I just recieved a 7424 for christmas. I have been using the Meguiar's 3 Step to polish my car. I would like to get something that works/does a better job. More on the professional line. What products should I use and what should I stay away from. I would like to basically start to get a little bit of everything. Wash, Clay, Polish, Wax, Sealents....catch the drift. Let me know your thoughts and experiences. THANKS in advance.

I just recieved a 7424 for christmas. I have been using the Meguiar's 3 Step to polish my car. I would like to get something that works/does a better job. More on the professional line. What products should I use and what should I stay away from. I would like to basically start to get a little bit of everything. Wash, Clay, Polish, Wax, Sealents....catch the drift. Let me know your thoughts and experiences. THANKS in advance.
-Get some pads. Meguiar's W8006 work perfectly.
-Get Polish: Meguiar's #80 will work perfect for a BMW paint. #83 if your paint needs sever restoration.
-The clay from Meguiar's works great. Some people like Mothers, and other like Clay Magic more. I personally use Meguiar's and couldn't ask for more from it.
-For wash soap, you have a few choices. If you have hard water, use Meguiar's NXT soap. If your water is good, then use Gold Class Car Wash
-NXT paste/liquid for wax. It is the easiest, best protecting wax you will probably ever use. Now I do not mean it is the longest lasting stuff, but it does the best job at protecting your paint.

Plus, when you use Meguiar's, you get the HUGE support from their site. http://meguiarsonline.com

If for nothing else, that will make using Meguiar's worth it! Then you add in the results they give, well I have yet to find something better :)

-Get some pads. Meguiar's W8006 work perfectly.
-Get Polish: Meguiar's #80 will work perfect for a BMW paint. #83 if your paint needs sever restoration.
-The clay from Meguiar's works great. Some people like Mothers, and other like Clay Magic more. I personally use Meguiar's and couldn't ask for more from it.
-For wash soap, you have a few choices. If you have hard water, use Meguiar's NXT soap. If your water is good, then use Gold Class Car Wash
-NXT paste/liquid for wax. It is the easiest, best protecting wax you will probably ever use. Now I do not mean it is the longest lasting stuff, but it does the best job at protecting your paint.

Plus, when you use Meguiar's, you get the HUGE support from their site. http://meguiarsonline.com

If for nothing else, that will make using Meguiar's worth it! Then you add in the results they give, well I have yet to find something better :)


x2. Except NXT wax, use Synthetic Sealant #21. I recently switched to all Meg's stuff and couldn't be happier with the results. Oh yeah, I recommend 2 coats of Show Car Glaze # 7 before #21.

its hard to find all those meguiars polishes and glazes at local stores, so you might need to order online. you should order from autogeek and get get the Lake County CCS pads. Get an orange pad, white, grey, and blue. Orange is for swirl removal, white for light polish, grey for glaze or sealant, and blue for wax. You should get the XMT3 or XMT2 polish depending on how bad your paint is. I find XMT2 not strong enough for me, 3 works alot faster and removes more defects. Then some Klasse All-In-One buffed with the white pad will yield amazing results! I had a few scratches left after using XMT3 and the Klasse AIO got rid of 80% of the scratch. Then you should apply Klasse Sealant Glaze with the gray pad. You can buy the "Klasse Kit" this is what i did. It comes with AIO, SG, and 4 applicators and a microfiber towel. After you apply SG you can finish with Pinnacles Liquid Souveran or even Paste Souveran is you have the $$$ and your paint will seriously look like brand new.

Thanks for your feed back.....also could anyone help me with some questions. I'm new to all this and really want to learn how to do a full detail. I know basically you start with a wash...after that I get a little confused; I though I had a grasp on this but, Reading the forums they talk about stripping the old wax off and going for there. Does anyone know of a good write up or a good book that explains everything and what it does and the steps to go in. Thanks

Thanks for your feed back.....also could anyone help me with some questions. I'm new to all this and really want to learn how to do a full detail. I know basically you start with a wash...after that I get a little confused; I though I had a grasp on this but, Reading the forums they talk about stripping the old wax off and going for there. Does anyone know of a good write up or a good book that explains everything and what it does and the steps to go in. Thanks

Use dish soap when washing before detailing. It is strong enough to strip all of old stuff. After that you clay your car.

Some people will tell you that using dish washing detergent will ruin your paint. I'm not even going to go there. But I will say that this practice started with Zaino's recommendations to strip off all the old wax using Dawn dish washing detergent be fore applying their products. Dawn, specifically because it is highly alkaline.

Anyway, if you plan to clay the paint, there will be no wax on it when you are finished. But if you wan to use Dawn, go ahead.

Ok...great then after you clay, do you use like a paint cleaner, polish, glaze, wax, sealent. correct??

DO NOT use Dawn. There is a reason car washes are ph balanced. When you clay, especially polish, you will without a doubt strip off all the wax. Dawn also does not have as much lubrication as your car washes will have. Simply put, just stick to a regular car wash. Dawn will do nothing positive for your detailing experience.

Unless this is a showcar, a simple wash, clay, cleaner/polish, wax/sealent will do perfect.

If this is an everyday driver and you are just looking for the easiest process, then just wash, clay, then use ColorX by Meguiar's.

Yeah, this is a simple daily driver. What is ColorX???Scratch remover??
I went to the local auto body shop, and they carry just about every Meguiar's product you can think. Below is a list of what they have on hand, what would I need to get for a good detail.(Note: my paint is in pretty good shape with just minors scratchs)

(Sorry for the long list)

Med-Cut Cleaner 1
Fine-Cut Cleaner 2
Machine Glaze 3
Heavy Cut 4
New car Glaze 5
Cleaner Wax 6
Swirl Remover 2.0 9
Final Inspection 34
Swirl Free Polish 82
Dual-Action Cleaner/Polish 83
Compound Power Cleaner 84
Diamond Compound 2.0 85
NXT tech Wax


I currently have:
Deep Crystal System 1-2-3
Cleaner Wax
Show Car Glaze 7
Hi-Tech Yellow Wax 26
Meguiar's Clay Bar

Like I asked above what would I have to add to my collection and what order should I use them in.

THANKS IN ADVANCE

sorry about all the questions, this is all new to me!!

For you, I would get #80 if they have it, I am hoping you just didn't see it.

http://autogeek.net/mg80.html

Maybe want #83 too.

So wash, clay, 83 (if needed), 80 (after 83 if needed or by itself), #7 and finish off with #26.

Good luck and let us know!!

If the paint is rough, I use #83 and swirl remover 2.0. If not, see if #80 alone would do that. Use Show Car Glaze #7, top it with Hi Tech yellow wax and maintain it over time.

The only way to remove the minor scratches is to cut the clear coat down to the lowest level of the scratch. The only reasonable way to do that is with a PC and the proper pads and polishes. That's a pretty big expense, but the car will look better.

Scratch X hides some of the scratches. Glazes will, too. If you can live with the scratches, just wash the car, use the clay and wash it again. Then use a selant like Klasse or Zaino.

You should read David's post "Detailing 101" for basic info.

Of the products you listed, the only one I use is Megs Final Inspection #34. It's a good quick detailer.