Hey Man, great info, The pic of the black SUV looks great! I went to the website looks like great stuff. Do you use thier priemium wax?(I about fell out of my chair $69.95 for a tub of wax?) Does it last that much longer that it is worth the expenes? The rest of the products are normal price for high quality detail products.
I have used the Americana Extensively and it does look great, it has very good durability for a boutique wax (high-end wax for show cars, etc) and even DD'ing it will last a good 3-4 months. One of the main things is that prepwork is
imperative to getting a good finish. After I get done buffing and polishing a car I could put on turtlewax out of a green can and make it look better than someone who used Americana on an unpolished older finish. The only way you are going to get 6+ month of real protection on the paint is to use a paint sealant. I absolutely love Adam's Machine wax, it's clarity and reflection are great. I'll add some pictures of it on a vehicle I did.
I don't know about your desert pinstriping, but the best wax that i have ever used is called "Pink Wax" the link fo rthis stuff is as follows:
http://www.pinkwax.net/ i have been using this stuff since 2007. I found it at the Chicago Car Show where i was working for that year. i have personally sen it take spray paint off of a cars paint job and not do anything to the clear coat. Good Luck!
Pinkwax, as it appears to me, is a cleaner wax, meaning it has microabrasives in it to help polish and seal the paint at the same time so it is doing 'something' to the clearcoat (in a good way :thumpsup2
. I would recommend claying to remove overspray or spray paint though.
I use to use Zaino on my 98' Camaro SS, it does good.
But now I just go down to my local wal-mart and can get the full line of Meguires car care products and I think it does just as good of a job as Zaino did.
I just finished the first wash, claybar, cleaner wax, tech 2.0 wax of Meguires procedure on the Raptor and it looks fantastic!
One thing I noticed, even though the raptor has alot of sq. footage of paint to clean and wax it was easier to do then washing and waxing my mustang because I didn't have to bend over as much, much easier on the old back.
Zaino is a bit overcomplicated, even though many people swear by it. IMO Meguiars is about the best OTC product and I use some of their professional line. Doing a good clay bar, polish (even by hand) and then putting wax over that will make it look great.
Used Zaino on a lot of my cars but switced to RejeX as the quality of the shine looks just as good to me for a much easier application process. And it does seem easier to get bugs off the paint.
http://www.rejex.com/
Rejex has some pretty serious durability, probably one of the highest out there. The look isn't as good as some others but it is TOUGH. Get a few layers built up and good luck getting it off without waiting 6 months :hey:
Good info guys....any opinions on Mother's claybar and top coat??
FSM
All claybars in the US are made by the same company because of some bull**** patent which the company doesn't deserve. The claybar is a good one.
Ah! After reading Dan's last post I agree 100% with using the proper materials when washing and waxing your vehicle is essiential.
Micro fiber towels are a must, a micro fiber wash mit for washing and then micro fiber drying towel for drying, micro foam applicator pads for applying wax, micro fiber towels for removing wax, micro fiber polishing towels for polishing and micro fiber towels for cleaning glass (the green ones), especially the lense on your instrument cluster, use anything else on it and you will scratch it. Oh, and don't forget to get California Dusters, the big one for the exterior of the vehicle and a small one for the interior.
California dusters are kind of a hit or miss when it comes to adding micromarring to your paint. I have done a couple of cars that have used them and they all had some micromarring from them, which I don't have proof of but I'm pretty sure came from the dusters. The problem lies without having any lube (lube is always a good thing
) A good waterless wash product like ONR (optimum no rinse) or Adam's WW (waterless wash) with some high quality microfibers would probably be safer for cleaning a semi-dusty car.
