About to put the order. Need review.

[yugin]

I was reading this forum for about a month now. As spring gets warmer here in the North West, I am planning to give my car (and possibly couple of others) full detail.

After reading and reading I like Optimum products, because I will be working outside under the sun.

Here`s what I want to do:

1. Polish

- OC where applicable;

- OP or Poly-seal not sure here;

2. Seal

- Poorboy`s EX or EX-P;

3. Wax

- Collinite #845 or Meguiars #26.



What do you guys think? Anything I can add or leave?

Will Optimum work well with PC, as I`ve read that it works better with rotary?

The car: Honda Accord `04 in eternal blue pearl. It never been detailed, has mild spyder web scratching.

[a.k.a. Patrick]

I would definetly go with the Optimum Compound. The Polish is for very very light swirls, whereas the Compound will solve a myriad of issues. Should finish out real nice on that Blue as well. Op for an Orange pad. If you have marring (which some new PC users and polish users may experience) then go after it with the White pad. I would opt for EX-P if yor sticking with Poorboys. Better durability, and you probably wont notice any difference appearance wise.

Wax isnt necessary after a Polymer, some will argue its provides better depth. (Maybe Im just getting old?) The Collinite would be a fine choice, great durability even on its own. Its a different beast altogether.

[yugin]

Should I go OC->OP->EX-P and skip Poly-seal? What kind of pads are you referring to? I think I will go with Edge pads.

What are the alternatives to EX-P? I`d like it to be durable, easy to apply, able to work with outside.

[imported_Nimble]

Honestly? Based off of that list, I`d go with OC, OPS to both finish out the micromarring and putting the sealant base. Then just top with a liquid wax with the PC and a blue/gray finishing pad. Piece of cake. Your car may have mild enough swirls to just use the poli seal with a white pad, then the wax with a blue/gray pad. No real benefit to the PB`s EX series. You`ll get as good, if not better durability with just following up your final polish with Collinite 845 or Clearkote CMW.

[imported_Nimble]

Should I go OC->OP->EX-P and skip Poly-seal? What kind of pads are you referring to? I think I will go with Edge pads.

What are the alternatives to EX-P? I`d like it to be durable, easy to apply, able to work with outside.



For a sealant? EX-P isn`t all that durable. Edge pads are nice, otherwise, based off the colors I mentioned, I like the Lake Country CCS pads that Danase has, they are small at 5.25" and easy to work with.



If you`re set on using a sealant, I`d recommend the four star upp, duragloss 105, or zaino z5 pro.



For ease of use, and a great finish without breaking the bank, and adding unneccessary work, I`d try any of the following:



OC/OP/liquid wax

OC/OPS/liquid wax



OC/OP/sealant

OC/OPS/sealant



No real benefit to the OC/OP or OPS/sealant/wax. As far as I`m concerned, the whole top a sealant with a wax is pretty pointless, the sealant`s optically clear benefits will be blocked by the wax, and who cares how durable a sealant is when it`s covered by a wax? Just rewax every 3-4 months if using CMW or 26, and every 5-6 months if using 845.

[phahn]

do you already have some clay? If not, add that to your order as well. Otherwise everything you listed looks good. I like Ex-p and EX even though they aren`t the most durable sealants, because they`re so easy to work with as far as application, removal, and give pretty nice looks on there own.



Pete

[yugin]

Yeah, I`ve decided on the rest of my purchase, including clay. I`m just having trouble with polishers :nixweiss . EX-P not durable? They say 3-6 month. Which are more durable?

EX-P is for dark cars, right?



Now I`m not sure should I get both OP and OPS or save my money and leave something out?

[phahn]

ex has carnauba in it, and PB recommends it for darker cars. The 3 months EX gives is more than enough for me, but the most durable synthetics are the zainos and DG 105 and some others i can`t think of right now. for carnaubas that last, get collinites 476S.



If you are getting OP and something to top it with, you can skip the poli-seal for now. I`d get the opt. compound instead.

[yugin]

OK, that`s warmer.

For now on my list are: OC, OP, EX. Maybe Collinite.

[imported_Nimble]

sounds good yugin. i still think you should go oc, op, and cmw or 845, you don`t need the sealant step in there. or just go oc, op, dg 105 or zaino z5, either of those sealants will last 4 plus months.