sooo i just started reading up on the wash/wax forums a month or so ago and a buddy allowed me to use some of his clay bar on my hood and showed me the correct ways to clay and wax. I go to school in the mountains where it's nonstop nasty weather and i wanted to make it a priority that for the first time i get my car REALLY taken car of and not just a simple dawn hand soap wash down and dry... i've been low on cash and was waiting for xmas money to go buy a couple products but luckily i got a random 50 gift card from my aunt to wal mart! so i went to walmart tonight and treated myself to a little xmas present and i cannot wait to detail my car on the next warm/sunny day before i go back to school for the rest of the winter...



what do yall think?

ALSO... any tips for a beginner at detailing?

 

Read the FAQ. Lots of great write-ups and info there.

https://acurazine.com/forums/wash-wax-23/acurazine-car-care-faqs-293029/

Good luck with the detailing.

 

It looks like you came out with a pretty decent haul! Have fun!

 

My one word of caution is IF you drop the clay bar, throw it away immediately.

 

Congrats!

 

You mention Dawn wash ..... drop that as a regular washing protocol.

 

+1.

 

Another word on clay.....dont use a whole bar, and if you do drop it, you CAN clean it.....I mean if your claring on a gravel road, toss it, but if you have a somewhat clean concrete floor, and its just some devris, it could be picked clean....
Also, ditch the DAWN! Im so tired of hearing about DAWN in car care!! ARGH!!!!

 

Ha ha...

But I remember seeing a website...I think it was for Zaino that recommended using Dawn before using their products.

 

Personally, don't know about De-Icers. I'd be leary; I'd prefer a garage (so would you I'm sure).

I don't much like Rain-X; The Stoners Invisible glass seems to do almost the same thing (or as good a job) without the hassle of two applications (clean and apply).

Meg's OTC stuff has always done good by me.

Good starting kit, regardless of my preferences.

 

not bad stuff at all...i would have opted for meguiars nxt liquid vrs gold class....gold class is a carnuba and nxt 2.0 is a synthetic which will offer you better protection for longer....and paste wax is just over all harder to work with then liquid....after you clay the car, use the cleaner wax that comes with the clay kit, that will offer you some mild cleaning and maybe clean up and brighten up the paint....then top that with your gold class, or take the gold class back and trade it in for the nxt 2.0

 

Agreed........also, go easy with the TW interior product. tends to be a little on the glossy side, unless thats what your after.....

 

good catch, i didnt even notice that stuff back there....i would take that back too, the only thing you need to maintain the interior of the tl is a damp microfibre cloth and some meguiars gold class leather wipes....use the damp micro to clean up, use the wipes to wipe down the seats and maybe the dash every once in a while, then follow up the wipes with a dry wipe down with the microfibres....

 

This is a really good suggestion. The liquid NXT 2.0 will be much easier to work with and last longer.

Top it up from time-to-time with a good Quick Detailer after a wash (there is some Megs QD in your clay kit), and you're good to go.


Have fun. There are a million products; find what you like and what works for you. When you're ready to start fooling around with "better" products, get a hold of Patrick (Exceldetail) and he'll hook you up.

 

You know...it's really daunting to get into detailing you car.

I'm just starting to get an understanding of this whole entire detailing world.

Maybe that's why they have a demand out there for professional detailers...

Otherwise we would all be washing our cars with Dawn...

 

^hah.... as for all of the comments, thanks so much for all the advice and information, i will prob take a few things back and swap them out based on the previous posts! thanks so much for the help ladies n gents