vp911

I have never waxed a car before - I want to be able to do it myself, but some people have told me I shouldn't bother doing it myself as a noob on the new TL.

So, go for it? Or not do it? I have wanted to learn how, but I don't want to ruin the car.

If I don't do it, the dealer has a place they send cars to for detailing - they did our lexus a couple weeks ago and they do a pretty good job. I let them detail my TSX also.

bgsm1th

My first detail was on my CL...not a new TL, but I bet I care about my car just as much as you
For the price of a detail, you can get all the products yourself and have enough left over to detail it another 10 times (more or less), and it's FAR more rewarding doing it yourself.
All I can say is, pick up a Porter Cable, give this site and Autopia.cpm, properautocare.com, etc. a good once over and you'll be a detailing pro in no time.
A simple wax job is nothing you can't do yourself, but as you get more practice, you should be able to do more an more yourself (i.e. claying, polishing, waxing)
Good luck, whatever you decided to do....and as always....post some damn pics!!

B

bgsm1th

Make that Autopia.org

B

Average Jose

you don't have to have a Porter Cable but it makes it easier.

UnsanePyro

To just wax it I would defiantely go with doing it yourself. You really don't even need a PC for it. Many people who do have a PC still wax by hand anyways.

Where the PC starts to really help out is the polishing stage. You can polish out swirls by hand, but it takes massive amounts of work.

n1976jmk

It depends what you are looking for, just a coat of wax, or a great and deep shine???

what is the level you are looking to achieve???

jlukja

"wax myself or get detailed?"

I think you should wax yourself. I hear it really hurts though.

VeeralS05

I know a guy was offering $125 for a detail...and he would come to my house and do it...

1. Wash car
2. Polish car
3. Wax car
4. vacuum interior..


I think I want a detail that will clay bar my car and everything...like do a full detail on the outside of the car and the engine bay...and I prefer doing the interior myself...

Jerky

I just finished waxing my car it took about an hour including wash

it was fun easy and theraputic

its not that hard....

HellaShookOne

agreed paste wax doesnt even take that long if you do it by hand.

UnsanePyro

That doesn't sound like too bad a price. Talk to him about clay barring and doing the engine bay. I'm sure you guys could work something out.

TinkyWinky

Practice on someone else's car first.

vp911

hahaha

thanks for the responses. i will consider them all before deciding.

vp911

just a coat of wax - i cant expect a lot out of my first time... can i?

vp911

my dealer - for $130 includes full interior (shampoo carpets, leather conditioner, vaccum, dash cleaning etc.) and exterior - clay, wax, steam clean engine compartment, headlights, wheels, etc.

vp911

I would have practiced on our lexus; however, the acura dealer just detailed it and it doesn't need any waxing.

Vicman17

Start with a good brand (Mother's/ Meguiar's, 3M) Cleaner Wax. CW is an "all-in-one" product that cleans and polishes in one step. You can do this every week and it's relatively safe.

A step up would be a multi step process like the Meguiar's 3-step Deep Crystal, 1st with a paint Cleaner, the 2nd is Polish and last is the Pure Carnauba. A bit of work but will definitely produce great results. (relatively cheap too)

Later on, you would want to try using a clay bar, then a sealant like Klasse AIO/ SG then top it off with pure Carnauba like Meguiar's #16/ #26 or P21S/ S100. To me this combination works best for my SSM.

Just don't use CW after applying polish or sealants 'coz you'll just end up removing it.

vp911

I know there are a million threads on zaino - but I will ask anyways - to apply it to my situation (having never done any of this before) ziano or not?