Your car maintenance regimen

[ArrJay0712]

Guys, please help! I would like to know your regimen for the exterior of your car. I'd like to come out with the best possible regimen for my car. If possible, please include the brand you are using and also the price.

For me, this is my present regimen:
1. Wash using Turtle Wax zip wax(180 at Ace) using 3M high performance cloth.
2. Rinse using water.
3. Dry using Microtex chamois(250 at Ace).
4. Wipe to dry using Microtex terry cloth. (I'm presently not using wax/sealant to bring out the gloss. Can you suggest?)
5. Clean glass using Polyglaze invisible glass.

Problems:
1. I can't remove hardened bugs and bird droppings.
2. I can't remove dried cement.
3. I can't get rid of minor scratches. I'm using 3m scratch remover.

Thank you for sharing yours, I really appreciate your help!

[madkatz]

Well i use 2 different regimens depending on the car condition and if its mine or not hehehe.

But for my own cars and for the brand new cars this is my monthly regimen which doesn't include paint correction and paint sealing.

Interior and Glass (what i do first)

1. Vacuum car

2. Wipe all interior windows and instrument panels

Microtex Suede 199/pc

3. Apply Protectant

Microtex Ultra 189/pc
Mothers Protectant 420/24oz

Exterior

1. Wash the wheels and wheel wells

Bigberts shampoo 400/gallon
Old toothbrush ???
Wheels and Tires Soft Bristle brush 420/pc

2. Wash the car

Microtex Washmitt 330/pc
NXT Car Wash 750/2 liters

3. Dry the car

Microtex Elite 799/pc
or
Cobra Guzzler 20$/pc
or
California Water Blade 1350/pc with Microtex Chamois 250/pc

4. Remove Asphalt

Kerosene 49/liter
I-clean MF cloth 150/2pcs

5. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 to remove kerosene.

6. Apply protectant on rubber and plastics

Mothers Protectant 420/24oz
Microtex Ultra 189/pc

7. Apply tire dressing

Red Carpet Tire Cream 150/tub
Zip Sponge 30/pc

8. Apply Wax

Now with this one it depends, i have more than 50 waxes hehehe

but here are my standard favorites thats available OTC

Mothers Reflections Advance Car Wax + Top Coat
985+985 both 16oz

Turtle Wax Platinum Ultra Gloss Paste

560/tub

Megs NXT

1650/16oz

EO Nano Wax

1200/16oz.

for application

Microtex Wax pad 70/pc
or
Meguiars Foam pad applicator 80/pc

for removal

Microtex Ultra plush 250/pc
or
Microtex Plush 199/pc

or you could get

Zwipes kit 150/2 MF covered applicators and 1 large MF cloth


9. Clean windows and apply repellant

Glass Science Kit 700/kit

[ArrJay0712]

Thanks madkatz! Wow you really love your cars, you've invested a lot of money/materials for them.

[ArrJay0712]

By the way Madkatz, the color of my car is Thermalite silver. Is it safe to follow your regimen?
I also have some follow-up questions:
1. Where to buy the following:
a. Glass Science kit
b. kerosene. Is this the regular kerosene?
c. Meguiars Nxt car wash & Nxt wax 2.0
2. Kindly specify step by step on how you use wax or anything that improves the looks of your car. What wax do you use daily/weekly/monthly? Do you apply something before & after waxing?
3. What product can you suggest to remove scratches? I'm using 3m but not effective.
4. What product can you suggest to remove dried bugs & bird droppings?

Thanks again!

[1D4LV]

ako weekly carwash lang sa suking car wash.
tapos paguwi, liquid wax.

yun lang, medyo busy eh. kaya di ko na din mahimas oto ko ng maayos.

[madkatz]

*ArrJay0712: for the glass science i get the kit with glass scrub from blade.
As for the NXT wax and shampoo, i buy them from a friend thats also my detailing supplies supplier and if he doesn't have any stock i get it from Megs Simex since i have 5% discount there, if you want pm me and i can give you the contact of the supplier that or i could tell Simex you are buying in my account so you can also avail of the 5% in my name since NXT is expensive. As for the kerosene yup its just normal kerosene.

with regards to the next question i'll answer it tomorrow, my laptop batt is running low.

[samcoy]

Mga ser may nabasa ako na just use carnauba wax and it will last for 3 months then just wash your car regularly. Tama po ba ito? Gaano nyo kadalas i-wax car nyo and what brand?

[madkatz]

Mga ser may nabasa ako na just use carnauba wax and it will last for 3 months then just wash your car regularly. Tama po ba ito? Gaano nyo kadalas i-wax car nyo and what brand?

That is in ideal weather conditions, in our country sadly its a different scenario, if a OTC wax can last 3 months in the US, it only lasts 2 to 3 weeks tops in the Philippines due to the weather conditions, Monthly waxing is advisable, but with most OTC if you really want to protect the paint you need to wax every 2 weeks, now if you use higher quality waxes like Collinite, Finish Kare and etc you can last up to 1 month without waxing, Collinites can actually last a lot longer

[samcoy]

That is in ideal weather conditions, in our country sadly its a different scenario, if a OTC wax can last 3 months in the US, it only lasts 2 to 3 weeks tops in the Philippines due to the weather conditions, Monthly waxing is advisable, but with most OTC if you really want to protect the paint you need to wax every 2 weeks, now if you use higher quality waxes like Collinite, Finish Kare and etc you can last up to 1 month without waxing, Collinites can actually last a lot longer

Thanks madkatz. Are Collinite and Finish Kare expensive? Can you recommend the best OTC brand? TIA.

[SebLucas]

Additional question sirs/ma'ams, can you give us your opinion on using Meg's ColorX? Is this advisable for new cars with light scratches/swirls? Tanong ko po kase I read in a Megs forum na parang 3 in one na to, pretty much NXT Tech Wax na yung sinusuggest na gamitin after it, PERO it should be used sparingly daw like probably 2-3 months in between.

I appreciate any experience you can share. Thanks .

[madkatz]

Additional question sirs/ma'ams, can you give us your opinion on using Meg's ColorX? Is this advisable for new cars with light scratches/swirls? Tanong ko po kase I read in a Megs forum na parang 3 in one na to, pretty much NXT Tech Wax na yung sinusuggest na gamitin after it, PERO it should be used sparingly daw like probably 2-3 months in between.

I appreciate any experience you can share. Thanks .

Megs ColorX contains some abrasives thats why its not recommended to be used every month since it will thin out your clear coat, It all boils down to what you want and need, if you just want to visually remove swirls then just NXT or Microtex Nano Glos would be enough already, but if you want to remove them permanently ( of course you still might induce new swirls ) then using a dedicated polish would be better, instead of using ColorX and NXT, i would recommend you just buy NXT and SwirlX, you use the SwirlX to remove swirls and you only re-use this once the swirls become heavy again, NXT fills the remaining few swirls on the paint. With this combo its much much more safer for your car even if you use SwirlX twice a year.

[madkatz]

Thanks madkatz. Are Collinite and Finish Kare expensive? Can you recommend the best OTC brand? TIA.

Hello, sorry for the late reply, i didn't notice there was a new post, as for FK and Collinite they're not really expensive if you're getting them from the US, getting them here is expensive, As for Collinite they have a local distributor here check out autobisyo.com and if there's still the Collinite 476 wax promo for only 700 thats worth testing

[EuroFD]

Hi jelows, liquid wax in general is easier to apply and wax off. But IMO it's more practical to use the paste wax. Just make sure to apply wax thinly to avoid wastage. Corrective waxes like Swirl X have abbrasive chemicals. It's best to use this only on areas that need correction. HTH.