Rethinking my daily driver plan

N

nonwelder

New member
Just like all of you, I truly enjoy making my cars look good. My Jetta is a year old with only 13k miles. A big promotion has me driving more to cover my territory, plus I am flying out several times a month. Long story short, I am only home a few days a week. Between the time and the fact that the car is being road tripped more, I've come to realize that my daily driver won't be as perfect as it has been over the last year. Then again, it's a daily driver, right? It's a hard conclusion to come to, but il think it's the right one.


So, my thought is that while my car will continue to get washed weekly in most cases, I may just go with a high quality AIO and do that every three months. Spray wax a couple of times a month. My thought is that an AIO is the best compromise and will also be a time saver.


I may go with griots AIO. Foolproof,looks good, lasts, fills a bit, corrects a bit, and cleans well. If I get saucy, I may prep for winter with the AIO and top with 845 or griots sealant. Should wear like iron, as the AIO is at four months on my wife's car that only sees touch less washes.


I came to this decision today after returning from Indy and seeing some water spots on my freshly polished and sealed hood. Some rain last night and then it looks like some pollen or something caused some nasty spots. Meg's ULW was the lsp.


Any other suggestions are appreciated. Once I have a garage queen I'll demand perfection, but for now, I think I have to be realistic. I thought about a coating, but I'm a believe that a coating isn't a cure all either. It can still etch and redoing the coating is a bit of work in itself.


The trials of us serial detailers! :)
 
Why not keep it even simpler and do a full polish once a year and protect with a long lasting LSP like DG 105 or FK1000p and just reapply the LSP every six months?  Inbetween just periodically use AquaWax or FK425 after a wash.
 
Good point. I just think due to my driving and the areas I am in, I may need a paint cleaner/light polish a couple of times a year. I might be wrong. I do have some 105, so maybe that will be my winter prep.
 
I'd look at a coating, specifically the Cquartz (UK) product.  You'll have max protection, max gloss, max shedding and minimal effort keeping the car looking its best.  This is what I've done in our household.  All the cars are now daily drivers and <u>have never looked better</u>.  Period.
 
I've thought about UK but am a bit nervous about application.  I've also considered the new DG coating.


 


ULW is pretty long lasting though, so I may just use an AIO and ULW.  I'm getting comparable durability to collinite with it.
 
Watch Corey's CQUK video.  Or hire someone in your area to complete the entire task.


 


Don't waste your money on the DG coating :(
 
I too would just add a coat of FK1000P every six months or so (lasts a *lot* longer than the 476S I use on the older Audi).  Eh, it's not all that hard to keep a daily driver very nice IMO:


 


-Use proper wash/dry techniques (that's >90% of it IMO)


-Use a LSP that sheds dirt/etc. readily and protects against etching


-Don't touch the paint between washes


 


I drive the Tahoe pretty much every day, and it gets used hard (think "dog parks"/etc. where uhm...things are likely to happen), my wife drives her A8 every day and it hauls kids and the elderly.  No problems keeping both in near-perfect condition.  I don't even wash the Tahoe for weeks on end.


 


I'm all for not spending too much time on this stuff, and I don't spend even a small fraction of the time I used to, but it's just not all that tough to keep things very, very nice.  Maybe not "truly Autopian"-perfect, but so close that normal people would never know the difference.
 
Thanks.  What LSP's do you find to prevent etching "the best?"  Also, how is ease of use with FK, as well as prep?  I am really on the fence about going with CQuartz UK...just not sure it is really needed and accomplishes what I want... :wacko:
 
OneQuickGT1- The FK is so good in the etching dept. that I don't even bother cleaning off most bird-bombs.  I'd just AIO (either Speed or ZAIO probably) it and top with the FK1000P.  Quick and easy (and pretty cheap too).


 


EDIT: I think one thing you'd really appreciate is how the FK1000P "self-cleans" in the rain.  I don't wash the Tahoe very often because it generally looks OK without it, sure don't need to do it weekly by any means.
 
Good to know. Thanks for making me buy another product. I thought fk was pickier with prep. Any thoughts on if it will have issues with a glaze from chemical guys or poorboys? These are not oily glazes.


Anything as far as maintenance? I usually use Meg's UQW when I wash. Any issues you've had with something like that?


How is application? Any tips? It mustn't be too bad if you use it. :).


The only turnoff I see is I bet it looks brighter, which may not be good on my darker grey metallic.


Thanks again.
 
I've done a bunch of reading and I think 1000p is going to be my next experiment.  Looks like a lot of people are using FK215 to prep.  Is this a good plan?  Also, I've got a pretty new coat of Meg's ULW on the car.  Will the 215 clean enough to remove it?


 


This looks like a winner.  I think my game plan is:


 


-Prep with 215 (or another FK product if anyone suggests)


-1000p


-Another coat a week later


-FK 425 after washes


-Perhaps UQW every once in a while to boost the 1000p (Suggestions appreciated here too)


 


Thanks
 
OneQuickGT1- The FK1000P doesn't seem too finicky about what you apply it over, so I wouldn't expect those products to cause problems.  I wouldn't expect the UQW to mess with it either, but I've never tried it (yet). 


 


It's easy enough to use...pretty much just another paste wax in that regard.  I would keep it off trim though, or at least buff it off immediately, before it dries.  If it seems like more of a PIA than you'd expected, try *slightly* dampening the applicator with FK425. I haven't had to do this for years though, seems the FK1000P is a little softer, more user-friendly these days. Thin thin thin, fog the surface with your breath during the final buff.


 


Yeah, it *will* give a bit of a "bright, sealanty" look without much depth.  Maybe you'll come to like it as I did on metallic black'GM "Granite Metallic".  Initially thought I hated it but changed my mind (maybe in part because it was so easy to live with!).


 


I haven't used FK215, no idea what it's like.  I prep with either a Finishing Polish or one of my current AIOs. 


 


Your plan looks good to me!
 
Thanks for the help! Not sure what I will do yet.


Final question Accumulator...I know you're also a collinite pro. I'm actually thinking I may go this route, as I can use it over my favorite AIO, griots. Would you suggest 476 over IW? I'd try 1000p over griots AIO, but since it leaves a sealant behind, I am worried the 1000p might not bond well. So...it's either 476, 915, or IW.


Thanks again.
 
OneQuickGT1-  I myself would gamble on the FK bonding to the GG AIO and I'd be utterly astounded if it didn't bond.  But OK I'd drop my hard-sell on the FK ;)


 


Between the 476S and the 845 I'd go with the 476S, but I'd keep it off trim/etc.  The only real advantage to 845 IMO are that it's trim-friendly and it's easier (IMO) to avoid buildup along PPF/pinstripe/etc. edges (for that reason I use it as a base and then layer 476S on top of it when a vehicle has a clear bra/etc.).


 


I've never tried their 915, in part because the Collinite employees I've spoken with all said that they use 476S. 
 
I'm starting to believe that the 1000p will bond to the GG AIO as well.  I'm thinking I might just go with the GG AIO to remove the current LSP on the car, wait about 12 hours, and then hit it with some 1000p,  using 425 after each wash.  On the other hand, I could just use some 205 on a black pad to remove the LSP and do more cleaning than polishing.  After the first wash I will pop on another coat of 1000p, per your suggestion.


 


After that, I think I'll just leave go.  The experiment is to see if it will last until spring, which I think it will.  However, I may hit it with another coat before the weather gets REAL cold, say October.  I would assume if I am only using 425, I can just throw on another coat without doing any prep.


 


Thanks for the hard sell..it worked.  :) 
 
OneQuickGT1- If you use the M205, be sure to get all the oils off before applying the FK1000P. Eh, unless there's marring to deal with, I'd just use the GG AIO.  After all, they say you can use their sealant over it, right?


 


Yeah, unless you get some weird contamination you should be able to just add some FK1000P without doing any real prep.  I wouldn't even bother claying it unless you have a real reason to do so (I know, Autopian Heresy! but I'd just reLSP).


 


Until Spring might be a tall order for two coats, but if you just refresh it, even in sections, when you feel like you can spare the time/effort, it oughta work out well.


 


 I was just thinking how my Tahoe really does look OK, and the last time I washed it was 11 July (I did clean the wheels once since then).


 


See what you think....the different look might take some getting used to, but I bet the easier maintenance will make up for it.
 
Daily driver = coat and ONR wash. So easy, I spend less than an hour on my car a week. And I put 20-30k miles on it a year and it sits outside 24/7. 10 years old and the paint looks better than new. 


 





 


 
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