how would you get a decent shine with these products? :

MEGUIARS:
body scrub paint cleaner

cleaner wax

"mirror glaze" show car glaze 7

"mirror glaze" hi-tech yellow wax 26

MISC. PRODUCTS :

finish 2000

turtle wax

magic match (brown) ,my car is "frost biege" as near as I can tell.

black magic

armor all,low gloss

chrome polish (the only chrome on the car is the ex. tips)

my paint isn't to great to begin with so I'm not worried about what I use. just wondering how an expert would make due with these supplies.

 

There are books at your local library that can take you through detailing a car but basically you use the cleaner or 1500 grit compound or maybe a clay bar first to remove contaminants first, then follow with the glaze which is used to fill in the scratches, which of those to use I'm not sure then follow up with a good carnuba wax, when it comes time to wash it no dish soap it'll take all the wax right off. Also no brushes they scratch the paint, use only a wash mitten of some sort, again go to the library and look at a detailing book and you'll find more info than you wanted. Meguires makes a realy nice tire detailer Gold Class Endurance stuff last longer than most of the spray ons.

Rob
1990 Formula 350

 

I have a book but its far away at my mothers house.these are some leftover supplies from my dads garage.thanks for helping me get things into perspective. if you saw my car,you would probably laugh at the idea of giving it the meguiars treatment. basically I want to get oriented,hands on,with detailing. that way I can do it myself after I get an expensive paint job.

 

I used to work at a detail shop and now I paint show cars. I don't believe in "the best". I have had great results with Turtle Wax, and Formula 2001. The Formula 2001 is made by Turtle Wax. I've used the stuff that costs a lot and they aren't much better. Basically, if you can't tell the difference on a show car that has been babied, and taken care of on a daily bassis, then I doubt that you could tell a difference on a daily driver.

------------------
'82 Firebird, dead stock, 9 bolt disc rear, over 200,000 miles and still going strong, more to come...

 

I recommend zaino, from zainobros.com - it is THE best. My car is a fricken mirror - and washing it is so much fun. Cant even tell what is washed and what isnt, the soap practically falls off. They have everything you need - yes it is more expensive but in my opinion it is much better than turtle wax or even mcguires.

 

stay away from that magic match stuff.. bad news

 

Actually, to expand on that premise, stay away from ANYTHING that had the "as seen on TV" sticker on it. Dead giveaway for bogus product (I'll make an exception for Rain-X)

 

yeah seriously,

i use 3m products myself, the guy at the paint store recommended them to me, ive used them and they make my car look nice. i like the glaze personally, but it only works for like 2-3 days max.

daniel

 

The reason the glaze only last a few day is because it is meant to be covered by a carnuba wax, it is not meant to be the final coating.

 

Sorry "waformula350", it's the other way around. The glaze is used as a "in between waxing" wax. So you use the carnuba wax once every month or so and the glaze every weekend or before every cruise. Ya know. To keep it looking good all of the time.


------------------
'82 Firebird, dead stock, 9 bolt disc rear, over 200,000 miles and still going strong, more to come...

 

no actually he is right
the purpose of sealers/glazes are to fill in and gloss the imperfections in the paint. sealer can do a beter job at this because its more pliable after aplication and can settle into the swirls and has a special formula to hide them. the only drawback is that, being this pliable and soft, the glaze does not last long and some can even be washed away by rain after being in the sun for awhile. so you cover the glaze with carnuba, which is the hardest wax known to man (naturally, there are harder synthetics but they cost more --- you cant use slave labor to pick synthetic carnuba plant leaves or whatever they do!)
IMHO from experience this is what this stuff is for.
of course there are always some manufacturers out there that like to play around with these names and make waxes and call them glazes. and others that make paint sealants that are for new cars that act like a wax that lasts a long time. these sealants dont actually hide imperfections but they protect the real paint underneath for like a year or so depending on what you drive through.

man have I been writing all this on waxes...
sorry to ramble
James

 

The glaze is just a gloss enhancer. A sealer is for the bare paint. A wax can be added to either of these. In a perfect world, you color sand your paint,(wet with fine grit sand paper like 1500 or 2000) then buff it,(with rubbing compound) then seal it,(with a teflon or water sealer) then carnuba wax,(the paste) then you glaze. The problem is that your paint won't last years if you do this all the time. Carnuba wax when applied is also a cleaner. If you apply glaze then carnuba, you will waste the glaze. The carnuba would have pulled it all off.

------------------
'82 Firebird, dead stock, 9 bolt disc rear, over 200,000 miles and still going strong, more to come...