I somewhat enjoy detailing my truck, so I want to start doing it right. Here are the products I use now. Please stop me now, if these are bad, and suggest some new products that will enhance my experience. Thanks!!!

Soap - Turtle Wax Zip Wax
Wax - NXT Tech Wax
Wheel cleaner - soap and water
Tire cleaner - soap and water
Tire shine - No Touch Tire Care foam
Wheel wells - never done them in my life. what should I use?
Leather - Armor All Leather Protectant
Glass - damp rag and elbow grease
Dash - Armor All

Thanks again for the suggestions!

 

As far as the wheel wells, soap and water are a good start. If you want them shiny, I have used some of that silicone tire spray. Shines that black plastic inner fender well real nice.

I think what you are using is fine. I am sure someone else will chime in here and give you some advice as well.

 

I'll start with the cleaning aspect;

I've never tried the Zip Wax soap, but I have found that the only wash I like is Megs Gold class Shampoo/Conditioner/Wash stuff. It's a highly viscous golden liquid, but when mixed to the proper ratios, makes paint gleam, as well as prevents swirls due to it's high lubricity and high sudsing formula.

Tires: I'd go for Westley's Bleache white. Great stuff, but be careful. Spray, scrub, and quikly rinse with copious amounts of water, as it *will* pit and mar your wheels if left too long. If you're not wanting to go down this route, Simple green works great, too. Then, Meg.s Endurance gloss or Hyper Shine (hyper shine only availible at a detailing store or online, Endurance gloss is at AutoZone, etc.) applied via Foam applicator or cloth. Don't forget to wipe dry to prevent spinoff.

Wheel Wells: I like to just use the crappy tire shine, as it gets dirty quickly. But another favorite of mine is Natural Shine. I've heard that silicone spray works well, too. Don't forget to scrub with Simple green and a soft bristled nylon brush first.

Leather: Do a search. Depending on your leather type, you could go along several paths. I've heard great things about Lexol, and have had good results with the Meg's 1 step leather care (on a customer's car--he provided the stuff)

Glass: I'd go for Stoner's Invisible glass and newspaper. Elbow grease is never good, and tends to cause scratching, swirling, etc. Stoner's IG is quite possibly the best glass cleaner around, and lives up to it's name.

Dash: I definately wouldn't go with the ArmorAll. I am a huge fan of Meg.s Natural Shine. I've heard good things, though, about Meg.s Quick Interior Detailer.

And finally, the wax: NXT is definately high on my list. At the top, in fact. If you really want some "pop", top it with some #26 or any good carnauba wax.


Though you didn't mention some of the following parts, here's the best process (If I type this right...):

I'd do the process like this:
-Wash (top to bottom on paint, then wheels, then tires)
-clay (if you haven't in the past 4-6 months)
-Paint cleaner (ie: step 1 of Meg's 3 step)
-Compounding as needed
-Polish (to hide swirls: #9. To use pure polish: #7)
-Then your NXT
-Then your carnauba.
-Somewhere in there, you should go ahead and apply tire shine and do the interior (definately before you polish).
-After all the above is complete, finish with a good wipedown with something like FK1 #425 or something similar (ie:Meg.s Final Detail--but if you have it, SELL IT!!!)

Whew. Long post. Sorry 'bout that. But I wish you luck in your venture.

 

I'd probably go with a straight 'wash' product rather than a 'wash and wax'. The reason being is that that product will leave behind a residue of sorts that will inhibit NXT's bonding ability. In short, while NXT isn't bad, it may fall to the wayside quicker...

Might want to insert CLAY here too...

Fine. I might suggest following NXT a day later with a nice Carnauba wax as a topper.

Also, this isn't the procession of steps is it? If so, wax needs to be last.

Fine. I might suggest adding in Simple Green and a nylon bristled brush here ON YOUR TIRES. At a minimum, the nylon bristled brush. Keep it separate from your wash water (maybe use the two bucket method - search). You don't want the 'grungy' parts of your vehicle to contaminate your wash water and then drag the 'grunge' all over your body panels. Make sense?

No SG on your wheels. Soap and water and a DEDICATED SPONGE! See aforementioned GRUNGE comment.

Whatever floats your boat. Follow, after the foam has settled, with a towel to 'even out' the appearance.

Simple Green & a nylon bristled brush.

While 'foaming' your tires, foam your wells too. This is a nice 'touch' to really make your vehicle stand out. Plus, wheel wells are a HUGE pet peeve of mine when it comes to detailing vehicles.

No.

Get some sort of leather conditioner. While AA has come a long way since the days of cracking foam dashes, it really isn't a very good product on leather.

There are oodles of good ones out there. Stick with a 'major' brand name like Mothers, Meguiar's, or similar. Cheapest isn't the best option here...

A nice glass cleaner like Stoner's Invisible Glass is readily available at your local Wal Mart. It's great stuff.

Utilize a lint-free towel (typically microfiber (lint free microfiber that is)).

Not my first choice... nor my second (or tenth for that matter) but, it can work. Pick up a package of Meguiar's Protectant Wipes. It's just a MUCH better product.

Also, I'm trying to keep my product suggestions simple and readily accessible locally (Wal-Mart or major auto parts (Auto Zone etc)). If you want 'higher end' products, I can suggest those as well -- if you have somewhere to snare them or if you'd like to buy them online.

1. Wash
2. Clay
3. Wash
4. Tires and Wells (protectant)
5. Polish (swirl removal etc)
6. Wax (NXT)
7. Wax (Carnauba wax (Maybe Meguiar's #3 step of the Deep Crystal system))
8. Glass (might do this one before step 7... your decision)


That help a bit?

-RP-

 

Now that's spooky. We were both typing responses... never saw eachother's response until we hit POST.... and they came out VERY similar.

 

RP, seems like you and I were typing responses at the same time...we had very similar responses... I guess it drives the point home

 

Even made similar responses to eachother without previously seeing the other...

Get out of my head man! LOL!

 

you two are just creepy.

 

I'm gonna have to go with the creepy thing. Thank you all for the replies.
The list is in no special order. In the past I always looked for the cheepest, but Like I said, I enjoy making the truck pretty so I figure I should start doing it at least halfway right. Thank you for listing local, easy to get products because I don't think i'm quite at the stage in my detailing life to search for the expensive, miracle products yet. Couple more questions though.

1. What kind of washing mechanism for the paint? (I use the "dreadful" brush)
2. How do I clay?
3. What kind of towel to dry with?

Thanks again!

 

Not trying to hijack this thread but I have a questiuon about NXT. Is it as good as the professional grade "polymer sealants", or is that what it really is to begin with. Thanks, BOB

 

Disregard the clay thing. I did it today. It worked great! I clayed the truck and then waxed with NXT. I don't have any Carnauba right now so maybe I'll do that in a couple days. I have a white truck so I don't know how glossy I can get it but the darn thing is nice and smooth.

 

Clay is essential to a full detail... glad you went that route. Now you can tell the HUGE difference that it makes in feel of the vehicle. Honestly, on some vehicles, I can optically tell which panels have or have not been clayed because they have so much bonded contamination!!

As for topping NXT with a carnauba... not a necessity and we're not really looking for 'gloss', we're trying to add more depth.

On white, you may or may not notice much difference... you DEFINITELY would on a dark color...

So, if you don't go with a carnauba, just go with another coat of NXT to make it a 'two topper'.

NXT is an average, consumer-based, synthetic. If you're wanting to go with something 'professional', odds are, you're going to get longer durability - maybe.

I've never done any head to head testing with NXT and say, #21 or #20.

 

I'd recommend a 100% cotton chenile mitt or a 100% lambswool mitt. I prefer the lambswool as it tends to hold more wash solution and thus, provides more lubrication across the paint. SW Arnold makes my FAVORITE mitt... I buy them by the dozen from waxstation.com.

Easy wasn't it?

Go with a nice waffle weave microfiber towel. One that is typically pretty readily available is called the Meguiar's Water Magnet. Pep Boys has them on the shelf. They're $8 or so each... I'd go with 3 or so. Avoid 'wiping' dry and stick to a 'blot' method if at all possible.

*hint* to minimize your drying time, at the end of your wash once you're ready for your drying cycle, take off the nozzle from the hose and allow a 'flow' of water to go over the paint. The water will yield a sheeting action that will dramatically decrease drying time/surface.

 

Thank you. Interesting thought about the sheeting action. I'll try that next time. Yeah, claying was extremely easy. Thanks for all the info. I'm sure you will see me again since I'm just now getting serious about doing a nice job. I'll do more searches first so I can make your lives easier.

 

Ya I had my Meg's clay kit in my closet for over a year and could never force myself to use it, even after all the posts and raves about it (I was also afraid I would harm the paint from inexperience). Then I just bought this used truck and in a desperate attempt to get it looking as good as the truck it was replacing, thought I'd give the clay a whirl. Even after a 3700PSI pressure washer and scrubbing, there where parts of the truck that was turning the white clay dark tan! And the smoothness of the paint was unlike anything I've ever felt from years of washing vehicles!

Since I was going to be applying a coat of ScratchX and NXT all by hand plus a bunch of other stuff like finishing my tint, I had to bid my time wisely. So I would scrub a section normally, then rinse, then re-apply some fresh Gold Class soap with my wash mit, clay, then wipe again with the mit and then rinse all in one step instead of wash entire vehicle - clay w/the spray detailer - re-wash/rinse. The wash/clay step only took as long as applying one coat of wax - it wasn't hard to do at all and the results was well worth the extra effort. Glad I finally tried it!