Meguiar's Range - What To Choose For Best Results With Paint Care?

[Peter]

Hi Everyone!

So I thought I would try the Meguiar's range solely to take care of my paint. I went down to Supercheap Auto and got the brochures and found them to be very confusing - so many different paint care products and all claiming to be the best!

So I kinda narrowed it down to the following, although the list is still quite long...the paint on my car is in reasonably good condition, with a few minor scratches here and there, but nothing major and nothing through the clear coat.

What would you recommend I use for each stage?

Wash & Maintain

Ultimate wash and wax

Nxt generation car wash

Soft Wash Gel

Gold Class Car Wash

Surface Prep

Smoot surface quick clay kit

Deep crystal pain cleaner

Scratch x 2.0

Polish and Protect

Color x

Deep crystal wet-look

Gold class wax

Nxt generation tech wax 2.0

Deep crystal carnuba wax and deep crystal polish combo

Ultimate liquid wax and ultimate polish combo

Thanks for your advice,

Pete

[DTSNR32]

Ultimate wash, Clay bar kit, Ultimate polish and ultimate wax. Their new range of Ultimate polish and wax is very good. I rate it highly with my more expensive "good" stuff.

[91BNR32]

Really depends how far you want to go. But in a nut shell to do it properly, you need to wash it first, clay bar the whole car. Mask all the rubbers up. Use a machine buff to cut it back. (makes the paint work shiny by removing scratches) then a Wax.

A quick solution that will make any car look 100 x better is.

Meguiars clay bar with quick detailer then use Tech wax 2.0. Will do wonders.

[Jonno34]

Wash:

I would not go with a "wash n wax" solution. I find when detailing at higher levels, you want a gentle, Ph neutral wash without waxes in it - they can sometimes interfere with the bonding of sealants and the like.

I have a wash n wax solution - their ultimate one (the yellow one) is actually great stuff, but I don't use it on cars I maintain with top quality products.

I like the soft wash gel, its nice and gentle, and its the cheapest. as long as a wash solution is ph neutral and gentle - just get a cheaper one from a good brand.

surface prep:

clay bar kit - meg's one rocks imo. I sometimes prefer it to higher end ones - meg's one is very forgiving

for a polish - scratch X is okay but not the best. Ultimate compound has plenty of good reviews. the deep crystal one is more of a glaze, you could use it after the ultimate compound if you really wanted but tbh wouldn't bother.

protection/LSP

lots of people love tech wax 2.0 its very easy to use and works really well. lasts quite some time too. only problem with this is it has cleaners in it so itll strip off sealants/other stuff underneath it - makes it not the best product to layer.

good for most uses though

never tried their new ultimate wax but people seem to like it.

i used to use gold class a long time ago - was a pretty good product, but i think tech wax is probably better.

you don't have to be so dedicated to a single brand though!

i HIGHLY recommend autoglyms products - my other favourite off the shelf brand besides meguiars.

their wash is very very gentle - probably too gentle unless you keep your car very clean.

their polishes are very good - their paint renovator is a great cutting compound and works very well by hand.

just keep trying - you'll get through tons of different wash solutions over your cars life and you'll find a few you like the most

if your really keen go online and have a look at some better products - usually not too much more expensive than off the shelf brand

for waxes and polishes i prefer using top brands

wash, clay bars etc megs and auto glym do the job just fine

[greensa14]

The stuff i use pretty regularly and find very good is:

Any decent body wash

Autoglym Clay Bar Kit

MEnzerna polish (light cut) Only if my paint needs some correction

or Pinnacle paint cleansing lotion

or Poor boys polish (for dark coloured paints)

Either P21s Carnuba wax or Pinnacle Signature series Wax (either of these are absolutely fantastic, highly recommend)

I also use as a top up after each was the OCW (Optimum Spray Wax) Also a wicked product.

I'm a bit obsessed with detailing my car and can tell you i have tried so many brands, and find that spending a bit extra is definitely worth it.

I don't buy any of the mass marketed off the shelf stuff any more. Just too expensive for what it is.

In my opinion the Meguiers stuff is middle of the run average product. Great for the average joe, but just doesnt cut the mustard if you are a keen

enthusiast.

[Jonno34]

^ agreed - the boutique brands are probably better value for money. (unless you start going into swissvax and those .. )

Brands like Menzerna, P21s, poorboys especially, Final Inspection, Zaino - great value for money. works better, easier to use, lasts longer for only a little bit more.

menzerna polishes are awesome. If you want to try another compound that is great for use by hand try P21S Paint Cleanser

P21S Carnauba is amazing, the 100% carnauba version is great value for money, great to use and looks freaking amazing.

Where do you get OCW from Aaron? I used to get it off final inspection but its no longer sold

They made their own replacement of it called Dark Matter which I have yet to try ... maintenance just isn't required anymore though .. at the very most I just use a few squirts of FI's Gloss boost!

I like some of meguiars products - their washes are just fine. tech wax is great for use on normal cars (but do agree it doesn't cut it when trying to get the highest levels). I do like their clay bar kit though, I find it alot more forgiving than the final inspection version and much easier to use. Never had any marring with it.

Must try the auto glym one some time

tbh I don't stick to much. The only product i'm dedicated to is Final Inspections Sealant, GPC, PWC, Cleanse and Lube - I buy them in bulk. and I guess their polishes.

the rest I change about as I need/feel

Edited June 10, 2012 by Jonno34

[Captain Natro]

Out of that list I found the tech wax 2.0 to be quite good. Need SFA to do the entire car so it kinda compensates the price a bit. Good shine and lasts a few months

[iwanta34gtr]

^ All valuable information from knowledgable people.

However, in an attempt to simplify. If you want to stick with Meguiars, buy yourself -

1) Smooth Surface Clay Bar Kit

2) Ultimate Compound

3) Ultimate Polish

4) Ultimate Liquid Wax

5) Ultimate Wash and wax

Apply in that order.

Remember, products are only as effective as the method of application. Get yourself a good DA and you'll learn some tricks the more times you do it.

[Peter]

Thanks everyone for the replies - I will explore all the options put forward. What I might do is start off with the Meguiars products and then branch out and try the other ones from there - that way I can directly compare how they "feel" to use and the results they produce.

Thanks again once more, and apologies for the delay in replying - my computer blew in the recent Perth thunderstorms and I have just finished building a new one.

Pete

[iwanta34gtr]

No worries Pete, glad we could be of assistance.

If you get a chance, you should post some pics. Love the finished product.

I did some here - http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/topic/400712-my-bayside-blue-r34-vspec-gtr-finally-detailed/

Cheers.

[w34ponGT]

The stuff i use pretty regularly and find very good is:

Any decent body wash

Autoglym Clay Bar Kit

MEnzerna polish (light cut) Only if my paint needs some correction

or Pinnacle paint cleansing lotion

or Poor boys polish (for dark coloured paints)

Either P21s Carnuba wax or Pinnacle Signature series Wax (either of these are absolutely fantastic, highly recommend)

I also use as a top up after each was the OCW (Optimum Spray Wax) Also a wicked product.

I'm a bit obsessed with detailing my car and can tell you i have tried so many brands, and find that spending a bit extra is definitely worth it.

I don't buy any of the mass marketed off the shelf stuff any more. Just too expensive for what it is.

In my opinion the Meguiers stuff is middle of the run average product. Great for the average joe, but just doesnt cut the mustard if you are a keen

enthusiast.

this guys on the money, you can get these products from waxit.com.au

top stuff

[greensa14]

Hey Johnno34. Sorry for the late reply bro.

I didn't know that FI didn't sell it any more? I bought a big 4 litre container of the stuff a while ago as i went halves with my bro.

I need to get some more though. Did they say why it is no longer available? That stuff is the bomb for a quick detailer.

[iseekool]

Out of that list I found the tech wax 2.0 to be quite good. Need SFA to do the entire car so it kinda compensates the price a bit. Good shine and lasts a few months

+1 very true imho. Also very easy to apply. Also lasts for ages if applied properly. On my Lexus (daily) its seems to last about ~3 months on top surfaces, such as bonnet, roof and boot. On side surfaces it doesn't seem to last long especially with all these wet months.

[Jonno34]

Hey Johnno34. Sorry for the late reply bro.

I didn't know that FI didn't sell it any more? I bought a big 4 litre container of the stuff a while ago as i went halves with my bro.

I need to get some more though. Did they say why it is no longer available? That stuff is the bomb for a quick detailer.

Nah not too sure why man sorry. Yeah it was a great inbetweener between a quick gloss boost and another application of wax or sealant or something.

they were meant to be replacing it with their own quick wax. but its been replaced with dark matter - which is really not as convenient as a spray.

the dark matter "booster" - "dark energy" i guess has a bit more protection than gloss boost. but i doubt it'd be quite as good as OCW

not quite sure where to get it now really! i generally buy stuff from FI or waxit. im sure its still out there somewhere though!

[kylieyeah]

^ All valuable information from knowledgable people.

However, in an attempt to simplify. If you want to stick with Meguiars, buy yourself -

1) Smooth Surface Clay Bar Kit

2) Ultimate Compound

3) Ultimate Polish

4) Ultimate Liquid Wax

5) Ultimate Wash and wax

Apply in that order.

Remember, products are only as effective as the method of application. Get yourself a good DA and you'll learn some tricks the more times you do it.

Just wondering how come you wash it with the wash and wax in the last step? I thought you would normally do that in the first step?

[iwanta34gtr]

Just wondering how come you wash it with the wash and wax in the last step? I thought you would normally do that in the first step?

Hello, You will have to make sure your car is clean before you clay bar it.

However Meguiars products noticeably produce more dust than some other brands, so there will be alot of polish residue that you will need to wash off post the detailing process. Especially inside door jams and the joints where the body panels join together - etc.

[tk80]

what would you use if you had some overspray on the bonnet. happened when the cage got painted and the front windscreen was out.

Edit...black overspray on midnight purple car.

Edited July 23, 2012 by tk80

[iwanta34gtr]

Meguiars ultimate compound will do the trick.

Should get good results by hand, however if its difficult to remove - a dual action polisher would be of assistance.

If your anal about your paint, follow it up with meguiars ultimate polish and then meguiars ultimate wax.

[GTR-N1]

^^^ Similar...

My current car has been done with Menzerna polish > Optima sealant > Zaino Wax (by Eugene Chan) but in the...

Meguiar's range...

1) Ultimate Compound as Chris stated

2) Showcar Glaze #7

3) Hi-Tech Yellow Wax #26

^^^^ This is what I'll probably use when it's due late this year.

[junkie]

I would suggest Collinite 476 instead of TechWax 2.0. Its actually about $20 cheaper, easier to remove, last three times as long (at least), beads water off like crazy and looks great. Very impressive for the money. My tin of 2.0 has been relegated to wheel protection duties now

Edited February 25, 2013 by junkie