Titanium Grey RX-8 Needs Some Detailing Insight!

[djmano]

hi this is my first post on autopia. i am no stranger to internet forums but am a newbie here @ autopia. my name is daniel and i am a proud owner of a 2004 titanium grey rx-8. im glad i discovered autopia. this is a very very resourceful board and i don`t think i could ever extract all the information this forum has to offer. i know you guys must get the same questions over and over so bear with me. i have just stepped foot into the world of detailing and have millions of questions and desires in my head. i used to care less about car care but now i understand the importance of having a well mainted car not only in terms of the moving parts that make up the car but the part we all love.....the beauty of the exterior and the many ways to make a shine that will bring a smile to not only our faces but those who are lucky enough to see the awesome shine we worked so hard for! okay enough of the sweetalk, time to cut to the chase.



i would love to buy all the detailing products i see online but would probably just be wasting money. i am on a budget so price is a concern but i love my baby and really want to keep her bright and shiny. this is my wish-list of products so far, please if you have any products you would recommend to add to my list feel free to comment.



WASH: NXT Car Wash



WASH MITT: Generic Sheepskin Mitt



DRYING: Terry Cotton Towels for now.....from my findings I believe the way to go is a WW Microfiber Drying Towel? Will drying with regular cotton towels harm my paint? Any recommendations on drying towels would be greatly appreciated



CLAY: Any recommendations on clay? Also, is it required to use Dawn and strip down my current coat of wax before clay baring the paint or can clay be used at any time?



PAINT PREP: This is the area i am most unclear on. What would be a simple and affordable way to prep the paint? I have a titanium grey color car.



BUFFING: Pakshak microfiber towels. Is it worth it to use a microfiber applicator rather than a foam one?



WAX/SEALANT: What would be a good combination for a titanium grey color car? I want to bring out the grey flake effect that appears when the car is properly detailed. I have heard good things about using Poorboy`s EX (is this used before wax or after?), ClearKote`s VM, and S-100 paste wax. Correct me if i am wrong, I figured this would be the order in which they would be applied.



1.ClearKote VM

2. Poorboy`s EX

3. S-100 to top it off?



ANY recommendations, comments or suggestions are welcome. I respect all opinions and will take them all into consideration. I am pretty newb and lost so far so if anybody has any killer ideas on how to make my grey bling please let me know. thanks for all your time.

[sQuashed]

Welcome djmano:wavey



First things first The Guide (http://store.yahoo.com/autopia/freeguide.html)



Wash: 1Z Perls shampoo.. just awesome stuff1Z perls (http://store.yahoo.com/autopia/1z-981405.html)



Mitt: Lots of choices but the word "generic" scares me...



Drying: Ultimate Towel (http://store.yahoo.com/autopia/mf-200.html) I Own a Black Car and a cotton towel is a no-go. Too much margin for error on any color.



Clay: Right here (http://store.yahoo.com/autopia/tps-clay-f80y.html) Save your money from a claying kit and just use lots of suds from the shampoo.



Prep: Might be an unnecessary due to your new car but Sonus (http://store.yahoo.com/autopia/son-400.html) is great stuff.



Buffing: Pakshak is top of the line.



Wax/Sealant: Your choices are great(correct order too). If you are going to top it all off with S-100, maybe EX-P will suit you better.



Have fun and the learning is incredible here. This is just my opinion and Im sure others will chime in and correct me if I am wrong !!

[Dalight]

I think AIO + SG would be great on titanium. There`s a picture of a titanium colored Jag on CMA`s website with SG on it, and it looks great.



I`m not sure EX-P is going to be able to give your color much of a wet look. IMHO, you should go for shine and reflectivity.



I agree though, if you`re going to top it, don`t use EX, use EX-P. Pearls is kinda expensive for a weekly wash, as great as I`ve heard it is.

[3Wheeler]

:welcome to Autopia, djmano!



I`ve had my Titanium Mz3 for about three months now, during which she`s been sparkling gloriously with SEPC/s100. I can certainly recommend that combo for our colour, unless you`re really concerned about durability, which isn`t s100`s strong point -- it lasts about a month and is referred to as a "beauty wax" around here. The combo is cheap, though, so it fits your budget goals. Putting it on is simple and foolproof, and would protect the car and make it beautiful while you do some more reading here and decide what you`d like to try next. The SEPC and s100 are great products and will always come in handy down the road. Finally, if you save money on this end, you can spend it on getting some good MF towels instead (forget the terry cloth)! :)



In a couple of weeks I`m going to polish with either VM or FPII, then AIOx2, then SGx?, and perhaps top that with s100--not sure about that last step. I sure hope you`re right about this combo being great on Titanium, BDawg! I`m itching to get at it. :)



BDawg and sQuashed.....you both recommend against putting s100 over EX, and instead say to use EX-P if you`re going to top with s100. I`m still a relative newbie, and still have questions. What I don`t get is why it would be better to use a carnauba to top a pure polymer sealant (EX-P), rather than to top another carnauba (EX). It`s probably a dumb question, I know, but why stay dumb when you can hopefully smarten up with a question, right? :)



TIA for the answer, guys.

[hirosh]

try checking out this post on a Titanium RX-8 just like yours:



http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=38231&highlight=mazda+grey



if you like the look, follow his process, which i think were the Klasse Twins (AIO and SG).



you could also do a search for "mazda grey" and see what other people have posted. with my friend`s titanium grey mazda 3s, it was very very hard to see any swirls or scratches, so you might be able to get away with just using a pre-wax, like VM or AIO, followed by a sealant, like EX-P or SG.



btw, EX is Poorboys` Sealant with caranuba, so you might not need S100, since you`re on a budget, you could save your money by not getting the S100 right now since EX already has caranuba.



but good luck! and it never hurts to experiment with different combos, although that does take money! :p

[Dalight]

I`m not saying to use EX-P at all. I don`t think the silverish color will show the wet look that EX-P provides well.



Therefore, I`d go for shine and reflectivity, which AIO + SG will give you.

[3Wheeler]

BDawg......here`s what I was referring to:




Originally posted by sQuashed

Wax/Sealant: Your choices are great(correct order too). If you are going to top it all off with S-100, maybe EX-P will suit you better.




Originally posted by BDawg

I agree though, if you`re going to top it, don`t use EX, use EX-P.

[groebuck]

the owner of and Anthercite Grey Metallic TL-S (a darker metallic grey) -



New car - it`s always good to clay it - rail dust in transportation, stuff that happened to it on the lot - yadda yadda yadda -



as other said - probably not a lot of paint prep needed - I did go over mine with ssr1 (from Poorboy`s I used the whole line)



this shot is my car -



Clay Magic Claying

Poorboy`s SSR1

Poorboy`s Polish With Carnuba

Poorboy`s EX

[groebuck]

here is a shot of a buddy of mine`s mazda (white)



He used -



Polish With Carnuba then topped it with EX-P It`s hard to get a wet look on white but I think it came out awesome!

[Dalight]

Originally posted by 3Wheeler

BDawg......here`s what I was referring to:



Gotcha...yeah, if you`re going to top, top EX-P, not EX.



I agree with his change. It`s not the exact path I`d follow though.

[djmano]

thanks for all the input! i really like the atmosphere of this board......everyone seems so friendly. so far from what ive gathered i should go for reflective shine rather than a wet look because my particular car color is hard to make look wet rather than make reflective/shiny.



i guess ill start out with AIO then SG? (is that the correct order?)

ill hold off on the EX-P i am on a budget but i was so exicted to learn about all the awesome detailing products which are available that i wanted to buy everything :) i can borrow some s100 from a friend, but that will come later. btw.....would anybody happen to know a local dealer in socal/orange county area that sells Klasse products? best prices i have seen online are $15 for the AIO and ~$17 for the SG i believe.

[Dalight]

Yes, you have the right order. AIO has cleaners in it and cannot be layered as each layer will destroy the one underneath it.



SG is similar to AIO, only no cleaners. You can layer it until your heart`s content. Each layer will add to the shine and depth. You have to wait 12 - 24 hours between coats. If you`ve driven your car in that period, you need to rewash it or QD it.



If you`re going the Klasse route, you probably want to pick up some Sonus Acrylic Sprits as your QD to get rid of bird poop and such between applications of SG. Also, you can use it after a wash to return some of the Klasse shine.



I wouldn`t even worry about EX-P or S100. I have and love both, but stick with just the Klasse twins on your car.



Oh, and I`m extremely jealous. Maybe I`ll get a mazdaspeed edition when they come out. :D

[groebuck]

I know - I LOOOOOOVE the RX-8 - Hey B-Dwag you are just up the road from me - here in RDU!

[Dalight]

I have a friend with a silver 00 miata in Cary. :D