Auto Detailing 101 General discussion of auto cleaning and detailing. Learn tips and tricks to keep your Ford Ranger looking its best.

Detailing questions...and tips

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Old 04-19-2006
optikal illushun's Avatar
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Detailing questions...and tips

What makes mircofiber towels so much better than a standard terry cloth towel? is it because of the millions of tiny fibers and softer composition?

also, i clay barred my hood (it was BAD and i ran outta time) and didnt notice any difference. i used a mothers bar with eagle one spray detailer...is there a trick to this?

i have this stuff on my windshield, i cant explain it but nothing i tried will remove it. when i wash my windshield with windex and newspaper i can see what looks like oil residue. i tried 0000 steel wool and that didnt take care of it, its almost like it is inbeded in the windshield. it hinders my view when it rains because the wipers streak it and blurs my vision...then i have to use my squirters every few miles. i was thinking of using vinger/ammonia mix but i dont recall what exactly is needed.

and this isnt more a question then it is a statement. NXT wax is made for a dureable shine and the gold class is for the "wet" look. that is right from meguires detailing staff.

and 0000 steel wool and mother mag/alm polish works EXCELLENT on polish'd alm wheels! whoever did it before on here u are a god send...i could never get my wheels clean but that did the trick. i would have liked to use 000 but i have a bag of 0000 so i used it.
 
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Old 04-20-2006
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apparently with microfiber towels, there tons of microscopic little grooves that pick up dirt/wax and hold it better than cotton. I use both, because sometimes, imo, microfiber has a tendancy to not glide over the surface as smoothly as a high quality cotton terry, and they both seem to have strengths and weeknesses depending on the job. this is what one of the meguiars employees says about microfiber;

"The biggest differences between a quality microfiber and cotton towels are that the fibers themselves are miniature in size, this provides a dramatically larger number of fibers per square inch to remove and hold product from off your car when wiping off wax or polish. The smaller fibers because of their size make a microfiber polishing cloth more gentle to the finish to reduce the potential for instilling towel marks."


before you clay, get a ziploc baggy and put it over your hand like a glove. then run your fingers across your paint. feel all that rough crap? thats what they clay will remove. you did it right, but maybe you didnt do it long enough. especially if your paint is neglected, it might take awhile, working small areas at a time, for the clay to pull up all the crap. you should be able to feel the clay glide smoother over the surface. if you clay bar somewhere really quiet and listen closely, you can actually hear a rough sound of the clay rubbing against the bonded contaminants, and you can hear the sound go away as the area becomes clean. when youre done, do the baggy test again. clay wont remove scratches or anything like that though... just bonded contaminants like tree sap, paint overspray, brake dust, industrial fallout, etc etc.

id agree with that wax statement too... imo nxt seems to give my paint a 'cooler' look, whereas gold class, which has pure carnauba in it, gives a 'warmer' wet look.
 
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Old 04-20-2006
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good ****, ill have to try the baggie truck. i had it repainted about 2 1/2 yrs ago and im pretty **** about upkeep from april-november then its hit n miss.

i use a variety of stuff...old terry cloth towels, baby diapers (mainly for cleanin wheels and trim), old jersey knit sheets and sometimes old ****ys (again, for trim and wheels)...so i dont know where/when to exactly use the mircofiber towels...

could u explain what u mean by a warm and cool look? lol
 
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Old 04-20-2006
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well... the differences in opinion on wax effects is so subjective, but i guess what i mean is that the gold class seems to 'warm up' the look of the paint to me by the way it gives depth and wetness. the nxt doesnt really do this as much, although it gives great shine but in a more... um... shiny plastic way.

i think i confused myself now... ;o)

meguiars reps say this about the two;

Gold Class Wax is a blended wax, it uses both synthetic polymers and natural Carnauba wax for protection. It is also a polish wax and contains Meguiar's trade secret polishing oils to add richness, reflectivity, clarity and gloss.

NXT Tech Wax is a pure synthetic wax, it contains no natural ingredients except for water. It is Meguiar's longest lasting, best protection wax. It also will dramatically help to eliminate swirls.
 
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Old 04-20-2006
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yes to got a lovely wet/depth start with a gold class wax then finish with the NXT to give better protection that is what did when i waxed this vette and it came out quiet nice. i usually never have the time to do my trucks that way
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acully that reminds me i should try that on my XLT hmm maybe this friday
 
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Old 04-20-2006
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i got the eagle wheels alum polished where can i get that 0000 steel wool?
 
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Old 04-20-2006
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walmart
 
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Old 04-21-2006
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that was easy lol what section the car section or hardware section?
 
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Old 04-21-2006
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hardware near the tape and sand paper.
 
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Old 03-18-2019
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I have to address the oily film on glass. I had an extremely low mileage Mustang Saleen that was basically a garage queen for the 6 years I owned it. I could never get or keep the windows (especially the windshield) clean no matter what I tried. I tried everything I could think of including, Alcohol, Vodka, thinners, polishing with compounds and waxes but nothing really worked. Would look good for a few days then after sitting for a week or so looked like they hadn't been touched for years. Was pretty frustrating indeed.
 
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