Dilemma...

H

Hey Moe!

New member
I have a two-week-old Ford Focus (dark gray). In the time I have owned it, I polished it with my PC and Griot's Machine Polish 3, and waxed with Best of Show Wax. It gets washed nearly every day.



After spending some time reading in this forum, I have purchased a tin of Meg's 12 (one of the few products available locally). I would like to try it out.



Could I still put the #12 over what is on the car, or should I take everything off, and start from the beginning? In addition the the Griot's #3, I do have a bottle of Meg's #3 on the shelf, which I never got around to using. I also have some clay on hand.



Or, should I just wait, and order something like AIO, and start the project with it?



Any comments are most welcome. I must say that I enjoy the information, and the politeness of the posts in this forum. I'm finding that you can never now too much about caring for a car.
 
Welcome! You have me a bit confused tho...I'm not familar with Meg's #12...what kind of product is that? You say it comes in a tin, so it sounds like a paste wax.
 
Hey, Moe!, :welcome to Autopia, nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.



Meg's A-12 is their good ol' standby all-in-one paste Cleaner/Wax. (It comes in comes as both liquid and paste but you said you had the tin...)



I haven't used Griot's #3, from the description it sounds very mild. I doubt you'll "undo" the results so far by applying #12 but I doubt you'll get a big improvement. I'm not sure what you're looking to achieve, if you're just looking to play I say dive in. The worst that will happen is that you'll want to go back to what you've already tried.



#3 is a glaze with no cutting ability and can't remove swirls, etc.



I would recommend that you clay. Dealers' new car prep practices are spotty at best. You'll want to give your new ride the freshest start possible.





PC.
 
I guess I should have mentioned what I want to get out of this. My car is a daily driver, though it does sit in a garage at night.



I have always enjoyed driving a car that would get positive comments from friends and others where I live.



I have exclusively used the Griot's products, but I can see that there a lot of people in this forum who know a heck of a lot more than I.



So, I'm wondering if I can improve on the depth and shine that I now have. I don't mind re-doing the whole process every 4-6 weeks. I do wash the car 3X or so a week, and I know that is a factor.



Since the car is new, swirls are not a factor at this point.



Again, thanks in advance. Being able to tap into a wealth of knowledge like this is great.
 
Hey, Moe! Welcome to Autopia!



The Griot's MP3 is a very (and I mean *VERY*) mild abrasive polish that does not appear to leave anything behind. The BOS is an OK wax but nothing special IMO and I ended up giving mine away (as I tend to hold onto products, that tells you something ;) ). If you don't have any marring to remove, the #3 will basically just act like a paint cleaner- the abrasives are so mild that they will abrade away dirt but not much if any clear.



IMO the Meg's A12 will not be the solution to anything you want to do. I'd rather mix the Griot's MP3 and the BOS together and create my own cleaner-wax, but I wouldn't really bother doing that either (I'm almost being facetious, but not quite). The A12 is nonabrasive and will stain black plastic trim if you get it on any, so be careful with it if you try it out. It might be OK for doorjambs/etc. but watch the rubber stuff in there lest you stain it.



As mentioned the Meguiar's #3 Machine Glaze is nonabrasive. It works fine by hand or PC and oughta add some depth if you use it after the Griot's MP3 and before the BOS. I've used #3 after MP3 and it did add something, but it was sorta subtle (but then I was using it on silver so it was hard to tell).



If you don't mind the expense, and having to reapply it frequently, I'd get some Pinnacle Souveran and use it after the MP3/#3 combo instead of the BOS. Just reapply the Souveran when the beading/looks change, no need to redo the other products very often if you keep up with things and never let the Souveran completely go away. I'd plan to redo the MP3/#3 after maybe three months.



Since you like Griot's stuff (I buy their Car Wash in 3-4 gallon lots), you might want to use their Speed Shine if you have any. I use it after washes when the wax needs a little freshening but isn't so far gone that I need to reapply it. With the Souveran, maybe use the Speed Shine after the first two washes and then reapply the Souveran after the third. Souveran is *SO* easy to use you won't believe it and it really looks great.
 
Just wondering if the #3 is #3 in the Mirror Glaze line (tan bottle), or Step 3 in the Deep Crystal line (maroon bottle). DC3 is, in fact, the wax in that line, so that may affect your decision (Machine Glaze vs. a wax).
 
Yes, the #3 that I have is the tan bottle, which reads, "Professional Machine Glaze."



Thanks for all the comments. Instead of jumping into this today, I think I see how this thread turns out, then make some decisions.



I know that the Souveran is expensive, but I would consider it.
 
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