And Polish!

You're right about the clear coat tho. Once all the oxidation is removed and the clear coat is back to it's original smoothness, you'll be hard pressed to get it looking any better.

In talking with a guy at an auto shop, he was saying that the clay bar isn't very good for vehicles with clear coat. He says that you can use it and it'll work just fine, but after repeated use it'll start to cloud up the clear coat where the clay bar has been used many times.

He also said if you do the polish/glaze/wax method on a fairly regular basis and do a couple wand washes in between, that nothing really sticks to the finish and you never really need the clay bar anyway.

I've never tried the clay bay myself and after hearing him talk about it's effects on clear coat, I think i'll stay away. Nothin a little elbow grease couldn't get out anyway!

 

In a comparison of Zaino, Zymol (cheap and insanely expensive) and Meguiar's Gold, these guys ended up liking Zaino better than the Zymol they'd been using.

http://www.nsxsc.com/nsexcitement/waxtest.html

Includes how they did the test (sections of a single hood), how they applied and how easy it was, how it looked & felt immediately, how it looked & felt after sitting outside for 30 days.

 

Thanks for the Word file Sandman. I'll be using it this weekend. I got a "prescription" for my baby from Maguiar's website. I'll put it and your file to work and let you all know!

Thanks!

 

man you guys can keep that 3 step stuff,, cause it is way to much work ,.. I usually just use the turtle wax polishing compound (1.99) and then some turtle wax hard wax (5.00) and then I end up with the car sparkling just how I want it ... I used to use the 3 step but I got quickly tired of puting on the cleaner then taking it off and repeating that step 3 frigin times, ... heck with that
Bruce

 

hmm... well you're already doing 2 out of the 3 steps... what's one more?

But I should note that although I'm talking about a 3 step cleaning process, I'm NOT talking about using magiuars 3 step product...

 

About 1/3 more work

Jay

 

How often are you putting that polishing compound on? IIRC, that stuff is pretty abrasive, and if you use it frequently, you'll probably be looking at sheet metal pretty soon!!

The Mother's/Meguiar's 3 step is great. First thing: You don't need to do the first step EVERY time you wax. Use the pre-wax cleaner 1-2 times a year.

However DO use the step 2 (glaze and sealer/polish) and step 3 (wax) EVERY time you want to wax (imagine that...using wax when you want to wax! LMAO!).

So...it's like this.
Step 1: wash and dry car
Step 2: apply pre-wax cleaner and buff
Step 3: apply glaze and seal/polish and buff
Step 4: apply carnauba wax and buff

Your car will look AMAZING after doing this. If you're really hard core, after step 1, use a clay bar. The clay bar is another thing that should only be used once or twice a year on the whole car, but if you find you need to remove a lot of crud from one area, use the clay to help whenever in that case.

 

I used to use the 3 step , your car come out really nice , but man that is to much damn work ... I used to also use the gold class, but got tired of how hard that was was to come off, and it also left a lot of white marks on the car, wich show up on a red car all to quick ... for me right now the turtle wax, is good enough ,, I also use the meguires quick detail to maintain the car inbetween washes and waxes
Bruce

 

onehawaiian is curious. the word doc points out clear coat. i've heard/been told my yellow p5 doesn't have a clear coat (will verify tomorrow). can i still safely polish and wax my car on a regular basis?

 

I can't remember who posted earlier, but somebody wrote to Mazda USA and asked specifically whether the vivid yellow on the P5 had a clearcoat or not. The answer was that YES, the yellow P5 does indeed have a clear coat.

One real easy way to find out is to use a pre-wax cleaner on your paint. IF there is paint on the cloth when you buff the paint, then there is no clear coat.

 

actually, there were two answers/posts. one was it was a dealer option, and the other was the one you mentioned (mazda said yes). but i was gonna test my 5 tomorrow morning with the polish/cleaner.

 

i believe mnkyboy contacted mazda and the vivid yellows do have a clear coat on them.

 

I don't think that cars are made nowadays without a clearcoat. I could be wrong, but it's pretty much the standard now.

 

You are correct, see this thread

 

Ok, I want to detail my car this weekend, but I have some questions. I read the .doc file that was posted in this thread, pretty good info there. I went to a nearby Pep Boys, and they have the Meguiars professional line.

#6 Cleaner Polish $9.99
#7 Glaze $8.99
#26 Yellow Wax $10.99

They also have the Meguiars 3-Step system for $4.99 a bottle. I saw (2) other Meguiar waxes called Cleaner Wax ($4.99) and Gold Class Wax ($9.99)

From the .doc file, I take it the first (3) products I listed are the best to use, correct? Is the Gold Class Wax better than the #26 Yellow Wax? What is the Cleaner Wax do?

....this is very confusing! LOL

Here are some more questions:

1. From the .doc file, I take it the first (3) products I listed are the best to use, correct?

2. Is the Gold Class Wax better than the #26 Yellow Wax? What is the Cleaner Wax do?

3. What parts of the car do you NOT want polish, wax, or glaze on? Is all of the products safe on the bumpers, gaskets, etc?

4. What can I use to protect the black divider in between the front and rear doors?

5. I dont have a garage or carport to work under. Can someone recommend a good place that I can go to detail my car? Sure I can go under a tree, but then I have to worry about things falling on the car while I work on it.

As you can see, I want to do whats best for my baby. Even tho I have waxes previous cars that I have owned, I used the cheapo stuff. If anyone can answer these questions, I would really appreciate your opinions/recommendations. Thanks