Question about SS white paint...

[furball]

Hello all!

This question mainly goes to Mike Phillips, but everyone's welcome to comment.

Anyways, here goes. I opened a thread about clay a while ago, and there Murr1525 explained the 5 steps in cleaning and waxing.

So I clayed and clayed, and also checked and found out that it's a single stage white paint. Now (I think) it's quite clean, but I was a bit puzzled in doing the next step. Should I go with DC#1, or just go straight to the Cleaner Wax? After reading Mike's article 'A lesson on white paint', I wonder if the Cleaner Wax is enough? And if so, should I just stop at the Cleaner Wax, or should I coat it with another type of wax? (for the time being, I just leave it covered)

Help, and thanks beforehand!

[Mike Phillips]

Hi furball,

Below I will include how to check for a clear coat, as to whether to just us a cleaner/wax or to do a multi-step system, that's kind of up to you how important your car is to you and how you want it to look.

A Lesson From White Paint

If this car is your toy, your hobby and your passion, then normally you get your best results by doing a multiple step process to the paint, that is, wash, clay, clean, polish and then wax.

If this is more of your daily driver, grocery getter, etc. then being that it's a white car, single stage or clear coat, you won't see too much of a difference between a multiple step approach and a thorough application of a quality cleaner/wax. This is because the nature of white paint is that it is not as reflective as darker colors.

With white paint and other light colors, (silver for example), you can create a lot of gloss and shine, but not deep, dark refections like you can create in darker colors.

Therefor in order to justify the extra time, energy and effort to follow the multiple step approach to a light colored car, it really has to come down to you.

Certainly a multiple step approach will result in higher gloss and shine after you're all finished, so it's it's up to you and how you feel towards your car.

You could also do the multiple step approach only skip the polishing step, this would make the system look like this,

Wash, Clay, Clean, & Wax.

Us a paint cleaner like ScratchX and then go straight to wax. If you have a lot of swirls and scratches this might be the best way to go. If you're finish is in pretty decent shape then a well worked-in application of a product like ColorX will give you about the same end results.

What kind of products do you have, and what is available in your Jakarta, Indonesia?

[Mike Phillips]

From Meguiar's *NEW* FAQ

Here's the link, below is the answer,

How can I tell if I have a clear coat finish?


To determine whether you have a clear coat or a single-stage finish perform this simple test.

• * Find an inconspicuous area to test, such as the lower rear quarter panel of your car's fender or inside the door jamb.
  
  * Clean this area first with car wash and water or Meguiar's Quik Detailer. You don't want any dirt or grime to interfere with your test.
  
  * Using a small piece of white cotton, such as a piece of terry cloth towel, rub a little paint cleaner or Cleaner/Wax into the paint of this inconspicuous area.
  
  * After rubbing for a few moments, turn your cloth toward you and look to see if there is any color from your paint on the cloth.

If you have a red car and you now have red paint residue on your cloth, this is a pretty good indicator that you have a single stage finish. If you have a red car and you don't see any red paint residue on your cloth, this is a pretty good indicator that you have a clear coat.

To be 100% sure, you should test in a couple of different areas.

Note: If you have a white, or very light colored car you should use a dark piece of cotton cloth and look for the color of your car's finish on it after rubbing some paint cleaner or Cleaner/Wax into the finish for a few moments.

[furball]

Hi Mike!

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, the car's a daily driver, and was quite neglected for some time. I kinda feel guilty about letting it go to its present stage, and wanted to give it a good clean and shine.

Now the car's in a sort of resting period while I slooowly clean it up (weekly wash, interior vacuuming). Planning to revamp the interior, change the seat covers - you know, make her pretty and all.
Oh, I'll need to get ScratchX too - there are light scratches almost everywhere!

Right now, I got the Quick Clay Detailing System, a bottle of Quick Detailer (keep it in the car, just in case some bird decides to use my car as target practice) and DC#1. The rest is still a mishmash of products - Kit car shampoo, wax, some TW wheel cleaner and a bunch of other stuffs.

Most of the Meguiar's products are available here (in Ace Hardware stores), and some auto shops. But applicators, brushes, washing mitts and other accessories are mostly TW. Actually, there's a detailer store close to my home with a big Meguiar's sign, but I think it closes at 5 pm, because by the time I get back from work, it's always closed. Probably will go there this weekend.

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by furball
Most of the Meguiar's products are available here (in Ace Hardware stores), and some auto shops. But applicators, brushes, washing mitts and other accessories are mostly TW.

Actually, there's a detailer store close to my home with a big Meguiar's sign, but I think it closes at 5 pm, because by the time I get back from work, it's always closed. Probably will go there this weekend.

At least you have access to them!

[furball]

Originally posted by Mike Phillips
At least you have access to them!

Thanks Mike! I'll see how far I can take the car, and hopefully all goes well!

[Jeff Smith]

I'll echo Mike's thoughts on the white Paint. I takes "ALOT" of effort to really get alot out of it.

I took off last week and really hit my new white Honda Ridgeline very hard. To extreme levels. I did this to see what I could do with it as well as to gain familiarity with alot the products.

This is what I did.
Day 1:
Washed using NXT

Day 2:
Quick Detailed
Clayed
Quick Detailed again

Day 3:
Quick Detailed
#80 using 8006 pad & the PC
Quick Detailed again

Day 4:
Quick Detailed
#09 using 8006 pad & the PC
Quick Detailed again

Day 5:
Quick Detailed
#82 using 8006 pad & the PC
Quick Detailed again

Day 6:
Quick Detailed
DC #2 using 8006 pad & the PC
Quick Detailed again

Day 7:
Quick Detailed
#03 using 9006 pad & the PC
Quick Detailed again

Day 8:
Quick Detailed
#05 using 9006 pad & the PC
Quick Detailed again

Day 9:
Quick Detailed
#07 using 9006 pad & the PC
#20 using 9006 pad & the PC

Day 10:
Quick Detailed
#07 using 9006 pad & the PC
#20 using 9006 pad & the PC

Next I plan on topping the #20 with #21 then just getting down to routine proper maintenance.

All in all, even though alot of the work would be considered overkill by most. This effort was primary for my own benefit to gain familiarity with a broad scope of products.

Having said that, I will say this. My ride is simply georgeous now. Almost flawless. and I think I was even able to pull a tad more depth out of the white. BUT, this was a whole lot of work that produced very little gain. Does it look better to me. YES. Can the next person look at it and tell a difference? YES. But I think the average (non car crazy) person would likely just think I threw a coat of wax on it. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that. I will say that in my eyes the thing looks good. But, I will NEVER go through all that again. The difference in appearance is so slight that it really was not worth all the effort for the sake of appearance. But, like I said. I did it for the experince most of all and I can say I learned some valuable lessons and gain alot of experience with products that I can draw from later.

If you are going to undertake the task of trying to get alot more pop out of white. I would recommend setting your sights more on making it a learning process as opposed to having the goal of more POP. If you get carried away looking to do alot of work to white to make it gleam, be prepared to do alot of work for little gain. You will see gain don't set your expectations to high.

[furball]

j333_76484,

that learning process thing you mentioned really hits home. I'm not doing myself any favors if all I'm planning to achieve is a quick fix. Seing your work steps made me realize this. I'm gonna learn as I go, since Mike once said, "If a job is worth doing, it's worth doing right the first time"

So, right now I just plan to get the paint as clean as possible. Got started with DC#1, but not happy with some parts yet, as there seems to be hard water spots in some areas. Might give ColorX a go. If that doesn't work, I'll try ScratchX next.

By the way, if I go with the DC#2, will the Cleaner/Wax suffice as the top coat, or should I go with something like NXT Tech wax? How does the two compare in terms of protection?

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by j333_76484
I'll echo Mike's thoughts on the white Paint. I takes "ALOT" of effort to really get alot out of it.

I took off last week and really hit my new white Honda Ridgeline very hard. To extreme levels. I did this to see what I could do with it as well as to gain familiarity with alot the products.

This is what I did.
Day 1:
Washed using NXT

Day 2:
Quick Detailed
Clayed
Quick Detailed again

Day 3:
Quick Detailed
#80 using 8006 pad & the PC
Quick Detailed again

Day 4:
Quick Detailed
#09 using 8006 pad & the PC
Quick Detailed again

Day 5:
Quick Detailed
#82 using 8006 pad & the PC
Quick Detailed again

Day 6:
Quick Detailed
DC #2 using 8006 pad & the PC
Quick Detailed again

Day 7:
Quick Detailed
#03 using 9006 pad & the PC
Quick Detailed again

Day 8:
Quick Detailed
#05 using 9006 pad & the PC
Quick Detailed again

Day 9:
Quick Detailed
#07 using 9006 pad & the PC
#20 using 9006 pad & the PC

Day 10:
Quick Detailed
#07 using 9006 pad & the PC
#20 using 9006 pad & the PC

Next I plan on topping the #20 with #21 then just getting down to routine proper maintenance.

I would say you qualify as a serious enthusiasts!

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by furball
By the way, if I go with the DC#2, will the Cleaner/Wax suffice as the top coat, or should I go with something like NXT Tech wax? How does the two compare in terms of protection?

NXT Tech Wax would be the best choice but A12 Cleaner/Wax also offers great protection. Remember, A12 Cleaner/Wax has been around for 32 years now, that's a testimony to the formula as well as the chemists at Meguiar's.

[Jeff Smith]

Originally posted by furball
j333_76484,

that learning process thing you mentioned really hits home. I'm not doing myself any favors if all I'm planning to achieve is a quick fix. Seing your work steps made me realize this. I'm gonna learn as I go, since Mike once said, "If a job is worth doing, it's worth doing right the first time"

So, right now I just plan to get the paint as clean as possible. Got started with DC#1, but not happy with some parts yet, as there seems to be hard water spots in some areas. Might give ColorX a go. If that doesn't work, I'll try ScratchX next.

By the way, if I go with the DC#2, will the Cleaner/Wax suffice as the top coat, or should I go with something like NXT Tech wax? How does the two compare in terms of protection?

There you go. Keep in mind I am a nut with time on my hands. I would not recommend to anybody to take it to the extreme that I did. I wanted to "play". To be honest the only time I noticed any significant difference going from product to product was when I switched from Polish to Glaze. But when going from one polish to the next, if there was any difference, my eyes could not pick it up.

As far as your process. My recommendation would be to go ahead and hit it with the DC #1 then DC#2. I am unsure when exactly it was that you clayed but if it was more than a few weeks I would make sure I had a good look at it to make sure the calying does not need doing again. It does not take long for contaminates to adhere to your finish.

So I would clay>DC #1>DC#2 then NXT x2. My logic is this, Use what you have. Yes you might get a tad better results by using some of the other stuff but starting off by using the DC system is a great way to start off getting familiar with what cleaning and polishing can do for you. Use those, winter is upon us. Chances are come spring, you will likely wish to do it all over again. And that is fine and I think recommended. Use the winter to gain some knowledge by poking around in these forums and asking questions. Come spring you will have a much better understanding of which product(s) you might wish to try without overdoing it.

For your wax thoughts, I would go with NXT. NXT is great and you are already mentioning water spots. I find NXT helps minimize this. I keep on top of my vehicle very well so I have not used any cleaner wax as yet. I do have some and I plan on using that this winter. I figure this winter I will not be able to keep on top of my routine and there might be longer periods of time between wax coats. Once that happens I will likely switch to a cleaner wax until spring.

Proceeding with the Color-X and/or Scratch-X might be wise as long as you have the time to do it now.

[furball]

Originally posted by j333_76484
...As far as your process. My recommendation would be to go ahead and hit it with the DC #1 then DC#2. I am unsure when exactly it was that you clayed but if it was more than a few weeks I would make sure I had a good look at it to make sure the calying does not need doing again. It does not take long for contaminates to adhere to your finish.

Yup, will definitely check it again... having no garage does have its hassles...

Use those, winter is upon us. Chances are come spring, you will likely wish to do it all over again.

Ah, forgot to tell you. Where I live, there are only two seasons, dry and rainy. So either it's too hot to wax, or too wet to wax

For your wax thoughts, I would go with NXT. NXT is great and you are already mentioning water spots.

Yes, definitely will go and get a bottle this weekend.
Thanks, j333_76484! Thanks Mike! You guys & MOL are the BEST!

[furball]

Oh yeah, I forgot to ask 1 more thing...
Would using the A12 Cleaner/Wax, then the NXT to top it off be better? (the A12 Cleaner/Wax giving the paint an extra cleaning action before putting the NXT) or would that be counterproductive?

[Jeff Smith]

Originally posted by furball
Oh yeah, I forgot to ask 1 more thing...
Would using the A12 Cleaner/Wax, then the NXT to top it off be better? (the A12 Cleaner/Wax giving the paint an extra cleaning action before putting the NXT) or would that be counterproductive?

I am no expert on this but my feel on it from what I have read is this:

Most people seem to apply NXT over a clean/polished finish. I think Meg's even recommends this. NXT itself has a small amount of cleaners in it. Just enough to insure the stuff has a good clean surface to work on.

Personally, if it were me and I was going to use DC #1 & #2, I would not put a cleaner wax on it and then NXT.

But, like I said I am no expert. Hopefully some of the others with more experience will chime in on this one, But I would say after using the DC system your paint will be as clean as you are going to get it. If the cleaners in the cleaner wax do anything, you won't be able to tell the difference.