*Official* Ask A Detailer Thread

The more you wash, the more you wax. Everytime you wash you are removing another layer of protection. If you wash that often, only use very quality soap.

 

^^^ Good advice. A very gentle shampoo would be Meguiar's Gold Class.

 

Mike, how do you clean the clear plastic gauge lenses? And then can you use 303 protectant or anything like that?

Thanx.

 

i just wipe it with a california dash duster, takes off the dust/lint, no streaks, etc

 

You can do what Anthony suggested if it's only dusty. Otherwise, I clean it just like glass. If you want to clean/protect it, you can buy a product (online) called Plexus. Autogeek.net carries it. They also have a similar product called DP Plex-all I believe. Both products are great for window tint, light lenses, etc.

 

On my 05 Avalon in Indigo ink I washed it with Meguairs gold class soap. Then rinsed with the Mr. Clean deionized water and dried with MF towels. After that I used the ICE liquid clay bar. It said to apply then rinse off. So I rinsed with soft water. I was seeing a lot of places where the ICE was showing whitish on the car.

I then hit the car with the Mr Clean soap, no wiping just good sudsy water. Then soft water rinse and then a deionized rinse. I then wiped the car with the MF towels.

?, is the ICE liquid clay bar usually hard to get off? Did I maybe use to much?

After I was sure the ICE was off I then waxed with Maguires cleaning wax. It looks good.

On my new 08 Tacoma I'm going to wash it then use Maguires NXT 2.0 sealent. But from reading here it seems I should clay it first. Even though brand new.

Any suggestions?

 

MikeS - I don't have any experience with any of the ICE products. I've not really heard anything good about the liquid clay bar. Honestly, a real clay bar is the only "clay" product that will do what claying actually is supposed to do (if that makes sense). Clay Magic, Mothers, and Meguiars all have kits you can purchase. I believe CM is around $10-$12.

As far as your cleaning wax, it won't have the same durability as a regular non-cleaning wax so you'll need to apply it more often to sustain the protection. Otherwise, cleaner/waxes are a good for a one-step.

Yes, brand new vehicles need clayed. There are a lot of contaminants that bond to the paint when your vehicle is shipped from factory to dealership, especially if it is coming from over-seas. Rail-dust from shipping trains is the most prominent typically. Bits of steel from the wheels land on your paint and they will eventually rust, showing up as little brown/orange specs in your paint. Take a sandwhich baggy after you have washed your truck. If it's not smooth as a baby's butt, go ahead and clay. I personally recommend claying 2 times a year (spring & fall).

When you get ready to apply NXT 2.0, remember that thin is in when it comes to waxing/sealing. Apply just enough to see it on the surface. More than that, you're wasting product (b/c the excess doesn't bond to the paint), and it'll just be harder to remove.

Good luck!

 

Thanks Mike.

 

I used Meguiars cleaner wax (because that’s what I had) the first time I waxed my new truck. I have to assume this is good enough since the truck traveled a relatively short distance from the factory to my dealer (about 200 miles). Should I keep using this wax until I run out or switch to something else? I also have a bottle of liquid wax from P and S products that I got as a sample. This is a Carnauba wax. The truck is always garaged and I don’t drive it that much.

 

its fine... you just have to reappy it more often. once you run out, upgrade to something else.

 

This last weekend I used Meguiars clay, then cleaner wax, then polish and then caranuba wax for a pretty nice shine. Looks better than when I picked it up at the dealer

 

Just wanted to thank you for all the great info. I've never heard of most of these products but will be sure to check them out.

 

How come you don’t like Armor-All? In my experience the wipes that come in the can work really well. I have mainly used it on plastic interior bits like the dash and door panels. The wipes let you cut sharp lines when going around things you don’t want to touch.

 

its like pouring water on your interior, it dries everything out, in time you will experience cracks.

 

So you are saying Armor-All does exactly the opposite of what it says it does. Kind of like buying a can of paint to protect against rust but it actually causes rust. I find this hard to believe. Plus I didn’t ask you. The question is directed at mShu7. Maybe he has given up on this thread since it has been hijacked by a bunch of pretenders.

 

Ask any detailer. You wont find anyone who details cars for a living using that junk. If you wanted a direct answer from him, maybe you should have PM'd him instead of posting here?

If you want something similar to what you have, www.griotsgarage.com sells a similar produdt that comes in a tub of wipes called interior cleaner wipes since those work easiest for you.

I'm not a pretender... I have a decent client list who let me handle their $100k+ cars on a regular basis

 

I can second that armor is not very good atleast on a vinyl tonno cover. Many tonno companies will void there warranty if armor all has been used. Unless they have changed there formulation it contains petroleum that eats at the stitching and eventualy dries the cover out.

As mshu7 stated previously in this thread Aerospace 303 is what he recommends. Besides I like the new car look rather then the greasy dust collecting armor-all look anyway. IMO

 

I’ve been using Armor-All wipes on the interior of my wifes car for the last seven years and it still looks new. Not a crack anywhere. And the car sits outside in the Nevada sun almost everyday.

I used Armor-All on the dash of my old truck consistently for about fifteen years then got lazy and stopped using it. Within a year the dash cracked.

After my last post I went searching around the web for info on Armor-All. Yes there are lots of negative comments on Armor-All. Here is a positive one….

“There is absolutely nothing wrong with water-based products like Armor All Original these days.

Stories about Armor All being a dangerous product to use are still floating around after decades, but they're based on old, outdated information. The thing that made Armor All harmful in the old days were the petroleum solvents that they used in it. These days such solvents (still present in many "high shine" protectants) are probably more refined and safer, but it's still highly debated if they're safe or not. Better safe than sorry I say, so I avoid solvent-based protectants.

You can tell if a protectant is water-based or not by looking for a "petroleum distillates" warning on the back, or by opening it up and seeing if it is a milky, whitish low-odour liquid. Solvent-based products are often clear and colourless.

Armor All Original, Low Gloss, and Ultra Shine (black/white bottle) are water-based
303 and Vinylex are also water-based.”

To say you don’t like the product because it’s too shiny or greasy or it attracts dust is useful. To just make a statement that it’s like poring water on the interior is ridiculous.

The reason I’m looking for mShu7’s response is he started this tread with an obviously credible write-up on detailing. Nobody else has taken the time to do this. That makes it his thread.