I am going to wax/polish/seal my metallic black Magnum on July 4th. In preparation, I have researched several waxes and I think I am going to go with Klasse and Mother's Claybar if needed. If anyone has suggestions, I am all ears. I have heard of Zemol, Zaino, Meguires NXT, Wolfgang etc... seems everyone has a favorite.

My real question, this will be my first detail job on a car in over 10 years, I want to do it right. I want it easy to maintain and looking for a deep wet dynamic look, I do not mind putting in a good days work that will last 6 to 8 months. Should I use good ole fashioned elbow grease or use a Porter Cable Polisher? If I should go with the Polisher, please give me some pointers, I do not want to burn the paint!

Any suggestions?

 

a Mother's clay bar kit will cost ya 15 bucks at Autozone. More than worth it, man. It comes with it's own wax for afterward to your set with only adding a pad to apply the wax and a couple of micro fiber towels.
Follow the instructions on the clay bar kit... you may wanna break a piece off and use it so you can save the other piece. You'll be kneading it as ya go and you'll use the lubricating spray that comes with it. After your done, apply the wax with the pad then use a micro fiber towel to buff off the wax. You do not need a polisher unless you have scratches to remove, in which case you'd probably be color sanding with 2k grit and buffing it anyway.

 

Porter Cable, by all means -- its almost impossible to burn the paint with this machine; and, very difficult to duplicate the results with only "elbow grease". Check out the Menzerna line (Final Polish 2, Glaze, and FMJ). Apply with proper foam pads (use different density pads for different products), and remove with microfiber (properautocare.com). Extraordinary depth, gloss, and protection (and the Menzerna Acrylic Shield detail spray will keep it that way for months). I've tried a variety of similar "high end" products (including Zaino); and, no contest.

 

New to group but not to cars. Been using Zaino for about 5-6 years and it is great. Got my dad using it on his corvette and he became a distributor for a while he liked it so much. Between he and I we ahve used it on various colors and works GREAT on all so far. Easy to use and have personally tried it in sun and shade and works the same either way. Is really outstanding on darker colors and metallics. The more you use it the "wetter" it looks. I have alreay put two coats on my mag and already tell a difference. Only draw back I have found is the wait time between putting it on the car and wipping it off. Just some more info for you to consider.

 

I was doing some research in the same area and found this webpage http://www.nsxsc.com/nsexcitement/waxtest.html

I am normally a skeptic when looking at webpages that tell you what is better. But the folk who wrote this seemed honest. At the end of it all it only matters what you think.

Are you going to use an electric buffer? I've been thinking about getting one and was wondering if the Sears brand is good enough for the $ ?