Hmm...
I haven't gotten any new products yet, but I'm just keeping my car shiny in the meantime. I tried NuFinish before and hated the stuff, didn't do crap other than coat the car in some plasticy sort of stuff. However, it was a bad wrap as I did zero prep to the car.
I recently gave NuFinish a second try on better terms. To me NuFinish is simply a non-wax sealer product. It seems to do zero cleaning, zero polishing, and the finish is thin and dull, even after a couple coats. I basically used the stuff as a sealer and left it at that.
Wash car, Meg Swirl Remover 2.0, NuFinish, and Mothers wax. I figure this is simple enough and will get me by till I buy better products. I didn't really need the swirl remover again, but it took care of a few lingering swirl marks from last time and gave a clean, smooth, and dirt free surface. I really need a filler glaze like the Mothers glaze (step 2). NuFinish shows off every little nick, scratch, chip, etc. in bright white, lol. In need to apply a filler product before using this stuff. NuFinish went on second simply as a sealer product. It went on thin and dull like before but hopefully will last. I coated the top with Mothers wax to bring out some shine over the lifeless NuFinish.
This turned out rather well actually. The dull nature of NuFinish is an effect that helps cut away some of the mirror like reflections. Instead, you get a mellower gloss look to it, more like what you see off the car's glass. I still need to try the setup with the glaze and a second coat of wax. I know this will darken and richen the appearance some, and I'd be curious to see how it looks afterwards.
I need to take a couple pics of the finish. It's been a few days and some accumulated dust, but the effect is kind of unique and more subtle. I'm not a particular fan of NuFinish by itself, but I think it seems to fit its way into a process as a simple and hopefully durable sealant. The verdict is out on how long it will hold up.
So far I'm looking at
Wash
Prewax cleaner
Swirl remover (if needed)
Glaze (filler)
NuFinish
Collinite 476S
as my next try. One thing I've done in the past is to use the Mothers filler glaze between wax layers. I've never had issues with this and it seems to help provide a deeper, darker shine. I'm not sure how far I want to go with this, so I don't know if I want to go nuts or if there's even any point to go nuts like
glaze
NuFinish
glaze
Collinite
glaze
Conllinite
I mean, is this good, bad, pointless, etc.? I've generally used it in the past because I normally don't wax all on the same day. Generally, I've added the second coat a week or so later after a fresh wash and figure the glaze will get rid of any imperfections accumulated since then. I can't say I've had anything bad every happen from it, but I'm not sure at what point it becomes less helpful and more harmful/pointless. I know I need it before the NuFinish at the very least to keep every single little non-glass-smooth part from showing up. Mothers glaze does wonders for this. However, after that, is there ever a point for any more coats?
What about say a month or two later when I want to add another coat of wax. I figure the NuFinish will last a year if there's wax on top most of the time. Should I do a filler glaze and then wax again? I don't know. I just have this hankering to use the glaze when I can, lol.