Off the Shelf recommendations?

J

jdmclemore

New member
OK - I've done some reading (the Autopia Guide was great!) and I'm ready to buy a few products.

The new vehicle isn't til later this year, so I want to practice on my trade-in: a '95 Honda Civic, Black (Non-metallic). It's been pretty neglected, never waxed, oxidizing...its pretty bad. Good news is I can't make it look any worse!

I'll be doing everything by hand, and I want to purchase everything off the shelf here locally. I'm thinking Meg's Gold Class wash, some kind of clay (does the lubricant usually come with the clay?), a polish (i guess that's the Meg's Deep Crystal ?) and then a wax (the NxT?). I also plan on getting a CWB (my first acronym!) and some microfiber towels. I already have some brushes.

So who sells what I'm looking for off the shelf? Is there one place that would sell all this?I'm in the big city, so I pretty much have all the stores around here.

Any suggestions are welcome! Remember, I'm a newbie. So for now, I want something semi-simple. No 14-step preocedures please!

Thanks...
 
jdmclemore,

If the vehicle is pretty oxidized as you say, I would change your plan as follows:

Replace the Deep Crystal Polish with a product that will remove that oxidation better. For a local product, I would suggest Meguiar's new "Color-X".

Then you could:

Wash - Gold Class
Clay - (usually the lubricant comes with the clay) If not use QD like Meguiar's Quick Detailer.
Clean/Polish - ColorX
Wax - NXT

Keep in mind, that you may have some swirls/spider webs that need to be removed. That will require adding a swirl remover before the wax.

Those products should be available at your local "Mart" store, or an automotive store like PepBoys, Advance Auto............. or similar.

Hope this helps.
 
jdmclemore said:
I'm thinking Meg's Gold Class wash, some kind of clay (does the lubricant usually come with the clay?), a polish (i guess that's the Meg's Deep Crystal ?) and then a wax (the NxT?).

So who sells what I'm looking for off the shelf? Is there one place that would sell all this?
Click to expand...

I would recommend using Meguiar's Professional Products (they are the numbered products) rather than the Consumer Products.

Instead of the Deep Crystal you could use either Meguiar's #83 Cleaner Polish or #7 Show Car Glaze depending on the condition of your paint. Followed by a coat of either #20 Polymer Sealant or NXT High Tech Wax.

Many of the major auto supply stores stock many of these products. You could either contact Meguiar's and ask about where to get these products in your area or use this dealer locator; http://www.meguiars.com/DealerLocator/DealerLocator_template.cfm

Here are a few locations in the Dallas area that I found for you;

ENGLISH COLOR & SUPPLY 11450 HARRY HINES DALLAS TX 75229 (214) 620-2611

ELLIS COLOR SUPPLY 11570 REEDER RD. DALLAS TX 75229 (214) 241-9706

MAGNUM PRODUCTS 2551 LOMBARDY DALLAS TX 75220 (214) 357-6262

SOUTHWEST AUTO COLOR 3415 ROSS AVE. DALLAS TX 75220 (214) 827-0750

BODY SHOP SUPPLIES 2750 ELECTRONIC LN. DALLAS TX 75220 (214) 352-5896
 
jdmclemore said:
OK - I've done some reading (the Autopia Guide was great!) and I'm ready to buy a few products.

Hey! I'm in Dallas too. Actually Plano. Looks like the sun might be coming out today after all!!
Click to expand...
 
Okay, here are a few locations in the Plano area that stock the Meguiar's Products;

ENGLISH COLOR & SUPPLY 801 AVENUE K. PLANO TX 75074 (972) 423-4924

BODY SHOP SUPPLIES 821 JUPITER RD PLANO TX 75074 (972) 578-0784
 
Yep, just north of Dallas. I love it here and its so much nicer than Dallas. Thought we'd see some more sun today! What a tease!
Monday is supposed to be clear. Figures!! I hate working when its beautiful outside!

For off the shelf, I bought some Meguiars #40 for the vinyl in my car (dashboard, etc) and its really good. Doesn't smell bad at all and its not greasy. I plan on trying it on my tires after I wash my car. Whatever you do, don't get Meguiars Gold Class wax. Its great for a few days, but it doesn't last long at all. Maybe its the Texas heat.

What kind of car are you getting? I got a metallic black v6 04 accord coupe in November and I love it! I'm still enjoying that new car smell! And the meguiars #40 smell works fine with it.


Ashley
 
After using the Meguiar's NXT Car Wash for the first time this past week, I would definitely recommend it over Gold Class Wash. It is everything that the Gold Class is and a couple of bucks cheaper at the same time.

For the clay, my favorite is by Mothers. I have recently bought some of the clearanced Clay Magic clay and it just refreshed my opinion that Mothers clearly has the better performing product.

While the pro series Meguir's Mirror Glaze products are good, I use DA/CP #83 and SR 2.0 #9 on the more neglected surfaces, don't discount the Deep Crystal products. These are readily available and since rediscovering my dust covered bottles of DC Paint Cleaner and Polish I am surprised at what you can do with them. Don't forget about the one-step cleaner waxes by Meguiar's and Mothers. Be prepared to do some arm/shoulder numbing work if the oxidation is more than just moderate.

Edit: How could I forget the MF products...Check out the Microtex 6 towels/$5.77 at Target and/or the Concordia 5 towels/$4.92 at Walmart. These will get you started until you are ready to buy the better towels on the net.
 
For hand work, the very cheap Turtle Wax rubbing and polishing compounds work well at least in my limited experience with them. The rubbing compound has some bite and will leave a visible haze so go easy with it.

I also didn't like meg's gold class wax. I didn't like the look though so your mileage will vary :D

And for a nice deal on off the shelf stuff even if it's delivered by mail order, two packages on E-Bay are pretty common right now and pretty attractive. One is a Zymol collection with wash, cleaner/wax, instant detail, leather cleaner, leather conditioner, applicator and nice wooden box. You can get the whole deal around $25 or so delivered.

There is a similar Meg's Gold Class package with a nicer looking but apparently smaller wooden box. It's going for similar pricing around $25 delivered. Includes GC Liquid Car Wax,
Car Wash Shampoo, Rich Leather Aloe Cleaner, Leather Aloe Conditioner, Protectant Wipes, Endurance Tire Protectant Gel, Applicator pad, Wash Sponge.

Just in case you or someone else is interested.
 
I second the Megs ColorX...
Then go with either the Nxt or #20........remember, #20 has a cleaner in it, so its no where near as durable as the Nxt......
 
When NXT first came out, i found a post in autopia about NXT. The guy used a permanent marker on top of his washer/dryer and used several waxes to "apply". The NXT removed the marks while Klasse SG. If you are to use NXT, I dont think a cleaner is nessesary. any comments?
 
A Newbie's Report....

Well, I went up to my local Pep Boys to see what they had. I didn't want to drive all over town, so I bought everything there.

Here's what I got: (remember - this was just for practice to see how these products work. If I was really serious about "restoring" the Honda, I would have probably bought other products. And when i purchase my new vehicle, I'll be more particular and probably buy online)
Also..I lied. I really don't have any oxidation. I don't know what I was thinking....

:doh

Meg's Gold Class Car Wash (smells great!)
Mother's California Gold Clay "kit" (Clay, Instant detailer and Original Formula Carnauba Cleaner Wax.)
Mother's Reflections Premium Polish (only "polish" I saw there)
Meg's Hot Shine tire spray
a Cali water blade (WAY cool!)
synth chamois
pkg of 3 MF towels (i need more)
2 Turtle Wax round, padded teri-cloth applicators
a couple brushes

So I wash her down first (the poor thing had been SO mistreated - paint was dull - didn't think there was hope for her). Washing alone really helped (amazing concept, huh?).

Then used the water blade to get most of the water off. I love this thing! Best $20 I ever spent! A chamois finished the drying.

Then I broke out the clay - first time user - and went over the whole car. Every section i did gave me dirty clay, so i guess it was working!

Then came the Mother's Reflections polish. (I was hoping I was doing all this in the right order - I've NEVER spent this much time on a car). First thing I noticed - maybe this is perfectly normal - is that it seemed like the polish went on real thin. I was using the teri-cloth pads I mentioned above to apply it (just a little black paint was coming off on the pad). Even as it dried to a haze, it was just a light haze. I guess I expected my car to be white with a haze from the polish. At any rate, it came off pretty easy (I used the MF towels to remove it) and it was starting to look like a real car!

It was starting to get late (and damn! my arm was killing me!), but I decided to get the wax on too. I used the Mother's carnauba cleaner/wax that was in the Clay kit for this. (Was that wrong? I'm not sure what a cleaner/wax is...) The wax went on identical to the polish. Very light and thin, and came off the same (used MF towels again to remove). I was really getting excited now. My car was shining!!?? My neglected 9 yr old car that had NEVER been polished or waxed and not been hand-washed in over a year was shining??? Amazing! A testiment to what any newb can accomplish with off-the-shelf items and about 4 hours of work!

So I'm eager to hear your comments on what I did right or wrong....I'm sure there was plenty.

Also, I plan on tackling my wife's 2001 Silver Pathfinder this weekend. It has never been pampered like this either, but still has a nice finish. Will the products I bought still work for this vehicle?

Thanks for all the tips. I'll try to post some pictures.
 
Seems like you had great results. I would look out for any marring or surface imperfections (swirls, etc.) You could try some other products such as NXT that might be a good one step product. Definitely get more MF, they are useful! Keep broadening your detail supplies, but not too much! :lmfao

BTW, if you polishing, it should dry and haze, but in a dust form since your breaking it down. Its good that you got it thin, just keep rubbing and you should get more glossiness

Same goes for wax, thinner is better, (less product but same coverage)

Hope I could help! :cool
 
Here's the hood before....

hoodb4.jpg
 
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