Car Care and Detailing Dreams

[mani1]

@mani1

Gr8 purchase, i wud love to see some BEFORE and AFTER pics posted after using both the products, specially if possible with a high res camera for the claybar. The naturally black tire shine also seems a lucrative product, do share some pics for its before n after use. Best thing i love about this claykit is that they give u 2 bars, covers the whole car easily.

Thanks! Sure will do. Are you sure the clay is good only for one car? Members here said that clay kit would be good for upto 4 cars. Its only the Detailer that is barely sufficient for one car.

[stingray]

@mani1

Well u can get more showtime detailer for around 900 rs a bottle and u'll be good to continue after its even finished. 4 cars or 2 will depend on the amount of overspray, roughness, contaminants, oxidation etc that exists on the surface of the car. But one thing is for sure that u will never be using the bar miserly, like when ever im claying i divide the bar into several pieces and use those individual little pieces on every panel, now whenever i feel the need that some panel had more contaminants on it (evident by the bar piece getting those little black contaminants more than on other panels) i discard that piece and start with a fresh piece. Imagine this happening with u having one bar only :), get it? more bar more freedom. A piece with much contaminants shudnt be continued for use otherwise it'll start putting swirls in ur clear coat.

[mani1]

@mani1

Well u can get more showtime detailer for around 900 rs a bottle and u'll be good to continue after its even finished. 4 cars or 2 will depend on the amount of overspray, roughness, contaminants, oxidation etc that exists on the surface of the car. But one thing is for sure that u will never be using the bar miserly, like when ever im claying i divide the bar into several pieces and use those individual little pieces on every panel, now whenever i feel the need that some panel had more contaminants on it (evident by the bar piece getting those little black contaminants more than on other panels) i discard that piece and start with a fresh piece. Imagine this happening with u having one bar only :), get it? more bar more freedom. A piece with much contaminants shudnt be continued for use otherwise it'll start putting swirls in ur clear coat.

Well I intend to use clay bar on 2 cars, both are new 2010 models. Black Civic and Medium Silver Altis. The paint condition is already pretty good on both except the Civic which has very little overspray (not even visible by eye but can be felt by hands when rubbed on paint).

Is dividing even possible? I mean the clay bar is already quite small....

[stingray]

@mani1
well if i were u i wud do the problem panels first, yes the bar can be divided. I typically hold 2 inch by 1 inch piece between my thumb and three front fingers while the pinky finger remains folded, thats how big a piece u need at a time. Spray the detailer on the panel and start rubbing the bar in, first u'll feel the roughness wont let it glide smoothly then after three to four wipes in the wet area it will start to get smoother but dont continue after 4 glides, take ur hand off and knead the piece. Now a fresh side will be exposed to the surface. Spray another puff of detailer onto the surface and now wipe with the fresh side. It will take u long to do a single panel this way but this is the only correct way of doing it. Losing patience and doing it faster than this may give u a feeling of it still giving u good results but later on u'll see some nasty swirling in the reflections so guard against that.

[tilsim]

@vague_one: congrats usman bhai for this thread is one of the most popular threads on pw..

[tilsim]

my car got a treat the other day.. so i wont ask for one again..

[rockk]

usman bro, bohat bohat mubarakin for ur thread achieving 5000 posts....

[sardarsaeed]

Clay Kit: Rs. 2650
Tire Shine: Rs. 975

Got them from Autoline on Montgomery although I believe its also available at Toyota dealerships, Makro and Hyperstar

Nice purchase sir. You got it at a much higher price:S..
In my opinion, the clay would be good for at least 3 car's. I did my civic with just one bar and it was also as good as new. But you would need another bottle of the instant detailer..

[stingray]

@sardarsaeed

It seems ur cars paint was already in good condition, not much contaminants. If ur bar was good as new when u finished then that means u coulda done THIS particular car in half a bar as well. so for any subsequent applications keep in mind that if u divide the bar into pieces then u can have the job done in lesser expenditure of asset. u'll have half a bar left for subsequent use.

[mani1]

Guys I am having this 'chul' to go and try the clay on my car right now under, well light of one energy saver :P. Tell me its a good idea? I want to test it on 2 fenders.

[AK471]

@AK471

Meguiars have introduced somethin known as "The New Car Kit" in their 2011 lineup, u'll pretty much get everything u need to maintain ur ride in a pristine condition in that kit. Wash ur car with the wash n wax and wool mitt (included) so u will cause less swirls on the car and previous wax layer wont get harmed, then dry it up with the water magnet towel (included) so the drying process wont cause swirls either, drying is the time where most of swirls seen on cars take place. Then use the ultimate liquid wax (included), apply it with the applicator(included) and buff it off with the supreme shine microfibre (included). They also include the indurance tire gel in this kit.

As far as step 2 is concerned yes its doable by hand. Its a sealer and glaze and if used before step 3 it brings more depth and a better shine to the final result, it also masks slight swirl marks so the finished result looks better. However it doesnt take care of scratches, though the way a scratch is visible will be greatly reduced but the scratch will stay. For very minor scratches i wud say u use a bit of ultimate compound.

As an example of step2 u can scroll back a page or 2 to see my city 2010 pics i posted, sorry they were taken at around 1 am and inside my garage so the overall effect of the glaze isnt VERY visible but u can still see how good the mothers glazes work. The product used was mothers hand glaze which is a slightly different product from step 2 but its overall fucntion and even checmical formulation is pretty much the same except that step 2 comes in a smaller quantity and bottle and easily usable by the average joe. The HAND GLAZE is from the mothers professional lineup, comes in a bigger bottle and slightly trickier to use and recommended for use indoors only (workshop environment)

Now i will come over to my personal suggestion as u have a black car. The shiniest result ive ever seen on a new black car was achieved after using the Meguiars deep crystal 3 steps system. Its also similar to mothers 3 step system but the only difference was the final result left me gasping for breath.

Thanx a million Stingray bro for the excellent, detailed and very helpful write up above, appreciated.

Well, I'll check your City shortly a few pages back.

The Meguairs "The New Car Kit" seems pretty interesting, have you any idea of it's price range?

And same question as for Deep Crystal 3 steps system?

And finally, what brand/make is the "ultimate compound" that you're referring to?

Actually, in purchasing the Mothers step 3, I kind of a way have locked myself up with the Mothers system, unless I just put it away and switch over to Meguairs.

Is Swirlx included in the "New car Kit" also? I trust not. Not that I have much of swirls, but still.

Actually, I've the feeling that even a brand new car in black, if you check it at the very moment of delivery from showroom, and parked in direct sun, may/will show some sorts of swirls. I've the feeling it's pretty much of a color specific issue, or at least more visible with black.

I also have a feeling that I'm gonna take a white/silver car for my next purchase, whenever it is, though black has ruled my garage for about 10 years by now. Heck, it's magic if you have the right "wand" for it, in terms of a guy who knows the art of how to wash/wax your car at home. I fortunately do have and we use only MF's, car wash solutions and Mothers systems, but still, this darn color wants more care, lolz!

Regards.

[stingray]

@AK471

Ur most welcome buddy. Thats what were here for innit?

New car kit is priced at 4000 minimum and thats in optimum motor sports karachi, in pindi its minimum price is around 4500 at dubai autos. It does not contain swirl X, swirlx is available at dubai autos for around 1250. U dont have to feel locked up with mothers now, u can always use the deep crystal 3 step system and still use the step 3 for all subsequent applications on top of it, just when ur using the deep crystal, u shud use those 3 steps in one go without puttin any other product on ur car, its 3rd step and mothers 3rd step are both natural carnauba waxes so shud not be a problem. I dont have any idea abt its price but its available at optimum motor sports khi. Ultimate compound is one of the best rated compounds of the world, its by meguiars and price shud be around 1800 to 2000, was available at dubai autos but dont know if still is available.

I had the same observation abt my city when i bought it new, at the dealerships these guys have an indoor environment and no direct lights so u dont see the swirls they have in their 0 meter cars. These are factory induced swirls mostly and some of them are fresh swirls made by the dealerships themselves when they recieve a new car they wash n dry it with poor technique n that leaves swirls even on a fresh car, YES even one bad wash is enough to put swirls. The factory swirls are whats known as buffing swirls, when theyr giving the final buff , lets just say they dont do a world class job n that leaves swirls. This is MOST evident on dark coloured cars.

I can understand ur lust for the black colour but then no other colour can show SUCH reflections, the Z at the top of the page is clear proof. If money isnt a big issue id suggest u get urself a porter cable DA buffer and swirl X. Use it once a year on ur car thoroughly and ur car wud be good to go for the subsequent year if washed with branded wash and a mitt and dried up with microfibres. Also NO DRY dusting on the exterior AT ALL no matter how thin a layer of dust it is & last but not the least, no dust cover, that itself causes swirls.

[vague_one]

5000 replies congrats usman bhai

JazakAllah bro, yer all a part of it.......mai kaliyan nai kita sara kuj!!

Lolz! You sure, you didn't forget anything Sharabhi bro! Looks like one heck of shopping you're up to, lolz!

Well, that's quite a deal/assignment there for Vague_One bro, so allow me to sneak in here for a combined reply, hahahahaha!

I'm sure, all above items are sought mainly for OLD cars, so let's trouble dear Vague bro a bit more and suggest a list of essentials for body care of the brand new, 2011 ones, too, lolzzz!

Kidding you Vague bro, just need 1 single suggestion for an Altis 2011, black, wanna bring out some more shine, in addition to what Mothers step 3 is giving:

How do we use Step 2 (Sealer & Glaze), I trust it's in bottle form? Can we use it without a buffing machine? Kindly mention a few things on how to apply, for how long to wait to buff it out and when to top it up with step 3?

Also, on my brand new car, I do see probably 2 very small scratches/imperfections/grease marks/even minor swirl, will step 2 take care of this, or I need to apply something else? If so, do I do the whole car or can one control the application/buffing only to the few and limited spots????

Plz do share with us any car you do the step 2 on with Mothers.

Kindly attend, and rest assured, though I'm rarely in Lahore, you bet my Altis and I will be honking your gate one blessed day for both some gup n' shine, probably Dodo's if you have any left over by around December, rest assured, lolz!

Ok Sharabhi bro, should we conclude our mammoth homework task for Vague bro? Lolz!

Regards.

Indeed a mammoth task, you guys have caught me at a bad time Ive got to file returns these days but Ill be sure to write up on detail on your an sharabhis questions tomorrow InshAllah.....yer more than welcome to honk an come up for "gup an shine" the doors are always open for brothers!! Sting Ray is hot these days an takin up questions...I think hes preety much taken care of them, but Ill check up tomorrow an answer the ones left out!! JazakAllah Stingray for taking time out an doin the honours....

@vague_one: congrats usman bhai for this thread is one of the most popular threads on pw..

Sir, JazakAllah, peli dafa thread par aapnay aman say post kiya hai, yakeen nahin ata aap hi hain!!!

my car got a treat the other day.. so i wont ask for one again..

You know me Mani...............more than welcome to come over on the weekend for another coat of Turtle Power!!!!

usman bro, bohat bohat mubarakin for ur thread achieving 5000 posts....

JazakAllah bro, was nice meeting you after such a while.......Will be waiting to get my hands on yer rides in Sialkot.....

[mani1]

Well guys I went ahead with the clay treatment on the trunk of my 2010 civic. Following is a review with ALOT of pics which I'll admit are pretty boring but encouraging for civic owners who want to get rid of swirls without cutting their clear coat.

Anyways the products which were used were

The most important amongst these was the Pinnacle Paintwork cleansing lotion as you will see later. Steps were

1)Panel washed with Mothers California Gold Car Shampoo; wiped with a MF
2)Clayed with Mothers Clay Kit; Almost 1/5th of 1 clay bar was used and was more than enough for 2 panels.
3)Pinnacle Paintwork Cleansing Lotion (PPCL) was applied
4)NXT 2.0 was applied and immediately wiped off

The condition of paint before was

As you can see, full of swirls, inevitable on civic. Here are pics after claying
(still showing the swirls)

Now PPCL was applied. Check out the dramatic reduction in swirls after 1st application. The best part is that PPCL is non-abrasive and it only fills up the swirls which means you can apply it frequently! The paint was also darkened and pearl flakes became more visible

[mani1]

I had divided the trunk into 2 parts. On one part PPCL was applied and on the other it wasn't to show the dramatic effects of PPCL. Sadly due to a normal digicam and night time, I wasn't able to capture how PPCL was able to darken the paint but difference was significant.

PPCL not applied

PPCL applied

In the end paint was topped with NXT 2.0. NXT 2.0 is said to have fillers too but I found that it had negligible effect is reducing/covering up swirls. Still it made that lil bit of difference.

Thats it. A significant reduction in swirls achieved with PPCL. Initially I was out to review the Mothers Clay Kit but the results achieved by PPCL were too good to ignore. As far as the Clay Kit is concerned, I didn't find any contaminants on the clay even after repeated passes. Guess my paint was already in good condition. I will take pics tomorrow morning to see if I didn't cause any marring etc with aggressive clay usage.

[khurum]

@ mani g niceeeeeeeeee m big fan of pinnacle gudd going
@ vague g 5000 wow and sir g kasm say i posted that pic for your catch that was before final pics note the pics after that u pointed i parked the marki in daylight n its gone sir g thankuuuuu apki appreciation say he tu perfection arae hay hahaa

[stingray]

@Vague_one
Pleasures all mine brother. After such a long time im on leave, the kind in which theres nothing pending to be done. so im at my thing.

@mani1
Awesome work bro, but r u sure the ppcl is not abrasive, i have never seen this amount of correction with a non-abrasive product. Which DA did u use? i wish u wud have done one more session with fresh product before topping off with tech wax just to get rid of those last itsy bitsy swirls. Do it tomorow n then again post the pic.

[vague_one]

yes dear u r right, btw could u plz tell me which one brand/make is best and price among its category and easily available in market and result last for atleast 02 weeks.
a. detailing clay?
b. Wax?
c. Shampoo?
d. Chrome Cleaner?
e. Engine Degreaser?
f. micro fiber cloth?
g. professional buffing machine with speed controller?
h. swirl marks remover?
i. sealent?
j. rubbing compound?

and kindly post pictures/link as well for reference.

Please remember prices vary from dealer to dealer, the prices are just a rough idea of is being charged...an sorry will do link an pics later on....filhaal guzara karain

a.Turtle Wax ICE, Mothers an finally Megs, they are in order of ease to locate an purchase, Prices will start from Rs.2,200 onwards

b.I`d recommend a synthetic if you want long lasting results.........thought nothing beats a synthetic with an pre-coat of natual wax......try Turtle Wax Ice, Mothers Synwax, or Meg Techwax, again arranged in order of ease to purchase an prices start from Rs.1,300 onwards.

c.Hands down Turtle`s Ice, extreme quantity, they promise a NO-DEWAXING wash, for the price you cant beat it ,Prices start at Rs.900 onwards, Speed Shampoo is also a good heavy duty cleaner...biggest bang for the buck, Rs..125

d.Speed Chrome Cleaner................buss chad dayoooo.........Rs.125 startin price

e.Oh this one I love, Pre-Soak from Turtle Wax.....Different sizes, different prices, minimum quantity allowed will cost Rs.550

f.Widdddde open market, starting from Rs.300 for the Chaainaa maal to Rs.1,400 for Megs Supreme Shine to "are you insane ?" prices for Cobra`s an Pinnacles

g.Buffing machine.........hmmmmmmmmmm Sencan with controllable speed that I use these days starts around Rs.4,400 to Meg an Portar Cable for Rs.26,000 upwards, I self imported mines an it cost me Rs.13.000

h.Turtle scratch an swil remover, Mothers scratch remover an Meg`s Swirl X, prices start from Rs.375

i.If you can get it, go for Wolf Gang, When I got in shipped it cost me a fortune, so ask someone to get it from abroad..an bring it with them

j.Turtle Rubbing Comp or Megs Ultimate Comp, Prices will be from Rs.400 upwards

an for the last bit..............kuj apay wi kar lawoo yaar!! Aab yeh na keh dena keh yeh sara kuch mar bhi dain meri gari par...

[vague_one]

@ mani g niceeeeeeeeee m big fan of pinnacle gudd going
@ vague g 5000 wow and sir g kasm say i posted that pic for your catch that was before final pics note the pics after that u pointed i parked the marki in daylight n its gone sir g thankuuuuu apki appreciation say he tu perfection arae hay hahaa

Acha jee??? loo fiar mai phar laye si........Nice job though mate......JazakAllah!Khush rahain!!

[vague_one]

Some sad news, @Speedster_101s, Dilawar bhais Grandmother has passed away, Inna lilah Hi Wa Ina Elahe Ra Ji Oun......May Allah grant her Jannat an her dear ones the courage to bear the loss.....please do say "Fateha" for an remember her in your prayers....