Does this sound like a good sequence?

M

MattB

New member
Here's how I'm thinking about doing an exterior detail on my car tomorrow:



Wash car

Clay bar

Meguiar's Deep Crystal 1: Paint Cleaner

Meguiar's Deep Crystal 2: Polish (it says this is formulated for dark colored cars, do I need this on a silver car?)

Meguiar's NXT Tech Wax

Tire shine



Does this sound good or is there anything else I should be using? My car is metallic silver and the paint is in good shape.
 
MattB said:
Here's how I'm thinking about doing an exterior detail on my car tomorrow:



Wash car

Clay bar

Meguiar's Deep Crystal 1: Paint Cleaner

Meguiar's Deep Crystal 2: Polish (it says this is formulated for dark colored cars, do I need this on a silver car?)

Meguiar's NXT Tech Wax

Tire shine



Does this sound good or is there anything else I should be using? My car is metallic silver and the paint is in good shape.
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I would skip the deep crystal step 1. I don't think it will make any difference in the final outcome. The fact that you are claying will clean the paint. So just take out the paint cleaner and then do the process. Definitely do the step 2 polish step.



Greg
 
Is there any way I could mess up using the polish and end up damaging the paint? I've clayed a car before but never used any polish.
 
Are you using a pc / rotary or your hands? Could you damage the paint? Yeah sure anything can...is it likely? Not really. Just take your time, check your work and don't do anything aggressive or extreme.
 
2StepsAhead said:
Are you using a pc / rotary or your hands? Could you damage the paint? Yeah sure anything can...is it likely? Not really. Just take your time, check your work and don't do anything aggressive or extreme.
Click to expand...



I'm going to be hand applying/buffing everything. I did a full detail on my previous car a few times but it was black so I've never done a light colored car before. I'm comfortable with a clay bar but I've never used a polish before so I didn't know if there were any special precautions I had to take other than following the directions on the bottle.
 
Pure polishes do what they say. They bring gloss and oils to that paint. DC1 is a very light cleaner it only removes fine defects so if you are looking to remove some obvious ones(which it doesnt seem you are) I would try some scratchX if not ColorX is a great cleaner wax(removes mild defects, polishes, and protects all in one) And NXT is a great LSP for a daily driver.. so go for it.
 
DC2 is not an abbrasive polish at all. It is a oil based glased (meg's calls thier glazes' polishes). Simply work in lightly and wipe off.
 
I may end up skipping the DC1 as suggested by GregCavi since there really aren't any scratches on the car that I can see and it will take less time.



Quick interior question: I know Armor-All is considering a big no for the interior but are Meguiar's interior wipes going to damage the dashboard like Armor-All apparently does?
 
I've been using the meguiars quick interior wipes for about a year now with no ill effects, the spray version also gets pretty good reviews around here with no cracking issues.
 
MattB said:
I may end up skipping the DC1 as suggested by GregCavi since there really aren't any scratches on the car that I can see and it will take less time...
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I wouldn't skip the DC#1. Even with the claying I think it'd help clean the paint up. I'd probably be *more* inclined to skip the DC#2 if I had to cut a corner.
 
I would also avoid NXT tech wax if at all possible. I really like how it looks, but its durability was an absolute joke in my opinion. If you look around the forums you'll see a LOT of other people with the same opinion; I would consider a different wax.



I've also been really happy with Meg's quick interior detailer. It's in a black spray bottle. It's best for cleaning up inside more than it is an interior dressing though, so if you're looking for something to make the interior really shine this isn't for you. However, I really like it because I can use it around the stereo, or windows, whatever, and it doesn't leave a dirty film on electronic screens or anything else.
 
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