adversary

Hi guys. Tomorrow morning, I will wash and wax my car for the very first time. My father usually does it but I am going to give it a try myself.

My car is a 2010 BLACK Acura TSX. It has not been cleaned for 3 weeks. However, this past week, San Francisco was raining.

I have the following products:

-Optimum No-Rinse Wash Solution
-Cobra "The Bone" Microfiber wash sponge.
-Cobra "The Guzzler" Waffleweave Microfiber Drying Towel
-Couple of "Vroom" brand microfiber towels from Target
- 2 5-Gallon buckets (no grit guard though)
-Meguiar's NXT Generation Liquid Wax with its applicator

I do not plan to use a clay bar.

ok, guys. please tell me if this is a good plan to clean my car using this stuff. i have a black TSX so i want to make absolute sure nothing wrong happens.

1. Use hose and hose the car from top to bottom.
2. Using a garden spray with the No Rinse Solution, spray all over the car and let it sit for a few minutes.
3. Hose car down again so more of the dirt that is loosened up by the solution gets off the car.
4. Using a two bucket system, (1 with water for rinsing, the other with 2 gallons of water + 2 caps of No Rinse solution), put my Cobra Bone into the solution bucket and GENTLY apply it one area at a time on my car. I'll probably glide the wash sponge around. After washing an area, place the Cobra Bone into the water bucket and try to get rid of most of the dirt that is on the Cobra Bone.
5. Wipe washed area dry with Cobra Microfiber waffle weave.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until the car is clean.
7. Once car is completely dry, apply wax.

Is this a good plan? Am I missing any steps?

Here are my top questions:
-How to use this Meguiar's NXT gen. liquid wax w/ applicator for maximum results? People say to not apply too much.
-When can I wipe the wax off?
-Do I apply the wax to the ENTIRE car, and then wipe dry?
-Can I apply this wax under sunlight?

-Can I wash my car using NRS while under sunlight?

THANK YOU SO MUCH IN ADVANCE GUYS.

1islandparadise

I just bought some of the same meguiar's nxt wax. Another member told me about it and said its really good stuff. I will be using mine tomorrow on my Black Cobra Mustang. I bought a cheap $15 buffer from autozone to apply. Just make sure you apply the wax in sections and removed after applied (ie. hood, front fender, door, etc). Good luck

stogie1020

OP, after you ONR the whole car, why not give it a good rinse with the hose before using the waffle weave? Might as well get any remaining gunk off that way before you abrade the surface drying it.

Also, I really liked the NXT at first (nice appearance), but found it had fillers that initially hid imperfection and wore off revealing them in about 3-4 weeks. It did look nice initially, though.

Also, you are cleaning a car that is about as soft as soft serve ice cream. If I looked at my NHB TSX wrong it would scratch.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

KillerG

+1 to stogie, ive used similar wash techniques on 2 new cars (09/10) from different makes and after a year my 09 tsx is swirled like mofo, which is my own fault because in my noobishness i used poor drying techniques, but other car is pretty much unfazed D:

Jesstzn

Myself I'd not use the "bone" .. go for a sheepskin mitt.

When I do my TL I go through about 3 towels for drying.

stogie1020

Heavy weight sheepskin mitt is awesome. Seriously, in the dictionary for "awesome" is a picture of a sheepskin wash mitt.

adversary

what do you mean after i ONR? you mean after i use sponge up the whole car with ONR, hose it down, and then wipe it dry?

stogie1020

Egg Zachary.

I mean, if you have the hose, why not?

adversary

1. hose car
2. spray ONR onto car using garden sprayer
3. let it sit for 5 minutes.
4. hose car again
5. use sponge with ONR and apply to the ENTIRE car
6. hose down again
7. wipe dry

good plan?

should i take off the nozzle from the hose and just let the water "sheet" down?

if i decide to wax the car, should i skip the clay bar method?

im going to do this early in the morning. it's fine to have ONR all over the car even under direct sunlight?

stogie1020

Good plan.

If you have normal wash shampoo, you could use that, too.

I am pretty sure the ONR is really when you don't have a hose, just a bucket and some water from a faucet. It's not bad, but if you have a hose, you can pretty much do a normal wash and dry.

I don't have grit guards either. I dunk the wash mitt (you=sponge) in the soap bucket, apply to car, dunk into the very top of the rinse bucket and shake it a bit. Then I squeeze the mitt (you=sponge) to get most of the water out. Then back into the soap bucket and back to the car.

When I am all done, I end up with a fair amount of sludge in the rinse bucket but VERY little in the soap bucket. Just my method, YMMV.

adversary

should i take off the nozzle from the hose and just let the water "sheet" down?

if i decide to wax the car, should i skip the clay bar method?

im going to do this early in the morning. it's fine to have ONR all over the car even under direct sunlight?

stogie1020

Nozzle, no nozzle, I say use the nozzle. Then, the last pass of rinsing, let it sheet down gently.

You didn't say anything about claying. If you are going to clay, wash first, then clay, then I like to re-wash, then dry and then wax.

Just don't clay and then not wax/seal. Claying leaves the paint/clear coat bare, which is good for stripper's boobies, but not great for car paint. If possible replace the sponge in your procedure with stripper's boobies, and then make sure you video the process.

<--- Waiting on a copy of the video...

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

^good advice stogie.

MD03CL-S

iTrader: (1)

Everything Stogie said! Just make sure to send a copy of that video my way as well

Jesstzn

Idea of ONR is wash a panel , dry a panel. Don't need a hose at all.

Eg wash the roof & windows and dry them, then hood & front end , dry them.

The way your doing it you might as well use regular car wash soap/method.

stogie1020

Yeah, OP has morphed his procedure a few times...

1islandparadise

Its not a high def camera but this wax is some really good stuff! I will be doing my TL next weekend. Excuse the 4x4 status and door ding...

Jesstzn

Like posted above ... 3 weeks and 3 washes from now and it will look like it did before you did it. NXT doesn't last long .

BTW a paintless dent repair can prolly make that ding dissapear.

1islandparadise

Yes I read that but still, I am impressed. Plus I plan on waxing after each wash so I shouldn't have an issue. Yes, I've looked at a couple PDR places here. I have to prioritize though, I maybe buying another Cobra within a couple weeks....lol.

exceldetail

I totally agree with Stogie and Jesstzn!
Throw a spray wax (Duragloss or Optimum would be my first 2 choices) in the mix instead of NXT (Never really did like NXT, just didnt last...)
Use after every other wash or so. Use QD's for light cleaning and protection in between as well.

adversary

alright guys, i just washed my car and it looks amazing. it took me 2 hours but let me explain:

I wanted to make ABSOLUTE SURE that the stuff would not scratch my car so I washed the rear right side of my car. I followed all those steps that I listed and it worked. When I didn't notice any scratches after wiping, I still wanted to make ABSOLUTE SURE so instead of spraying and misting all over the car, I decided to just wash the car in sections.

I started at the roof, then to the trunk area, then to the right side of the car, then to the front, and finally the left side.

At first, I was VERY afraid that I was doing this wrong. The solution was not soapy at all and i know that it's supposed to be a blue-ish color but since my bucket is blue, I couldn't really tell. Everything worked out though.

I started at super small sections but as I progressed to the next section of the car, I got lazier. At the end, when I was washing the left side of my car (the final part), it took me like 1 minute to wash the entire area and another minute to dry it. All I did was :

1. Sheet Area with water
2. Spray solution with a shitty 1 dollar mist garden sprayer
3. Wash with my sponge
4. Sheet area again with water
5. Dry

As far as I know, there were no scratches. There are very light scratches on my paint but I think it's from my dad wiping the fog off my car early in the morning. I always wondered if that could cause scratching, and I believe that it does.

Anyway, the product is fantastic. It took me 2 hours to finish (preparation, application, drying) but I just wanted to make ABSOLUTE SURE i was not damaging the car's paint. Next time, it should take no more than 20 minutes.

I have one question though with my sponge. Some parts of my sponge were black even after strenuous rinsing. I figured that it would be ok since maybe the dust was off and all that was left was discoloration. Am I wrong about this? Some spots on the sponge were still light black when I used it to wash my car again. Is this fine? I am assuming this is normal.

adversary

Jesstzn

The black is normal ,,.. thats how ONR works .. it traps the dirt in the mitt.

If you wash the sponge with dish soap most of that will come out.

adversary

thank you for all the help, guys. however, can someone link me a good wax? i want to use liquid waxes. someone has mentioneed the optimum and duragloss ones. What about the Meguiar's Carnauba Liquid Wax?

after reading some reviews and your opinions, i decided to return the meguiar's NXT. i am looking for a new one now.

exceldetail

I know this guy in SoCal...............He's got both....

stogie1020

ChrisJ

I used to use NXT I too found the fillers and the length of protection unfavorable for myself...

Are you over on ModdedMustangs by chance?

Why not claybar?

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

+1 for pat!!!!

adversary

hey guys, so for what wax to get, i decided to get:

Optimum Opti-Seal. I am very happy with the Optimum No Rinse so I decided to stay with Optimum.

After cleaning my car, I touched and gently glided my hand across the paint and I didn't feel that it is rough. Therefore, I will not be claying. I live in SF with fairly good weather overall, and the car is 7 months old. I think it'll be fine.

So to use this sealant, I wash the car maybe twice with ONR? And then I apply the sealant after I dry the car?

I was close to getting the Wolfgang sealant but 40 is just too much for me. the optimum sealant is 25 already.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

the hand trick wont show you how much industrial fall out is embedded into your paint.

If you're doing all these steps, might as well add in the clay bar.
you'll be amazed at how much the clay picks up.

Remember, good detailers clay.

adversary

im afraid of using them. D: i'm really afraid of screwing it up. if i have to, i'd have to get the meguiar's clay bar system.

if i do use it along with ONR, what do i do?

do i wash the car and dry it using ONR, and then clay up the car? or can i skip the drying process?

i have to go find the clay bar system too. i've been to two targets and they're either sold out or someone opened the packages and stole the clay bars in them.

Jesstzn

Mothers clay bar kit is fime and sold everywhere.

Wash the car , dry it, Clay bar it per instructions on box, wipe car down with a 50/50 mix of rubbing Alcohol & water and then the Opti-Seal.

exceldetail

Great thread! If you cant find help here, its nowhere to be found.

adversary

I bought the Opti-Seal with more Cobra microfibers. It'll arrive next Tuesday.

I think i'm gonna go all the way.

I have my car washing down and the Opti-Seal looks easy to use.

1. Wash Car with ONR and dry
2. Clay Bar
3. Use Swirl Remover (WHAT TO GET?)
4. Use Opti-Seal

What Swirl and Scratch remover should I get? Is the Nufinish still good enough? I really don't want to burn another 12 dollars for shipping buying stuff on autogeek.net again

I also have a question with the foam applicators. Should I wash them first before use? When I bought the optiseal at autogeek, it included 4 yellow foam applicators. Are they safe to use on my car? I feel that it would scratch my car.

Jesstzn

Swirl/scratch removers are a waste of time by hand so don't bother. The yellow applicator pads are safe.

adversary

is there anything i can do about the swirl marks and very minor scratches then?

Jesstzn

Outside of getting a PC , proper pads and polishes not really .

adversary

so instead of using those swirl/scratch removers, i need to get a polish? which one do you use?

also, once I get my opti-seal, how do i effectively use it? people say to never swirl the foam applicators around. can i spritz the optiseal onto the car and apply it using up and down motions?

Jesstzn

You need a PC , proper pads and polishes.. not just a polish .

As for the Opti-Seal .. ask the supplier.. I have never used it.

stogie1020

You can try Scratch-X by hand on a yellow foam pad. It's going to be a workout, but do a small area, work it for a while and then wipe it off. If you like the results and have the energy, move on to more of the car.