Recently purchased 5-6 Meguiar's Products - and I have some questions!

[Catholocate]

Hello! I am new to the detailing world. It is quite fun and what a great way to see effort turn into results.

So I purchased a 1994 Nissan Pathfinder recently. I wanted a large SUV that was super cheap. I have been carless for a while, start a new job on Monday and since it was farther than my old job (walking distance) I wanted to purchase a vehicle. When I bought the car - the tag said it was 'black.' I got it in the sun, and it appeared it was dark green...

... Well from that, I hope you can understand just how bad the paint was!

I will post some before and after shots. Basically... it looks dark green now! haha. It's taken a lot of work but I've loved every moment of it.

So the Meguiar's products I purchased are:

• Ultimate Wax
• Cleaner Wax
• Meguiar's Clay Bar Kit
• Ultimate Compound
• Ultimate Polish
• Scratch X 2.0
• A few Meguiar's Microfiber Cloths

The non-Meguiar's Products I purchased are:

• Turtlewax Ice All-In-One Interior Cleaner and Protector (it's trash... was recommended it by two friends, it's total trash... don't buy it, doesn't clean, makes a nice gloss though.)
• NuFinish (funny story on this, I used it on my Celica All-Trac and loved it, but when compared next to Cleaner Wax it is significantly duller, but it's lifetime is what is impressive... also, more on this below)
• O'Reilly's 10" Random Orbital Buffer (it goes up and down, and spins a bit)
• Microfiber, 'Polishing Pad', and Cotton Terry Applicator pads (all of these are for the orbital buffer)
• 17 Terry-Cotton towels

My current work order is (done by panel):

• 1st Step: Wash car, then Clay Bar
• 2nd Step: Apply Scratch X2.0 or Meguiar's Ultimate Compound with Cotton Terry Pad on Orbital Buffer (about 3-4 passes, 2 applications each, let sit, then remove with cotton terry towel).
• 3rd Step: Apply Ultimate Polish with 'Polish Orbital Pad' (I am unsure what this is made out of) using RO Buffer. 2-3 coats, let sit, then remove with cotton terry towel, then repeat again (2-3 coats, sit, remove with cotton terry towel).
• 4th Step: Apply Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid Wax with Microfiber Orbital Pad (4-6 passes with Orbital Buffer, let sit for 5 minutes, remove with Microfiber cloth) Then another 4-6 passes, let sit for 5 minutes, then remove with remove with Microfiber cloth.
  
• Other information: Anytime I mention applying, or taking off Meg's Cleaner Wax, NuFinish, or Ultimate Liquid Wax - I am applying and removing with a clean Microfiber Cloth or Orbital pad.

My questions are:

1. Are the towels I am using as listed in my above work order appropriate? Please let me know what I should change.
2. What exactly is Meguiar's Cleaner Wax? When I purchased it, I assumed it was a 'wax' that also did cleaning. A wax being: Carnauba Wax, Synthetic Wax - I assumed that Cleaner Wax was basically the last step in the detailing process - the "wax" step. I was told by someone that Cleaner Wax is similar to a clay-bar, and not actually what is known in the common world as 'wax.' Was this gentleman correct? I am still unsure as to what this "Cleaner Wax" is.
3. When I applied Cleaner Wax after my 3rd Step, and then did my 4th Step - it looked really bad. It looked scratchy and dull. I used a Microfiber Orbital Pad. I was really sad . Did I do something wrong?
4. After using NuFinish after my 3rd Step and before my 4th step - it looked really great. I was kind of frustrated because before applying the Meg's Ultimate Wax - The Cleaner Wax looked way better than the NuFinish (noticeably). But, after applying Ultimate Liquid Wax on both the Cleaner Wax and NuFinish, the NuFinish side looked significantly better. What did I do wrong?
5. In reference to Question 4 (above) - I think what looks best so far is Steps 1-3 , then NuFinish, then Meg's Ultimate Wax. I don't want it to be this way. The Cleaner Wax looks way, way better. But once I apply Meg's Ultimate Wax on top of the Cleaner Wax, it looks absolutely horrible. It's scratchy, dull, just looks plain bad.
6. What should I do with trim pieces? I have a mudguard on the rear two wheels, and I noticed I would 'hit' them occasionally when doing my 1st-4th steps. I decided to ULW it at the end, and it looked great. Was this a bad idea?
7. Are any of these products safe to use on other plastic / rubber parts around the car?
8. My bumper (front and rear) is a weird, matte black on metal. Can I use any of these products on it?
9. Can I use any of these products to clean and 'wax' the outside glass? These products would not be applied to the tint on the inside.
10. If you would change anything in my 1st to 4th Steps - using the products that I have - what would you change?
11. Additional cleaning questions I have (Vinyl, Rubber, Plastic, Upholstery): What is a really strong, OTC (Read: O'Reilly's, Autozone, Walmart, Fred Meyer, ETC) Cleaner for Upholstery, Vinyl, Plastic, and Rubber? The TurtleWax Ice stuff I bought was **** - I still have not purchased an upholstery cleaner. The car is 22 years old and has some very nasty stains on the vinyl and cloth. I will need something that is safe to use (read: I can't do any damage if I screw up) but also effective. For the cloth - I've read Mother's Upholstery Cleaner is good, but for the Vinyl, Plastic, and Rubber around the interior of the car I have yet to find a decent product.

I think that is it for now. Thank you so much for taking the time to read and answer my questions. This whole journey into auto detailing has been really enjoyable. I was absolutely stunned when I did some googling and stumbled upon these forums. The amount of community here is quite impressive.

Also, I am not looking for 'supreme, show car results.' It's okay if I don't go blind from looking at my car in the sun. I just want it to look nice. Tweaking my steps would be nice, really the thing I want fixed the most is - why is it when I apply Cleaner Wax and then ULW it looks so bad? haha.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post and answer my questions! By answering my questions you are truly making my day better. Thank you so much!

[The Guz]

Re: Recently purchased 5-6 Meguiar's Products - and I have some questions!

You really don't need scratchx. Ultimate compound can do what scratchx can and more. Check out this thread

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums...t-surprise-you!

You have a couple options

For a quick detail

Wash
Clay
Cleaner Wax

You would apply the cleaner wax more often as it's durability is not as long as ultimate wax. You can follow the cleaner wax with a coat of ultimate wax if you choose to. It may add a little more durability to the protection on the paint.

A cleaner wax will clean, polish and protect the paint. This is referred to as an all in one product. It will remove anything previously applied. So it will remove ultimate wax if you apply it over ultimate wax, a compound or a polish.

For a full detail

Wash
Clay
Ultimate Compound
Ultimate Polish
Ultimate Wax

If you have the Meguiar's supreme shine microfibers, those are great towels. Invest in more microfiber towels instead of the terry towels.

The machine you have is more of a wax spreader and won't correct that well. I would opt to get a dual action polisher with the proper pads.

Toss the nufinish and turtle wax products in the garbage or give them away. You have much better products.

I hope this answers some of your questions.

[Murr1525]

Re: Recently purchased 5-6 Meguiar's Products - and I have some questions!

[*]Are the towels I am using as listed in my above work order appropriate? Please let me know what I should change.

It would be nice to get away from the terrycloth, and be using foam or microfiber as much as possible. Otherwise may leave some more swirls... although if the paint is that bad, then you may need the extra cut of the terry, then fix the swirls after...

[*]What exactly is Meguiar's Cleaner Wax? When I purchased it, I assumed it was a 'wax' that also did cleaning. A wax being: Carnauba Wax, Synthetic Wax - I assumed that Cleaner Wax was basically the last step in the detailing process - the "wax" step. I was told by someone that Cleaner Wax is similar to a clay-bar, and not actually what is known in the common world as 'wax.' Was this gentleman correct? I am still unsure as to what this "Cleaner Wax" is.

The cleaner/wax is like you thought, that it has a mild cleaning ability, and then leaves wax behind also (if you let it dry first before removing.)

However, because it can clean some, you would also remove any polishing oils, etc that other products may have left on the paint. So not exactly a last step product, if you have been using others before it.

[*]When I applied Cleaner Wax after my 3rd Step, and then did my 4th Step - it looked really bad. It looked scratchy and dull. I used a Microfiber Orbital Pad. I was really sad . Did I do something wrong?

Its a little hard to say... you may actually be cleaning up the surface and revealing more issues. Maybe once the pics are up, we'll have a better idea.

[*]After using NuFinish after my 3rd Step and before my 4th step - it looked really great. I was kind of frustrated because before applying the Meg's Ultimate Wax - The Cleaner Wax looked way better than the NuFinish (noticeably). But, after applying Ultimate Liquid Wax on both the Cleaner Wax and NuFinish, the NuFinish side looked significantly better. What did I do wrong?

If you are saying the Ult. Wax looked a bit cloudy, you may have found out that the Ult. Wax is a little different to use than other waxes. You need real real thin coats, and sometimes a little mist of water to help remove. Using too much can turn into a mess...

[*] In reference to Question 4 (above) - I think what looks best so far is Steps 1-3 , then NuFinish, then Meg's Ultimate Wax. I don't want it to be this way. The Cleaner Wax looks way, way better. But once I apply Meg's Ultimate Wax on top of the Cleaner Wax, it looks absolutely horrible. It's scratchy, dull, just looks plain bad.

Might be the same kind of issue...

[*]What should I do with trim pieces? I have a mudguard on the rear two wheels, and I noticed I would 'hit' them occasionally when doing my 1st-4th steps. I decided to ULW it at the end, and it looked great. Was this a bad idea?

Its probably ok... but something that is a dedicated protectant like Ult. Black may be better...

[*]Are any of these products safe to use on other plastic / rubber parts around the car?

Sort of... The Ult. Compound can sometimes help if the surface is smooth and dried out a bit.

[*]My bumper (front and rear) is a weird, matte black on metal. Can I use any of these products on it?

Probably want the trim protectant kind of thing.
[*]Can I use any of these products to clean and 'wax' the outside glass? These products would not be applied to the tint on the inside.

You can certainly use the clay and Ult. Compound on glass... Some people like to wax, I like RainX... others use Aquapel... up to you.

[*]If you would change anything in my 1st to 4th Steps - using the products that I have - what would you change?

I think the machine and tools may be the biggest thing so far, or at least getting familiar with what you have. And more practice with the waxes...

And yeah, just return the ScratchX.

[*] Additional cleaning questions I have (Vinyl, Rubber, Plastic, Upholstery): What is a really strong, OTC (Read: O'Reilly's, Autozone, Walmart, Fred Meyer, ETC) Cleaner for Upholstery, Vinyl, Plastic, and Rubber? The TurtleWax Ice stuff I bought was **** - I still have not purchased an upholstery cleaner. The car is 22 years old and has some very nasty stains on the vinyl and cloth. I will need something that is safe to use (read: I can't do any damage if I screw up) but also effective. For the cloth - I've read Mother's Upholstery Cleaner is good, but for the Vinyl, Plastic, and Rubber around the interior of the car I have yet to find a decent product.

I mean... the best thing is to find a jug of APC..... and then a protectant like Supreme Shine to dress the plastic after.

[simiglen]

don't let it sit

A little add on my part but I didn't read your whole post. The one thing that caught my eye is that you are going to let the compound and polish sit then remove. DO NOT DO THIS. you need to remove the compound and polish right after you put it on. The material needs to be moist when removed. If you let It dry you will hate yourself. It is a real ***** to remove when it dries.

Good luck