G37, 335, 15 month update on Opti-Coat, Grand Prix overspray removal

**Scottwax** · 01-27-2011, 01:01 AM

2010 Infiniti G37. Detailed the owner`s E350 a few weeks ago, wanted me back out to take care of the G37 his girlfriend drives. Main goal was protection rather than correction, few small areas hand polished with Meguiars #205 but other than that any other issues would have to be resolved with much heavier polishing-owner said his girlfriend wouldn`t notice so why bother?

Optimum No Rinse wash, Meguiars white clay

Hand polished a few areas with Meguiars #205

Detailer`s Pride Poli-Coat Sealant by hand (not a good idea, if it goes on too thick by hand, you have to redo the area to remove the excess-best to apply with a DA, lesson learned)

Armor All on tires/fenderwells

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2010 BMW 335i. Gave the car it`s first polish/wax in November, owner has been taking it through the touchless car wash every couple of weeks and felt it should have more protection from the harsh detergents utilized by touchless car washes.

No need to clay or do any corrective polishing, paint was still in really good shape. Went with Detailer`s Pride Poli-Coat since it resists harsh detergents very well, topped with OCW for added wetness and slickness.

ONR wash

Detailer`s Pride Poli-Coat Sealant using a yellow Meguiars polishing pad and my Meguiars G110 DA polisher

Optimum Car Wax

Armor All on the tires/fenderwells

**Hey, Moe!** · 01-27-2011, 01:08 AM

Interesting about the DP Poli-Coat resisting harsh detergents. Starting in December, through now, and probably until March, a wand wash is all I can do to my winter Focus. Something for me to try, or I just have to move.

How`re you doing after the accident? Any leads on a new vehicle? Are you riding your bike OK?

**Scottwax** · 01-27-2011, 01:09 AM

2004 Honda Accord, owned by my Dad. I put Optimum Opti-Coat on it back in the fall of 2009 (October I believe, thought it may have been late September) when he bought my Mom a new Lexus ES350 and wanted the coating on the Lexus. Figured I`d see how the coating worked on older paint long term and applied it to my Dad`s Accord as well. My Dad mostly hand washes his cars, using either ONR or a conventional car wash soap (forgot to ask what he has been using). As a result, his nearly 7 year old car is still about 95% swirl free.

I noticed when washing the car with ONR that it felt very slick and the dirt was practically falling off the car as soon as the ONR soaked wash pad touched the paint. A few days before we`d had some light rain and the paint had very tight, round and uniform sized beads.

ONR wash

Armor All on tires/fenderwells

As you can see, the paint is still very glossy a full 15 months after the application of Opti-Coat.

**Scottwax** · 01-27-2011, 01:22 AM

2003 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP. Owner had used a tinted sealer on his fence, not realizing even light winds can carry the over-spray quite a distance. As a result, his car was caked in the stuff. Clay wasn`t making much of a dent, so it took some pretty extensive compounding to remove what the clay couldn`t get. I went with Optimum Hyper Polish and an orange Optimum cutting pad and a lot of pressure. On the plus side, not only did it remove the over-spray but also the vast majority of the light spider swirls too! Even better, it was leaving an excellent finish on the rock hard GM paint.

This car also gave me a chance to try out my new Porter Cable 7424 XP that I bought to replace my Meguiars G110 that finally died the other day. I had planned on buying the G110 v2 since it comes with an extra set of brushes for the motor that I was going to put in the old G110 so I`d have a back-up, but I was informed by my local Meguiars distributor that the G110 was on back order and they haven`t been able to get any for quite a while now. They did have a PC 7242 XP in stock so I went with it instead. It has a very substantial feel to it, noticeably more powerful than the original PC 7424. Not sure exactly how it compares yet to the G110 since the overspray on the Grand Prix was on the sticky side and would at times keep the PC from spinning when pressure was applied. I`ll know more when I try it on something not covered in sticky over-spray.

As you can see in the before and half `n half shots, the over-spray was pretty thick!

ONR wash, Mother`s Clay

Optimum Hyper Polish using an orange Optimum Cutting pad and my Porter Cable 7424 XP DA polisher

Clearkote`s Carnauba Moose Wax

Armor All on tires/fenderwells

The paint was finishing out so well on paint that had never been waxed or polished, there wasn`t any need to follow up with a less aggressive polish/pad combo. These pictures were taking prior to waxing or even polishing the roof since I knew by the time I finished it would be dark.

**Scottwax** · 01-27-2011, 01:25 AM

Originally Posted by Hey, Moe!

Interesting about the DP Poli-Coat resisting harsh detergents. Starting in December, through now, and probably until March, a wand wash is all I can do to my winter Focus. Something for me to try, or I just have to move.

How`re you doing after the accident? Any leads on a new vehicle? Are you riding your bike OK?

I`ve been using Poli-Coat since April, got a customer who says it holds up very well to his 3-5 times a week wash regiment-either the touchless wash (which he then hand dries) or the free dealer washes.

My arm is still sore but I feel okay otherwise. Probably getting another Maxima, really liked the one I had. Hoping to find a 6 speed though. Finally got back on my bike on Monday, got in just over 35 miles. Felt good to ride again.

**BigAl3** · 01-27-2011, 02:46 AM

scott, nice job on all of them (always had a thing for the G`s). do yourself a favor and pick up the Griots 6" random orbital :waxing: (it will be nice to have a back-up as well), i think you`ll be impressed with it and not to mention it comes with a Lifetime Warranty to boot...

**Thomas Dekany** · 01-27-2011, 05:06 AM

Love the details Scott.

**Scottwax** · 01-27-2011, 09:33 AM

Originally Posted by BigAl3

scott, nice job on all of them (always had a thing for the G`s). do yourself a favor and pick up the Griots 6" random orbital :waxing: (it will be nice to have a back-up as well), i think you`ll be impressed with it and not to mention it comes with a Lifetime Warranty to boot...

I`ve seen several posts about people having to return the Griots DA for repair/replacement, makes me wonder about the reliability of it. The warranty is nice but if you have to keep returning them, that`s a pain to deal with. Might just get the brushes for the motor for my G110, replace them and keep that as a back-up. :nixweiss

**mikenap** · 01-27-2011, 10:56 AM

Originally Posted by BigAl3

scott, nice job on all of them (always had a thing for the G`s). do yourself a favor and pick up the Griots 6" random orbital :waxing: (it will be nice to have a back-up as well), i think you`ll be impressed with it and not to mention it comes with a Lifetime Warranty to boot...

I`d have to agree with this one. The Griots machine is easily the strongest of the bunch. I sold my XP to buy a 110v2 due to better ergonomics and more power. Then my first 110v2 died, and while waiting to get it back, I bought the GG. Now it`s the machine I pick up first!

Also, I`ve always had a soft spot for G`s too. I wanted a red G35 for a while, but my wife said that in red it`s a "girls car." Turns out she was right. Looks sweet though! Awesome reflection off that hood.

**Driven Auto Detail** · 01-27-2011, 01:23 PM

As always, great work Scott!

As a side note, I`ve had my GG DA for probably 6-8 months. Knock on wood, I`ve had no issues with mine so far. I`m fortunate enough to be 15 minutes from their Plainfield, IN distribution center if I do though. I`ll also point out that I don`t subscribe to the KBM method so I rarely put a lot of pressure on it. I`d rather whip out the rotary if a DA can`t handle it with normal pressure. Anyway, just my experience with the GG DA.

**BigAl3** · 01-27-2011, 02:42 PM

Originally Posted by Scottwax

I`ve seen several posts about people having to return the Griots DA for repair/replacement, makes me wonder about the reliability of it. The warranty is nice but if you have to keep returning them, that`s a pain to deal with. Might just get the brushes for the motor for my G110, replace them and keep that as a back-up. :nixweiss

it seems there have been more issues with the G110v2 than the GG6. also, the GG6 comes with extra set of brushes as well. if you buy it from Griots directly, you have 180 days to try it out and if you don`t like it, you can send it back for a refund or credit...

At Griot`s Garage, we want you as a customer for life. Everything you purchase from us comes with a lifetime guarantee against defect. We want you to enjoy our quality products for 180 days and have fun with them! If you don`t like it for any reason during this time, return it for a full refund or credit. After that, you`re covered with our lifetime guarantee against defect, in which we will either repair it, replace it, or credit your purchase price if we are able to do neither. Some items have a life span during normal use and they wear out. Our warranty does not include replacement of such items after normal use. Of course our guarantee doesn`t cover abuse... But you already knew that.

Customers for life. That`s our guarantee.

**Legacy** · 01-27-2011, 03:26 PM

Nice job Scott. What is in the middle of the grill on the G37? I also have the PCXP and the Griot and find myself picking up the Griot more often when using a DA. Any thoughts on the new Flex rotary?

**Driven Auto Detail** · 01-27-2011, 03:32 PM

Originally Posted by Legacy99

I also have the PCXP and the Griot and find myself picking up the Griot more often when using a DA.

Same here. Having both the PC XP and the GG, the GG is hands down my preferred DA for it`s power, smoothness, and ergonomics.

**Scottwax** · 01-27-2011, 04:06 PM

Originally Posted by Legacy99

Nice job Scott. What is in the middle of the grill on the G37? I also have the PCXP and the Griot and find myself picking up the Griot more often when using a DA. Any thoughts on the new Flex rotary?

More like what`s not there-the Infiniti emblem is missing.

My problem with getting a DA is I needed one immediately, my G110 started speeding up and slowing down, then starting up really slowly on Monday and since I use it nearly every day, I couldn`t wait for something to be shipped. No warning either, one day it was working great and the next day it was fubared.

Never used the Flex rotary, I have a Dewalt and love the hell out of it.