cool info man

Hi Moe,

Thanks for the write up. You don't mention Sealant as part of your processes. Why is that?

I've been using carnauba since 1997 and am partial to its look. I'll have a trusted fellow detailer add some more info about synthetics :)

I like zymol and have been using it since 1997.

Would it make sense to seal then top with carnauba?

Well, the reason guys are sealing and then adding carnauba is because they want greater lasting protection from a carnauba. So they want the longevity of a sealant and the look of a carnauba. I'm not sure about the other carnauba waxes, but zymol in particular will last months depending on which wax you get. That's why I've never applied anything before the carnauba application.

Moe,

I'm running low on Natty's Blue for my black Turbo and was thinking of trying Zymol. Do you think it's any better for black?
Also where would be the best place to buy it if I make the switch?

thanks!
TW

I'm not familiar with Natty's Blue. I've heard good things about it though. I'll be more than glad to get you zymol titanium or concours and have you try it out. If you're not happy, I'll buy it back.

P.S. You're probably 15 min. away from me, so I'll be happy to get your the products you need :)

Here are a few wax kits:

http://www.glisteningperfectionstore...its/Categories

Awesome! :D

tw

FWIW i have used 4 cans of Natty's blue. It a good product but nothing in comparison to any of the zymol or swiss wax line.

If your going to spring for it I highly recomend either concours (zymol) or concourso(swiss wax) I have both.

I'm sure this is going to come off as amateur, but I am one so..........

I have never clayed before, rather just rubbed the car down with mineral spirits and a microfiber. It does a great job of removing contaminants like tar and sap, and is much faster. It's never done any damage to the paint, at least it looks like it hasn't and leaves it nice and smooth as a prep. Is this a bad thing to do?

Mineral Spirits is basically a solvent. I think it's used to clean metals and from a little reading on wikipedia, artists use it to thin their paint. As for application on a car, I would think it's fine to do spot treatment to remove tar or something, but as a whole vehicle wipedown, not sure what the advantage would be.

The thing about clay is that it removes embedded materials such as brake dust, acid rain etching, salt residue if you live close to the ocean, etc. I'm not sure how effective mineral spirits would be to remove embedded semi-metallic brake particles that land on your car over time. Think of clay as a more mechanical cleaner as the quartz is abrasive.

Such an amateur question....hilarious Just kidding....no question is ever too amateur :)

I have been using solvents to prep paint for a while, and I haven't ever witnessed them doing the same thing as a clay. Obviously they do similar stuff, but when it comes to removing bonded contaminants like rail dust, tree sap, etc... clay is what you need to do the job.

Once you really get the process down, it really isn't very time consuming, especially if you stay on top of it. It is only when you let the paint surface get really hammered with bonded stuff that it makes the claying process take a while.