Need help with detailing...confused with a plethora of products.

[imported_el guapo]

All,



This is my first post after trying to read and absorb and much as possible.



My question being about Meguiar`s Glaze #7. Can this be incorporated after using #1 Paint Cleaner and #2 Paint Polish, prior to using Gold Class Wax to finish it off? Or should I go with the Tech Wax? Or am I just going at this all wrong? I`ve got lots of small pits on my hood and front bumper due to highway construction by my house for the past 12 months. The rest of the paint is in pretty good shape, but I`m sure it could look a lot better. I do clay, so that is not an issue. The heat will be coming soon enough to the desert southwest so I need to make sure the paint is well protected prior and during the summer.



Any help would be appreciated.



El Guapo

`99 Toyota Solara (Dark Green)

[joshcaro]

Ive never used #1, #2, or Gold Class Wax, but ill tell you about #7.



Megs Show Car Glaze #7 is a rather tricky product. I believe its mostly oils that help bring out that nice wet look. As far as protection it will do nothing. Lots of people have had a ton of trouble using it and find out thats its not worth the hassle. I will say that it does live up to what its intended for. That is that nice beautiful wet looking shine prior to a a car show. Many people use it right before their show to bring out that shine. It does not last long at all.



The steps would be to use it before your wax or as others have done is to use it as a kind of a "touch up" to instantly bring out that shine.



Here is a good article on how to use it.

http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23740

[imported_dpeezy415]

I`ve found threads using NXT Tech Wax on top of #7, since the durability of #7 is an issue.



I put #7 on this past weekend and loved it.

Today however, after three full days, the gloss is noticably less and it attracts dust like crazy!!!



I`ll reserve #7 for experimenting with different product combos,

maybe:

AIO/#7/UPP

AIO/#7/#16

AIO/#7/P21S



Good Luck!!!



And if I were to use #7 in your three step product I`d use it before wax as well...

[Accumulator]

el guapo- Welcome to Autopia!



Are the #1 and #2 that you referred to part of the "three step system"?. I`m guessing that they are, but I`ll hold off on recommendations until you confirm this.



Generally, #7 can be used before any Megiuair`s Last Step Product ("LSP", i.e., "wax"). I would not use it before something like UPP. Actually, I dunno if I`d use it at all, I only use it on single stage paint myself. But then to be honest, I`m not a big fan of Meguiar`s polishes and paint cleaners anyhow ;)



And yeah, #7 used by itself is strictly for short-term appearance enhancement on showcars. If you don`t top it with wax it won`t last more than a few days. Note that it`s not designed to be durable, it`s basically just a bottle of Meguiar`s "trade secret oils".

[imported_el guapo]

Yes, the #1 and #2 I was talking about is the "Three Step System". I don`t want to use the #3, Yellow Wax.

[the other pc]

Welcome to Autopia El Guapo!



(Awesome screen name by the way, wish I`d thought of it.)



The #7 is a classic product with many enthusiastic followers but as has been pointed out can be a bit tricky. The "step 2" Deep Crystal Polish is the same type of glaze. It does the same thing, probably not quite as well, but is definitely easier to use. So use one or the other but you don`t need both.



Whether you top it off with GC or Tech wax is really just a matter of personal taste. Both should work well.



You`ve got the basic sequence right, cleaner, polish, wax. Since you already clay you know that comes after washing and before the cleaner.



The pitting may be too deep to fix but you may be able to reduce them somewhat with ScratchX. This will also help with swirls and small scratches. ScratchX is a type of cleaner so it doesn`t really matter if you do it after the #1 or before (you could do the whole car with ScatchX and skip the #1 but it would be very tedious).



Good luck.





PC.

[Accumulator]

Yep, what PC said :xyxthumbs FWIW, note that neither the #1 or the #2/#7 will do anything for swirls/scratches/pitting as they are nonabrasive.

[Scottwax]

el guapo/plethora, I get it! I think everyone here 45 and under learned the word `plethora` from watching The Three Amigos. http://www.scottwax.com/rice/videos/smilies/tvhaha.gif



I`d go with the first step in the 3 step system and #7 instead of the 2nd step and finish with Tech Wax or #26 High Tech Yellow Wax. I think both will give you a deeper look on your dark green paint.

[vdog0531]

Originally posted by Scottwax

el guapo/plethora, I get it! I think everyone here 45 and under learned the word `plethora` from watching The Three Amigos. http://www.scottwax.com/rice/videos/smilies/tvhaha.gif



I`d go with the first step in the 3 step system and #7 instead of the 2nd step and finish with Tech Wax or #26 High Tech Yellow Wax. I think both will give you a deeper look on your dark green paint.



won`t the tech wax remove the oils that 7 laid down? hhmm i`m confused. its a good thing i have menzerna polishes and sealents, i can`t keep these megs number straight!



Vernon

[Slackmeister]

Originally posted by Scottwax

I`d go with the first step in the 3 step system and #7 instead of the 2nd step and finish with Tech Wax or #26 High Tech Yellow Wax. I think both will give you a deeper look on your dark green paint.



:up If you use the #26 wax in your combo, then all three of the products will not dry white, so it won`t show up in the little pits on the front of your car.

[imported_el guapo]

Thank you all for your responses, they are greatly appreciated.



But here`s another question. I also have the Meguiar`s Cleaner Wax...should I just throw this one away or incorporate it into the detail process somehow?



El Guapo

[Scottwax]

Originally posted by vdog0531

won`t the tech wax remove the oils that 7 laid down? hhmm i`m confused. its a good thing i have menzerna polishes and sealents, i can`t keep these megs number straight!



Vernon



It may remove some but #7 lays down a lot of oil.



el guapo-I`d skip the Cleaner Wax since you have access to the other three. Maybe a maintenance detail would be the Cleaner Wax topped with NXT or #26.

[the other pc]

Originally posted by Scottwax

el guapo/plethora, I get it! I think everyone here 45 and under learned the word `plethora` from watching The Three Amigos. http://www.scottwax.com/rice/videos/smilies/tvhaha.gif

.... I`m in the age range (barely) but I actually learned it from a different movie when I was a little kid. There was a weird indie film from the sixties called Fearless Frank (with a young Jon Voight in the title role). Fearless Frank`s girlfriend was named Plethora.



El Guapo, keep the cleaner/wax handy. I like to use it as an in-between-real-waxjobs touch-up when I get something that QD won`t remove easily, tree sap, bug guts, etc. Also handy if somebody asks you to do their car but you don`t want to go the whole nine yards.





PC.

[imported_el guapo]

Well, I went ahead and purchased some Meguiar`s NXT Tech wax instead of the #7. For full service detail, should I....



1. Clay

2. Paint Cleaner (Step 1)

3. Polisher (Step 2)

4. Tech Wax

5. Gold Class wax



OR omit Gold Class as a topper and leave just the Tech wax on top?

[DustyOne]

Bas Rutten?