thats a cool solution! thanks.
i should do that for most of the car and use the bonnet just
for the lower part of the car so that i don't rub the MF towel
on the ground.

i got a reply back from Griot's that it's okay to use my MF bonnets
to remove wax residue. they suggested little to no pressure downward.

 

Just gotta be careful of buffing on vertical panels with this method. The towel is spinning like mad and sometimes gravity has a way of causing the towel to spin in funny ways, possibly hitting or jamming something.

Personally, I think buffing off and putting on a wax by machine is so much safer and uniform. Putting on a wax or sealent using a foam applicator pad can lead to too much product in some areas and too thin in others and that can lead to drying problems.

Not saying that I don't do it. Yesterday I buffed out a 1970 something Datsun Roadster 1600. It's on the front page of Meguiarsonline.com right now. We did the whole restoration by hand using ScratchX, followed by #7, followed by M21. The paint was thin and inconsistent, so everything was done by hand.

 

yeh, i too was removing wax by hand using their SpeedShine which
works well, but during that last haywire/panic just minutes before
the storm last weekend while doing my wife's black Legacy, i think
im going to have a machine-aided wax removal in my back pocket
just in case something like that happens this weekend while doing
my Civic.

 

You're welcome! Meguiar's has hundreds of products and it can all get really confusing, but most people would agree that with a PC, a yellow W-8006 pad, and M80, you can polish out 75% to 80% of the paints out there.

That's one product and one pad. If you find you need more cutting power (ability to remove deeper defects), up the aggressiveness of the chemical--try M83 instead with the same pad.

The other pad I mentioned would be use to apply a wax only and is optional.

Makes for very simple work.

As you get more experienced, you start to notice different situations. Maybe you find a paint that really needs to be polished to a high luster, so you need something really fine, so you try #9 or #82 after using M80 because you know it's half as aggressive as M80. Or maybe you've got lots of swirls and can't get them all out, and don't mind filling some in, so you pull out #66...etc. Those are specialty products you use only once in awhile.

Choose a system, master it, and use it often. It's ALL ABOUT THE PREP, anyways.

 

Prep? meaning what? Taping off trim and glass - that sort of thing?

Hey, that reminds me... I hear about people using the PC to do glass all the time, but then I read to TAPE OFF glass when polishing... What does this contradiction mean?

 

Glass is very hard, so you can't polish it with a PC, but because all kinds of things stick to glass, you can polish that. So you can claybar glass to make it smoother. I've used the PC on windows to remove heavy water spots from lawn sprinklers.

We mask off the glass to prevent excessive cleanup from splatter that the polisher kicks out.

Prep does include taping off, but taping off isn't directly related to making something shine or pop. I'm referring to properly cleaning the paint with claybar, then a paint/cleaner polish. Once you've done that properly, your finish will shine, and reflect, and may even look wet.

Putting on a wax will protect that. In some cases, it darkens the look of the paint making it appear richer and more vibrant. Similar to the effect of adjusting levels or contrast in Photoshop on a photo.

When we say it's all in the prep, it's referring to people who think a wax is all you need to make a car look good. The truth of the matter, it's the prep that makes it look good. The final wax helps, but what's more important are all the steps before it. Removing bonded contaminants. Removing swirls. Polishing paint to high gloss, etc..

Richard

 

Gotcha... great info. So, for someone like me with a new car, no swirl marks, no scratches, washed weekly and detail sprayed 2-3 times a week, do you recommend a cleaner/polisher BESIDES the M80?

From reading the forums here and some articles, I figured I'd clay bar a few times a year, use the PC every month or so, using either JUST the M21 wax or occasionally the M80 to remove cobwebbing or swirls (as needed- don't want to overpolish the clearcoat off), and then wash and detail spray for my regular cleanings throughout the week. So far, detail spraying and washing is keeping it looking great, but I know when Fall/Winter arrives, and with it the rain and salt, the car will get FAR dirtier. I envy you guys with heated garages or who live in year-long temperate climates.

 

I have pretty light swirls on my one year old black MCS. They are there, but not visible in the shade or cloudy days --only under florecents or direct sunlight. But they have not gone away with Z5, or Zaino PC by hand.

So I'm going with either the Autotopia $169 or the Meguiar's $219 deal.

Which is considered more agressive? Sonus SFX2 or M80?

 

so I decided waxing my 06Civic this Friday night. wash, paintprep,
clay, spot swirl & tar remove, and wax. (no polish this time). 2hrs.

I tried the Griot's polish removing bonnet over my orange pad and
attempted to remove the wax residue (Best of Show)..... lol
bad idea. i mean sure it does buff off the wax, but i would recommend
this step at the very end after taking off majority of the wax using
SpeedShine and MF... to get the final wax depth consistency.

i didn't get to the interior windows and interior tonight, but not bad.
im really picking up speed...not that it's a rush of any kind. sauced up
the tires and looks great on the outside.

will do the interior tomorrow late afternoon.

im also going to wash the wife's Legacy and try out their SprayOn wax.

 

Hugh - Zaino also has the Z-PC which will remove swirls unlike Z-5 which is just a filler. I don't know if it is as aggerssive as say ScratchX, but I think it uses the same concept of diminishing abrasives. Might be worth a try before you start mixing brands.

Edit: Oops - I guess I should wear my glasses. You said you tried Z-PC sorry. Did you rub until your arm fell off?

Chuck

 

i washed the wife's legacy early evening just before the sun went down
(just like how OctaneGuy does it in his video clip ) yesterday and
tried the SprayOn wax while the car was still damp. I wiped it off with
my usual thick MF and noticed that there was still some wax residue left,
so went over it again with a fresh MF towel.

i didn't get to see a close look last night as the sun went down a little
quicker than i thought , and was a little worried that i didn't buff
evenly enough... i looked at the car this morning...WOW.

especially on a black car, dang, i like this stuff. i don't have a
good camera so didn't really take a pict, but it was very deep and shiny
as if i just got done waxing it with the Best of Show. wife was impressed.
... 'impressed' that i actually washed the car that late and while it was
super hot & humid outside... :impatient she said she was just
kidding and liked the turnout.

 

I love my Griots Stuff!

That quick wax is great in the winter too. I run the cars though a spay car wash to clean off the salt and what not when its 2 deg out side...spray that stuff on and dry the car. It works well, would be better if it was warmer, but it has enough lubricity that it prevents the paint from scraching while drying.

 

thanks for the tip! i'll definitely use it during the winter here in
chi-town.

i think im going to mist up the G35C with water and put some of
that SprayOnWax over the NXT i have on there. the car looks great
even with just NXT and SpeedShine, but im thinking i can maintain the
slickness and deep look even longer.