-DAvo

1stKill: Killer look... Envy the colour.. xD

Sorry Ingres, I'm not a fan at all.

Ignore Jeff.. He's just jealous his' still on stock. :P :lol LOL. Jokez Jeff..

Ingres: Bro.. Looks good. Thou total red on grill isn't an optimized look. Maybe the black or the chrome will.. I dunno. I reckon the sport grill looks better.

If u wanna stick to the lexus grill, u'll either have to play around or just stay on ur current ones. I think it still stands out.

ingres, looks good mate but i would go as far as to paint it matte black ;)

Davo,

Where are you sourcing all the Mirror glaze products? Also are you buying it in 1.9L/3.8L or the 473mL?

Oh yeah, and thanks for the offer in the other topic.

I think i may source some of the Meguiar's stuff from the U.S. soon.

Thanks.

Edit: Davo, what is your opinion on Paste Vs Liquid Wax. I've always used liquid.

hey mate

i get my local repco to order in the specialty products such as M21 synthetic sealant and M205 ultra finishing polish...

you'll generally find M07 showcar polish and M26 hi-tech yellow wax on the shelf at most repco or supercheap auto stores (at least here in WA they are)

I am only going for the regular sized bottles, as i only really detail my car and the missus car so they last me a fair while... if they had bulk ultimate quik detailer id be all over that thou :P

just dont try and order direct from meguiars USA, they wont ship internationally... :( i think Autogeek will ship thou, but you really have to buy a lot to make it worth while with postage..

as for liquid vs paste... would say i prefer liquid, for a few reasons

1. easier to use with a DA polisher

2. no chance of getting dust/foreign particles on the surface of the paste wax while its open

3. when refering to M26 in paste form, it is a right pain in the a.Rse to remove, even with the thinnest layer on...

the only con i can see from liquids is the chance that you may apply too much product, hence wasting or creating longer than needed drying/set times.

my only gripe about Meguiars Aust (motoractiv) is that they dont bring in M26 hitech wax into the country in liquid form... only paste... as that is to this date, the only carnubara wax that i could layer effectively for some awsome deep reflections... even in white paint! - hopefully the goldclass plus wax will come close to it...

what products do you use u54mot? having a black aurion would lead to some insane deep gloss! i would love to have a black aurion for that very reason...

Hows Tuesday 18th sound?

I am okay with the date - what time are you thinking of meeting up?

im thinking around 830ish

Hows Tuesday 18th sound?

andy, bummer dude, when are you getting it fixed? also chicken, when are you getting your car sorted out??

damn that hail :(

Thank you so so much - I hope this has been helpful for other people too as it's certainly been helpful for me :) I've never tried any type of scratch removal myself so I will go looking for either Ultimate Compound or ScratchX, and probably some SwirlX for those finer marks on the boot/bonnet. Looking forward to trying this now! Although decisions decisions, do I do it before I drive up to Sydney or when I'm there? Lol.. Probably wash it and clay it and do the scratch removal and polish & wax before and then just wash it and polish and wax again when I'm up there.

you're welcome :)

yeah i agree, as you said - do your surface prep before you get to the meet, its a lot better to do it in the comfort of your own garage...

if you want some further info, in case i have missed something, check these youtube vids out, i found them to be pretty useful when doing my research into what was needed for my car...

Final question (I hope!) - I would be applying any scratch removal product after a wash and clay bar but before I polish it then wax it?

spot on!

for your case, the process would go something like

1. Wash

2. Clay

3. Paint correction

4. Polish (this step is purely optional if you are using swirlX or ultimate compound, as the whole idea of "diminishing abrasives" is that when you initially apply the product and start working it into the panel, it will slowly break down until it becomes a polishing compound...)

5. Wax (however many layers you choose to put on, most of the time 2 layers is enough to ensure uniform coverage and good gloss, be sure to wait for the wax to set before you remove it, and for optimal results, give it at least a few hours before you apply the second coat.)

6. step back and admire the shine :)

Tash, in your case, the marks around the door handles would most lkely be caused by keys/rings etc... in that case i would recommend you try ultimate compound, or scratch X if you have some. You certainly could do the job with SwirlX but you may have to repeat the process a few more times compared to the ultimate compound to remove all the scratches...

:) any questions pls dont be afraid to ask, always happy to help :)

Would love to take some pics

IF my none toyota is allowed there D:

everyone is welcome :)

AndyS - would be great to get you along, what else do you need to sort out with your ride?

Thanks -DAvo, that answers my questions perfectly :)

Yes I will be getting the Mother's Wax Attack kit so good to hear that it is gentle on the paintwork. I have seen it used once before on my car (to great effect with just wax and polish) and feel pretty confident I will be able to use it well.

Good info about the pads too, I know the kit comes with two (one I'll use for wax and one for the polish) so I will invest in another down the track then that I can use products like Scratch X on.

One other query, I only plan on doing the whole lot every couple of months, and probably something like the scratch removal every 4-5 months. So then for that time the process would be wash, clay, scratch x, polish, then wax?

Edit: I just saw your other posts in the topic about Scratch X and see that you said it works best for spot repairs. Would Ultimate Compound be better to use after the clay before you polish?? Sorry for all the questions, guess I'm looking for the best process and products for the 2-3 monthly general wax and polish, and then for more serious scratch removal.

tash, ultimate compound would certainly be a more suitable product that scratch x, however you need to asses the severity of the swirls or scratches... general rule of thumb is to use the least aggressive product to get the job done, i would say if your swirls are not too bad, then you could probably make do with 2 or 3 passes of swirlX instead of jumping straight onto the ultimate compound.

just bear in mind that if you plan on using either swirl x or ultimate compound, then the mothers wax attack polisher probably wont have the RPM speeds to correct your paint... in which case you may be better off applying by hand... remember any of these products trhat remove swirls need a bit of "passion" when working them into the panel.. as they all work around a "diminishing abrasive"

hope that helps :)

DAvo, thanks for organising the meet/photoshoot.

I am interested in coming along to meet a few of the members and to take a few pics depending on the date/time/location.

byw - no problem mate, will be great to get another aurion on the meets, let alone a TRD! yeeooow!

will update this post as we get numbers.

as for loactions, i am pretty happy with photos from the southperth "bridge", but am keen to find some open carparks to shoot in as well? possibly the southperth boat launching area?

Hey all

Wanna arrange a meet/catch up for all us Perthies and maybe take a couple of happy snaps of the cars that we all know and love.

Thinking of a weeknight, sometime in the next fortnight.

Whose keen?

I have not used Swirl X or Scratch X before, are they easy to use?

both are really good when u have swirls and scratches (that dont catch ur finger nail in them). u need to work it in a few times if ur doing it by hand. i prefer this as i'm not comfortable with the DA as u can easily overheat the paint and break the top clear coat. but the DA can def cut ur work time in half if u know what ur doing :)

you'll find that the DA polisher is acctually not able to cause the type of damage you are talkig about... being a Dual Action polisher means it spins off axis, you are probably refering to a Rotary Polisher.. which operates at much much higher RPM's and does not randomly orbit.

Tash - If you buy the mothers kit, i believe it is the "mothers wax attack" kit? if thats the case, then that machine is very very mild and will not marr your clearcoat.

in other words, dont be afraid to use machine buffers! DA polishers are designed to not harm clearcoats! (DA polisher = Safe, Rotary Polisher = potential to damage clearcoats if use incorrectly)

to clean your pads there are a few methods.. if you are using the DA polisher, then "cleaning your pad on the fly" is a popular method, and from my experience works pretty well.

usually you would have 1 pad for a particular TYPE of product, for example, i have a pad purely to be used with aggressive cleaners such as Ultimate compound and ScratchX, and a pad soley for mild paint cleaners such as swirlX/M205 etc etc

if at the end of the day you cant afford or be bothered buying multiple pads, then making sure you rinse the pad out after each use with water and possibly a small amount of detergent (make sure you rinse ALL of it out) will suffice.

hope that answers your question.

omg..

she's lookin a beaut daryl :)

i love seeing water sheet off the car :P

thats a nice list you got going there... seems like your well and truely on the meguiars train! muahahhaa

anyway, adding to this, this is my current detailing a-rsenal...

Wash:

Meguiars Gold Class Shampoo applied with Meguiars Lambswool wash mitt

Surface cleaning:

Meguiars Clay bar/ Meguiars final inspection

Paint cleaner step 1:

Meguiars Ultimate compound

Paint cleaner step 2:

Meguiars mirrorglaze M205 (was previously SwirlX but 205 kicks ***** over SwirlX)

Optional step (depending on my mood lol):

Meguiars M07 showcar polish

Wax layer 1:

Meguiars mirror glaze M21 synthetic sealant or Nxt 2.0 (two layers)

Wax Layer 2:

Meguiars Gold class carnubra PLus or M26

Tyres:

Meguiars hot shine Gel

Windows:

AutoGlym glass polish

RainX protectant

RainX 2 in 1 cleaner/protectant for maintaining.

Plastics:

Meguiars PlastX

Interior:

Meguiars gold class dash and trim foam

Meguiars quik interior detailer

Meguiars Quik out carpet cleaner

Maintainence:

Meguiars Scratch X 2.0

Meguiars Ultimate Quick Detailer

Equipment:

Meguiars G220 DA polisher

8006 pad (x 3)

9007 pad (x 2)

Mothers Wax Attack Palm polisher

Countless Meguiars soft buff microfibres and chamois

yea.. my "detailing" wall in my garage is pretty fulll...

Unique: postage was about 30 bucks to WA. They are based over east so i think it will be cheaper for ya.

Since were asking the detailing guru, davo can i apply scratchX with the g220?

andy, you can but its not ideal...

scratch x is mainly used for "spot" fixes... and your better off using a less aggressive product first like swirl X

Few questions that hopefully can be answered :):

davo, with the G220, which pads should I use when I apply swirlX THEN nxt gen liquid wax 2.0?

After buffing, do I have to wipe off the excess by hand using the micro fibre cloths?

i use the w8006 yellow polishing pad with swirlx/ ultimate compound/ m205

for the nxt 2.0 i use the w9007 finishing pad... but i alternate between that and my mothers wax attack (which i think spreads the wax a bit better)

after you apply the wax with the machine, alloy it to set and remove with a microfibre cloth. i dont buff the product off with the machine... :P

hope tha helps

Cool man! That really does help. I'm keeping notes of all this stuff. Makes life much easier :)

I'll be hopefully getting the G220 with the W8006 for the SwirlX and W9207 for the Wax 2.0

This machine should literally half my time detailing in half!

nicee! B)

now get your hands on some M205 and prepare to be amazed ;)

Few questions that hopefully can be answered :):

davo, with the G220, which pads should I use when I apply swirlX THEN nxt gen liquid wax 2.0?

After buffing, do I have to wipe off the excess by hand using the micro fibre cloths?

i use the w8006 yellow polishing pad with swirlx/ ultimate compound/ m205

for the nxt 2.0 i use the w9007 finishing pad... but i alternate between that and my mothers wax attack (which i think spreads the wax a bit better)

after you apply the wax with the machine, alloy it to set and remove with a microfibre cloth. i dont buff the product off with the machine... :P

hope tha helps

what a hot sportivo! and your from perth!!! gotta come out on a cruise sometime mate :)

I know Davo will be proud of me.

I bought myself a:

-Meguiar's G220 DA polisher

-Lake Country 6.5" CSS White constant pressure pad - mild cut

-Lake Country 6.5" CSS Red constant pressure pad - no pad/finishing

Hope these serve me well.

I'll be using these items with:

-Meguiar's Nxt Gen wash

-Meguiar's claybar kit with quik detailer

-Autoglym super resin polish + Meguiar's Scratch X

-Meguiar's Tech wax 2.0

Although nothing to be done on my car until it goes in to be fixed :(

YAY!!!!

where did you get the lake pads from andy?

Today I gave my TRD the best clean it has probably had in it's life. It's been about 3 months as well since I have touched some clay and wax and boy was this a mission to do.

Started working on it at 10am and have only just finished the exterior now (4:00pm). Started with a full bubble bath spending a fair bit of time removing these odd black dots on it. I think it must be road tar or something. Either way, I got everything spot free.

Following that was a good claying. Strangely enough, in the past, claying my Sportivo resulted in the clay bar turning a greyish colour. Claying this car though resulted in it going a yellowish colour with a bit of grey in it.

After that was a good coat of Sonax Full Protect wax. Then applying some Braso to the muffler cutouts in the bumper, a waxing of the wheels (not expecting that to last), and a Rain-X treatment of all windows and both mirrors.

Just having a break then attacking the interior and engine bay.

Some observations from all this:

1) At the expense of being called lazy, I have really lost interest in cleaning my car like this. I used to really enjoy spending time to get my car all shiny etc, but now it just seems like a big chore.

Sure enough the feeling of waxing her smooth body after rubbing her down with some clay is quite satisfying, but unfortunately it has reached a point where the satisfaction doesn't outweigh the effort anymore for me. I think I can live with the normal washing etc but when it comes to claying, and maybe waxing, I think I might pay the good guys down at Hoppy's to do the job for me.

Maybe I just have to get back into the habit again. Or maybe it's because this daily driver clocks up so many k's. I've only had it for one month and I have already travelled 7000km. 2000km of that was driving it here to Brissy, so realistically, it has travelled 5000km. That's like 166km a day average. Cleaning it just doesn't have a lasting feeling.

2) Compared to my old Sportivo:

- The TRD sure is easier to wash/clay/wax since the front and rear bumper are basically one piece compared to the two piece bumpers on the Sportivo.

- However, waxing the silver is a little trickier than the red since now I can't clearly see if the wax is fully applied and buffed off.

3) I never knew just how much shine you could get out of a silver car until now. May not be a mirror finish, but damn it looks good.

So much for the Ming Paint Protection the original owner of this car had done to it. Whatever was left of that (if any) would be long gone now.

Edit: Okay... I really need to snap out of it. What was I thinking. I can't be lazy. I take back observation number 1, and will force myself to do all the work.

glad to hear you gave her a good wash daryl :) but sorry to hear you didnt enjoy it as much as you could of :(

at least now you know the claying part is out of the way and it will be another couple of months before you need to go thru it.

If you want to use a product(s) which will lengthen the time needed between wax's, maybe give the new meguiars ultimate wash & wax shampoo. while it wont replace the act of waxing, it will probably serve to boost your current wax which means longer time between wax sessions. oh and get onto a synthetic wax if your not liking the regular wax thing, lasts yonks :) im sure by readin my previous posts you would know what wax's i recommend :P

anyyyway today was spent sorting out the ducktail on my car... thanks to our good friend SikaFlex, she's now sitting in my garage waiting to dry up. :) very happ with the looks!

have my car booked in for probably the biggest mod i have done on monday the 10th... very very excited! :) :)

looks great!!! inspires me to get something similar done to mine, as i just have the boring ol sub box fitted in the centre of my boot...

keep the mods coming!!! :) and get those dang kappa's on!!! :P

Just got back from overseas, and bought back some brand new MEGUIARS GOLD CLASS CARUNBARA PLUS wax! yeeoow! hasnt even hit WA (or possibly australian) shores yet, will be applying to my car tomorrow! :) :)

more mods are on the way!

How's the wax? Did you bulk buy? Did you bring me back some? haha.

Some more pictures on the way?

i only bought 2 tins of it (only had the paste version) but i have 'rellos who will be coming back from singapore soon so i will probably get them to pick some more up for me and also some neat 3m products ive never seen here too.. if your interested PM me and i can sort something out :)

havent tried the wax yet unfortunately... my exisiting layer of M21 is holding strong for now. I will give it a big wash and photoshoot after the 10th, as thats when my next big mod is getting done ;)

first impression of the wax thou, it is a lot softer in feel(paste) than the original gold class wax... and much much softer than M26 yellow wax... has a pleasent aroma, and a consistency i can only describe as "slightly chilled butter". claims to have better protecting (thus longer lasting) than the previous gold class but thats yet to be seen.

I will be applying it as my sole wax (instead of layering with M21/NXT 2.0 like i usually do) to test out the durability. I guesstimate it probably wont last as long as M21 or NXT 2.0 thou, but wl give better depth...

results will be posted soon ;)

and me! id like to buy a few...

if you guys look into one of those lips then a group buy could be on the cards because I have been wanting one for mine as well

will the camry lip kit fit onto the Aurion? If so im definately keen on a group buy too!

nice looking stance you got there private number! :) white FTW

to add my 2c :P

crusing ; grits- Ooh Ahh / Zion I - trippin'

aggressive ; muse - Supermassive black hole / Cyrstal method - name of the game / Darude - Children of the sandstorm