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**Billorlando** · Mar 18, 2004, 11:07 AM

ok Lets see if I can be of service !

Now if I understand you correctly you say the paint looks good but there is oxidation on it? If that is what I believe you are saying then I would wash then clay the car to remove any harmfull contaminates after this I would polish the car with the over the counter polish from meguiars step 2 (polish). You see what you think is oxidation could be your clear losing the oils in the paint. All clear coats have some type of resin in them and as they dry the oils in the resin are removed / dehydrated etc. what you want to do is replace the oils and repair the damage .You could do this by hand or by polisher you decide (remember ) Polisher's do a better job . Then I would finish with a coat of wax. It sounds though you do not have alot of damage there..

**Mike Phillips** · Mar 18, 2004, 11:52 AM

Re: Paint Prep Help!

Originally posted by ironchef10
First time poster here...with a few questions. I posted on Autopia but the folks there gave no responses. Thanks guys. Anyway, I hope you can be of help.

There a lots of good folks over on Autopia, I’m sure it was just a matter of lots to do, busy all the time. (I know I am)

I have some "enthusiast" detailing experience. Used Meguiar's for years and as of late tried Zaino products on various cars (especially my black Acura CL since it was new and it always looked great). Now the Acura is gone in favor of a new midnight blue Honda Pilot for my wife. I "inherited" her 2001 silver RAV4 on a temporary basis (meaning, the road to my new Corvette runs through a Honda dealership ).

The RAV4 paint is in very good shape, however it hasn't been waxed regularly and while still shiny, I know there is probably a layer of slight oxidation there. I will clay the entire car, but I'd like to know what you recommend to prep the surface for Meguiar's after I clay. Just needs a light cleaning and Meguiar's paint cleaner may be a bit too rough. Something slightly milder?

Also...anything to keep in mind about the Honda's new paint? The Acura had lousy paint and it was a chore to keep it clean.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Like Tim, I would recommend the #9 Swirl Remover 2.0 This is a cleaner/polish that offers light cleaning ability. Follow that with two coats of the new Tech Wax and then inspect.

I know every car that has come through my clinics on Saturday with other products on them have left with Tech Wax on them and the owners have been impressed with the deeper, darker, more optically clear results.

Best of all, both of the above products can be applied by hand, or with the porter cable dual action polisher.

For a little extra cleaning power, you could also try the new ColorX and follow it with an application of Tech Wax. Excellent combination, especially for dark colors.

As for the new Honda, Tech Wax all the way.

Mike

**ironchef10** · Mar 18, 2004, 01:37 PM

Thank you gentlemen, for all your suggestions...I think I can put them all to good use. As I said, I used Zaino for a year or so, and it looked good, but I didn't find that it was head and shoulders above Meguiar's products. Also...something about elevating a brand of wax to near cult status is just a little to the left of weird to me, so I think I'm ready to rejoin the Meguiar's family exclusively once again.

I have the Porter-Cable buffer and when I detailed the car with Gold Class wax, the black was so deep you could fall into it. I'm looking for great things from the Tech Wax!

As a follow-up question, I found a can of some stuff that I used to use years ago. It's called Harley's wax (used to be very popular). It's 100% yellow carnauba paste. How would this compare to Meguiar's yellow carnauba and what could one expect from it, as opposed to the Tech Wax? Is there a different situation you'd use the yellow wax (e.g. a show car vs. a daily driver) or is it purely personal preference?

Thanks again for all your suggestions!

**Mike Phillips** · Mar 18, 2004, 05:12 PM

Originally posted by ironchef10
As a follow-up question, I found a can of some stuff that I used to use years ago. It's called Harley's wax (used to be very popular). It's 100% yellow carnauba paste. How would this compare to Meguiar's yellow carnauba and what could one expect from it, as opposed to the Tech Wax? Is there a different situation you'd use the yellow wax (e.g. a show car vs. a daily driver) or is it purely personal preference?

Thanks again for all your suggestions!

Meguiar's doesn't make a wax based on Carnauba only. Not even the Deep Crystal Step 3 Carnauba Wax is based solely upon Carnauba. If you look at all of the waxes that Meguiar’s offers that contain Carnauba, you will see they are all blended waxes, blending multiple ingredients together which provides multiple benefits versus only the benefits and features offered by a single ingredient such as Carnauba.

Most waxes will protect the surface and if applied to properly prepared surface will look pretty good.

I have heard of Harley's wax, but I don't have any in my collection. I have learned to never comment on product you haven’t tried first hand, so I cannot comment any further on this particular wax.

Is it old? Like over 20 years old?

Mike

**gb387** · Mar 18, 2004, 07:09 PM

Jumping in here.... This is what I have experienced with waxes. I have used Deep Crystal #3 Wax, #26 and NXT all are great waxes, give great results and are easy to use, but now that I have tried the NXT its my favorite by a long shot. It seems to last longer than deep crystal and #26 and I can get more depth from NXT. NXT looks incredible on black! I still keep #26 and deep crystal in the collection.

From what I understand that a polymer wax (NXT) is better on a daily driver since it will last longer and hold up to higher temps, as compared to a straight carnuba wax.

**ironchef10** · Mar 19, 2004, 04:50 AM

Originally posted by Mike Phillips
Is it old? Like over 20 years old?

Yes, Mike, it is an older brand. The last time I bought it was when I was still living in LA about 20 years ago and I hadn't seen it in stores in a long time. Now that I'm living in Texas I never see it. Then again, the new waxes on the market are so very good so I haven't exactly looked for it either. Speaking of things I don't see anymore, Meguiar's used to make a glaze/polish in their Gold Class line. Sort of an intermediate step before the wax. Has this product been discontinued or replaced by something else?

Let me rephrase my other question...I really wasn't looking for a review on Harley's per se, more an opinion as to where or under what circumstances you'd use a Carnauba (e.g. Meguiar's 26) over a polymer, and what if any differences in shine I could expect?

BTW...this forum is outstanding! Amazing depth of knowledge from everyone without the fanaticism so common on other boards. Well done!

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