zirrah

It's a sealant... with Carnuba on top!!! Best of both worlds. Hehe.

chuck911

In fact there is such a thing. When Hammer came up to Seattle recently I shared some with him. Made it in my basement lab. Its the real reason his car has such a deep glossy gleam. Not that it didn't look good before, but now as you can see from his avatar its sooooo glossy it plays tricks on camera autofocus! Unfortunately the only way you're getting any is to meet me at Barrier Porsche in Bellevue and swear a blood oath to always tell people you're just using Griot's.

911sanantone

Chuck911, in the spirit of the holidays, can you share your secret with those of us who will not be able to meet you at the dealership?

chuck911

Sure! Start by washing with Griot's Car Wash. Then use Griot's Paint Cleaning Clay with Speed Shine and a folded microfiber towel. Polish with Machine 4 on the orange pad using a random orbital. Finish with Best of Show Wax on the orange pad using folded microfiber towels to remove the wax. Keep the car clean with a car duster, Speed Shine and folded microfiber towels unless it gets wet, in which case gently hand wash using back and forth, never circular, motion with as little pressure as possible. Following this secret formula will maintain your car gleaming like Hammers for 6 months, or more. Just please keep this between us and whatever you do don't go blabbing it all over the internet!

Hammer911

Thanks for the kind words Chuck, and Merry Christmas! Don't worry about the secret getting out...they'll never figure it out unless they read your post with the special decoder glasses.

911sanantone

Chuck,

Your secret is safe with me. It appears that we share similar secrets.
Happy holidays to you and enjoy the ride.

jason952

1+ for griots products (some are not at advance auto parts) and anything from phil at detailers domain, always great service those places. I have recently fallen in love with Meguiars microfiber polish/wax system. I do that and finish with sonax net shield, it's to die for!

Cuda911

Chuck's the Walter White of waxes!

chuck911

W. W. of W?

Metal Guru

If you have to wash (since my car is a garage queen it might get washed 2-3 times a year), use a baffled bucket for the soapy water. The dirt that's being picked up during washing will sink below the baffle and not get continually get picked up in the sponge where it will scratch the finish. I'm referring to the fine swirl scratches that you only see in direct sunlight.
I've tried many polishes but what I've learned is that only the "professional" polishes (those used by body shops to work in paint) are capable of removing scratches completely. Most shops in my area use Wizards brand and I've had really good results with it. The Meguiars pads work well for machine polishing.
Any quality carnuba wax works well; I happen to use Zymol.
Here's my car after 16 hours of wet sanding, polishing and waxing:

zirrah

It's simple really. The products aren't as important as the process. For me it's 2 bucket wash, clay, Menzerna FG-400 on either a cutting or polishing microfiber pad (depends on the condition of the paint) and then follow that up with another wash and dry. Then it's Menzerna Powerlock sealant and a coat of carnuba a week later if it's a dark car. Done.

Money2536

You need to try Sonax Polymer Net Shield, it is even better than PL (which I love).

Money2536

I was a huge Griot junkie for many years. I have probably spent $10,000 buying, trying, and using Griot's products. It is a great starting place, and you certainly aren't doing wrong using his stuff. I have found there are products that are better, but it has taken me time and lots of money experimenting to figure out my current process. If you are into detailing, you need to be willing to spend an entire weekend doing your car. Washes take me about an hour and a half.

Wash: Spray wheels with pressure washer to get initial break dust off. Spray each wheel with Sonax Full Effect Wheel Cleaner and let sit until turns purple. Use Wheel Woolies, Griot's Lamb Skin Mitt, and Swissvax detail brush to clean wheels. Spray Adam's APC on tires and brush with Griot's tire brush. Use EZ detail brush to clean of wheel wells. Spray car down with pressure washer. Prep Grit Guard Dual Bucket system. One with Adam's wash mit and other with water. Use foam canon loaded with 2 oz. of Adam's soap and rest water. Foam entire car. Scrub gently with mit, rinsing mit using two buckets. Spray car down with pressure washer.

If just a wash, then I use water sheeting method to get most of the water off the car. Spray rotors with Hyde's Rust Stopper. Blow dry with Gas Powered Stihl blower(I don't like the electric master blaster). Pat dry the little water that is left with Adam's towel, spraying car with Adam's detail spray. Wipe all of the door jams, trunk/hood jams, and engine bay. Dress the tires with Adam's Super VRT. Done!

The detailing process is a lot longer, but below is most of the stuff I use (not that anyone cares).


Products I use
Adam's Car Soap
Adam's All Purpose Cleaner
Adam's Wool Wash Mitt
Meguiar's Engine Detailer
Wolf's Trim Coat
Wolf's Rim Shield
Griot's Engine Cleaner
Griot's Rubber Prep
Sonax Full Effect Wheel Cleaner
Auto Finesse Iron Out
30% Isopropyl Alcohol
NanoSkin Glide
Menzerna Fast Gloss FG400
Menzerna Super Finish SF4000
Sonax Polymer Net Shield
Adam’s Super VRT

Tools Used
Uber Ultra Microfiber Towels
Adam's Great White Drying Towels
Griot's 6" Random Orbital
Griot's 3" Random Orbital
Rupes LHR 21ES Random Orbital
Meguiar’s Microfiber Cutting Pads
Uber Foam Buffing Pads
Wheel Woolies
Swissvax Detail Brush
EZ Detail Brush
Grit Guard Dual Bucket System
NanoSkin AutoScrub Fine
Griot's Lamb Skin Mitt
Griot's Tire Brush
Grito's Yellow Honeycomb Bug Sponge

Hammer911

Waxed 6 weeks ago, (per Chuck's recipe,) washed yesterday - finished with Griot's Speed Wax, and a little Griot's Speed Shine this afternoon.

All cleaned up for Christmas...

zirrah

Will do. Does it buff off as easy as PL?