I'm a noob again

L

LT1Squirrel

New member
Ive been out of the detailing game for quite some time (almost 5 years) and so im looking for some new and/or improved stuff... mostly;

1. clay strong enough to get rid of road tar

2. clay good for every day bugs and smudges (i currently have sonus clay, is that still the standard for this?)

3. i fell in love with the DACP and sonus orange pad combo years ago for my PC, but what i would like is 2 polishes that are more aggressive than DACP and 2 pads that are more aggressive than what an orange was years ago, im just a friend and family helper so i wont be stepping up to a cyclo or rotary anytime soon

4. i have enough #16 to last 10 waxes or so, and i cant seem to find it anywhere, please dont tell me it got discontinued:scared:

4a. did something just as good replace it?

5. i have a couple bottles of Z2 sitting around from a couple years ago, would they still be good if they were kept in a cool dry place?

6. and lastly, a place i can buy it all at the same time :chuckle:



Any help is appreciated, thanks boys:xyxthumbs



Squirrel

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LT1Squirrel:

Welcome back!!



Nice Red '93 TA by the way!! While you were gone, Ponitac was dropped as a GM division, so TA's, Bonnevilles, Grand Prixs, GTOs, Grand AMs, Transports, etc are no longer made, so keep yours as a collector's item. (But you KNEW that)



Detailing items that are HOT:

1 & 2) Clays are still used and your Sonus is one one the best. I like the blue Clay Magic you can buy at AutoZone. There was patient-infringent lawsuit started by the makers of ClayMagic some years ago, so some of the poly-clay manufacturers had to either pay a royalty or change their formulation of their clays, and they are not as good. That's why I go with the original.

3) DACP have been replaced by Megs M105/M205 Polishing combos. Do some searching about the "Kevin Brown Method". I am not sure if your TA is a single stage paint or clearcoated. DACP may still be the ticket for single-stage paints. Optimum Products has just come out with a SPRAYABLE hyper-polish that is new-wave. A sprayable compound is to be released later. There have been some write-ups by beta-testers (factory-selected pro detailers), and the initial results look like this may be a game-changing detailing product.

4 & 4a) Sad to say, Meg's #16 is no longer available in the USA due to the inability to meet more stringent Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs, a.k.a Petroleum vapors) requirements and Megs would not reformulate it for the USA maket. I, like you, have on older tin with enough wax for 5 or 6 cars and use it occasionally on dark-colored or red vehicles. It's an old-school wax who's shine and durablilty is hard to beat for the price I paid. It is available in Europe, specifically Great Britian, under a different name, so you may need to check E-bay. (Funny how it can be SHIPPED to the USA, but not sold!)

A number of people on this forum knew this was coming and stocked up on it before it was discontinued, so again, check out this forums' "Classified" for people who MAY be willing to part with a tin or two (just be prepaired to shell out 20-30 US-dollars for it!)

What's replaced it?

Well, Wal-Mart now sells a higher-end wax from Great Britian by AutoGlym called High-Definition at about $35.00 (High-priced by Wal-Mart standards) but a very good wax.

P21S makes a 100% Carnauba (their advertising) Concours wax that sells for about $50.00.

I personally use Collinite waxes 845 Insulator Wax I got at Harbor Freight, of all places and 476S detergent-proof paste wax (I have the 885 Fleetwax equivalent).

Both of these are "hybrids" with polymers and resins mixed with carnuaba wax and they LAST on daily drivers.

But the BIG thing now is the sealants versus wax discussion/opinion. Blackfire makes a sealant called Wet Diamond with polycharger that is supposidely very close to a wax in appearance and it , too last, a longer time that most waxes. Meguiars makes a new product called Tech Wax NXT 2.0 (2nd Generation) that is a sealant as well and about $15.00at Wal-Mart. Some like it, some don't. It DOES darken the paint of some colors like black or dark grey, but it's very "brite" and "plasticy" in gloss, where a carnauba is more deep glowing and natural. I think on your red TA, it might be OK, but YOU have to decide.

5) Still a Zaino zealot, are you?? That's your choice. It's kind of either you like it or you don't. If you have had good experience with Zaino products, stick with it. I have NO experience with this product line, mostly because of the time it takes to prep the car and apply and layer their products.

6) Check out these detailing supply web sellers:

Detail Image.

Autogeeks.

Detailer's Domain.

Auto Detailing Solutions

Top of the Line

Pakshak.com

ProperAutoCare.com
 
Wow Lonnie, thanks a ton man.. shame about the 16, i love the way it looks on the TA, but i just picked up a new beauty too, and its pearl white 8).. looks like ill have to do some searching for pearl white waxes.. heres a few shots of it

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I wouldn't waste clay on tar. What you need is a product such as Tarminator



I also woudn't use clay on bugs either. Maybe something along the lines of Poorboys Bug Squach



Megs 105/205, Menz Power Finish, Power Lock and 85rd are a few items you may wanna consider adding to your arsenal



GL on getting back in the groove
 
yeah.. it was my wheel clay that i ruined.. so i just ran to my bro's shop and picked up some mineral stuff that just ate it like some bbq on a summer weekend haha... i just got done laying a layer of z2 on the white car, the car soaked it up big time... gonna let it cure for an hour or so then throw 16 on top of it
 
went on fine... but just as i walk out to take it off of course it starts to rain... maybe i can pull the vette out of the garage and pull it in there without pops knowing haha
 
Did you put any z1 on before hand? I think back then it was required for z2/z5 to work right/bond unless you had zfx. And by now the zfx is bad for sure.
 
i mixed it with some zfx i had laying around, seemed to bond just like it always did, and the light drizzle actually made it easier to remove haha
 
LT1Squirrel said:
i mixed it with some zfx i had laying around, seemed to bond just like it always did, and the light drizzle actually made it easier to remove haha
Click to expand...



You had ZFX that lasted that long? Mine always gels up in about 18 months time. I keep all my detailing stuff inside. :) That's awesome.
 
LT1Squirrel said:
a lil heat and some water goes a long way ;)
Click to expand...



Interesting, I'd love to ping that off Sal. Last time I had it congeal he just sent me another bottle. I'm assuming it congeals because something evaporates off or becomes inactive. I wonder how effective it is after that's happened. (If you can re-warm it to a liquid state as you've done)
 
seems to be holdin up great thus far, but that could be mostly because of the 16 i laid on it, god i love that stuff... not too sure ill ever by a white car again, real difficult to see spots i missed even with my halogens on it... next car will def be dark haha
 
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