Weekend Detail: Mach1 w/ FMJ & UPP

thanks all! and yeah, i also think the lighting made a difference as the sun wasn't directly overhead for the pictures. but then again, both sides look the same to me! :o



and i'll try to remember to keep track of the durability of both.



jfox03cobra said:
I have a dumb question. How did you do the black on the hood? Is it painted that way or is it trim/decal? BTW car looks awesome! I love the look of the mach1's, and they run great too. :up
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the black stripes are decals. most of the time i just put my sealant/wax over them.
 
Any difference in slickness between the two intially? Durability thus far?



I have FMJ and am wondering if it's worth having UPP at all, until my FMJ runs out.
 
Hi Hirosh,



Car looks great.



I am an FMJ fan. It looks great on my red Saab Aero. Over the winter I tried Liquid Souveran on my car. LS looks good, but much more reflective then FMJ. Then I applied Optimum Car Wax over the LS. OCW is also very nice. It brought out a wet rich look to the paint.



I do have UPP, but have not tried it on my red Saab. I tried UPP on my wifes white Volvo and did not like it then. I will try UPP on my Saab now after seeing the results you got on your car.



Looks Great.



Rich
 
justin - initially, slickness was very similar. it would be hard to say which one was slicker because sometimes the FMJ felt slicker, sometimes the UPP felt slicker (and this was during the same time period).



durability at this point (from Feb. 26) - so far, i have washed the car with Gold Class Car shampoo, QEW'd it, and QD it with Poorboy's Spray & Wipe, Meg's Final Detail, and one of the Sonus QD (Acrylic Glanz?). i know after washing with the GC, the slickness pretty much was gone. no longer did my hand seem to glide over the paint, although with a MF towel it still felt slick. the same thing happened with the QEW wash. i've read that the GC can do that, so the loss of slickness is probably due to the GC shampoo.



after QD, i got some slickness back, it sorta reminded me of the slickness Natty's wax has. well, the FMJ side had more slickness than the UPP side. i don't know if that is because of the QD or not, though i would probably guess it was the QD.



i will be getting some of 4* QD so i'll report back on if it helped. and i also am getting some of Poorboy's new shampoo, so i'll try and see if that helps too.



but so far, both sides still look good, and still bead quite well.



and well, i guess the ultimate deciding factor would be the durability. i'm trying not to mess with the sealants other than doing the typical things an autopian would do (wash and QD). but so far, not much difference between the two.



rich - you could always do half the hood or car like i did! :D but really, i have a hard time telling any difference between the two. i think durability will be the deciding factor.....but even then, if i'm reapplying either one every month, does it matter? :D



topnotch - thanks! yeah, sometimes the sun rarely does justice to our work. but then again, if you can get a product or combo to look great under a strong sun, you know you got something good! :)
 
The UPP does seem deeper but it could be lighting. In any event, this is the wettest medium blue car pics I have seen.
 
SilverLexus: thanks for the compliment. :)



05Sleeper said:
I just curious to see which one you think "stands out" the most on your paint... WHICH ONE DO YOU LIKE BETTER?
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in terms of look, they both looked the same to me. when considering other factors, i like the FMJ. in addition to the stuff i mentioned in my previous post, i washed the car with Poorboy's new shampoo and QD with the 4* QD. and after that, the FMJ felt slicker to me. the UPP side was a little slick, but the FMJ side was much slicker, not like when you first apply it, but enough that i liked it better than the 4* side. and i guess that made me like the FMJ better.



and about a month ago, i repolished the car and did the whole car in FMJx3, which i topped a couple weeks later with 3 coats of Trade Secret wax. i got disappointed with how washing the car would take away that super slick feeling FMJ gave, so i figured i try a wax and see what happens. sure it kills the slickness of FMJ, but at least after a wash the slickness doesn't go away so quickly. i just love to very lightly run my hand down the side of my car and have my hand just gluide. :o



so i guess for now, i like the FMJ better. but knowing me, i'll probably redo the car and use the 4* UPP, upkeep it with the 4* QD and end up liking that too! :o



sorry if this doesn't help much. i guess all i can say is in my opinion and experience, they both are great products. and if anything that might be a factor for someone looking to buy either one of these products is the price. FMJ is more expensive, maybe about twice the price of 4* UPP, i think.
 
Well that last statement would swing it for me hirosh, if FMJ is twice the price of UPP and not even *close to twice* the appearance/durability or slickness, then UPP would win it for me, thanks :)
 
JustinTRW said:
Menzerna Acrylic Shield really seems to boost the slickness after washes. :xyxthumbs
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aiyaiyai! one more product to buy! :p



ranney recommended i try the 4* QD, which seems to work okay. it doesn't make it slick like an initial application, but not bad. actually i gotta try it again. i forgot how it was. :o



i guess i just gotta keep trying different combos and car shampoos and QDs.
 
I am not sure about the price either, but I am going t try it out anyway! Especially now that CMA has a "get Menzerna Acrylic Shield for $.01 if you buy FMJ" deal now! :D
 
If i do get this, then I should have everything I need to get the "ultimate menzerna finish"... I will have the IP, FP, FTG, FMJ, and the Menzerna Acrylic Shield.
 
05Sleeper said:
I am not sure about the price either, but I am going t try it out anyway! Especially now that CMA has a "get Menzerna Acrylic Shield for $.01 if you buy FMJ" deal now! :D
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That's a good deal and makes FMJ quite affordable. IMO the QD is worthwhile, so I'd go for it if I didn't already ahve the pair.
 
vernon - heh heh, i don't know, maybe when i'm done paying for it. :D or maybe when the warranty is over (2 more years). then i would to change at least 1) the tires, Goodyears RS-A's are okay but i want something better; 2) change the tokico struts/shocks to some koni yellow adjustables; 3) get some good brake pads. other than that, i can't really say there is anything i would change. for a daily driver, it's pretty much perfect for me, even the exhaust is the right tone/loudness. :)
 
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