Jeff The Pianist

hey guys...i'm about to get my 06 TSX in a couple of days.

I want to know what you guys use to clean your car...every little thing you use

from the clay bar...wax...top coat...soap...mittens...exterior...interior...leat her caring stuff...EVERYTHING IN DETAILS!

thanks!

aaronng

Uhhh... ok...

Shampoo: NXT Tech wash
Wash mitt: Meg's Lambswool mitt.
Buckets: 2. 1 for car shampoo, 1 for rinsing mitt
Drying towel: Microfibre waffle weave towel.

Claybar: Clay Magic blue
Clay lube: Meg's Final inspection mixed 50:50 with water. You can use any quick detailer.
Paint cleaner: Klasse AIO, applied with PC using a blue propel.

Swirl remover: Poorboys SSR2.5, applied with PC using a yellow propel. I use green propel for marring.
Poorboys SSR1, applied wiht PC using a blue propel
Glaze: Meg's #7 show car glaze. You can use any glaze that you prefer. I apply using a blue propel.

Sealant: Meg's #21 synthetic sealant, applied using a gray propel or by hand using a foam applicator
Wax: P21s carnauba if I am in a good mood. Applied with a foam applicator.
Buffing cloth: 12 Microfibre towels from exceldetail.

Interior: 303 protectant for rubber seals and dashboard trim. My car has the velour interior, so I have no need for leather conditioners.

Engine bay: If it is dirty, I use citrus bug and tar remover sprayed on a wet cloth. After wiping the dirty off, I wipe with another clean wet cloth. Finally, I dress everything with 303 protectant on a sponge.

West6MT

You cant be serious. Im going to have to go do inventory, and check on what I have coming in by mail.

Off the top of my head:

Sheepskin wash mitt - autogeek (old), on the way - exceldetail
clay - FourStar fine grade and Pinnacle Polyclay, on the way,.......clay magic and opticlay (exceldetail)
clay lube - megs QD, FourStar QD, or clean carwash
paint cleanser - FourStar UPC, Megs paint cleanser
Autowash - FourStar UAW and PoorBoys SSnS
Sealant - FourStar UPP, OCW
Wax - Nattys Blue
Two buckets system to wash
MF waffle weave drying towel (cobra), and PB's.
Leather - lexol cleaner and lexol conditioner
interior dash/trim etc - 303 Aerospace protectant
MF towels - cheap all purpose from Costco, few PB's older style, Cobra MF's, new PB's style
Porter Cable 7424 is on the way,...........Exceldetail's propel pads, and Lake Country pads (from my buddy)
Swirl removers and polsihes - FourStar USMR, PB's SSR's (on the way from eshine).

Wheels,....whatever the PoorBoys stuff is for wheels and for tires.

Bugs, salt, sand, etc - PB's Bug Squash

West6MT

Just for clarification so no one needs to ask,...........^^^^
Megs = Meguires
UPC = ultimate paint cleanser
UAW = ultimate auto wash
SSnS = super slick and suds
UPP = ultimate paint protection
OCW = optimum car wax
PB = PoorBoys World
MF = Microfiber
USMR = ultimate swirl mark remover
SSR = super swirl remover (or whatever the heck it stands for)

picus

I'll bite. I copied aaronngs post and will insert my answers.

Shampoo: NXT Tech wash
Wash mitt: Meg's Lambswool mitt.
Buckets: 2. 1 for car shampoo, 1 for rinsing mitt
Drying towel: Microfibre waffle weave towel.

(we use all the same stuff to wash!)

Claybar: Any, normally Sonus
Clay lube: Meg's Final inspection mixed 50:50 with water. You can use any quick detailer.
Paint cleaner: Klasse AIO, applied with PC using a white LC pad.

Swirl remover: Sonus SFX-1 and 2, usually applied by yellow and orange LC pads. I sometimes use Optimum Compound on a yellow pad too.
Glaze: Megs 80 on a white pad, or Clearkote RMG on a black pad.

Sealant: Acryllic Jett, Poorboys EX-P, Zaino Z2
Wax: Poorboys Nattys Blue, P21S, NXT ocassionally, and Optimum Car Wax.
Buffing cloth: eShine.ca mf's.

Trim - Poorboys Trim Restorer for tough stuff. Megs trim dressing for stuff in good shape.

QD - Sonus Acrylic Spritz or Carnauba Spritz. FK 425.

Interior: Simple Green Auto and Megs Interior Detail to clean, 303 to dress. Zaino Z9/10 for leather. Woolite 1:5 with water for carpets and cloth seats.

Engine bay: Simple Green auto cut 50/50 with water, or full strength of tough ones. A good brush to agitate - dress with armor all or 303

Stango

I am confused......

You all recommend using Klasse AIO as a cleaner, then use swirl remover and a bunch of other polish stuff, then a sealant and wax.

Somehow I thought AIO was used AFTER cleaning and polishing followed by Klasse SG (or sealant of choice).

What order should they be used ? and is AIO only a cleaner ?

Help... I am a novice !!

Vicman17

Klasse AIO does have chemical cleaners in it. What they meant was use Klasse AIO as a cleaner BUT if you need to remove swirls first, then use their choices of SMRs.

AIO is an ALL IN ONE product so use it as a cleaner AND polish. Then seal it and put the carnauba on top of the sealant and never the other way around ('coz the sealant won't bond).

picus

Ya that ^. The products were in no particular order. The order of detailing is generally wash, clay, swirl removal, cleaner polish, lsp.

cmschwartz59

Which polymer sealants would be compatible with Zaino? I have been Zaino-ing my car and it looks great but if I wanted to switch to something else (I was thinking UPP or PB) are these ok to use over the Zaino? I don't want to undo what I have already done. I have a silver car BTW.

picus

Any of those will go over Zaino, and zaino will go over them too - but I really don't know that you're going to see an appreciable difference from one sealant to another unless maybe you use one with some carnauba (like ex w/carnuaba), problem there is another sealant might have a tough time going over that once you've used it. Honestly, if you're happy with it my recommendation is to experiment with QD's rather than other sealants. Maybe give FK 425 a shot (it's popular now), or Z8, or Acrylic Jett...

West6MT

Hey, I never said I used Klasse,..........................hehe

cmschwartz59

I'm usually pretty good with searches but I'm coming up empty on where to get this FK 425. Can someone help me out?

picus

Oh ya, it's pretty new. It's Finish Kare 425, you get it from http://www.fk1usa.com/. Under consumer or pro products, its called "Ultra Slick Poly Wipe Spray Detailer - Anti-Static". You can search for fk 425 or 425 at autopia to see all the threads on it. It's received a lot of hype lately and I normally steer clear of products like that but I must admit it does look good and the anti static thing actually works pretty well.

While you're there the FX-100 spray on sealant is pretty nice too.

aaronng

Klasse AIO is a great cleaner. If you were using Klasse SG, then you are right, you should apply it after polishing so that SG can bond to it. Since I don't use SG, I don't need to have AIO after polishing. The reason why I use AIO before polishing is because I find that swirl removal takes longer on dirty paint and almost doesn't work on paint that has not been clayed!

aaronng

Well, zaino will stick. But if you want as much durability as possible, then it is better to clean the surface using z-pc so that z2 and z5 can bond to the surface. The alternative is the dreaded dawn wash (which is bad for your paint and is probably a reason why zaino developed z-pc).

In fact, z-pc is to z2 and z5 what AIO is to SG. Except that z-pc has very very light abrasives (which is not enough for any swirl removal but great for getting a smooth surface).

5o9

Neoprene gloves like scuba.

Keeps you warm, good grip, and prevents cuts.

Acura Jeff

It sounds like Z-2 Pro and Ultimate Paint Protection are the best choices for a 4 day old WDP TL. Am I getting that right?

cmschwartz59

Thanks for the info, I just ordered some FK 425 and the FX-100 for my husband to use on his car. I'm going to stick with my Zaino routine for now but I might try the FX-100 from time to time.

picus

Nice - you guys can argue about which looks better!

cmschwartz59

Well there's no debate there, really. My husband has a six-year old Camry that gets washed maybe 4 times a year
I guess car care obsession isn't for everyone. Yesterday though, after I pointed out the paint-eating bird bombs adhering to his car, he actually got out and washed, clayed and did some work with the PC. I can't believe how much better it looks. Still not as nice as mine though :wink:

Inaccurate

:gheywave: Z A I N O :gheywave:

Zaino makes my TL look like china porcelain that has been fired-glazed. And, this is no joke.

Plus, the water beading is plain'o freakish. I have NEVER seen anything that beaded water to this EXTREME. The beading is like something from a freakshow. Absolutely amazing.

aaronng

He has clay and a PC, yet he washes only 4 times a year? Appropriate that clay and PC for your own use. Ok, the PC at least since the clay would be badly contaminated.

cmschwartz59

This probably sounds weird but all the car care products we own are things that I purchased. Yes, the PC, and clay and all of it are actually mine. (We share though). I'm obsessed with detailing, he could care less. I did tell him to throw away the piece of clay when he was done. No way was that piece getting mixed up with my pristine pieces to be used on my beautiful TSX.

RaptorCLS

check my sig...
then just add the NXT products to that...hehe

ajeetm

I'm a Klasse/Sonus Guy - less work than Zaino, similar results...

Klasse All-In-One (AIO)
Klasse Sealant Glaze (SG)
Sonus Acrylic Spritz (for quick detailing)
Sonus Acrylic Glanz (after wash gloss)
Handi-Grip Applicator
Meguiars NXT Car Wash
Chenille Wash Mitts
2 Car Wash Buckets
California Water Blade
MF Drying Towel
Sonus Polishing Towel (for QD)
2-3 Small MF Towels (for drying in the doors/trunk/under hood)
Concours Buffing Towel (very, very nice towel)
Purple Power (engine cleaner)

Here's what it looked like after only applying Klasse AIO, now it's even better with SG and Glanz...
https://acurazine.com/forums/wash-wax-23/zaino-orange-peel-129858/

Hawhyen51

I would just stay with Z-2 Pro and as JackieO stated "Any of those will go over Zaino, and zaino will go over them too - but I really don't know that you're going to see an appreciable difference from one sealant to another ..... " If anything you may want to try a 'nuba to take some of the pop off to give a more "wet" look. Again, from JackieO "experiment with QD's rather than other sealants ..." and you may find an ultimate combo.