How to protect detailer's nightmare vehicle in Florida

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Smitty4x4

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I have been into cleaning and waxing my vehicles since 1990. My skills were poor compared to what I see here and I have tried countless parts store products. In the late 90's I started using the Meguiar's Deep Crystal system with a poorly performing cheap random orbital buffer but achieved results better than I ever did before and thought all was good. My supervisors have always complimented my vehicles as they are usually the best looking in the district so I'm usually their first choice for special details and parades. Last year, a friend of mine at a body shop gave me some 3M rubbing compound and some polish but I was not getting the results I wanted due to the buffer and bonnets I was using. Recently I decided to take it up a notch. I got a Porter Cable polisher and a pack of 5.5 inch Chemical Guys pads for Christmas.

The vehicle is a 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe with 42,000 poorly cared for miles that I just received from someone else. It was badly swirled with some unacceptable body work on a few panels. The new Porter Cable polisher worked so well that I couldn't believe I waited so long to get a quality polisher. The products used were the 3M compound, Meguiar's Ultimate Compund and Polish. I topped with what I had which was Meguiar's NXT Generation Tech Wax 2.0. It is not perfect when I inspect with certain lighting but such a dramatic difference that some thought I got a new vehicle and had a hard time believing that I was able to make this vehicle look so good. I have actually caught two people touching it at a gas stations.

The question is, what is the best product to protect it. I have read for hours in the last few days and would like to say thanks to Mike because his tutorials showed me so many things I was doing wrong or counter-productively. The budget is very tight and long term durability is more important than the subjective look. Don't get me wrong, I do like it to have attention getting gloss and shine but don't have the time to care for it like a garage queen and this vehicle is rode hard and put up wet in the worst weather and storms. I am lucky when I get 3-4 weeks from Tech Wax. I have read so many reviews that I don't know what to believe due to the unknown variables. I want to be able to use a sealer that could last a year. I usually detail twice a year but waxing every three weeks just isn't feasible. The sealant also needs to withstand the heat of long periods of idle. I would also like to be able to throw on a coat of carnauba wax for the those special occasions and parades with the protection of sealer remaining intact. Like I said, the budget is tight and while I enjoy the look and impressiveness of boutique waxes, Pinnacle Souveran need not apply. Sorry for the long post.

Essentially I need recommendations for:
Sealer
Wax, for looks on certain occasions
quick detailer for freshening up
And any general tips for this kind of vehicle
 
Welcome to the forum!

With a tight budget, your options will be limited.

No sealant will last you a year, period. If you can only detail 2 times a year, I'd suggest trying collinite 845 for your budget. Great looks, sealant durability. Can be reapplied for your special occasions to get max looks.

I'd also pass on the quick detailer as well. In my experience, QD's are for garage queens that haven't been driven for a week, are clean, but need a bit of light dust removed. They should not be used for cleaning proposes. It's always better to hand wash with a quality soap and quality cleaning products.

If you'd like an easy product to freshen up the looks after a wash, look into duragloss aquawax.
 
Nxt paste worked well for me, I used it for many jobs where paint correction wasn't feasible. I never tried the liquid once they discontinued the paste. If you are looking for a good sealant, I recommend Poorboys exp or even a coating. I used cquk on my truck and did two coats with 30ml. It's not terribly expensive to do and if you don't rush, it's not difficult to use. As for a wax for looks, my go to is dodo blue velvet pro. A panel pot should last a while, but if you're looking for bang for the buck, I would either use 845, 915, natty's blue, or surf city's paste wax.
 
All last summer I predominantly used:

1. Duragloss 101, which is a cleaner/sealant.
2. Surf City Garage Nano Seal. Pure sealant.

My all time favorite? Duragloss 111.

I also used NXT liquid, Ultimate Wax Liquid, , and #20 Polymer Sealant. All by Meguiar's.
 
If you want to stay with the Meguiar's family you can look into Ultimate Wax which lasts longer than NXT. About 4-6 months. Their Paint Protect 365 is new and is supposed to last a year. 365 will give you protection but ultimate wax will give you better gloss.

If you are looking to try something another brand look into Detailer's Pro Poli-Coat Paint Sealant or the klasse twins.

Another option is Sonus Ion which is supposed to last a year.
 
I did not even know that Meguiar's Paint Protect 365 existed.
After reading up on the recommended products, Paint Protect, Collinite and the Duragloss are in the realm of what I am looking for. Will all of those last for at least 6 months? Will they have any resistance to acidic bugs? Please excuse all of the questions but every manufacturer claims to have "the most intense gloss", "extreme protection and durability", etc... I know that actual experience from people that have actually used many different brands and types will yield better information than the reviewer on "GiantShoppingWebsite.com" who has finally used his first wax and says he was blown so far out of his shoes that medical treatment was needed.

I see what you are saying about the quick detailer. I meant that this would go on after a two bucket wash which usually occurs at least once per week. Would the Aqua wax that you recommended be compatible with these sealants or should I be careful about my choice?

The Opti-Coat is very intriguing, especially after your experience with love bugs. If it would be guaranteed to last as long as yours did then it may be cost effective. I am leary about coatings due to, I may mess it up (I am a newb compared to most people here) and cause it not to last. I also need to be able to polish out areas and reseal a panel. In which case I would be out of luck. While I do try to keep it clean, it gets rode hard and iff raoded from time to time. The $60 kit is so small that I also worry about being able to do my entire vehicle with just one syringe.
 
IMO, the best thing to do is to pick a sealant, then use a spray sealant from the same family line after evry wash. Wolfgang or Blackfire both sell sealants and spray sealants.
Or, you could use a paste wax, then use a spray wax after every wash.
Be sure to use a good quality soap such as, DG901 or something from the Pinnacle, Wolfgang line.
 
Smitty4x4 said:
The Opti-Coat is very intriguing, especially after your experience with love bugs. If it would be guaranteed to last as long as yours did then it may be cost effective.
Click to expand...

I also coated my wife's black T&C minivan just after my Fusion and it's still holding very strong. Keep in mind that Opti-Coat Pro comes with a 5 year warranty, so there's you're guarantee right there.
 
Smitty4x4 said:
I did not even know that Meguiar's Paint Protect 365 existed.
After reading up on the recommended products, Paint Protect, Collinite and the Duragloss are in the realm of what I am looking for. Will all of those last for at least 6 months? Will they have any resistance to acidic bugs? Please excuse all of the questions but every manufacturer claims to have "the most intense gloss", "extreme protection and durability", etc... I know that actual experience from people that have actually used many different brands and types will yield better information than the reviewer on "GiantShoppingWebsite.com" who has finally used his first wax and says he was blown so far out of his shoes that medical treatment was needed.

I see what you are saying about the quick detailer. I meant that this would go on after a two bucket wash which usually occurs at least once per week. Would the Aqua wax that you recommended be compatible with these sealants or should I be careful about my choice?

The Opti-Coat is very intriguing, especially after your experience with love bugs. If it would be guaranteed to last as long as yours did then it may be cost effective. I am leary about coatings due to, I may mess it up (I am a newb compared to most people here) and cause it not to last. I also need to be able to polish out areas and reseal a panel. In which case I would be out of luck. While I do try to keep it clean, it gets rode hard and iff raoded from time to time. The $60 kit is so small that I also worry about being able to do my entire vehicle with just one syringe.
Click to expand...

Paint Protect 365 is new. So there are no reviews on it just yet. It's worth giving it a shot for $10. It is supposed to last 1 year (52 washes). It's not going to win in the gloss category compared to ultimate wax. I did get to see it in person side by side with ultimate wax at the Meguiar's Thursday Night Garage. It looked pretty good.



expdetailing said:
IMO, the best thing to do is to pick a sealant, then use a spray sealant from the same family line after evry wash. Wolfgang or Blackfire both sell sealants and spray sealants.
Or, you could use a paste wax, then use a spray wax after every wash.
Be sure to use a good quality soap such as, DG901 or something from the Pinnacle, Wolfgang line.
Click to expand...

I agree. You could also stick with Meguiar's ultimate line. It has everything you need and it is available locally.

The Detailer's Pro Line is also good. You may want to look into that line as well.
 
Other than a coating, the products that come closest to your requirements would be Sonax Polymer Net Shield or the new Meguiars 365.
 
Smitty4x4 said:
I did not even know that Meguiar's Paint Protect 365 existed.
After reading up on the recommended products, Paint Protect, Collinite and the Duragloss are in the realm of what I am looking for. Will all of those last for at least 6 months? Will they have any resistance to acidic bugs? Please excuse all of the questions but every manufacturer claims to have "the most intense gloss", "extreme protection and durability", etc... I know that actual experience from people that have actually used many different brands and types will yield better information than the reviewer on "GiantShoppingWebsite.com" who has finally used his first wax and says he was blown so far out of his shoes that medical treatment was needed.

I see what you are saying about the quick detailer. I meant that this would go on after a two bucket wash which usually occurs at least once per week. Would the Aqua wax that you recommended be compatible with these sealants or should I be careful about my choice?

The Opti-Coat is very intriguing, especially after your experience with love bugs. If it would be guaranteed to last as long as yours did then it may be cost effective. I am leary about coatings due to, I may mess it up (I am a newb compared to most people here) and cause it not to last. I also need to be able to polish out areas and reseal a panel. In which case I would be out of luck. While I do try to keep it clean, it gets rode hard and iff raoded from time to time. The $60 kit is so small that I also worry about being able to do my entire vehicle with just one syringe.
Click to expand...

Aquawax should work great with collinite. Probably work just fine with a traditional sealant as well.

The Critic said:
Other than a coating, the products that come closest to your requirements would be Sonax Polymer Net Shield or the new Meguiars 365.
Click to expand...

Were you to go with either of these or opti coat as you were pondering, forget Aquawax altogether. I have the Sonax Polymer Net Shield on my wife's vehicle right now, and it does the best job of repelling dirt of anything I've ever used at this time. The only thing I can't tell you about is the longevity, as it's only been on there about 4 weeks, thus far.

Also, I'd never apply a paste wax on top of any of these coatings, either. No sense inhibiting the superior water behavior and dirt resistance of a coating with a wax, IMO.

I can tell you that for a car show I applied Poor Boy's Natty Blue paste wax over the top of Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Surface Coating, and the Natty Blue did wear off and the coating returned to its normal water behavior afterward.
 
I think it should be noted that there isn't a product short of some coatings that you'll be able to slap on there and totally forget about for 6 months especially through winter. The best way to get the maxiumum life expectancy out of a toppers is regular maintance. Regular washing and boosting with some quick wax or spray detail is the best way to achieve this. Let's say you wash and spray wax the truck every other week. That's maybe an hour or two max, then you re apply your choice of lsp every 4 weeks or once a month. No matter what you choice short of a fine glaze. Re-application every 3rd wash will ensure you truck is protected even through winter. Not a fact, not science. Just my opinion and Just a suggestion.

Now budget wise. Spray wax/detailer can be found locally for very in expensively and a 16oz bottle should last at least 2-5(being very broad) washes depending on how much you spray on. Meguairs is awesome. I use Lucas oil slick mist too and like it.

For an LSP you could go locally especially with the plan to do reapply every month. Or you could go on Amazon or a retailer and get something like collinite or sonax pns or whatever. Personally I love sonax pns and some of the spray on sealants like Carpro Reload. Just my random assortment of thoughts hope this helps
 
The more I have read, I was going to order Meguiar's 365 or Collinite 845 from AG. Today a while speaking with a friend of mine about my quest, he gave me a can of Sonax PNS so it is interesting that you guys are mentioning it. He used it once and said it was a PITA to use. Thoughts? It's free to try so I guess it wouldn't hurt and I can just the Meg's 365 or Collinite if I don't like it. I read through a thread on here about it and the reviews were mixed about application difficulty.
 
Check out the duragloss line. They offer an inexpensive coating, low cost on sealants and wax hybreds. They also have excellant car soaps and AW never fails to impress.
 
Smitty4x4 said:
The more I have read, I was going to order Meguiar's 365 or Collinite 845 from AG. Today a while speaking with a friend of mine about my quest, he gave me a can of Sonax PNS so it is interesting that you guys are mentioning it. He used it once and said it was a PITA to use. Thoughts? It's free to try so I guess it wouldn't hurt and I can just the Meg's 365 or Collinite if I don't like it. I read through a thread on here about it and the reviews were mixed about application difficulty.
Click to expand...
I used it two ways. 1st way was to spray on the applicator then apply onto paint. Which was tricky and felt grabby and took a long time. 2nd way was spray product directly onto panel and buff off with slighlty damp microfiber. I mean like misted with water that's how damp I mean. The second way worked so much better and was so much faster on my longbed truck
 
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