I just want to get some things off my mind and out into the open. This might be a long thread, so be sure you have some time.



Today I did a full exterior detail of the RL. My process consisted of a Dawn wash, claying with clay magic, pre-wax cleansing, #7, #26, trim protectant, tire dressing, and 20/20 for the windows.



1) First off, today was the first time I used Turtle Wax MFs that you buy from AutoZone, per Scottwax`s recommendation. They`re really nice, much nicer than the ones I got from Wal-Mart (Concordia).



2) I don`t know if it`s my paint, but after washing the car with Dawn, I still noticed some water beading on my paint. Maybe it has something to do with the surface tension on the clearcoat.



3) I also used Claymagic for the first time. The actual bar is not that bad, but the lube reeks. Don`t know what to compare the smell to, but it`s not pleasant like Meg`s QD or Mother`s. Plus the cheapies only give you a 12oz bottle--the other`s give you 16oz.



Some of you may kill me when I mention this, but I dropped the clay bar near the end of the process. Now, this happened while claying in the garage and the ground wasn`t really dirty. Another thing is that when the clay bar is coated QD, it`s rather difficult for any large debris to embed itself--even if the clay didn`t hit the ground; for instance, i`ve had lots of junk come off the bumpers when claying. Wiping the clay bar with an MF and kneading it can get you passed the problem.



Of course if the claybar fell on a dirty driveway, then yeah i`d pitch it. But I felt that this was an exception.



4) #7 is pretty useless for clearcoated cars. I`ve only seen it`s benefits on dar colored paint, like red or black. From my understanding, when dealing with a clearcoat, my main objective should simply be to remove as much surface imperfections as possible--something I haven`t accomplished yet. It`s like polishing glass: the surface needs to be smooth to get that perfect shine.



5) I might do a second coat of #26 on the on the hood, roof, and trunk. One thing great about 26 is that you can leave it on the car as long as you want and it will still buff off easily. today I had the pleasure of waxing the whole car first, and then going back and buffing it off easily. I will never forget those days of buffing cleaner waxes after letting them dry for too long. :sosad



6) EO 20/20 is great!



7) Regarding Meguiar`s Endurance tire gel, be forewarned that as much as it provides durable lasting protection for your tires, it similarly can create durable lasting stains on your buffing towles. Today after applying 2 coats of Endurance high gloss, I used a terry cotton towel to buff the tires off (i only use these towels for buffing rough surfaces). The towel was very black obviously, but thinking that dawn detergent could cut through stain, I spent a lot of time in front of the wash tub trying to get the stains out. Even bleach wouldn`t cut it! Also, the EO tire applictor was very tough to clean after using endurance. I would squeeze the foam part and out would come this thick, non-water soluble gunk. No wonder this stuff lasts!



At any rate, I feel I need to segway into my next point.



8) Being that the towels and applicators had waxes and oils built up, I had to use an EXTENSIVE cleaning process. First I pre-rinsed the towels and applicators in a wash tub, then filled the tub with some Dawn dish detergent. Agitated for a while, then dumped, re-filled with water, Dawn, and some Oxi-Clean. Then agitaged the towels in the tub and dumped the water again. Some of the MFs still had some darkish stains however.



So this is what I did: I took some liquid detergent and with each MF towel, rubbed some detergent right on to each stain with my hand. I also did the same for the applicators. After that I threw the towels in the washer. But before starting the wash, get this: I added some ingredients for some super stain cutting action. Here`s what I put: a half scoop of Wisk powdered detergent (yeah, it`s powdered, but sometimes powdered works better than liquid); about a quarter cap full of liquid detergent; 2 squirts of Dawn dish detergent; half scoop of oxi-clean; and, what I think was an imporant ingredient, an ounce of some orange citrus degreaser/cleaner.



I ran the wash for about 25 minutes. I actually stopped the washing machine right before it was about to drain and reset the timer to the beginning so that the stuff would continue to agitate. Ran two rinses. Then went to air dry the towels. They look very nice and clean now! :up





At any rate, that`s all I can think of now. Thanks for reading!