Meguiars Use

[luke667]

Hey guys, i am not a professional detailer, but have 4-5 cars to clean as a hobby, and somethin to do to relax myself.

I mainly have access to Meguiars products which i have been more than happy. I read this forum everyday, and learn new tips all the time from you guys:bow



i have the following products, please advise on which and how to use.



GC car shampoo

GC Wax

Final Detail

#7

hi tech yellow wax

quik wax

cleaner wax

step 2 of the deep crystal polish

Endurance tire gel

Tire Foam (not meguiars)

Scratch X (can it be applied to the whole car, or just the problem area)

Meguiars Clay

Quik Detailer

Loads of terry cloths

loads of foam applicators

a couple ultimate wipes

Natural Shine Vinyl & Rubber Protectant

Hot Rims

Wash mitt





wow didn`t realise i had soooo many hehe.

so what do u reckon should be my process, who ever helps me will be greatly appreciated as i will print off this sheet, and hang in my garage hehe.



any of those products that you reckon i avoid like the plague?



thanks alot guys.:bow

[imported_Greg]

Well, obviously wash with GC shampoo and wash mit. I would then hesitantly tell you to clay because I have heard a lot of negative feedback on their consumer clay. Then I guess polish with the step 2 of the deep crystal. However, I would say something like swirl remover #9 would be a better choice. Then top with high tech yellow wax, I am not a fan of GC at all. You could then top it off with #7 if you`d like. I don`t like Scratch-X, but you could use it after claying as your polish. Use your towels, ultimate wipes and other stuff as you see fit. ie- vinyl and rubber on the engine or dash. Endurance on the tires, hot rims on the rims. Leave the quik wax, cleaner wax, gold class, quick detailer at home, probably not going to need them. Bring the final detail along after the wax if you want and for the doorjambs and stuff. Good luck.

[airjames]

Out of your list, these are my picks,



GC Car Wash Shampoo - alot of people on this forum use it and love it. Has high lubricity properties and makes mounds of suds. You can buy it at your local auto parts store by the gallon if they stock it, most places do.



Final Detail - a favorite amognst QD`s around here. I bought some by the gallon, love the stuff, don`t use too much or it will smear. What I do is if I`m doing a fender for instance, as I spray FD, I`m also pulling the trigger. I.e as you move across the panel, pulling the trigger until it`s all the way. See what I mean???? Really makes a surface shine like crazy:bow



#7 - Alot of people here use it and love it. There has been some past threads where it has been discussed that it can be hard to buff off. Check out this thread in the hall of fame, here`s the link >>>>>>>http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23740 It`s all there:xyxthumbs





hi tech yellow wax #26 - easy to use, a very popular wax around here, good durability gives the surface high gloss.



GC Wax - a carnuba wax containing cleaners in it, shines like a mofo but I`ve heard reviews that it doesn`t last very long, as much as 2 weeks I`ve heard myself. I don`t have any experiece with the product.



Meguiars makes 3 different kinds of cleaner waxes. Cleaner wax in the marron bottle, #6 cleaner wax, and Cleaner Wax in the Detailer Line. Assuming from your lineup you have the one in the marron bottle. I see cleaner waxes used for high production detailing and used with cars without clearcoats. I`m not fond of these because I like to take it 1 step at a time. If I`m gonna clean my paint, I`ll buy something Meguiars Medallion Premium Paint Cleaner or Klasse AIO. Don`t know much about durability or shine on cleaner waxes.



Step 2 Deep Crystal Polish - similar formulation to #7, great shine and smells awesome!!



Here again, Meguiars makes 2 levels of gloss for endurance, is it the regular endurance or the high gloss??? The high gloss I"m not fond of, I heard it can be buffed to a nice satin sheen but I`ve never been able to accomplish that. I do like Armor All`s Tirewax I think it`s called, a nice black sheen and doesn`t sling. The regular endurance I can`t comment on because I`ve never tried it. I`m not sure totally what the others here think.



Tire foam - don`t like them, hate them. Too messy and I don`t think they have good bonding properties with the tires.



I like Stratch X, it can be applied in both ways, to the whole car or just problem areas. By hand or by machine. I like to use it with my PC. I just believe abrasives should be used with machine. But that`s just me



Meguiars makes different kinds of clay, Quik Clay, Overspray Clay and Clay from the Detailer Line. I`ve heard good reviews about the Overspray clay when used with FD and the Detailer Clay especially.



Quik Detailer - decent product, great shine, the bottle that it comes in is awesome and I love the sprayer, ultra fine mist.

[luke667]

thanks a real lot guys, others..keep it comin...and possibly recommend some more meguiars products i should get, in order to achieve the best shine

[luke667]

btw sorry f-150, i have the high gloss stuff, and i love it, gives the tires a real nice look, will post a pic of how it looks, and i use the tire foam for the wheel arches.

[luke667]

http://mig2.lathwood.co.uk/r.php?d=x&f=xtrailrim.jpg



here is a MASSIVE photo of my rim and tire...look spotless i think....sorry i didn`t resize it tho

[CRXSi90]

Yeah, that dressing looks nice...how did you apply it?



BTW, did you ever get that valve stem cap back on? ;)

[luke667]

ww...what?....dammit didn`t realise it was gone...dammit someone musta stolen it..



i used the foam applicators of meguiars

[Lowejackson]

Dr OK Wack tyre cleaner

[imported_Aurora40]

Originally posted by luke667

thanks a real lot guys, others..keep it comin...and possibly recommend some more meguiars products i should get, in order to achieve the best shine



Well, some of my favorites, especially if you do this to relax, are:



#00 High-Tech Car Wash. This stuff is so gentle and super slick. I love it. GC Car Wash is nice and effective and sudsy, but #00 seems to me to be more personal. It isn`t sudsy, and it isn`t very strong. It`s just perfect for taking your time and babying your paint. For really getting to know your car as you wash it. You know what I mean?



I love, though no one else seems to, #36 High-Tech Wheel Cleaner. It`s like #00 for wheels. Very gentle, pH balanced, non-toxic, and it gently foams up and sudses the dirt off your wheels. It`s not a spray and hose product, but rather one you use to get close to your wheels with, and to use with a mitt or chenille sponge...



Try out Gold Class and #26. See what you like or don`t like about them. Then I`d say consider MPPP as a Gold Class replacement if you want something different. It is reflective with warmth and depth as well. It is very durable but doesn`t bead much. Try out #16 if you want more shine and durability from your #26, and don`t mind sacrificing a bit of that darkening and depth (though it is still very much a carnauba look).



I`d say consider #40 for interiors and possibly for tires, though it sounds like you`ve got tires covered.



And get some APC+ for everything. It`s an excellent product.



I think the Detailer Mild clay is excellent in all but one regard. It gets all over your fingers... You`ll end up leaving little clay fingerprints and such, and it will get all over your QD bottle. Other than that, it`s great. If you aren`t into overcoming that, try some Clay Magic. It`s great too.



Oh, and since you have #7 and the Deep Crystal polish, use one or the other (whichever you like better) under whatever protectant you decide to go with. Meg`s polishes are excellent.



Use your cleaner/wax on whatever cars you don`t want to spend as much time on, or just use it in door jambs and such. It`s a good product for what it is. :)

[luke667]

thanks a real lot man

[imported_FordTaurus]

I use several products from Meguairs on a regular basis. I`ve had good luck with DC paint cleaner, #9, 2X#7, and #26. I recently used this combo without the #9 on an Explorer that was lightly oxidized. It did an incredible job on the paint and it still looks awesome even after a couple rainstorms. I applied everything by PC and removed with some new Viper MF`s io ordered (the greatest invention that mankind has developed for detailing). I also use the Meg`s high gloss Endurance gel almost exclusively for tire dressing. Wipe on with a tire swipe, wait 15+ minutes, wipe down with Terry Cloth thoroughly, wait a few more minutes, and you have no splatter onto the lower panels. The stuff also lasts forever, even through rain, when applied like this. Meg`s #20 polymer sealent also looks excellent, even by itself, on dark colors such as dark green. I`ve tried tons of other Meg`s stuff over time including GC, but the first combo I listed seems to work great.



-FordTaurus