Ask AutoLavish! Answers to your car care questions...

[Marc@AutoLavish]

Thanks again Marc for all of your help!

[Det_Riot]

You might have - it just depends on how much you spent!
First off the things I know:
The NXT is the first generation bottle: it's an over-the-counter sealant with slight abrasives in it, has a great look, is easy to use, but the durable isn't outstanding. Make sure to reapply every month or every other month just to make sure. I'm personally a fan of it - especially for being an over the counter product.
Invisi Glass is awesome stuff. Maybe prefer the one you have in the aerosol can as it foams slightly.

Stuff I can shed a little light on:
Poorboy's products as (or at least were) based of Chemical Guy's / Warner Chemical compositions. Made to be great products at a good price. The "polish" isn't an actual polish but rather it seems to be a liquid wax or a liquid wax/sealant hybrid. Might be better than the NXT, so make sure you give them both a shot.
The actual polishes: Poorboy's SSR's and the 3M: PB polishes have had some nice things said about them, but most people go with the most popular products instead. The 3M Rubbing Compound is likely VERY aggressive, so be careful with it depending on how your vehicle's finish is.

Orbital buffers aren't very popular as they're not designed for heavy use and doesn't have a lot of paint correction ability due to their mechanical movement. They're basically a cheap step-up from doings things by hand. Polishing pads aren't made for them, and instead they take bonnets. The condition of the bonnet will depend on how smoothly / well the machine operates and the results you can achieve. Personally, I'd say it's not worth using to wax/seal your car, and if you are interested in polishing your paint, your best bet is to invest in the proper tools like a decent Dual Action polisher (PC7424 XP / Griot's Professional DA / Meguiar's G110v2).

Overall you have some nice new things to try out and you should surely document your experience and thoughts to post back on Motown. A lot of member's will benefit from what you have to say without a doubt.

Oh yeah totally forgot about that! $50 for all of that. I'm excited to explore into the world of paint correction! Kinda intimidated to be honest but i'm sure i'll make it through haha Thanks for the advice/input. So on something like minor swirls what process of correction should I be taking? Wash/clay/ssr2.5/ssr1/exp polish then the nxt?

[Marc@AutoLavish]

Oh yeah totally forgot about that! $50 for all of that. I'm excited to explore into the world of paint correction! Kinda intimidated to be honest but i'm sure i'll make it through haha Thanks for the advice/input. So on something like minor swirls what process of correction should I be taking? Wash/clay/ssr2.5/ssr1/exp polish then the nxt?

Not too bad I'd say.
Correct on order. Last would either be the NXT as you mentioned, or the PB "polish."

[Det_Riot]

Not too bad I'd say.
Correct on order. Last would either be the NXT as you mentioned, or the PB "polish."

Awesome thanks a lot! I'll definitely be showing off some of my progress once it gets nicer!

[Marc@AutoLavish]

Awesome thanks a lot! I'll definitely be showing off some of my progress once it gets nicer!

Sounds good!

[VarsityCustomWerkz]

Product recommendations go off a lot of thing and for obvious reasons I don't normally go around recommending $200 wax
How often do you want to have to use the product, how durable does the product need to be, how hard is your water, is the car garage kept, do you like the pearlescent brightness or a liquidy look better, and what's your budget?
.

i would like to use the product once a month or every other month. its a daily driver so id prefer more durable than not, live in the city so water is pretty soft. car is not garage kept, id like a little of both brightness and the liquid look. id say mainly the pearlescent brightness. thanks Marc!

[ThreeHonks]

Im wondering what type of wax is ideal for a black car. The paint is already in very good condition (IMO). I have been using Meguiars Gold Class paste wax with decent results, but am looking to step up to better products. Any suggestion?

Thanks,
Ryan

[Overboost]

I tried the 1ZCP yesterday to wipe down the interior, and WOW! that stuff is the shit. Definitely a fan now.

[Marc@AutoLavish]

i would like to use the product once a month or every other month. its a daily driver so id prefer more durable than not, live in the city so water is pretty soft. car is not garage kept, id like a little of both brightness and the liquid look. id say mainly the pearlescent brightness. thanks Marc!

Hmmm... I see.
Well here's the thing: with not being garage kept, the protection will diminish much more quickly - even on a white vehicle. White doesn't absorb nearly as much heat as black (black paint can hit over 170 degrees in the summer even in Michigan), but the UV rays of the sun will certainly affect how a product performs.
Because you have beautiful pearl paint, to show it off as much as possible you'll want a product with a lot of clarity so it really "pops" in the sun. I'd recommend you stick with an easy to use, highly durable, and very slick sealant for now: something like Blackfire Wet Diamond, Menzerna Powerlock, Chemical Guys JetSeal109, or Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant 3.0. The durability of any of these should be at least a few months in your conditions, and the slickness will help to keep things from sticking to your car while making it a lot easier to wash. If you'd like to add on a coat of a high quality wax, I'd recommend you look into a product like Dodo Juice's White Diamond. White Diamond's formula is based off the early Supernatural formula and has outstanding clarity for a carnauba wax. You could get another quality but less expensive wax, but many carnauba waxes are known to dim down metallic flake / pearl in paint. White Diamond will give you a nearly identical look to Supernatural at a fraction of the price, and both will have similar durability (maybe around 2 months for your use).
I hope this helps!

Im wondering what type of wax is ideal for a black car. The paint is already in very good condition (IMO). I have been using Meguiars Gold Class paste wax with decent results, but am looking to step up to better products. Any suggestion?
Thanks,
Ryan

Ryan,
Meguiar's Gold Class has a big following for a reason: it's known to be a very nice wax, especially for the price. I think the only other Meguiar's wax that can compete with the following of Gold Class is Meguiar's #16 Mirror Glaze which isn't sold in the US any longer and seems to have a cult-like following.
To answer your question though; first take into account that the prep work is the most important aspect for ALL cars, but this is especially true for black. Black shows everything - so the easiest way to think of your paint is like a mirror. A mirror that is dirty and hazy will still reflect, but not nearly as precise as a super clean highly polished mirror. Swirls, scratches, marring, etc all take away from the clarity of your paint, and in no other color is this more obvious than on black. Get your "black mirror" looking perfect and it won't matter if you use waxes like Zymol Royale, Swissvax Divine, or Turtle Wax. It's all about the prep.
Will its easy to talk about polishing your car correctly to a near perfect finish... in reality that's a very time consuming process and requires a lot of specialized products and know-how. Here's a low budget short cut:
Glazes & All In Ones.
A glaze is a product typically used for show car prep that adds either oils or polymers to give a wetter look while temporarily filling in light swirl marks. While they usually only last for a period of 2-6 weeks, for that time you'll see a visual reduction in swirls which equates to a darker finish that gives your a more reflective look from the increased clarity.
All in One products (AIO) can be thought of as a "Jack of all trades, master of none." They have some light polishing agents in them which will help to resurface your finish very slowly. Those abrasives will round-off the edges of swirls and scratches as the product is worked into the paint. Rounded edges don't refract light in the same manner, so you'll notice that after a few uses, you're finish has actually improved resulting in a more reflective finish from the increased clarity. In addition to the polishing nature of AIOs, they also leave behind a little protection which will likely last you between one and two months.
I hope this gives you a better idea on how to get that much more out of your black car's paint. I could recommend some other actual wax products, but I think you'll likely see a bigger difference in a Glaze or AIO product over a luxury carnauba wax.

I tried the 1ZCP yesterday to wipe down the interior, and WOW! that stuff is the shit. Definitely a fan now.

What took you so long!!! :P
Told you that you'd love it. We're still on our 10L jug (only about 1/4 left!), and have had a lot of clients turned into believers.

[VarsityCustomWerkz]

Thanks for the help Marc! +1