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

[Topless_Pony_00]

Marc,
I just picked up a 2007 STS over the weekend. The color of the car is called "Blue Chip" AKA Dark Ming Blue Metallic. The dealer I picked it up from preped it for delivery and it is covered in swirl marks. I would like to work at getting the paint back to a nice slick shine. I'm getting ready to pull an order together that would include a G110v2 DA and wanted to get a list of other ingredients. I was thinking of...
Dodo Juice Born to be Mild Shampoo
Poorboys SSR 1 & SSR 2 - to start off the refining process
Some sort of polish
Dodo Juice Blue Velvet wax

What do you think, do you have any other alternatives that you would suggest? I also drive a ton of highway miles and was also wondering if skipping the Carnubia Wax and finishing off the process with a sealer would be bennificial to me because of the extra durability?

STS.jpg

[Marc@AutoLavish]

Marc,
I just picked up a 2007 STS over the weekend. The color of the car is called "Blue Chip" AKA Dark Ming Blue Metallic. The dealer I picked it up from preped it for delivery and it is covered in swirl marks. I would like to work at getting the paint back to a nice slick shine. I'm getting ready to pull an order together that would include a G110v2 DA and wanted to get a list of other ingredients. I was thinking of...
Dodo Juice Born to be Mild Shampoo
Poorboys SSR 1 & SSR 2 - to start off the refining process
Some sort of polish
Dodo Juice Blue Velvet wax
What do you think, do you have any other alternatives that you would suggest? I also drive a ton of highway miles and was also wondering if skipping the Carnubia Wax and finishing off the process with a sealer would be bennificial to me because of the extra durability?

Great post and congrats on the new ride. Looks like shes in pretty good shape and that color is going to look absolutely stunning once polished out a bit.
Before you even consider buying the above, make sure you have everything you need for maintenance. Two buckets, Grit Guards, plenty of quality microfiber towels, good wash mitts, etc. A properly polished out car will last a single wash if not washed correctly. That being said...

G110v2 should be good and fine, but keep in mind the Griot's Professional DA comes with a lifetime warranty.
Born to be Mild and Supernatural Shampoo (both made by Dodo Juice) are the two best maintenance shampoos IMO. Very good stuff.
You can go with the Poorboy's polishes, but I'd certainly recommend going with Meguiar's 105 and 205 in place.
Blue Velvet is a great wax though I personally prefer Purple Haze. Purple Haze doesn't go on as thin, but is a little easier to spread / use I think and I prefer the "soft wax" feel in the Dodo line-up when available. Sure the soft waxes have less carnauba, but none of these are going to last you more than 2 months anyways in the Summer on a dark colored vehicle that's driven a lot.

Using a sealant is a good idea - greater slickness, better durability. Keep in mind they're not quite as good against acid based damage though (bugs / bird-bombs). All the popular sealants work fine: everything from Chemical Guy's JetSeal109, to Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant 3.0, to Menzerna PowerLock to Blackfire Wet Diamond. You can always have a wax over a sealant, but if you're going to order both, I'd recommend you use one for a few months, and then introducing the other to your routine so you can actually see how the car's paint is different in looks, feel, and durability / ease of cleaning.
Last product to add is a quality quick detailer / spray sealant. Look into picking up a bottle of Dodo Juice Red Mist Tropical edition. Use it after every maintenance wash to add additional slickness, gloss, and protection to your paint.

Make sure you have Orange, White, Black, and Blue Lake Country pads (or equivalents) btw.

Hope this helps. G/L and let me know if you have any other questions.

[Topless_Pony_00]

Great post and congrats on the new ride. Looks like shes in pretty good shape and that color is going to look absolutely stunning once polished out a bit.
Before you even consider buying the above, make sure you have everything you need for maintenance. Two buckets, Grit Guards, plenty of quality microfiber towels, good wash mitts, etc. A properly polished out car will last a single wash if not washed correctly. That being said...

G110v2 should be good and fine, but keep in mind the Griot's Professional DA comes with a lifetime warranty.
Born to be Mild and Supernatural Shampoo (both made by Dodo Juice) are the two best maintenance shampoos IMO. Very good stuff.
You can go with the Poorboy's polishes, but I'd certainly recommend going with Meguiar's 105 and 205 in place.
Blue Velvet is a great wax though I personally prefer Purple Haze. Purple Haze doesn't go on as thin, but is a little easier to spread / use I think and I prefer the "soft wax" feel in the Dodo line-up when available. Sure the soft waxes have less carnauba, but none of these are going to last you more than 2 months anyways in the Summer on a dark colored vehicle that's driven a lot.

Using a sealant is a good idea - greater slickness, better durability. Keep in mind they're not quite as good against acid based damage though (bugs / bird-bombs). All the popular sealants work fine: everything from Chemical Guy's JetSeal109, to Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant 3.0, to Menzerna PowerLock to Blackfire Wet Diamond. You can always have a wax over a sealant, but if you're going to order both, I'd recommend you use one for a few months, and then introducing the other to your routine so you can actually see how the car's paint is different in looks, feel, and durability / ease of cleaning.
Last product to add is a quality quick detailer / spray sealant. Look into picking up a bottle of Dodo Juice Red Mist Tropical edition. Use it after every maintenance wash to add additional slickness, gloss, and protection to your paint.

Make sure you have Orange, White, Black, and Blue Lake Country pads (or equivalents) btw.

Hope this helps. G/L and let me know if you have any other questions.

Awesome, thank you for the tips!! I am also thinking of going with the Poorboy's World Black Hole as an inbetween step between the polish and the wax to enhance the shine a bit as well.

[Marc@AutoLavish]

Right on - make sure to take some pics showing what all you did. I'm sure there are a number of guys here who would love to hear how things came out.

[LilJuicedCoupe]

Marc can you give me some tips......the lift gate on my expedition has what looks like rust specs or a large amount of brake dust...It comes off with a small 6" polisher i have....is there something you can recommend as far as a compound goes....and how do ya get wax off plastic LoL?

[Topless_Pony_00]

Marc can you give me some tips......the lift gate on my expedition has what looks like rust specs or a large amount of brake dust...It comes off with a small 6" polisher i have....is there something you can recommend as far as a compound goes....and how do ya get wax off plastic LoL?

Like Marc has mentioned before use this when washing your vehicle to get rid of the embedded iron. http://www.autogeek.net/carpro-iron-x-cleaner.html
As far as the wax, I think he had recommended Meguiar's All Purpose Cleaner Plus D103, but not sure

[Overboost]

I use some APC on a rag, wipe the trim with that, then wash the car after. Seems to work pretty well.

[Marc@AutoLavish]

Like Marc has mentioned before use this when washing your vehicle to get rid of the embedded iron. http://www.autogeek.net/carpro-iron-x-cleaner.html
As far as the wax, I think he had recommended Meguiar's All Purpose Cleaner Plus D103, but not sure

I use some APC on a rag, wipe the trim with that, then wash the car after. Seems to work pretty well.

Two guys that really know their stuff and I completely agree with what they've said.

Thanks fellas!

[Topless_Pony_00]

Right on - make sure to take some pics showing what all you did. I'm sure there are a number of guys here who would love to hear how things came out.

A couple of quick pictures to show the before and after. They are pretty crappy since I could not find my camera at the time....
From the Dealer, you can see the holograms even from this distance
STS.jpg
After the first wash
IMG_0463.jpg
Getting ready to start some correction
IMG_0469.jpg
a little dusty from the first step.
IMG_0470.jpg
No holograms or swirl marks here!
IMG_0471.jpg

Thanks for all the info and help AutoLavish!! The car came out great!

[Marc@AutoLavish]

Lookin' good!