CG sealant, upholstry, wheel cleaner?

A

ahains

New member
Yes, I am a cheapskate to the extent that I want the best price for the quality level that I desire. :)



I have an 04 WRX, and a friend just bought an 06. I'm hoping to be efficient and choose products that I can split with my friend for our two cars. Both cars are black.



I have just ordered the CG clay bar and blue wheel cleaner yesterday, and am today considering that maybe I should also get some upholstry shampoo and sealant.



My current arsenal is:

-costco MF wash mit

-costco MF

-bunch of terry cloths

-silicone "blade" thing for drying

-costco car wash soap. I think Zaino or something? It's blue, smells nice, and lathers well :)

-Meguire's tire gel

-Meguire's swirl remover

-Meguire's polish

-Meguire's carnauba, the solid stuff in the squat cylinder

-Nu synthetic wax (about 5 years old)



My paint has some light swirling. I did a bit of treatment by hand with the Meguire's swirl remover on the hood, followed by some polish and Nu and it looks great. My current plan for sometime soon is:

-wash twice

-clay

-swirl remover by hand

-polish by hand

-apply sealer

-wait a few days, wash again, apply carnauba



What I am wondering is if you would recommend:

-CG "Magic Seal - PREMIUM PAINT SEALANT SYSTEM(1 Gal)" for sealing my paint after the polishing step, or can I just keep using my 5 year old Nu? Will either one accept a carnauba coat well?

-"UP 500 - Upholstery Shampoo & Cleaner (1 Gal) " for scrubbing my interior? There are some spots that the previous owner got in there, but it is a dark interior so if I don't manage a perfect level of cleanliness it will be ok.

-Should I dilute the CG blue wheel cleaner any, or use it full strength (assuming wheels are reasonably maintained)?



For my friends brand new 06, can you suggest if he should be set doing just:

-wash twice

-clay

-apply sealer, with optional carnauba sometime later?

Or do you think he should also go through the trouble of polishing before the sealer?



One final question - is there any reason to use these little foam applicator pads for wax, or would I be fine using a MF cloth? Has anyone compared a foam applicator to MF on the scratching-a-cd test?



Any other tips?

Thanks!

Adrian
 
I recommend CG for the Pro or the non-perfectionist bargain huntiung folks like yourself, you wont be dissapointed with the products. You might want to consider detailplus for your water blade, it is the only one I've seen that wont scratch. On detailplus go to chemical supllies and chemicals and click on detailing supplies, it's called the

"Eze Dri" DRYING SQUEEGE. You will want to apply a wax ontop of the majic seal and you can do that, after 12 hours.
 
I have no experience with the CG Magic Seal, but I have used the Extreme Top Coat Sealant and I love the product. Easy to apply and remove.



I am assuming that you want to use up your Meg's Polish before purchasing any new polish. However, if you are looking for an AIO from CG, you could try the Extreme AIO Polish, Shine, and Sealant. Since I already own the Extreme Top Coat Sealant, I skiped the AIO product and went with their Pro Polish.



I just ordered the blue wheel cleaner and plan on diluting it since I wash every to every other week. It will last longer and a bit safer.



I know this did not answer all your questions, but hope this helps.
 
Thanks for the tip - after searching around on "california blade" I'll be retiring this and switching to the free flowing sheeting action via the hose, followed by a MF blot to finish drying.



I'm a bit confused about my CG options when it comes to getting a layer of sealant on my car.

As you suggested, I was planning on using up my Meguire's polish followed by some synthetic wax to seal.



I see that one option is "EXTREME ALL-IN-1 POLISH + SHINE & SEALANT (1 Gallon)". Obviously this is an AIO so it will give me some cleaning and polishing action, but the name also clearly states it is a sealant. The description notes that it gives acrylic protection which I *thought* I read was preferable to a polymer blend for use in a sealant?



Option two from CG is the Magic Seal product, which is *only* a sealant and is polymer based, not acrylic. Magic Seal also says that it can be a protective layer over your wax, which is confusing to me because I see folks here saying you should apply your synthetic sealer as a base and then carnauba on top.



However, I see in other threads that folks mention you should apply a sealant on TOP of an AIO. This AIO claims that it provides a seal, do others not? Or is it just that a dedicated sealer on top of an AIO provides even more protection?



I should mention that although I want my car to look good and I want to protect my investment in caring for it, I also would rather spend time playing with my daughter than detailing my car :)

If the easiest up-keep is going to be to use an AIO every 3 or 4 months and then top it off with carnauba every 3 or 4 weeks, that sounds just dandy to me.



I guess where I'm really confused is if this particular AIO gives me cleaning(not washing, obviously)/polish/glaze/sealant, or just cleaning/polish/glaze? Or rather since it specifically claims it does provide sealant, is it sufficient sealant or would I want additional?



Thanks so much!

Adrian
 
Ok as I continue to do more searches and reading (already had quite a bit, but I keep finding more :)), it is sounding like the CG AIO with a carnauba layer on top would be a reasonable approach:

http://autopia.org/forum/showthread.php?t=62143



I guess applying a straight sealant after the AIO is still beneficial, but is not necessary, so it sounds like skipping it is probably right for me.

I see that the AIO does not contain any silicone to help hide any remaining imperfections, so I'm wondering if I would need any additional step to help hide imperfections.

From what I observed on my wife's car, the Meguire's solid (or at least it was not paste) carnauba seemed to hide her swirls somewhat, so I'm guessing this will be sufficient after the AIO.



Can anyone compare Meguire's carnauba to the CG Butter Wet Wax for a topper on this AIO?

I'm assuming since the AIO gives me some sealing benefits, the carnauba will give me about as much deep luster as I would see with the Butter wax?



Thanks!

Adrian
 
Another topper wax question - if the CG Butter Wet Wax does provide a luster comparable to or better than a simple carnauba, is it easier to apply?

Applying the Meguire's carnauba wax has not been too hard, but I wouldn't mind if it was easier :)

Plus it would be nice to not have to worry if the sun suddenly peaked out from behind the overcast sky for a minute while waxing (as happened last time, but fortunately it quickly hid itself again).



My current expectation of what may be the best for me personally (pending feedback from you folks):

-wash twice

-CG clay bar

-CG AIO

-CG Butter Wet Wax



Thanks!

Adrian
 
The Magic Seal has some polish in it, so you could just put that on and top with Butter Wax or some kind of carnauba. You could also try the Cherry Wax since it has more polish than Magic Seal and use it as a one-step.
 
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