ilogikal1

This requires more explanation. And possibly pictures.

Fixed that for ya there.

Sparking wine, you say? Why not just get a can of Dr Pepper? Still has bubbles but is cheaper.

Erm... I think that's kind of the point.

So in 6 pages we've discovered that Monaros aren't Vauxhalls, Monaros have had the LS1 & LS2 engines but never the LS3, Monaros have four seats, Monaros aren't convertible, Monaros are wallowy barges, Monaros race in Australia, Monaros have raced outside of Australia but only when the Australians go on holiday, and no one here has driven the Corvette that the OP asked about. Good, I'm glad we've settled that then. ETA; And my grasp of apostrophes isn't all that.

Never start or run the engine either; that'll save you so much more fuel!

Just correcting your and you're would be a full time job for someone around here.

Good to know, cheers. Nice tip with the damp applicator, I'll give that a bash at some point and hopefully it'll resolve my only real issue with BSD.

There's also this thread which some sad person started if you don't like the idea of a snow foam; http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/80939-pre-wash/ Like GM, I prefer snow foam (for absolutely no reason at all really, it's just more fun ) but there are other options if that doesn't appeal.

Yeah, sorry, I got a bit carried away. Sorry, I just assumed it was dealer applied. Good choice going 3rd party for it.

With the exception of BSD (which I wasn't overly taken with to be honest), I've never really ventured into the Sonax range. I'd be interested to hear how you got on with PNS though. Is it less grabby to work with than BSD or is it much the same?

If it's really bad, I'd recommend the Dr Leather spray to get it back to its best, then the wipes to maintain - the wipes are very good in themselves though! No need to condition modern leather, it's clear coated so conditioners just sit on the surface of that coat and attract grit and dirt quicker.

My ego really likes you. I can't imagine why. Thanks GM There's some very good advice above though. First and foremost, you've got a black car which will show up every minor defect more so than any other colour. Also swirls are inevitable, it's about reducing them as much as possible rather than eliminating them in reality. And on top of that, if it's the first wash since leaving the dealership, it's highly likely that they will have used filler products rather than correction during their "prep" - don't be surprised if the Tribos coating doesn't last anywhere near as long as it should, dealers generally don't apply such coatings correctly. That said, my first port of call would be to thoroughly wash your mits before replacing them - if they're microfibre ones stick them in washing machine, non-bio wash liquid (don't ever use powder with microfibres) or add a drop of white vinegar into the wash, either will serve to restore & soften the fibres and is also a good way of keeping your drying towels at their best. If you use lambswool mits, then comb them through with as fine a comb as you can find every so often. Use a different mit and a fresh bucket of water for the wheels and arches. Wheels first, then change the water in the bucket(s) and work from the top of the car down. I'm not personally a fan of grit guards because if your technique is good you'll only ever use the top inch or two of water in the bucket, nowhere near the grit, let alone the grit guard so to me they're a bit of a gimmick. I only mention this because even if you do opt for grit guards, it's worth remembering not to push the mit to the bottom of the bucket when washing regardless. If you don't already, I'd strongly recommend a pre-wash stage - either snow foam or a spray on. A good pre-wash will dramatically reduce the amount of dirt on the surface to be picked up by the wash mit. Drying towels, I can recommend the yellow Uber from the link above, this one (which is actually the same towel) or this one, all are nice, plush and dry really well.

I tend to focus my OCD on something else and go completely OTT on that instead. Like dressing the windscreen washer lines. I couldn't possibly even suggest a best one... ... I'll happily nominate my favourite one two though. Well I say happily, it comes with the caveat that (with the only exception of Desirable) I wouldn't resent using any one of them if I wasn't given the choice of the others. Considering cost (both initial outlay and per use), ease of application, cure times, ease of removal and overall finish it would be a complete toss up between the FK pink wax and Poorboys Natty's. The only thing that would separate them would be which scent I preferred on that particular day... a decision made ever more difficult with the existence of Natty's Red. If you were to push me to absolutely nominate the "best" (IMO) though, I would have to choose... ... Gyeon Wetcoat.

That depends entirely on the abilities of the person doing the repair. A good one would be worthwhile, a bad one is just money down the drain. I appreciate this doesn't help much, but it's all I've got. Definitely before. The painter will need to remove the protection added by detailer if done before, and may undo more of the detailer's hard work. Assuming a competent detailer of course, the above advice applies to the detail as well as smart repair.

I'm so glad it's not just me anymore. Which products have got on the go?

Drop it round any time and I'll dig out as many waxes as I can find.

Ah, but just think of the shiny goodness when you're done though, Gareth. And don't forget the pictures when you're finished, we like pictures.

Updates a plenty today. Firstly, Nanolex Urban on the car windows - it's starting to wear off on the wiped areas of the windscreen (still working though, just not at as low speeds as previously and bug splatter is starting to stick to this area more too) but still going strong everywhere else on the car. The first glass sealant test on the house shows that both G5 and Car Chem are both still going well and the second test on the window at the front of the house shows that there's currently nothing between Urban, G5 or Car Chem at this point. PIAA is struggling already, though it's still an improvement over untreated glass. I washed the car today so there's a wax update too. I followed the usual procedure as I have done throughout this test, namely Bilt Hamber Auto Foam snow foam pre-wash followed by a Glacier Wax Pure shampoo wash - nothing added to/topping up the LSP's at all. I've now run out of Auto Foam though, so the next wash will involve a different snow foam for the first time since I started this test. I'll start with the newer LSP's in Gyeon Cure, Dr Beasley's Plasma Coat and Waxaddict #18. None of these have really stood up well to the last three weeks, but it's worth reminding everyone that the paint wasn't prep'd in any way so that's hardly surprising. So take the following with that very much in mind. Plasma Coat seems to have suffered the most showing very poor sheeting and, even when fresh, the beading wasn't the best. Cure is a bit hit and miss, in some areas it's showing strong sheeting and good beading but in others it's looking quite weak already - this may be down to either the lack of prep work or, equally as likely to be honest, my application method which was largely a case of slap it off and remove the streaks as much as much anything. I've got plenty more of this to play around with, but more on this later. Waxaddict #18 is fairing a bit better, it's clearly beading better than the older waxes around it on the bonnet but it's not showing the resilience of a wax that's going to last months on end. Obviously this won't have been helped by the lack of prep but I'm not really sure it'd last 5/6 months with that either really but rather 2-3 months perhaps. Also, Nanolex Trim Rejuvinator is still going strong on the scuttle panel; AF Revive hasn't faired so well on the wing mirror backing plates, which are still black but no longer beading at all well. So the waxes then. FK2685 currently looks like this; As a reminder, here's a comparison of when it was fresh and how it sits now; AF Desire currently looks like this; Comparison to when it was fresh; Poorboys Natty's currently looks like this; And the comparison; Dodo Juice Blue Velvet currently; Comparison; Purple Haze currently; Comparison; And just for the sake of it, Waxaddict #18 currently; Seeing as that's only 3 weeks old and the "fresh" picture is only up the page a bit (also, I can't be a**ed to make it... it's mainly this reason) there's no comparison picture here. Nanolex Nanowax currently; and the comparison; I've got a couple of videos showing the sheeting on the bonnet and the door to show the differences, but it was taking a while to upload them so I've given up for now. If anyone's interested I'll try to post them up, but if not I won't bother. However, what it shows is that Nanowax is sheeting very strongly indeed - as a side note, Dodo Juice Hard Candy topped with Purple Haze on the front wing sheets better than two layers of Purple Haze on the bonnet at this point. Poorboys EX-P topped with Natty's blue then topped with Natty's red on one rear wing appears to sheet roughly the same as Natty's blue on the bonnet. Nanowax sheets better than them all today. Also, the fresher Nanowax on the (unprepared) wing mirrors sheets better that then older Nanowax on the door but not by much really. On the bonnet Purple Haze easily trumps the sheeting this week by a whole 6 seconds , beating Blue Velvet and FK in an almost tied 2nd (I think FK probably just tipped it), followed by Natty's blue - there's about 5 seconds difference between FK/Blue Velvet and Natty's. #18 comes in about 8 seconds after Natty's and finally Desire comes in dead last almost 30 seconds after Natty's and 40 seconds after Purple Haze. That said Desire actually left the panel with less water on than the others, followed by Natty's, Blue Velvet and FK in a three way tie, Purple Haze closely follows then #18 with roughly 30% of the water still on the panel. Whilst it only took little over a minute for them all to finish sheeting, it's a stark comparison to the Gyeon Wetcoat that's currently on another car, which takes 3 seconds to completely sheet off the car... when it's failing! Still, that's a very different product altogether. It does, however, bring me very nicely back to Gyeon Cure rather seamlessly. After months of telling myself that I don't need any more LSP's I finally gave into temptation. I'm using the excuse that I've run out of Wetcoat, so it's okay. It also had nothing to do with the 25% off that Polished Bliss were offering. Honest. So in what can only be described as a completely fair, like-for-like replacement for Wetcoat, I bought (ignoring the AF bits, and the poor quality Instagram photo); Gyeon Prime (the kit includes Cure hence that link, in case you were wondering). I originally bought this for the Leon to take advantage of its gloss and durability, however it might yet end up on the Z (when these waxes finally give up). So this may be the end of these wax tests for a while as I venture into coatings instead. That's your lot for now.

The sun and a crap iPhone puts swirls in your paint? Interesting! I will amend my previous comment accordingly; Time to get the polish out and buy a proper phone... living in England will take care of the sun issue.

This makes me sad. Time to get the polish out!

Perhaps you could ask himself when he gets back?

So long as you don't scratch the paint.

No sense of adventure, some people.

Just to clarify a few points; Firstly, C4 doesn't cure matte black at all, it cures transparent/clear & glossy so will be fine for the headlights. Secondly, C1, C4 and C5 are all the same product, the only difference is the marketing. Any & all will bond quite happily to the polycarbonate headlight lenses, as will Exo. Also, being a coating, they will have no issues withstanding the heat from the headlights. Also, as Exo's been thrown out there too, if you want maximum durability a layer of either C1/4/5 topped with Exo would be the way to go.