Acura-CL at Meguiar's!

[Mike Phillips]

Meguiar's was proud to host our Detailing 101 Class for the members of the Acura-CL Club!

After the classroom portion we did a Walk-by and walked by each of the cars and discussed the condition of the car and the owners maintenance plan. After looking over the available cars we chose a black Acura



and a Rolls Royce.

[Mike Phillips]

The first thing we did was wipe each car down with some Quik Detailer to remove any loose dust and light contaminants.




Then we clayed each of the cars.

[Mike Phillips]

Claying the Rolls Royce

[Mike Phillips]

Here's the kind of contaminants that build-up over time and bond to your car's finish. Often times you cannot see these contaminants, but after washing your car, you can feel them by running the clean palm of your hand over the horizontal surfaces.



Clay, like the clay used in Meguiar's Quik Clay System safely removes these bonded contaminants to restore a clean, and smooth-as-glass feel to the paint. This helps you to create gloss.

[tn350z]

Just want to thank Mike for a great day of instruction in products and techniques. I have never experienced the high level of support and consumer involvement as Meguiars does. I found my technique using the PC was not correct since getting it about a month ago. Also thanks to Scott for answering my incessent questions with great patience. Great pizza!! I hope to bring this new knowledge to my kids in their car maintainance to show how really easy it can be with routine work on the finish. I look foward to being able to create and maintain a superior finish on my vehicles with Mequiars. I cannot forget to thank Barry for his generosity in in supplying the location and products for this training. Hope everyone has a great holiday season.

[RCBuddha]

Thanks for the great time!

Mike,

Both my Father and I want to thank you for the informative and fun time we had on saturday. We had a blast, and I think he really got a kick out of seeing HOW to remove defects and then TRYING it for himself. He especially had a blast using the PC (his first time). I had been telling him what a difference claying makes, and after seeing and trying it himself, he was very impressed on how smooth the surface got (on the acura). He was also impressed at the speed and thinness of you applying the NXT Wax to the black Acura in the bay.

My dad has had a pretty set routine that he does for his car care, but after seeing how much of a difference the PC can make, he had me order one for him!!

I also wanted to say how informative it was to see and use 80 and 83. I was a bit leary of using either one, but after getting the chance to try it for myself, I can't wait to get my bottles to try on the 4Runner!

Great fun, and a good day for the both of us! Thanks Mike and Meguiar's!!!!


Oh, special thanks to Scott (webmaster of the CL forum), who answered some of my questions while Mike was busy with others @ the class.....

Guys, if you get the chance to go to one of these classes, you will NOT be disappointed!!!!

With regards,
Craig

[RCBuddha]

Originally posted by Mike Phillips

There we are!

[vwong]

Thanks Mike for the great class. I learned about some other professional line of products that I have never tried. The technique is great. It's just amazing to see the scratches on the silver CL disappeared after Mike worked on it. Great stuff. Thanks very much.

And thanks Scott for setting it up and posting it over at the TSX board.

[SpoiledMan]

Originally posted by vwong
Thanks Mike for the great class. I learned about some other professional line of products that I have never tried. The technique is great. It's just amazing to see the scratches on the silver CL disappeared after Mike worked on it. Great stuff. Thanks very much.

And thanks Scott for setting it up and posting it over at the TSX board.

I told you he was a killer teacher!

[oldschoolvdub]

Hey Mike, the class was great! Sorry that me and Gerry had to leave early. We live about 3 hous away and had to participate in a christmas parade at 5:30. But I would love to attend another class. We learned a ton. Thanks...
Aaron

[Mike Phillips]

While this was dedicated for the Acura-CL, we had a number of other vehicles show up and one of them was this Rolls Royce with a single stage finish. Because the finish was moderately oxidized and dull, we chose it to demonstrate how to restore clarity and gloss by hand and saved the black Acura-CL for a demonstration on how to remove swirls and scratches from a clear coat using the G-100 Dual Action Polisher.

After claying the Rolls Royce, we taped off a section of the hood to show the results before and after from applying a Meguiar's Paint Cleaner.

Meguiar's has been teaching for over 100 years, the philosophy of,

"Always use the least aggressive product to get the job done"

Following this philosophy, we chose to see what we could do using Meguiar's least aggressive paint cleaner, the Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner



Here we're applying the Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner using a clean, soft foam applicator pad.



After working the paint cleaner against and into the finish thoroughly, we then removed it using a clean microfiber polishing cloth. It's important to note that paint cleaners and polishes don't have to dry before you remove them. Simply apply then and them remove them, allowing them to dry adds nothing beneficial to the finish or the process and can sometimes make removal more difficult.



Here you can see some of the dead, oxidized and dirty paint that the Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner loosened and safely removed.

[Mike Phillips]

After testing the Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner to see how effective it would be and then inspecting the results, we decided to then try some ScratchX to see if a little more cleaning power would result in a better looking finish.



The paint on this Rolls Royce was very soft and very easy to work back to a clear high gloss with the ScratchX.



Later, after the demonstration we will go over the entire hood using the ScratchX instead of the Deep Crystal Paint cleaner as it's unique, diminishing abrasives were faster and more effective at removing the oxidation and restoring the finish.

Like the Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner, ScratchX does not need to dry before removing.

[Mike Phillips]

After properly cleaning the test area with ScratchX, we then applied a pure polish to restore depth of shine and brilliant gloss. For this we used the Deep Crystal Polish.



One of the basics techniques we teach at our clinics is how to use your hands to get "Wow" results. To do this, it's important to stress correct application technique to achieve the best results.

"A little technique goes a long ways"

When working with your hands to apply paint cleaners, polishes and waxes, you hold your wax applicator in one hand, sandwiching it between your thumb and your four fingers. This enables your four fingers to push down against the applicator pad, primarily in one concentrated area, usually around the outside area of the pad. For this reason, it helps to place your product on your pad where your fingers will be applying the most pressure for both spreading the product out and for working the product against the finish.

Like this,





After applying some product to the pad, you can then spread it out over the surface area to be worked, and then work it in.



Typically, the paint cleaning process is the most important as this is where you remove the above surface and below surface defects. After the paint cleaning step, it's time to apply the polish. If you did a good job of cleaning the paint, the polishing and waxing steps will be easier and go faster as with these steps you only need to do a good job of thoroughly applying the product to the finish and working it into the microscopic pores and surface imperfections.


For polishes and waxes, a good general rule is to work the product over each square inch of the finish with 2-3 well focused passes. Then you can move on to a new section.

[Mike Phillips]

Next, we applied a thin coating of the NXT Generation Tech Wax and working it in well like the polish, we allowed it to dry to a haze.






Most Meguiar's waxes will dry and be ready to remove in approximately 10 to 15 minutes in average temperatures and humidity. You can learn more about this here,

What temperature ranges are best for applying cleaners, polishes, and waxes?

The best and most accurate way to determine if a Meguiar's wax is ready to remove is to use a test Meguiar's teaches and recommends,

The Swipe Test

[Mike Phillips]

While the NXT is drying on the Rolls Royce, we turned our attention to the black Acura-CL. The finish was filled with swirls, scratches and all types of etchings. We decided to use a Meguiar's cleaner/polish with the G-100 to try and remove these below surface defects and restore clarity, gloss and shine to the clear coat



As we began, it was time to discuss the difference between a Meguiar's cleaner/polish and a Meguiar's pure polish.

Pictured below are two cleaner/polishes from Meguiar's Professional Line, #80 Speed Glaze and #83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish and one pure polish, Deep Crystal Polish from Meguiar's Consumer line.




Here I refer back to the Rolls Royce which we first pre-cleaned with the ScratchX and then applied a pure polish by hand, whereas for the Acura were going to need the extra cleaning power of the dual action polisher and a cleaner/polish that uses diminishing abrasives to gently clean the surface and remove the defects.



Here some of the information we discussed in the class about the differences between cleaner/polishes and pure polishes from Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle found in Meguiar's *NEW* FAQ


Step-3 Polishing



Meguiar's offers two types of polishes, Cleaner Polishes and Pure Polishes. Cleaner Polishes are for removing very light or fine defects while restoring a crystal clear, smooth high gloss surface. Pure polishes are for finishes already in excellent condition and are for the purpose or creating brilliant high gloss with deep dark reflections.

If you look in Webster's Dictionary under the word polish, one of the definitions they include reads like this:

"A preparation that is used to produce gloss, and often color for the protection and decoration of a surface."

This definition best describes Meguiar's Pure Polishes. Meguiar's pure polishes are designed to create brilliant high gloss while preparing the surface for the application of a protective coating. Meguiar's pure polishes accomplish this without the use of abrasives.


Another definition found in Webster's Dictionary for polish is,

"To make smooth and glossy by friction."

This definition best describes Meguiar's Cleaner/Polishes. Meguiar's cleaner polishes are formulated to very gently abrade the surface with Meguiar's Diminishing Abrasive TM and Buffered Abrasive TM technology to remove the finest defects and create a perfectly smooth, high gloss finish.

Depending on what type of paint you're working on, traditional paints like lacquers and enamels, or catalyzed clear coats, Meguiar's has the products specifically designed to work on both types of paints, not to mention many other surfaces such as plastics and polyester resins (Fiberglas Gel-coats).


Meguiar's Trade Secret Polishing Oils
The trade secret oils Meguiar's uses in both types of polishes are unique to the industry and to this day have never been surpassed for creating deep, dark reflections and brilliant high gloss by any of our competitors in over 100 years.

The oils Meguiar's uses are also important in maintaining the original condition of the paint by filling in the naturally occurring microscopic pores and surface imperfections thus preventing detrimental substances and elements as simple as water, or worse, acid-rain, from entering into these pores and microscopic surface imperfections thus causing oxidation and chemical etching. These oils act to replace the original resins as they wear away through natural processes.

When paint is new, it is the most impermeable it will ever be, this means it is a very smooth non-porous, continuous film. With age, exposure to the environment and micro-scratching caused by day-in, day-out wear and tear, your paint develops micro-fissures in the surface along with other defects. These micro-fissures and other defects act to make the continuous film or coating of paint more porous. As this happens, your car's finish becomes more vulnerable to corrosive elements that will attack and degrade your finish.


Remember, waxes, synthetic or otherwise, are meant to be Sacrificial Barriers with the intended purpose sealing the surface, while blocking those things that would attack your paint, from coming into direct contact with the paint.

"Waxes protect your finish by sacrificing themselves so that your paint doesn't have to"

An analogy is your skin. In the same way you can clean, polish and protect your skin, you can clean, polish and protect your car's finish. Soap can be used to clean your skin and remove dirt from the pores. Skin lotions can be used to moisturize your skin, conditioning it and making it more clear and beautiful. Protection products like lotions used to protect hands from exposure to chemicals and UV protectants can be applied to help protect your skin from the things that would attack your skin if these harmful things could come into direct contact with your skin.

While human skin and automotive paint are very different, the analogy is very similar. With Meguiar's, you can:

* Wash your car's finish to remove unwanted and accumulated dirt contaminants
* Clean your paint with our special paint cleaners and cleaner/polishes
* Polish your paint with our pure polishes to create unequaled beauty
* Protect your paint with our advanced paint protection products
* Maintain your car's finish using our fast and easy to use maintenance products.


The unique thing about Meguiar's highly specialized trade secret oils is their ability to restore and maintain the Optical Clarity of both single stage and clear coat paints in a way that waxes alone cannot match, (both natural and synthetic), the results of which are demonstrated in side-by-side comparisons.