Exterior product selection for the `daily driver` -- Meguiar`s, 3M, etc.

T

TedNugent

New member
I only own and drive `daily drivers` and while nice appearance is great, my other concern is keeping the paint in good condition over longer periods of time, maybe 20+ years since Toyota`s and Honda`s tend to last a really long time.

What I find overwhelming about 3M and Meguiar`s professional offerings is knowing which products are intended, or even minimally useful, to a guy like me who: (1) doesn`t own expensive cars, (2) isn`t trying to impress anybody, and (3) isn`t obsessed with keeping the car perfectly clean at all times. Does this make sense? By the way, I`m in California where it hardly ever rains anymore, so there`s always the issue of cars being dusty. My cars are all non-garaged, although they do have some shade when at home. I do own a black Honda, the others are lighter in color. All of my vehicles have spent their entire lives under similar environments in California and Arizona.

I`m lost on which compounds, polishes, waxes, sealants, glaze, etc, I should be using or ignoring altogether. Can anyone help narrow this down so I`m not needlessly spending hundreds of dollars on supplies I don`t need?
 
Since you are fairly new to this, I would recommend Meguiar`s ultimate line (compound, polish and wax). This is a good starting point. One thing to add would be ultimate quik wax to maintain the finish until you need to polish and/or protect. You can pick these up at most local stores.

Don`t forget to pick up a clay kit as well as some good microfiber towels.
 
A little more information is needed, please. Do you plan on buying a DA polisher? If so, the products I would recommend would change drastically based on this. Also do you want to do primarily waterless/rinseless washes?
 
The ultimate line is pretty good, I would also check out HD speed, and my personal favorite all in one, Meg`s da finishing wax. For more long term protection, any good sealant would probably do, but if you want to, there are several good user friendly coatings, the duragloss kit may be what you`re looking for. After that, any good car wash, an apc and an interior detailer would basically be it (check out meguiars detailers line).
 
I already have a 6" DA polisher. The results have been good, I guess. I just never know what`s truly necessary or beneficial given the criteria I mentioned above.

Whenever it`s time to purchase more compound, polish, wax, etc, I always pause because of the high price tag and wonder if I`m making a good choice.
 
the simplest way for a DD is Polish w/ Carnauba blue ... it is an AIO on steroids and is virtually foolproof .. we have many Professional Detailers who use Polish w/ Carnauba for their clients that just are not going to pay for multiple step details .. the look is great for a one step and it can be done in sun or shade
 
I care for three DD`s regularly in addition to my garage queen.
IMO, the primary objective is just to keep `em clean, not just the dust and dirt that easily washes off, but the stuff you get from daily use, such as road residue, tree fallout, bird droppings etc. Regular use of an AIO product is an excellent choice. Poorboy`s Polish with Carnauba and Polish with Sealant are excellent choices, offering both minor correction and protection at a very affordable cost. My other personal favorites are two Duragloss products, 501 and 105, both mixed 4:1 with DG601. Neither corrects much, but both are good cleaners, with 501 being by far the more aggressive of the two. Add some Collinite, either 845 or one of the pastes and you`re set for a long time. All of these are true bargains. If you plan on keeping the vehicles for a long time, you may want to limit serious correction sessions to once or twice yearly, to preserve the clearcoat thickness. Ideally, coatings are the way to go for minimal maintenance, albeit more expensive. I`ve done my daughter`s Honda Fit with Optimum`s coating and it requires nothing more than regular washings and a yearly decon and light claying.
For my own Black Lacrosse, I enjoy playing with different waxes/sealants, but the DG AIO`s are almost always used as the base for their cleaning and protection abilities. Once a year I`ll do a serious correction process, but other than that, spot correction with Meguiar`s Ultimate Compound or M205 is all it gets, aside from the aforementioned AIO /wax treatments.

Bill
 
I`m probably beating a dead horse (sorry), but I`d like to understand this better.

What exactly WON`T be possible using an AIO as opposed to other products with multi-step detailing? Billy Jack mentioned regular use of an AIO, is that essential (i.e. annually) in order to keep using an AIO? Let`s say I`m kidnapped by methane-breathing aliens and my car sits in the driveway for 5 years uncared for -- will that require a multi-step process to correct before resuming an AIO again?

Thanks in advance!
 
An all in one essentially is a light polish with a protectant built in. It will remove minor swirling and boost gloss but it won`t be as effective as a compound. I maybe use the microfiber finishing wax 3 times a year or so after I clay my trucks and use a dodo juice wax once a month. I wouldn`t be overly concerned about the scheduling if you use a sealant or something that lasts a while.
 
Cleaner waxes and AIOs with a DA are great for daily drivers. That proceeded by a light claying twice a year. Once if you can get away with it, but reapply your sealant more if you do.

With a daily driver i think it`s best you just lightly polish to add gloss, ignore its beauty marks, try not to add more, and preserve as much clear coat as possible.

I have been using Optimum Poli-Seal and really like it. It cleans well, protects like a sealant and is not expensive.
 
If you`re looking for an AIO system for a daily driver, you might want to consider the Klasse Twins: Klasse Car Wax Guide

I`ve been using them for years with excellent results on my daily drivers! And you can make your own detail spray and sealant spray wax using the KSG and Meg`s Quik Detailer (readily available pretty much everywhere). Formulas for both are found at the link I posted.
 
TedNugent- The only shortcomings of AIOs IMO are a) abrasives too mild to do any real correction and b) minimal and short-lived protection.

Not really problems, do any correction with other stuff and after using the AIO apply something extemely durable (e.g., FK1000P) after the next wash and maybe another coat after the wash after that. Then you can just wash for a long, long, time.

Only downside to the Klasse twins (which I like/use/recommend and have for decades) is that the Sealant Glaze (KSG) only provides good durability for me after I apply a minimum of 4 coats. Others find it hard to work with but I never have. IME one or two coats of FK1000P will last longer, protect better (bugs and birds) than KSG unless the latter is heavily layered. And even then the FK1000P wil clean up easier and look better between washes. Just IME..YMMV of course.

I`d comound the worst marring. Then polish the whole vehicle. Then give it a quick going-over with an AIO (or even just skip that if you really did polish the whole thing), and then a coat of FK1000P. Next wash, reapply FK1000P. Next wash, again reapply FK1000P. Then just wash for many months.

I do that sort of thing on our Daily Drivers and the basically look exactly the same as the Garage Queens. Daily use and 6-figure miles don`t make all that big a diff IME, normal people (even car-guys) can`t tell that my S8 has 130K fewer miles than my wife`s A8.
 
I live out in the Valley in L.A. where it is dry in the summer, never rains so no moisture ever gets on my car as it is garaged at night, so YMMV.

Here`s the routine for my two daily drivers, one black, one silver. After I washed, then used a light polish with Klasser`s AIO, then a coat of FK1000P. The Klasse is fine for very slight imperfections. Several washes later I added another coat of FK1000P. In the summer months I find a waterless wash with Ultimate Waterless Wash easily cleans the dust off and leaves a nice slick finish, done every week or two. Again, in dry weather I dust the cars every couple of days with a California Duster (please don`t flame me). I find if the weather is dry and the surface is slick (UWW) this works well. However, if there has been any moisture on the car, I don`t use the duster. Again the cars are garaged, so they are not exposed to marine moisture at night. Winter time requires water washes.
 
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