Advice for daily driver

[langod]

Hi All, a newbie here.



I`ve been following these boards for a while and using some of the techniques on my weekend fun car -- a bright red Mustang.

I just picked up a 2001 Maxima as a daily driver. The silver paint is in decent but not great, condition.



Just for giggles last weekend I broke out my PC and treated the Maxima`s hood to my usual procedure and products for my Mustang. (I actually taped off a section so I could see before/after.) I used clay, swirl remover, Klasse AOI and P21S. I was actually disappointed that it didn`t come out better. It was smoother and glossier, of course and a little darker than the un-detailed section, but it wasn`t a dramatic difference. I`m thinking that silver just doesn`t get as "deep" as red?



So anyway, because it`s my daily driver I`m not really interested in spending huge amounts of time and money on the finish. I want it to look good, but I`m mostly interested in good protection from the elements. The car lives outside un-garaged and will see snow/salt from New England winters. What products/procedure would you recommend for decent looks but long durability?



(I attached a pic -- the area to the right of the tape is the "detailed" section.)



Thanks.

[mikebai1990]

Which swirl remover did you use? Maybe your products weren`t aggressive enough and didn`t correct the paint enough to produce a noticeable different.



Search around for durable waxes, it`s been discussed many times. Collinite, Duragloss, Zaino, Jeff Werkstatt`s, Ultima Paint Guard Plus...

[01bluecls]

I recommend Collinite IW845!

[TigerMike]

You need a good strong, durable product IMO. As suggested, have a look at the leaders in this regard...



Collinite`s 845IW is really good, pretty durable, and much easier to use than their most durable product, 476S.



Duragloss has a newer sealant 105 Total Paint Protection, which you may be able to find locally at CarQuest. Combine it with Aquawax for a great combo. Extremely easy to use, long lasting.



Zaino is a leader also in protection/durability. Either Z2 or Z5, paired with their CS is good.



Jeff`s Werkstatt is supposed to be really good too, although I have no direct experience with the line, so can`t give you anything from experience. I have used all the other product lines recommended and can attest to their quality...

[felthove]

I was actually disappointed that it didn`t come out better. It was smoother and glossier, of course and a little darker than the un-detailed section, but it wasn`t a dramatic difference. I`m thinking that silver just doesn`t get as "deep" as red?



I have a black car that is a major pain in the a## to keep swirl free, but when I get it all primed up no color looks better. Last week I detailed my mother`s silver car and let me tell you it wasn`t nearly as fun or rewarding to work on (and not just because it wasn`t my car!). It came out shiny, but wasn`t nearly as "fun" to perfect as a black vehicle, IMO. Consider yourself lucky that your silver car won`t show its flaws and drive you crazy!

[Accumulator]

... Consider yourself lucky that your silver car won`t show its flaws and drive you crazy!



Oh, I *wish* silver didn`t show flaws..just gotta get the lighting right and there they are :cry:



langod- The Collinite suggestion is, IMO, very good advice. I`d precede it with a quick polishing using some 1Z Paint Polish (sources: Welcome to Exceldetail.com! (http://www.exceldetail.com/) or Aloha & Welcome to Our Oasis for All Your Auto Detailing Supplies & Accessories (http://www.pakshak.com/index.html) ). The 1Z stuff is incredibly user-friendly and I think it`ll make a difference.



FWIW, I don`t find the 476S all that tough to use, and it`s my choice for daily drivers.

[UpNorth]

I followed Accumulator`s sage advice and just applied the 1Z (MP) + 476s(times 2) combo to my red CX-7 over the past several days. (If it is not too cold when I get back in town after labor day, I`ll add a third layer of 476s. If not, I`ll just cheat with some 4*UPPS after washes until it gets too cold for that too.)



I think the results look amazing, better than when I brought the car home new from the dealer in January. The Collinite was more of a chore than applying something like OCW or NXT, but I fully expect it to be worth it. I love the deeper color it gives over OCW and it will obviously leave the NXT in the dust in terms of durability.



The first layer of 476s (over the 1Z) went on & off very easily. I did the second layer last night and that wasn`t such a breeze, but maybe I applied too thick a coat. (I`m still new to both paste waxes and my PC.) But even with it being harder to do, it was really not that tough and the results were very satisfying.



My CX-7 lives outside 24/7 as well and I feel like I am doing right by it with this combo.



(If only the sun would come out, I`d take & post some pictures.)

[langod]

Great! Thanks a lot everyone. It looks like Collonite is the general consensus -- I`ll try it out.



Mikebai1990 asked what swirl remover I used: Sonus SFX-2 Enhance Swirl Remover.

[Accumulator]

UpNorth- Thanks for the feedback about the 1Z/Collinite combo! I`ve yet to hear about it disappointing anybody, but there`s bound to be a first time.



I bet the 476S just works easier on top of the 1Z`s waxes as opposed to on top of itself :think: See how the next coat goes (yeah, I`d do more 476S given your winters and the outside 24/7 factor).

[UpNorth]

UpNorth- Thanks for the feedback about the 1Z/Collinite combo! I`ve yet to hear about it disappointing anybody, but there`s bound to be a first time.



I bet the 476S just works easier on top of the 1Z`s waxes as opposed to on top of itself :think: See how the next coat goes (yeah, I`d do more 476S given your winters and the outside 24/7 factor).



I`m happy to offer feedback, it`s the least I can do in return for all the great information you & others have shared. Thanks for the encouragment.



I buckled down and added a third coat of 476s tonight, so I don`t risk missing my weather window. The third layer went much better than my second. I think I managed to apply a thinner layer this time. It buffed off with much less effort. Besides the thinner layer, I think I also was better about flipping to fresh areas of my buffing towel. All told, I call layer three a success. I even felt more comfortable and confident with the PC.



Of course now I want to try a layer by hand too. I suspect that is going to be a common experience: as soon as I finish something, I`ll want to try another twist. That`s a high quality problem.

[Accumulator]

UpNorth- Glad to hear the last coat went better. Applying the 476S by PC takes a little practice as it`s sorta a "hard" wax. You might even find that you prefer doing it by hand :nixweiss



I was applying 476S (by hand) to the spare wheel on the underside of the Yukon. With your experience in mind, I too noticed that the first coat went over my 1Z polish (WPS in this case) very easily, the second coat (476S to 476S) wasn`t quite as easy. We`ll see how the third coat goes on today (assuming I crawl back under there and do it ;) ). I`m applying the wax pretty thick (maybe even goofy-thick by my usual standards) as I`m just trying to get the job done with the least effort possible :o

[toml]

Great! Thanks a lot everyone. It looks like Collonite is the general consensus -- I`ll try it out.



I put 2 layers (possibly 3) of 845IW on my car late November last year, and the IW did great. Daily driver, parked outside 24/7. I waxed it again the end of April (5 months). And I found the stuff ridiculously easy to apply. It just needs to be applied thinly.

[langod]

I put 2 layers (possibly 3) of 845IW on my car late November last year, and the IW did great. Daily driver, parked outside 24/7. I waxed it again the end of April (5 months). And I found the stuff ridiculously easy to apply. It just needs to be applied thinly.



Do you have any tips for applying it with the PC -- or as Accumulator says, is it actually easier to apply by hand?

When applying paste wax, I usually pop the wax out of the can and wipe the the surface of the buffer pad with it.

[Accumulator]

I put 2 layers (possibly 3) of 845IW on my car late November last year, and the IW did great. Daily driver, parked outside 24/7. I waxed it again the end of April (5 months)..



You guys who get that durability out of the 845 just kill me...it never lasts that long for me :nixweiss Not like it isn`t durable, just not like that...



langod- The 845 is different from the 476S and the 845 is very easy to apply via any method. Just try to put it on thin or you`ll waste a lot of it. Put a few "dots" of 845 on the pad and rub them in to distribute them more evenly.

[toml]

You guys who get that durability out of the 845 just kill me...it never lasts that long for me Not like it isn`t durable, just not like that...



Accumulator, the weekly washes with NRWS might have helped me in that regard. I also probably could have waxed the car a couple weeks before I did, but I wanted to do a full spring detail with polishing, and April was the earliest I could do it with my schedule, weather, and such.




langod- The 845 is different from the 476S and the 845 is very easy to apply via any method. Just try to put it on thin or you`ll waste a lot of it. Put a few "dots" of 845 on the pad and rub them in to distribute them more evenly.



Langod, ditto what Accumulator said. It is very easy to apply. BTW, 845IW is a liquid wax, not a paste. When I apply it via PC, I use a finishing pad, speed of 4, and do one to two panels at a time before buffing it off. For the first panel (and to prime the pad), I put 4-5 drops of IW on the pad and smear the pad on the paint to spread the wax. After that, I use 2-3 small drops per panel for the rest of the car.



If you want to apply it by hand, just use a foam applicator. I like the Viking ones with the hand grip that I got from Autozone a couple years ago.