Well last week a bunch of stuff came in from The
Chemical Guys, their new trim gel,
maxi suds II,
silk shine dressing, new shine dressing, clay bar, waffle weave,
speed wipe and
M-seal. Although I didn't get a chance to use the M-seal, I used the rest on this V70.
Process:
Wash with Maxi Suds (great soap, BTW)
Meg's Wheel Brightener 4:1 on wheels (I'm constantly impressed by this product, the rims were much much worse then they look in the pictures)
CG Clay (generic yellow bar, nothing special)
Optimum Polish via Cyclo/LC Orange
Menzerna FTG via Cyclo/LC finishing
Natty's Blue via hand
CG trim gel on trim (This stuff really paid for itself on this job, the finish it left was amazing.)
CG Silk shine on vinyl and leather interior
CG New Shine on tires and wells
Before
After
Closeup of trim gel finish
Closeup of High-shine dressing
Silk Shine leaves a great matte finish:
Overall I was very pleased with the new products, the WW is pretty good and cheap, and the trim gel is a real keeper. A word of advice on the trim gel - most applicators soak it in too quickly. A fresh tire swipe that hasn't been used on a tire yet is the way to go.
I had a nagging suspicion that Silk Shine would be a dead ringer for Poorboy's Natural Look, but it was surprisingly different. It leaves a more matte finish than NL, and the scent isn't as pleasant. It works for me since its half the price and I go through a gallon every coupla weeks, but for the average enthusiast, Natural Look is a better product.
I would also reccomend wheel brightener to anyone who does cars other then theirs. I was able to get those rims clean in about 5 minutes total, with no rubbing or scrubbing. If I had used a PH neutral cleaner like P21S, I would have probably spent an hour and a half scrubbing away to get the same or less of a result. Plus it dilutes 4:1, so I used maybe 2-3 ounces of concentrate total.