leedav

Bump. I have had the new Meguiar's NXT paste wax on the test car (co. car) for a couple weeks now. It is really shiny. I got inspired by Fast40th and attempted to enhance it by refreshing it and adding a layer of carnauba over it after seeing what he did was a layer of synthetic followed by a wax. I did one side of the hood with the carnauba, and I couldn't tell any difference, which is a good sign for the NXT, but that led me to thinking about surface preparation. I started looking more closely at the clear coat on both cars. The cars are both new in Q3 of last year. The P-car's last treatment was hand rub with Meguiar's number 7 and a coat of Porsche Hartwax.

The Detroit clear coat (or maybe the paint underneath) is thick and quite lumpy. The Stuttgart paint is also a little lumpy. I was wondering how this lumpiness affects the shine and what, if anything, anyone does about it.

Lumpy Detroit Paint:



Less Lumpy Stuttgart Paint:

jb26jb

The "lumpiness" is called orangepeal. It occurs when paint jobs are not wetsanded and can be worse depending on the type of paint and how well the paint job was done. Supposedly alot of the new low VOC paint jobs coming out of the factories have higher amounts of orange peal. Porsche paint jobs seem to be pretty good with minor orange peal but checkout a bently or lamborghini or a good custom paint job for what no orange peal looks like. A good custom painter will wet sand the primer and the color coat before putting on a clear and then wetsand the clear. Actually Lexus seems to be pretty good too.

leedav

Hmmm. Wonder if the new Porter-Cable will smooth that out with some compound...much more likely to try it on the barge though.

Fast40th

Lee: Absolutely try the barge first!... go easy with the compounds and power tools. And from a previous post you had a question on the Porsche windshield washer solution. I suggest you try P21S winshield washer booster, same product as the one offered by Porsche but at a fraction of the cost.

leedav

Thanks. I bought a couple of the solvent from Sunset. They said I could just stop by and they'd fill it up. :-)

TallCoolOne

I am a big fan of Griots Garage. I probably have every over priced thing in their catalog. But I have to agree about prepping the car. Before any wax, sealer or protectant hits the car finish the paint must be cleaned and polished. Clay has probably been the best invention for car care in a long time. Also, front windshields can be polished with the right products. My best tip was from my father who said " only wash your car in a straight motion turning the cloth and rinsing often and not in circles." This will help keep you from introducing any scratches into the surface. I don't care what sheep your wash mitt came from or what boar’s *** the brush came from. My advice is always take your time.

jb26jb

Do not use compound to try to reduce orange peal. If you compound that hard you will burn right through your clear coat. If your paints in good shape. I would clay the horizontal surfaces, then use the porter cable and the white polishing pad with a good polish p21s, menzerma, etc. Then top with your preferred wax or sealant. The car will look great.

RJMDAD996

That's My Treatment, And Trust Me It Works.

leedav

In that order?

jb26jb

RJMDAD not sure what products you are talking about. P21S makes the wax you stated but their polish is called "gloss enhancing paintwork cleanser" which is a great polish to use before waxing. Meguiars #34 final inspection is a quick detailer, which IMHO really adds nothing to a P21S wax finish although it is a great quick detailer after a wash or a pre-show wipe down. If those are the products you were mentioning the order of use would be P21S paintwork cleanser, followed by the P21S wax, usuing the #34 quick detailer when necessary.

jb26jb

My bad. I see where you got the quote from. You cut off the part that the P21S that was mentioned last is their wheel cleaner.

Chasmanporschefan

Can anyone provide a recommendation for keeping the exhaust tips looking new and shiny?

Thanks

leedav

I use blue magic for the exhaust tips. get the tube, not the bottle.

Kevin H. in Atl..

There is only one product to use on your top.

Raggtopp. No masking required, superior waterproofing. Been using it for years.

http://www.wolfsteins.com/main.htm

TallCoolOne

What about going over the clear bra with wax?? I have not done anything since it was installed 6 months ago??