good wax or compound?

[mommy]

What do you think is the best brand of wax or rubbing compound that I could use. I remember once that a friend who detailed said that most of the brands in the stores would really bad for the paint job, and he said that he used some kind of rubbing compound, but he is in the service now and I can't get in touch with him to find out what to use. Any suggestions?

[Mike]

good question. i was just getting ready to post the same thread more or less.

i can't say definitively which one is the best, as that's somewhat subjective. but right now i use meguiar's nxt and also have a full zaino wax kit. i'm going to start zainoing it when i have my lip kit on and once it gets a little hotter in STL.

zaino is hardcore.
www.zainostore.com

some pics of zaino'ed preludes:
http://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=622994&postid=6955472#6955472
http://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=622994&postid=9512009#9512009

[sexycheto88]

mothers canuba wax. alot of detailers told me to use it. and i have and it works great. best polish i've seen yet.

[edge2lyfe]

What do you think is the best brand of wax or rubbing compound that I could use. I remember once that a friend who detailed said that most of the brands in the stores would really bad for the paint job, and he said that he used some kind of rubbing compound, but he is in the service now and I can't get in touch with him to find out what to use. Any suggestions?

Lol, they are not the same. Wax protects the clear coat. Rubbing compound is used to remove fine scratches, oxidation, swirl marks, etc. Rubbing compound can damage the clear coat if you don't know what your doing. Your friend should know better than to suggest using rubbing compound as just another wax.

[bard329]

Lol, they are not the same. Wax protects the clear coat. Rubbing compound is used to remove fine scratches, oxidation, swirl marks, etc. Rubbing compound can damage the clear coat if you don't know what your doing. Your friend should know better than to suggest using rubbing compound as just another wax.


oh jesus... thank you! i was about to pull my hair out when i realized where this thread was going.

sorry guys, i'm a "detail tech" at my work... these sorta things get under my skin

[hotrod]

oh jesus... thank you! i was about to pull my hair out when i realized where this thread was going.

sorry guys, i'm a "detail tech" at my work... these sorta things get under my skin
lol... amen to that.

okay detail tech, small tangent. do those wheel cleaner sprays work? i'm starting to get tired of wedging my hand into the crevices to scrub between them.

[bard329]

lol... amen to that.

okay detail tech, small tangent. do those wheel cleaner sprays work? i'm starting to get tired of wedging my hand into the crevices to scrub between them.

A) it depends on how clean the wheels were before they were covered with brake dust
B) some work better than others... we use some industrial strenght ones that are pretty good
C) the wheel cleaner only really breaks up the brake dust... you still have to scrub.. but it's a lot easier
D) do NOT get any of that into any open cuts because it will hurt for quite a while haha

[91Si4WS]

yeah i work in the detail shop at my work and we use wheel acid and some purple degreaser stuff, but those two together get both the rim and tire pretty clean, but one of the other guys found out that you cant leave the wheel acid on there for too long or it can screw rims up, it just sucks that he found that out on a G35 sport coups, so what ever you're gonna use just know how to use it and what it does and it should work pretty good, but for waxes i usually stick with mothers or mcguiers

[bard329]

yeah i work in the detail shop at my work and we use wheel acid and some purple degreaser stuff, but those two together get both the rim and tire pretty clean, but one of the other guys found out that you cant leave the wheel acid on there for too long or it can screw rims up, it just sucks that he found that out on a G35 sport coups, so what ever you're gonna use just know how to use it and what it does and it should work pretty good, but for waxes i usually stick with mothers or mcguiers

yea... we already knew that at our shop.. in fact, if a car comes in with some really expensive rims... we just scrub it by hand rather than use wheel brightener. not worth the risk

[91Si4WS]

yeah well we thought that everybody in our department knew, but i guess he didnt know that it could damage them if it was left on for too long, he had only been working with us for about a week but, needless to say, he doesnt work here anymore! but our boss makes sure we tell anybody new what all the different cleaners do and what they can and cant be used on and how to use them!

[o0pz]

Presonally I've been using Meguairs 3 step system polishes and waxes. I haven't had a problem with none of them and they do a great job in the end. But I've also heard that the Mothers product lines are very good and worth a look at. I think the ONE tool you should invest in most for polishing and waxing is a claybar. It works wonders on the car really, but the most important thing is the steps you use to get the car shining. Make sure you take your time and don't rush the whole thing. I used to rush mine heaps, but have recently started taking my time and it's coming up mint everytime [although the car really needs a re-spray cos of the dodgey previous owner stuffing it up]

[ogsmakdade]

I paste wax my car by hand every 3 months with mcguires, then buff it out with a buffer. Also once a year I use 3M Fine cut rubbing compound to remove all the old wax, fine scratches and swirls. (be sure to use it when the surface is cool and do it by hand so you don't trash the clearcoat.) Also I've found that dupont wheel cleaner to work better than any other non abrasive product on the consumer market.

[94 LUDE]

Presonally I've been using Meguairs 3 step system polishes and waxes. I haven't had a problem with none of them and they do a great job in the end. But I've also heard that the Mothers product lines are very good and worth a look at. I think the ONE tool you should invest in most for polishing and waxing is a claybar. It works wonders on the car really, but the most important thing is the steps you use to get the car shining. Make sure you take your time and don't rush the whole thing. I used to rush mine heaps, but have recently started taking my time and it's coming up mint everytime [although the car really needs a re-spray cos of the dodgey previous owner stuffing it up]

The clay bar does work wonders I used it on the wifes car and it looks awesome!! I used mothers clay bar and then I used Meguairs nxt spray wax and the car looks GREAT!! Mirror shine all around I can't wait to use it on my Lude this weekend!!

[nismo350z]

When your detailing your car you want to do the Least abrassive polish or rubbing compound necessary. Depending on what condition your car is in will depend on the product obviously. Claying is one of the most important steps to getting a real good "show quality" shine. when you dont clay the car and you wax it, what you wind up doing is yes protecting it and making it shine but your also trapping in dirt particles chemicals overspray etc. into your clear coat. Not good at all. Everyone NEEDS to claybar unless it is a brand spankin new paint job. I have used many diffrent products and ive settled with two products. Meguiars Professional for all polishes, compounds, buff pads, detail spray, glazes, leather cleaners, dashboard wheels, tires etc etc the list goes on. but i have found a wax that i absolutely love and looks great (atleast on my white lude) Its called p21. if you post close up pictures of your car and its condition i might be able to recommend a exact proccess. Let me know

[edge2lyfe]

^^I bought some of that P21S wax that you mentioned.

I must say it's the best wax I've ever used. It wipes on and off soo easy, like butter. Actually I bought the detailer kit. Comes with wash soap, wheel cleaner, paint cleanser and the wax, all P21S products made in Germany. The wheel cleaner was also amazing, my oem wheels look brighter. Big thumbs up for P21S products.

http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/classic-motoring/P21Wax.jpg

[edge2lyfe]

Hey Sarah, the wax alone is about $30 USD. The entire kit was about $54 and comes with an attache case :smile:

[nismo350z]

Not only is it great to apply/wipe off but your going to find this is the one of the longest lasting waxes you have ever used. NOTE: if you havent already try and prep your car for the winter IE: give it a couple of layers of wax on the areas where you know salt and snow will accumulate on the car like behind the wheels especially.

Glad to hear you had good success with this wax and for people who have not yet used this wax or bought it. do it, do it. It will absolutely amaze you!

[91Si4WS]

has anyone tried the McGuires NXT Generation wax yet? i think im going tomorrow to buy a Clay bar and that wax and try it out at work to see how it works! so i'll let you know how it turns out!

[edge2lyfe]

has anyone tried the McGuires NXT Generation wax yet? i think im going tomorrow to buy a Clay bar and that wax and try it out at work to see how it works! so i'll let you know how it turns out!


Here are some reviews on that product, click here. (http://www.autopia.org/reviews/censura.php?tsid=1&csid=d67f27a9f8b1ea65fb9765c6311aef03&cmd=details&itemid=332)