Trying to Revamp my Exterior-What I Have Used, What I Plan to Try Next

S

Subirex09

New member
Hello Everyone,

I consider myself extremely meticulous about most things, especially my cars, but I have had an 09 WRX for a year and 7 months and haven't even waxed it yet :(. This could be blasphemy here but that's why I need your help!



1. For those inevitable fine scratches around the car, a guy at Subaru told me that 3M Perfect It II Rubbing Compound works awesome, he has used it a couple of times by hand for some small scratches on my car and it seems to have worked great. Perfect It II is pretty abrasive though.



For small scratches, would you folks recommend I stay with Perfect It II or go to something like 3M Scratch Remover that I can pick up at my local auto store? The Scratch Remover is a bit less abrasive, maybe safer for me to use by hand.



2. For washing, I have always used Turtlewax Zip Wax Carwash. For all of the little specks of tar and dirt that stuck after the wash, I have always used Turtlewax Bug and Tar Remover. Since I ran out of Zipwax, I thought I'd try some Mother's CA Gold Car Wash.



Has anyone had good results with the Mothers wash? Is there a better product for hard to remove specks of tar and dirt than the Turtlewax Bug and Tar?



3. For waxing, on cars I used to own, I have used a standard Turtlewax Liquid Wax, Nufinish, and Meguiar's Quikwax. For the Subie, I picked up Mother's CA Gold Carnuba Cleaner Wax. The 3 step process that Mother's offers sounds amazing but I do this all by hand and the thought of having to do it 3x in a row in one day was a bit scary to consider by hand.



In your opinions, will the Mother's Carnuba Cleaner wax be enough after a very thorough, washing, detarring, and debugging? Or does having denied the exterior of a well deserved waxing for a year and a half warrant more extreme measures?



I look forward to your responses. Thanks for Looking.
 
My head is already spinning, I hope you folks can give me a hand.



What are the minimal steps in your opinion? I see a lot about the clay bar. I think that would be a good thing to do instead of the bug and tar remover unless I am misunderstanding the clay bar's use.



Do I wash, clay, and then wax? Or does the car need to be washed again after claying before waxing?



Gosh I stink at this...



If I wash, clay, and then just wax with Mother's Carnuba Cleaner Wax, is that a good plan? Or should I use a different combination? Does it matter that the car is not very old, does the plan of attack change if the car is older or newer?
 
Welcome to Autopia! If you haven't been lurking and reading up on these questions in the forum, I suggest taking some time and going through some old threads for a lot of the question you have but I'll try to give you a start.

Subirex09 said:
1. For those inevitable fine scratches around the car, a guy at Subaru told me that 3M Perfect It II Rubbing Compound works awesome, he has used it a couple of times by hand for some small scratches on my car and it seems to have worked great. Perfect It II is pretty abrasive though.



For small scratches, would you folks recommend I stay with Perfect It II or go to something like 3M Scratch Remover that I can pick up at my local auto store? The Scratch Remover is a bit less abrasive, maybe safer for me to use by hand.
Click to expand...

I used to use the 3M stuff almost exclusively, but I feel you can find much better polishes now if you look. Even OTC stuff like ScratchX can be good scratch removers without going with something as abrasive as PerfectIt. Subaru paint is fairly soft so something less abrasive would do just fine.



Subirex09 said:
2. For washing, I have always used Turtlewax Zip Wax Carwash. For all of the little specks of tar and dirt that stuck after the wash, I have always used Turtlewax Bug and Tar Remover. Since I ran out of Zipwax, I thought I'd try some Mother's CA Gold Car Wash.



Has anyone had good results with the Mothers wash? Is there a better product for hard to remove specks of tar and dirt than the Turtlewax Bug and Tar?
Click to expand...

Most OTC car washes are very similar and the Mothers stuff is good. I prefer Megs Gold Class, personally. I like Stoner's Tarminator for a bug and tar remover. If you like what you have been using, just stick with it though. One note, use the bug and tar remover before you wash, not after. You should also clay (see below).



Subirex09 said:
3. For waxing, on cars I used to own, I have used a standard Turtlewax Liquid Wax, Nufinish, and Meguiar's Quikwax. For the Subie, I picked up Mother's CA Gold Carnuba Cleaner Wax. The 3 step process that Mother's offers sounds amazing but I do this all by hand and the thought of having to do it 3x in a row in one day was a bit scary to consider by hand.
Click to expand...

That's why most people that are serious about detailing buy a DA polisher. There's not really a shortcut to proper detailing. :)



Subirex09 said:
In your opinions, will the Mother's Carnuba Cleaner wax be enough after a very thorough, washing, detarring, and debugging? Or does having denied the exterior of a well deserved waxing for a year and a half warrant more extreme measures?
Click to expand...

Mother's and Meguiar's both sell clay kits OTC and I'd highly recommend claying your car after washing to get rid of contaminants before waxing, cleaner wax or otherwise. A cleaner wax is good, but definitely will not be good enough after a year and a half of neglect.



Here's a quick suggestion for a simple process that should be done at least once a year:

  1. Tar and bug remover
  2. Wash
  3. Clay
  4. Polish
  5. Cleaner wax
  6. Sealant (optional)
 
Thank you both for the great information. I figured I would have to add one more step somewhere : ).



I will look for a decent polish, pick up a clay kit, and try the less abrasive 3M scratch remover...I am getting excited!!!...but also a little sad because this will be a long day of work, but I bet it'll be worth every minute.



todd@bsaw said:
Mother's and Meguiar's both sell clay kits OTC and I'd highly recommend claying your car after washing to get rid of contaminants before waxing, cleaner wax or otherwise. A cleaner wax is good, but definitely will not be good enough after a year and a half of neglect.



Here's a quick suggestion for a simple process that should be done at least once a year:

  1. Tar and bug remover
  2. Wash
  3. Clay
  4. Polish
  5. Cleaner wax
  6. Sealant (optional)
Click to expand...



So do you mean a cleaner wax alone would not be enough, but polishing before using the cleaner wax would be better?



I assume any residue left behind by the clay bar would be taken care of by the polish right?
 
I typically clay while I'm washing if you want to save a step. Wash the panel, rinse, soap the panel with the mitt and clay, then rinse again. There is no residue after claying. Also, you definitely want to make sure the paint is clear of any dirt and contaminants before polishing (which the clay will take care of). Otherwise you risk getting a dirty applicator when polishing and end up doing more damage than fixing.



Most OTC "cleaner waxes" are just a wax with chemical cleaners and no abrasives. You could go from the clay right to the cleaner wax, but that isn't going to do much for the micromarring and swirl marks already in the paint. I will typically use a cleaner wax only when I don't plan on polishing but it will be a good enough protectant if you don't want to buy a regular wax/sealant.
 
Excellent Info, I think I would rather buy a regular wax if I am going to clay and polish. I will keep the Cleaner Wax for another time when I do not polish.
 
todd@bsaw said:
I typically clay while I'm washing if you want to save a step. Wash the panel, rinse, soap the panel with the mitt and clay, then rinse again. There is no residue after claying.
Click to expand...



So use the soap itself as a lubricant for the clay rather than whatever lubricant some clay will come with?
 
Clay lube is basically the same thing as soapy water. I never use any dedicated clay lube. Any wash soap or detail spray should work just as well. I just don't think you can buy only clay at an auto store without a kit.
 
All of today's finishes are clear coated so we're all on the same playing field so no, your metallic paint is not an issue.



I'm assuming that your car is also a daily driver. There is nothing I like more than to drive around in a car that's so glossy it looks wet. This said, we should set realistic expectations because driving an absolutely perfect swirl-free car and using it in todays environment is allot to ask.



Wash

Clay

Polish

Wax



Allot of what I use isn't over the counter but this is an example of some product that are available.



1. Clay

2. Swirl Remover – example Meguiar’s M105

3. Finishing Polish – example Meguiar’s M205

4. Finishing Polish – example Menzerna Polish PO85RD

5. Isopropyl Alcohol Clean

6. Paint Glaze – Wolfgang Finished Glaze, Poor Boys Black Hole Glaze

7. Seal - Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant

8. Wax - Collinite 845, Collinite Marque D'Elegance Paste Wax, Pinnacle Liquid Souverän Wax,
 
Nice, thanks for throwing some of the product at me. This is especially helpful because I wasn't really sure what to use for polish and wax since you folks have helped me change my game plan. With these product names, I can do some additional research and try to make some decisions.



And yes, definitely a daily driver.
 
Ended up going with:



1. Meguiar's Smooth Surface Clay Kit, although I think I will need some additional clay since it only came with 2 small precut pieces and this will be my first claying

2. Meguiar's #7 Show Car Glaze for my polish

3. Meguiar's NXT Tech Wax 2.0



I did read some reviews afterwards that the tech wax only lasts about 6 weeks but I am hoping mine lasts a little longer since I work at home at least 3 days a week so the car doesn't see the highway too much any more.
 
This is what I dove into the game with http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing-product-discussion/132078-who-wants-fill-arsenal-holes.html



I sometimes wash again after claybar just to be on the safe side. Note of caution SOME shampoos Break down claybar...though the OTC car wash soaps are safe, like gold class nxt wash, but Just thought it'd be worth a mentioning.



Few things:

1.

You haven't waxed in almost two years so my assumption is that you will have really contaminated paint so it will most likely be a long long processes ( I'm inclined to assume that your claybar will prolly be trashed by the time you're done if this is the first time you're claybaring that car)



2.

It appears to me that you're sticking with OTC products and sticking to working by hand, so NXT 2.0 should do well by you because it has nice fillers (and if you have a dark colored car--this makes it look really nice) In terms of longevity, I've gotten an average of a month to two months...the longest it's lasted me was i think around the 3 month mark.



3. In terms of tar, I use tarminator by stoner's



M105/M205/PO85RD seems to be pretty popular combination (I didn't realize it until just now) and after working on my friend's Subaru, I think you'll be ok with the 205 equiv (But again...if you're doing it by hand...I thnk I'd be more inclined to just use a wax with fillers). PO85RD AFAIK is a finishing polish--so unless you're doing it by machine I don't know what benefits you'd get from it (and I don't mean it as a matter of speech; I LITERALLY don't know)





4. In terms of wax, right now I'm on the Collinite Bandwagon: I own 845, 476, 915. And I apply by hand..ALWAYS

845: Honestly Haven't tried it yet...was REALLY hoping to though rumored 3-8mon protection



476S: Paste, Good to wax entire car including windows and wheels and rumored to last 6month+, so far It's been about a month maybe since i put it down on my brother's protege--still beads well, my bmw--I'm working to figure out what the deal is but the horizontal panels are dead--but I'm sure a wash will fix that)



915: Paste, was told it's best for darker colors. I don't own any dark colored cars so put it on the lexus. Rumored protection is around that of 476.. still beads strong after a month



NXT 2.0 I've tried the liquid and he paste. Really easy on and off product makes darker cars look really nice ...used it as a topper during maintenance washes...when i got the collinites I gave the nxt away to a friend.







For me, Wash/decon -> Clay -> wash/clean -> compound/polish -> IPA -> LSP
 
Is that to say Meguiars #7 Polish is an M205 equiv? Or were you just responding to the products list a few posts back?



You mentioned Colinite 476 works for windows, can any car wax be used for windows? Does waxing your windows help with windshield pitting? In direct sunlight, I can seen tons of pitting in the exterior of my windshield.
 
tbh I'm not familiar with #7 but as far as i know, the 205 equiv was meg's swirlx? AGain I'm really not sure..



I Think MANY waxes and sealants can be applied to windows, but to be safe i'd do test spots? and ummm most pitting i believe is from highway debris hitting your window at high velocity so I'm going to say no... I want to say that's a machine polish job...
 
Hello



You really need to get some kind or abrasive or chemical polish to clean up the paintwork, if only on a minimal level.



Megs #7 is an abrasive free product, its a cleaner free product. Its just oils in a bottle, you wipe on and have to use a specific technique to remove it.



Megs 7 will not bring optical clairty of the colour, clean the pores of the paintwork or do any prepwork for your LSP which has minimal prepping ablities, esp. by hand.



Purchase ScratchX to go before your #7.



Geoff
 
Subirex09 said:
Is that to say Meguiars #7 Polish is an M205 equiv?
Click to expand...



What steelwind101 posted. Try to find Mike Phillips's tutorial if you really want to use M07 which, well...I just don't like on b/c period and certainly not on a silver Subie. I'd even prefer some kind of cleaner-wax like Color-X over M07 (not that I hate M07, I've used it on ss paint for decades, it's just not right for this application IMO).



You mentioned Colinite 476 works for windows, can any car wax be used for windows? Does waxing your windows help with windshield pitting? In direct sunlight, I can seen tons of pitting in the exterior of my windshield.
Click to expand...



Pitted windshields are fixed by replacing them ;) I don't like waxing windows anyhow, but that's just me.
 
What about M07 is not right for my application? I am not trying to be a wise guy, I am just trying to figure this out before we get too deep into the CT fall and I miss my waxing opportunity.



I wanted to stick to 5 steps...wash, debug/de-tar, clay bar, polish, and wax.



I found Meguiars polish that happened to be the #7 and I thought that it would do what a polish was intended to do.



I even called Meguiar's on the spot to see what other polish options they had and to ask if #7 was the right thing to use as a polish before a wax.



I want to do a good job but I certainly do not want to apply coats by hand of things that are legitimately ineffective.



If I want to stick to the 5 steps above, even if I need to buy a different polish or wax, I am willing to do so.



Hope you guys don't get frustrated with me.



Everyone has so many different recommendations and I just am not sure what to think any more.
 
Lol no worries here I'm sure I ask more dumb repetitive questions than most even after I read a million more (which I, learned to stop if I can help it) I don't believe I've used m07 before or st least I'm not familiar with it to make a judgement
 
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