Washed & Waxed

[ZoomThis]

Thanks Oleg! My Mini Cooper S looks fantastic!!

You have brought a new meaning of a premimum wash and a superb wax for a car. Even on the drive home I enjoyed the shine. I felt proud to show off my car even more.

Please post a couple pics and email me the rest.

Thanks again!!

 

[bazooka joe]

Thanks Oleg! My Mini Cooper S looks fantastic!!

You have brought a new meaning of a premimum wash and a superb wax for a car. Even on the drive home I enjoyed the shine. I felt proud to show off my car even more.

Please post a couple pics and email me the rest.

Thanks again!!

where's the pics?? ya, oleg is a mad russian detailer !! i helped him do my car earlier this summer, he's awesome!!

 

[Astral]

Hey Brian, no prob! You now have a car prepped for the winter I am going to post some pics now & I sent you the rest.

Edit: Too bad the sun was setting, it would've been nice to take full sun photos of the Zaino'd rims. They sure shined nice in the garage with the 1000W halogens!

So the process was:

* wash (with Zaino Z7 shampoo)
* clay a little glue residue off
* buff off some light dealer-installed scratches on the hood with Blackfire Scratch Resistant Clear Finishing Polish
* wipedown with Zaino Z6 beforehand
* wax paint with Meguiar's #21 wax (should last 4-6 months)
* wax wheels with Zaino Z2Pro x2 layers
* tires shined with Meg's Insane Shine, wiped on w/ a foam pad
* trim dressed with Poorboy's Trim Restorer

 

[ZoomThis]

I got the pics!! Looks great! Thank-you again!

 

[Astral]

OK, here are the photos. Click each pic for full size.







Brian wiping off a missed spot:




Now to check out some more reflections:

 

[vcinsanity1523]

wow looks great bro British racing green FTW(first)

 

[Earful]

Very nice....I dig the tips on products I got to do my car!

 

[Astral]

Very nice....I dig the tips on products I got to do my car!

that meguiar's #21 is a great wax. it's easy to apply (wipe on a thin layer, wait 20 minutes, wipe off), looks great and lasts 4-6 months!

 

[ZoomThis]

Oleg has made me a believer of Meguiar's! He gave me some good tips on taking care of my Mini for the winter too!

Thanks for the pics!

 

[terbow]

damn, my msp looks like crap compared to that shine. haha excellent job.

 

[Kansei]

Meguiars #21, eh? I think I actually have some of that in the garage. I was planning on doing my pre-winter wax tomorrow since it is supposed to reach 50. How is the #21 in cold weather (as far as applying and removing it?).

I was planning on using NXT Tech Wax since I was reading up on wax longevity and read that non-carnauba synth waxes in general lasted longer.

The cooper looks GREAT. Nice color, and love the black roof. I'm not a fan of the white roof ones.

 

[altspace]

Looking good. Almost as good as mine. (wink)

 

[ZoomThis]

Looking good. Almost as good as mine. (wink)

I know...I cannot make my Mini look like a sweet P5. But I will take second place

 

[Astral]

Meguiars #21, eh? I think I actually have some of that in the garage. I was planning on doing my pre-winter wax tomorrow since it is supposed to reach 50. How is the #21 in cold weather (as far as applying and removing it?).

Do you have the half-gallon jug of it? I bought half a gal for $40 back in the day, it's probalby enough to do 20-30 cars (I use too much of it usually, otherwise it should last me 40 cars/layers).

#21 is pretty decent in cold weather. We applied it in about 55 deg temperature and it came off just fine after 20 minutes. 50 degrees should be no problem, but as a precaution, you could give it a total of 30 minutes before removing it. I think though that if it were 38 degrees outside, I would give it one hour to dry (although I never tried it so, not speaking from experience here).

I was planning on using NXT Tech Wax since I was reading up on wax longevity and read that non-carnauba synth waxes in general lasted longer.

I don't like NXT because it doesn't last that long and it's a pain in the ass to apply. It's like the typical 'nubas, where you have to work it in and buff it off. I am too lazy for that.

Meg's #21 is very easy: you wipe on a pretty thin layer (as long as it's hazing, you're applying it) using light to medium pressure (basically enough pressure to get it on the paint), wait 20 minutes, then wipe off (effortlessly).

So I recommend going with Meg's #21 for ease of use and durability. NXT looks better initially, but then it wears off, while Meg's #21 keeps looking great.

The cooper looks GREAT. Nice color, and love the black roof. I'm not a fan of the white roof ones.

I agree, black roof FTW!

 

[Astral]

Oleg has made me a believer of Meguiar's! He gave me some good tips on taking care of my Mini for the winter too!

Thanks for the pics!

This is what I use to wash my car in the winter: Quick & Easy Car Wash (QEW).
This is how to use it (2-4 gals of warm water w/ QEW is all it takes).
This is my car with a QEW wash in progress (33 degs ambient temp that day), and then done (note not much water splattered, so the driveway is not a skating rink).

 

[Kansei]

yeah I love QEW, it's great stuff. I need to buy a couple more bottles for the upcoming winter.

 

[terbow]

so how do u recomend getting a car to the stage where u can just wax and wash it. i have swirls and other assorted crap that im not proud of.

 

[Astral]

so how do u recomend getting a car to the stage where u can just wax and wash it. i have swirls and other assorted crap that im not proud of.

You should machine polish to get rid of swirls. Use a Porter Cable random orbital polisher w/ pads and compound. See this page for good vids & examples. (Removing swirls by hand requires lots and lots of elbow grease. Lots.)

However, whether you polish or not, be sure to clay the car. I like to use the Clay Magic claybar from AutoZone. Claying is easy.

Claying the car, esp. if you've never done it, makes a huge difference. It removes all the surface contaminants and makes the paint really smooth. That's all the crap that you won't be sealing in with wax.

I used up 1 whole claybar (and probably should've used half of another) claying my roommate's STI that hasn't seen clay for 2 years. The bottom of the doors and the back of the car (esp the trunk!) were coming off BLACK! The claybar got dirty wicked quick. But it was much nicer after we were done with it. We then waxed over a nice clean surface (albeit swirly).

So basically:

1. wash (use good soap, like Meguiar's Gold Class)
2. clay (may take up to 2 hrs to do the whole car)
3. wax (w/ durable synthetic sealant)

and that's a good procedure for winter prep. (If you're polishing, do that after claying the car.)

 

[terbow]

thanks. im gonna get on that once my other mods are done. i have an awesome habit of putting a greasy hand on my fender.

 

[bazooka joe]

thanks. im gonna get on that once my other mods are done. i have an awesome habit of putting a greasy hand on my fender.

haha!

oleg says:Claying the car, esp. if you've never done it, makes a huge difference. It removes all the surface contaminants and makes the paint really smooth. That's all the crap that you won't be sealing in with wax.
car looks great brian!
amen to that! i had never clayed my car in 5 yrs, we did it this spring and wow, it took off all the grime and grit embedded in the paint
(find the caddy)