Best basic products for my cars

[ruleof72]

I have decided to step up the appearance of my two cars but I have limited time. I do enjoy the process of detailing my cars but I can`t spend alot of time each week. Here`s what I have car and product wise:



CARS:

`04 dark green Passat wagon, ebony leather interior

`07 silver Mazda3 hatch, cloth interior



PRODUCTS:

Turtlewax basic wash

Meguiars quick detail and clay bar

Klasse AIO and sealant

Lexol cleaner and conditioner

303 protectant

various microfiber towels and applicators



The cars are garage kept and we are in Atlanta so snow is not a problem. I wash the cars every few weeks, and do Klasse AIO and sealant 2-3x/year. I clean/condition the leather every couple of months or so.



I have been using the Klasse since I got the Passat and generally like the results but I`d like to get a "deeper" shine on the dark color. I`d like to find something that will work well on both cars, that is easy to apply and use.



My supply of Klasse and Lexol is running low, so any suggestions re: different products to try? I haven`t really looked into new/improved products for a few years.



Thanks in advance for the help

[VTechFan02]

First, Welcome to Autopia!



My first suggestion would be to step up your washing frequency. I wash once a week. It should not take longer then one hour per car (and I know many around here can go much faster then that) and it is well worth it to maintain your paint.



To make your paint deeper I would recommend topping your sealant with a carnuaba (sp). I am not sure what wax would work best for both light and dark colors, though one of the Collintes would provide excellent looks and great durability and protection(and cheap too).



-Frank

[imported_weekendwarrior]

Is Collinite 845 a carnauba, or synthetic?

[VTechFan02]

As far as I know, all collinites are carnauba.



-Frank

[tom p.]

Collinite 845 is a polyethylene based "wax". The actual carnauba content is next to nothing.

[VTechFan02]

Tom, is that the case with all their waxes or just the 845?



-Frank

[ruleof72]

Thanks for the replies.



I know I should wash the cars more frequently. I am able to do weekly washes in the summer more easily than the winter do to the longer days but I will try to at least do every other week. As far as the wax over the SG goes, is there another sealant that would give a deeper shine without the additional wax?

[Old Pirate]

I have a mazda5 Platinum silver and use KAIO and KSG (two coats) and then with 7 coats of OS and so far no problems. My Mazda sits outside 24/7 in florida weather and it`s still beads and shine is holding up very well, its been over 5 months now. Now for colder areas i would go with the Collinite for those winter months.

[ruleof72]

I have a mazda5 Platinum silver and use KAIO and KSG (two coats) and then with 7 coats of OS and so far no problems. My Mazda sits outside 24/7 in florida weather and it`s still beads and shine is holding up very well, its been over 5 months now. Now for colder areas i would go with the Collinite for those winter months.



What is OS?

[jshillin]

OptiSeal .....

[Accumulator]

.. As far as the wax over the SG goes, is there another sealant that would give a deeper shine without the additional wax?



Some sealants look a lot different from KSG, and some do give a richer, deeper look.



I`m currently using UPP, but BF seemed to *really* do the darker/richer/deeper thing.



The downside is that these sealants need reapplied more often than KSG, at least if you want to maintain that "just done" effect.



I`m still using the Klasse twins on my silver Mazda, but after I get a few layers on there I don`t have to redo it for ages (still using my original bottle of SG after a good seven years of big vehicles).



I *do* almost always recommend Collinite waxes though...as durable as many sealants and the 845 almost always looks very, very nice. I usually like the look of 476S just fine, but on a few paints I can honestly say it doesn`t look all that great (sure do like it though, wears like iron).



Tom P.- Polyethylene huh? I`d read it contains "resins" on another board :nixweiss



I`ve always wondered just how Collinite gets such great durability out of their various waxes :think:

[ruleof72]

OK, it sounds like based on the replies so far, that I should probably stick with Klasse. It seems to be a good product overall. A couple of other questions though:



Would it help to change my wash to something other than the basic Turlewax stuff I`ve been using?



Does using something like Optiseal, which seems like another sealant, improve things over Klasse SG?



If I wanted to put a wax on top of the SG is the Collinite (which seems like a non-carnuba) a good choice or is there something better?

[Accumulator]

OK, it sounds like based on the replies so far, that I should probably stick with Klasse. It seems to be a good product overall. A couple of other questions though:



Would it help to change my wash to something other than the basic Turlewax stuff I`ve been using?



One of the best changes I ever made was switching to high-end shampoos. Shampoos with better lubricity and ones that are LSP-friendly are a lot better than bargain ones IME.



I use Griot`s Car Wash (I order gallons of it at a time). It works great, helps keep marring down, and doesn`t seem to affect KSG much at all.






If I wanted to put a wax on top of the SG is the Collinite (which seems like a non-carnuba) a good choice or is there something better?



Didn`t answer the Opti-Seal Q as I dunno from it. But I`d doubt it`d improve things. If I *had* to put another sealant over KSG I`d consider UPP and BF. Never tried it, but IIRC others have with OK results.



Collinite over KSG would be redundant IMO and wouldn`t offer any benefits. 845 would probably look OK, but 476S would mute the look. I`d *much* rather just apply more KSG from time to time, and that`s what I do on my KSGed Mazda.



I used to top the KSG with Meguiar`s #16, but I quit doing it as it only improved the look a little bit and that wasn`t worth not being able to add more KSG.



I approach it this way: is KSG the right LSP for the job? If so, just use that; if *not* just use something else instead.

[ruleof72]

Didn`t answer the Opti-Seal Q as I dunno from it. But I`d doubt it`d improve things. If I *had* to put another sealant over KSG I`d consider UPP and BF. Never tried it, but IIRC others have with OK results.





I haven`t learned all the abreviations yet so please help me:help: What are UPP and BF? I`m assuming LSP is "liquid surface protectant", right?



As far as shampoos go, what are thoughts on NXT or Gold Class, yeah or nay?