Tried some new products today: my review

[Klutch9]

Before I get started, the pictures of my detailing on the Fusion can be seen in the thread below.

Pictures thread

I will also add that every product listed was applied by hand. Products used:
-Blue eBay clay bar, with MeGuiar's Quik Detail spray as lubricant.
-MeGuiar's Ultimate Polish
-Surf City Garage Barrier Reef Wax (thanks to satinsilver for the heads up on the free bottle!)

Clay Bar: This was my first time ever claying, so I really have nothing to compare this eBay clay to. However, the clay was clearly picking up a lot of contaminants, as it got dirty quickly every time I folded to a new side, so it was definitely doing its job. The Quik Detail spray gave a nice smooth surface to glide on. The resulting finish was incredibly smooth and shiny. Not bad, eBay. I used 80 grams (half the bar), and it still has some life left in it. Again, the Fusion was never clayed before this.

Ultimate Polish: The car has some light swirl marks on it, so I wanted to add some polish before waxing. I will admit that I did apply the polish quickly and didn't work it in a whole lot, so there were still some swirl marks remaining. But wow was the paint shiny! I have no doubt that if I used the product as directed - working in small sections at a time, working it in, using several applications if necessary - all the light swirl marks would disappear. The Ultimate Polish also delivered on the claim that it "darkens" the paint slightly, giving it a deeper shine.

Barrier Reef Wax: I got this stuff for free, and was looking forward to judging the shine, as supposedly that is what makes this wax stand out. The stuff is a smurfy blue and smells like bubblegum, so that was nice. But applying the stuff was quite difficult, and disappointing if I'm honest... the wax didn't go anywhere near as far as the Collinite 845 I'm used to, and became very hard to move around shortly after starting to spread it onto a panel. Now, the comparison to the Collinite may be unfair, since I have more experience using that wax, and it spanks the competition when it comes to ease of use. Anyhow, the Barrier Reef wax does haze nicely, which makes identifying areas you've already been over easy. Removal was very easy, with no tricky spots that were hard to remove, and it didn't leave a chalky residue on black trim. The shine was also nice, too.

In all, I liked all the products I used, with possible exception to the Barrier Reef wax. I'll pass judgement on it for now, since this was only the first time using it. But I already miss my Collinite!

 

[qwertydude]

Looks good. If you want to save some money and be able to use more lubrication for claying without worrying about using up a bottle of spray detailer simply mix a gallon of water and one ounce of car wash soap.

This will lubricate the clay just fine and you can be far more generous with it since it's so cheap to make. You'll get better results than trying to stretch a single bottle of detail spray.

And I love that blue ebay clay. Cheap stuff and very gentle on paint compared to the OTC stuff like the Meguiars and Mothers. I also appreciate the firmer texture as it doesn't blob out as quickly and doesn't leave as much residue as softer clays. I also find it tends to mar the paint less if you accidentally misuse it like under-apply lubrication or run it past the areas of lubrication onto a dry section.

The downside is since it is so very mild it takes more passes to remove defects than the softer medium strength clays like Meguiars and Mothers.

 

[Klutch9]

Originally Posted By: qwertydude
Looks good. If you want to save some money and be able to use more lubrication for claying without worrying about using up a bottle of spray detailer simply mix a gallon of water and one ounce of car wash soap.

This will lubricate the clay just fine and you can be far more generous with it since it's so cheap to make. You'll get better results than trying to stretch a single bottle of detail spray.

And I love that blue ebay clay. Cheap stuff and very gentle on paint compared to the OTC stuff like the Meguiars and Mothers. I also appreciate the firmer texture as it doesn't blob out as quickly and doesn't leave as much residue as softer clays. I also find it tends to mar the paint less if you accidentally misuse it like under-apply lubrication or run it past the areas of lubrication onto a dry section.

The downside is since it is so very mild it takes more passes to remove defects than the softer medium strength clays like Meguiars and Mothers.


I totally agree about the eBay clay being mild. But its good for a beginner. There were a few spots of road tar or tree sap that took a few diligent passes, and some still were there afterward. But I saw no marring from the clay, and I agree that the firmness of it made it retain shape quite well.