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chockymonster
11-30-2004, 04:02 AM
Hi all,



I`ve always enjoyed cleaning my car but until now have been a one range man, starting originally with autoglym and then moving over to meguiars (3 stage, gold class, then NXT)



The dailly driver is a 4 month old focus approaching 10,000 miles of motorway use that got it`s first proper clean last weekend with NXT, which is why I`m now here.



I`ve always been a fan of meguiars since I was introduced to it and the new NXT range seemed to be a good progression on my silver lancer. I cleaned the focus with zymol super concentrated, did a meguiars clear coat body scrub, followed by a meguiars step 2 and then NXT wax. Having seen the usual shine of the silver I was mortified at the complete waste of a morning, sure the car was clean, but the finish was streaky and felt oily, not something I`d noticed before, but this made me look closer at the evo and sure enough, if you look closely you can see the streaks.



My wife thinks it`s anal, but hey I take pride in what I do, so out with the old and in with the new. Unfortunately living in the UK it isn`t easy to find Klasse AIO or UPP so I have to rely on USPS to get it to me.



I`ll see how I get on with the UPP and then I`ll look for something to seal the finish in, I guess the only thing I`m going to miss is the smell of the meguiars stuff :(



Just wait for all of the questions from me now :)



Paul

m4xmw
11-30-2004, 05:13 AM
Hi chockynonster,

I`m in the UK too.

Try seriousperformance.co.uk.

They sell a good range of products mentioned on here.

I`m a megs fan too, the #16 wax is the best product I own.

I`ll be trying out VM and Poorboys ssr2.5 ,ssr1.

Have fun.



Mark

gkerr4
11-30-2004, 07:07 AM
Hi there - I`m based in the UK too - it is difficult to source a lot of the products mentioned here in autopia. seriousperformance is one, some products (particularly mothers and sometimes zaino) come up on Ebay every once and again - also try:

www.crystalclean.ltd.uk - for mothers products

www.erazer.co.uk - for perls and Einzett products



Like you, I am disspointed with Meguiars products - gold class is a nice wash, but the GC polish / wax is the most awfull stuff to work with and has appaling durability (i.e. none!)

On my silver 3-series BMW I have reverted to Autoglym!! I use Meguiars clay bar (easiest to get hold of in UK and does a decent job), but then I use the Super resin polish and top with the Extra Gloss Protection. I am going to try a P21S topper to see what difference that makes. On my silver car (and my wifes silver Audi) the autoglym products are outstanding and very easy to use.



Anyway - nice car (the evo i mean) - let us know how you get on.

Graham

Accumulator
11-30-2004, 09:58 AM
chockymonster- Welcome to Autopia!



Sounds like you`re ready to try the 4* UPP; I like how it looks on my silver Audi, especially over 1Z polishes. It`s *far* more impressive than the "usual shine of silver" ;) But I suspect that the 1Z polishes have at least as much to do with it as the final step of applying UPP.

Lowejackson
11-30-2004, 03:09 PM
Paul



Have a look at http://autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=29410



This list probably needs updating but it may help you.

k80
11-30-2004, 05:09 PM
Hi Paul



Welcome to Autopia.



I can also reccomend Alex @ Serious Performance, allways goes that bit extra with his customer care.



Graham



I think your comment on Megs GC Polish is a bit harsh. Its a very easy product to use, easy on easy off, good appearance and reasonable durability. It may not be in the same leauge as Collinite 476s or Megs #16 to name a few but to Joe public I would reccomend it. I used it many times on my daily driver prior to me finding Autopia, admitidley I have relegated it to the back of my deatiling cabinet now, but I would still use it on friends cars.

chockymonster
12-01-2004, 03:25 AM
Originally posted by Lowejackson

Paul



Have a look at http://autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=29410



This list probably needs updating but it may help you.



It does help, thanks.

Only issue with stuff bought in the UK is the straight $-£ conversion, which with the dollar value at the moment really sucks. I prefer to wait a week and save £30 on bits than be all impatient (well, I don`t but the wife does :o)





As to the gold class, I`d totally agree, not long lasting, nor the easiest to use, but it does give a pretty good finish. It`s the nxt that has surprised me the most though :(





I don`t have a PC (yet) some nice person gave me a sealey 240v but I`ve always been sceptical about using them.

chockymonster
12-01-2004, 03:29 AM
Originally posted by gkerr4

Anyway - nice car (the evo i mean) - let us know how you get on.

Graham



What`s wrong with the focus :D

Once the kit arrives and we have a slight break in our typical british winter I`ll get some before and after shots done.

I don`t know what it is, but I find cleaning cars really therapeutic :)