls, pelicans and other birds. Since the car has been in the hot sun the "poop" becomes a dried on hard to get off mess. I wait until the car copla down and out comes the hose and car wash. Then the quick detailer.