ColorX On Neglected '97 Altima (Pics)

[SeannyBoy84]

How's it going? I picked up a bottle of ColorX @ Target today to use on my truck, but by the time I got home it was too late in the day to do a full detail, plus I found that I was missing some stuff that I needed. I decided I'd do it another time. I was still itching to use it so I went and washed the old '97 Nissan Altima. This thing has been really neglected. It stays out 24/7, washed maybe twice a month if it's lucky, and never waxed. Now I don't know if this is the case with all of the old Altimas, but I've noticed the paint becomes heavily oxidized and cloudy. I've seen other similar-model Altimas that have the same problem. Anyway, I quickly washed and dried the car with Gold Class and drove it into the garage. I know I should have clayed it in the shape that it was in, but I didn't have any. I placed a long piece of tape down the middle of the hood and worked in the blue liquid with a terry. You can instantly see all the imperfections disappear as you work it in. After 15 mins of drying I wiped it off with a clean terry (I was out of microfiber towels) and put on 2 coats of Cleaner Wax (Also out of NXT paste).


Notice how the reflection of the the light on the right is pinkish. EWW...



The results were awesome. I may take some pics during the day tomorrow with some sunlight. I can only imagine what it would look like if I took the time to wash, clay, ColorX, DC#2, and 2 coats of NXT. And keep in mind this was all done by hand. Another happy ColorX user...

PS - Bear with me if the pics aren't working. I'm having a hard time finding a dedicated hosting site that stays up and running.

PSS - Just found out that MeguiarsOnline has their own gallery and unlimited space. Excellent.

[KBzPTGT]

I'm new so please bare with me and my questions. Still learning.
Wouldn't you use DC2 BEFORE ColorX?
Isn't ColorX like a polish/wax all in one product?
School me please

[Ranger72]

Imageshack is a great hosting site for pictures, very reliable.imageshack

Wow, I have never bought/ used color X but what difference.
Color x, yes is an 'all in one' deal, however sicne it clean very well, polishing after for higher gloss then applying a dedicated topcoat will add depth and better protection.

[Murr1525]

ColorX is an all in one product, however it is also the 'middle' cleaner as far as agressiveness goes in the Consumer Line.

DC#1 - Mild, no abrasives
ColorX - Medium, some abrasives
ScratchX - Agressive, more abrasive.

(Diminishing abrasives of course)

And remeber that individual steps usualy give better results than an all-in-one product.

So what Sean did was take advantage of the cleaning ability of ColorX, then use separate polishing and waxing steps to take advantage of the better polishing and waxing results from separate products.

A popular combo is ColorX topped with Nxt Wax, with takes advantage of ColorX's cleaning and polishing abilities, but the looks and added protection from Nxt.

[SeannyBoy84]

KB: I consider ColorX more of a paint cleaner, therefore it would go on before DC#2. Sure it also has polishes and waxes mixed in, but the main thing is that it contains diminishing abrasives and chemical cleaners. Because of this, it's actually a stronger cleaner than DC#1. This allows the product to bring out the true color of your vehicle. Somewhat of a full detail would go like this:

1)Wash 2)Clay 3)Clean 4)Polish 5)Wax

Since ColorX is a type of all-in-one product, it can definately be substituted for steps 3, 4, and even 5 if need be. Most would wash, ColorX, and then top with their choice of wax. But more steps, of course, is always the best way to go. And it probably wouldn't be a good idea to use ColorX very often since you are removing a layer of paint everytime you apply. It's because of this, that after my first ColorX application on my truck, I will use DC#1 in it's place when doing a full detail. Otherwise it'll just be a wash, and a quick spray of NXT.

Ranger: Thanks for the heads up. I'll check it out.

*EDIT*
Murr: You beat me to it man. I started the reply and had to take care of something halfway through. When I eventually finished it, you had already said everything there was to say.

[Murr1525]

HAHA ....thats ok.. having posts that say the same thing is a good thing. Reading something once almost never sticks. Reading soemthing a couple times, even worded a couple different ways, is the best way to learn/teach and have it stick. Every little bit helps

[KBzPTGT]

ok, understood!
Thanks guys

And what you guys said about reading it more than once to understand is VERY true. I know the above info has been posted before but it wasn't until this thread that I understood!