A new girl in a mostly guys world

[taegers]

1st time post here...great site!



I need opinions and advice. I just purchased a new dark blue VW in August and was browsing a VW site, I was reading about some exterior care stuff and this particular site strongly recommended to use Meguiar products. So like a dumb blind sheep, I went out and bought Meguiars deep crystal paint cleaner, Meguiars professional show car glaze #7 and Meguiars professional Hi Tech yellow wax #26. All 3 set me back $28.00.

Shortly thereafter, I came across this site, so my question is,

Are these products worthy (I haven`t used them yet) or did I get ripped off? Anybody use Meguiars as preferred choice? I`m not a hard core detailer.....just want to take best care of new car.

Thanks for all replys. Dave

[YoSteve]

Dave, welcome to the forum!



One thing you must do is to make sure you wash your car correctly!



Get a wash mitt (100% cotton only chenielle or a sythetic)



Use two buckets (one for soap, one for rinse) and rinsing the mitt frequently with the hose helps too. Do the important panels first, then move on to the lower ones last.



With your dark car all efforts need to be places in preventing swirl marks.



As for wax, I`d stick around and read. Klasse or Zaino seems to be the waxes of choice here. They`re really durable 6-9+ months and the shine is great (which is why most tend to use them)



As for your stuff, it`s doable but you might need to reapply whenever the performance or shine starts to diminish (which may be more often then you may like) Meguiars professional line is really a lot better than some of their over-the-counter stuff so while you could do better, it won`t be bad. No way of returning the stuff? Good luck, and happy detailing, do a search on Klasse or Zaino and keep reading :) I`m sure other`s will anwer this post too.

[taegers]

Thanks YoSteve..



Great tip on the two bucket method, will definately do that.

I guess I better start reading more of this forum to catch up on the best tried and true methods. Thanks again.

[Lemonxxs]

Welcome DaVW.



Read and read and read. Read the Car care site link is above on top of every page. Go to CMA and other online stores and read what they say. Search the Archives here for topics of interest.



You could spend a lot of time reading but the car care home has a lot of good information and tips. The resellers have tips and product information. There are a bunch of threads here that will help as well.



As for what you have purchased there are some here who use some of the products you mentioned. I suggest searching for those on here to see what has been said.

[msmcdon]

Welcome to the board.... you will find so much information here your head will spin... if it isn`t already! :D The two main products you will see discussed here are Klasse and Zaino, with a new one just released called Blackfire. Although I haven`t used any of the above, I`m going to probably buy Blackfire for our 1-week old Mitsubishi Lancer.



However, to answer your question: I don`t think you have been ripped off by purchasing Meguiar`s products (and I don`t work for them.) In fact, I use Meguiar`s products and am fairly happy with them. They produce a fantastic shine but my one an only quip with them (and this is the one drawback openly agreed upon here) is that Meguiar`s products don`t have the durability as some other more expensive products, namely Klasse, Zaino and Blackfire.



I find I have to keep applying Meguiars about once a month to keep it protected, since our cars are outside 24/7. If your VeeDub is indoors a lot, you will get much better results. But that is with their over-the-counter products... I`m thinking about going to my local auto paint store and buying their synthetic #20 for longer protection over the winter, as Klasse and Zaino aren`t really in my budget-range right now. ;)



I guess what I`m trying to say is.... find something you`re happy with and stick with it. You`ll get good results with Meguiar`s... heck they can`t have been around for as many years as they have with vastly inferior products!



Good luck and enjoy.... that`s the most important part.

[taegers]

Well my car is garaged at night so that helps. Couple of quick questions about Klasse and Zaino; are these products available in stores or by mail order only? Also, how much more do they cost? Thanks again for the replys. Dave

[vettefan67]

Klasse and Zaino are mainly available by mail / online ordering only. Some members have reported finding Klasse at good detail and body supply shops, but the best deals are online.

As far as Zaino goes, I emailed them about California distributors of Zaino. I`ll forward it to you if you PM me your email address.

Pricing for either product is available online; Zaino from www.zainobros.com . You have more options with Klasse, i.e. www.tacsar.com , which is owned by snake, a member of this forum, as well as CMA, and www.yosteve.com has a good Klasse sample kit along with application directions. He also has the Miracle Towel, the forum favorite microfiber towel.

HTH,
puterbum

Links for purchasing detail products:

www.tacsar.com
www.properautocare.com
www.yosteve.com
www.carcareonline.com
www.motorhead.net
www.topoftheline.com

[Don2000g]

Welcome to this wonderful forum. I really wouldn`t stress over your purchase of Meguiar`s products. The products you bought are perfectly fine. In fact, a few of us use these products or have used these products with good success. Laters.

[imported_doug]

I am a very happy Meguiar`s user - I`ve tried lots and lots of stuff. I think there are some products better in some categories, BUT:

1) Zaino ain`t all it is cracked up to be - at least on dark cars. It is one of the best glosses, but Meguiar`s Gold Class is just as good. It may not last quite as long. As for Zaino`s claims to hide swirl marks and repel dust better - it just ain`t so. See my test at http://pages.sbcglobal.net/gheumann/zaino_test/ (`http://pages.sbcglobal.net/gheumann/zaino_test/`)

2) Some people here say Klasse has a streaking/smearing/hazing problem on German paints. I find this hard to believe, it being a german product and all, but that it what they say. I`m not a big fan of "all-in-one" type products anyway. I like to choose the best compound for the job at hand.

3) Meguiar`s "Deep Crystal" stuff is OK, but it is their cheaper retail line. Stick with their Gold Class, Medallion, and Pro Body Shop stuff. Their new Swirl Remover 2.0 appears at least as good as the 3M, and maybe better based on my prelim test. Now that I have the black car in the garage again I plan to try it again and make a more definitive judgement, which I will post here.

But most important, as the other guys have already said, is to develop really careful wash/dry techniques. Maximum cleaning with minimal wiping - that is my mantra......

[Langley Interior Car Kare]

try the sample kits from Yosteve...very good price something like $16 for it and free shipping and handling.(and i think you get a free Mf towels or sumthin).he`s a good guy and no ....although i beg him he wont give me any $ for saying that,,,,,the typical Zaino set up ran me about...$70 i think,,,thats for the car wash(Z7)..Z1(lok)..Z2(main polish)..Z5(claims to get rid of swirls and stuff...but u should check out carguys awesome review above mine....he did a great job and really did a very fair review IMHO.......i mean im happy with the Z5`s performance but i acknowledge many of the same things that carguy showed there...the only point that i would add to his review is that in my own experience...Z5 is not too good with getting swirls etc..out of your paint....but once they`re out of your paint...and you get the zaino on there...then the z5 is great for getting any marks out of the zaino......:D )....Z6(the Quik detailer) and i also got the claybars....he throws in 2 terry applicators also.....if i was to order now i would also get the Z16 for the trim/tires...ive seen so many posts that says its great...i really cant give u as much detail with the klasse cause i never tried it but i know its an awesome product from the things guys on here have said.....anyway.....Klasse from yosteve for about $16 or the zaino set up for about $70+ shipping and handling.....welcome buddy...this is the place...:D

[taegers]

Well guys,



All very good info! Thanks again, I``ll give the Meguiars stuff a fair chance and use it. According to what I have heard so far, it sounds like it`s better than average stuff. $70 for Zaino is kinda steep, but then if it does last longer, it might even out in the end. One thing for sure is that I`m glad I don`t live in the harsh weather states. A little rain is about the worst this car is going to encounter. Ok, off to more reading and learning...again, thanks for the welcome, cool site with a lot of nice people. Will definately be recommending to others. Dave

[JasonC8301]

I used Meguiars, I have several of their products. Their consumer cleaner wax and gold class wax, their pro line of #7 glaze and #26 hi-tech wax. My favorite econo shampoo, Meguiars Gold Class Shampoo only $10 a gallon at Target.

I had good results with Gold Class and cleaner wax, but moved on up to the #7, #26 combo. I had very good results with this. I would work in the #7 until the paint was deep shiny and swirl free. I the paint is neglected try something stronger, but on a 3 year old car, I went through 2 terry applicators becuase the #7/dirt gunked up the pads. I then used foam for #26 and let it sit for 20-30 minutes. It buffed off with a little effort. It wasn`t bad if the surface is preped well.

Then I moved on up to the Porter Cable dual action polisher, 3M polishes/compounds, Valugard compounds, Klasse sealants, Blitz wax, and Pinnacle Waxes (Paste Glaz and Souveran.) These products kick butt with the right technique/application.

Practice first with the Meguiars products you have. 90% of results is product with the right technique. you can make a car shine with turtlewax, but that Concours winning perfection, neighboor gawk look is priceless.

1. Wash with 2 bucket method
2. Clean paint with deep crystal
3. #7
4. Multiple coats of #26 with 5 days inbetween coats. The wax is a carnauba, silicone, polymer blend. It will harden given the proper cure time. I usually do 3 coats but with a few weeks inbetween because I do not see the cars I detail that often, but during the summer I go over to my relatives house and layer away with Klasse and wax. I remember the #26 getting deeper and wetter after the 2nd and third coat, the fourth coat didn`t do much.

So put on one coat, drive for a week or so, wash well with 2 bucket method, and put on another coat.

Always apply product from bumper to bumper and not in circles. The #26 wax and #7 I don`t think say anything about how to apply it, as in circles or straight linear motions. You want to remove/cover up swirls, not put them into the paint.

Use good towels, 100% cotton towels made in the USA ( www.cannonfieldcrestoutlet.com ) or microfiber towels ( www.yosteve.com www.properautocare.com or www.tacscar.com )

Happy Detailing,
Jason

[taegers]

Thanks Jason,



Your reply was exactly what I was hoping for. detailed instructions with the products I currently have. Excellent

post for me to work with. Thanks a million!!



Dave

[JasonC8301]

Have fun!



Once an applicator is dropped, chuck it into the wash pile, or just wash it well,



Jason

[DETAILKING]

You should be able to attain the shine and look on your car with them that will satisfy you, but you might not be happy with the durability. If you decide to go the zaino route in the future, I just wanted to clarify that to start, all you really need is Z1 precleaner and Z2 polish. The precleaner is only used once to bond the polish to the clearcoat. Successive coats do not require Z1. If you were to add in (highly recommended) the car wash and spray detailer that was designed to work with the system, the total including shipping is under 50 bucks. One bottle of Zaino Z2 polish (sealant) will last you at least 8-10 coats, and the car wash should last you at least 4 months of weekly washings. A little goes a long way, and one coat of polish should last at least 4 months. It is a non abrasive system and can be layered. Each layer adds to gloss and durability.



Best of luck with what you try and if you decide to look into zaino I hope this helps.