My NuFinish Review (good stuff!!)

[1sttruck]

"You are seeing false economy due to the low purchase price."

Economy doesn't have anything to with it, well, short of $100 products, as for me it's a matter of time. I have four vehicles to care for, including two pikcups, so durability is all important.

 

[Cup of Joe]

Originally Posted By: 1sttruck

Economy doesn't have anything to with it, well, short of $100 products, as for me it's a matter of time. I have four vehicles to care for, including two pikcups, so durability is all important.


I think you are missing his point. The reviewer stated his conclusion on price as "awesome" but he used roughly 1/2 of the product making 1 complete application costing $3-4. For a person with 4 large vehicles you would then need to buy 3 14-16oz containers minimum just to cover your cars. So is $18-21 to cover all your cars very economical? One 10oz container of Klasse AIO is $14.99 and could do allot more then 4 cars and trucks plus its very durable but its not on allot of store shelves.

I know it doesn't take 1/2 a tin to cover a car or truck sufficiently. It takes me aproximately 1 oz to cover my subcompact at most or in dollars about 37 cents. With 14, 16 or even 20 oz's (new size I found at target, I just had to buy it same price) thats good economics. One 20 oz bottle for my little car could last 20 years or 10 at twice a year application.

Actually I am quite impressed with Nu finish myself, as of Saturday I have all of their products. All of the products I have tried are working brilliantly. I haven't tried the soap yet which I found on saturday at Ace, but the rest are working quite well. Although Nu vinyl washes right off in the rain if used on exterior trim or tires, but on the dash its brilliant.

 

[1sttruck]

I seem to buy maybe one $5 or so bottle of Nufinish a year, and it seems to last almost a year.

 

[Jim 5]

I got some nufinish on the black plastic factory fender flares and black plastic door handles of my truck.

The white marks have never come off. It's been 1.5 years now. Mineral spirits (as recommended on the nufinish site) nor anything else I have tried can't remove the white marks.

Beware!

PS. Can anyone else suggest something I could try?

 

[ron350]

Jim 5 I have not tried it yet but others say peanut butter may remove the dry wax from plastic.

If that does not work try Duragloss 481 Wax Eraser.

 

[bretfraz]

Best to use is a dedicated wax remover product. I use a cleaner called GR-40 that's specifically designed to clean plastic trim and remove wax stains. However, I'd suggest trying a good all purpose cleaner. Perhaps Simple Green diluted to a safe ratio for starters. Might take a couple applications and require a small stiff brush to scrub the stain, but that should work.

In the future either tape off the trim or apply a light coat of water based tire dressing prior to waxing. A few minutes of careful prep always pays off. Hope this helps

 

[Jim 5]

I tried peanut butter a while ago and that didn't work.

I am going to have to try GR-40 if I can find some. We don't get the same selection of products as you have in the US.

I have tried simple green, 303, superclean, and a number of others. I fear that the sun has baked it on by now, but I'll keep trying. I would really like to get these marks off, I'm even considering buying new door handles.

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

try mr.clean magic erasers

 

[demarpaint]

I've read and was told, although never tried it, that using Lemon Pledge removed dried caked on wax on plastic areas etc. Next time I'm in a store that has it I am going to give it a try.

Frank D

 

[ATS-V]

Originally Posted By: Jim 5
I got some nufinish on the black plastic factory fender flares and black plastic door handles of my truck.

The white marks have never come off. It's been 1.5 years now. Mineral spirits (as recommended on the nufinish site) nor anything else I have tried can't remove the white marks.

Beware!

PS. Can anyone else suggest something I could try?


I'm afraid that you're stuck with the stain. In the past I've never been able to get it out, so now I'm very careful with NuFinish and trim.

 

[EdT]

You guys certainly are not hardcore detailers !

The only cars I would use NuFinish on are old clunkers and then again why would anyone want to polish as rust bucket ?

NuFinsh was introduced in 1976 as an infomercial, it is basically an "cleaner wax" with primitive polymer technology compare to today's products.

The retail market is flooded with "One Step" clean and protect products which is basically a cleaner wax !

A quality approach and product such as a seperate polish and pure wax is really the only way to go if you want to maintain your car's esthiques to better than conditions.

 

[drivewaytech]

How long after waxing a car should must one wait to polish/rewax. I waxed my car 2 weeks ago, but after perusing the Detail and Wax section, I would like to do a polish and then wax. I will be going on a very long road trip at the first of the month and would like the car to look nice and stay that way.

 

[bretfraz]

Originally Posted By: drivewaytech
How long after waxing a car should must one wait to polish/rewax. I waxed my car 2 weeks ago, but after perusing the Detail and Wax section, I would like to do a polish and then wax. I will be going on a very long road trip at the first of the month and would like the car to look nice and stay that way.


You can redo it immediately. There is no waiting period to re-detail a car. Keep in mind most car waxes last 4-8 weeks, so a good percentage of your 2 week old wax job has been eroded. No harm in starting from scratch again.

 

[drivewaytech]

Thank you bret for the info. To expose my lack-o-knowledge as pertaining to waxing, I was under the impression of no more than 4 times a year. I have a professional buffer that was used in a body shop that I will hopefully read up on and learn how to use. My car is a 2006 so the finish is still in rather good shape. I intend to keep it that way. Thanks again.

 

[MKZman]

One problem is the word "polish" is not used consistently by product manufacturers. Polishes can have mechanical abrasives that remove a very small amount of the paint each time or they can just be a paint cleaner through a chemical method with less abrasiveness.

Nu Finish falls in the paint cleaner category. You can use a paint clear polish as much as you want. As for the abrasive polish, depending on polish selected, you can use safely use them at least once a year and probably at least once every six months. You would select an abrasive polish to remove scratches and swirls (usually caused by washing) that affect the high gloss shine when the sun reflects off the paint. Gping to a mechanical car wash will add many swirls and over time you will lose the new car look. A new car will look new for some time even if improperly washed. The paint slowly oxides so unless removed just gets worse over time.

My view of Nu Finish is it is for someone wants to clean the paint to remove surface oxidation, add some protection, but not necessarily after best possible appearance (the wet glossy look). My gripe is smell and staining.

I want that wet glossy look so I use products like Mothers that do not smell like a chemical waste dump or stain trim that are very easy to apply and provide the wet glossier look. I do not mind detailing every 3 months or so to maintain that showroom like shine. It is not a chore at all if you wash your car correctly and keep it reasonably clean.

The routine I recommend:
1. clay and use an abrasive polish once a year to get paint nice and shiny (this is what really makes a car shine)
2. use a paint cleaner every other wax time
3. use a sealant/wax every 2 to 3 months or so depending on how much of that new car look you want to maintain. Some use a combo sealant and wax. Sealants tend (not all) last a bit longer than a traditional wax.

Note: Darker cars are much more sensitive to appearance issues due to swirls. Lighter color cars do not show this as much. They do not really ever have that eye popping look either in my opinion.

 

[Cup of Joe]

Originally Posted By: Jim 5
I got some nufinish on the black plastic factory fender flares and black plastic door handles of my truck.

The white marks have never come off. It's been 1.5 years now. Mineral spirits (as recommended on the nufinish site) nor anything else I have tried can't remove the white marks.

Beware!

PS. Can anyone else suggest something I could try?


In a vary rare non-selfish act I went out with my Klean Strip Prep all and removed the coating I had on my exterior trim and purposely applied some NF to various areas. As luck would have it I did have a couple spots where NF had stained the trim and I simply had not removed it from a previous polishing.

Prep all stripped all of the NF off just fine, newly applied and old dry stuff. Don't forget a tooth brush of course since plastic trim is textured you will need it to work into the pours. On some edges it was harder to remove but still very removable with a bit of work.

http://www.kleanstripauto.com look for Prep all its a wax and grease remover. I bought my quart at Advance I do believe, lowes also carries klean strip products, I think Home depot does as well. I've had my quart for years it doesn't take much to get the job done even before paint or touch up.

On a different note it turns out Black Magic titanium tire matte does not wash off of trim like I thought it had.

As my next philantrophic act I am considering covering the top of my Grand caravan in NF, Duragloss, Klasse AIO, Black magic wet shine and possibly NF with a layer of NXT. It will then sit in my front yard when not in use with the rarest of washing. I just have to find the time, my summer car hasn't seen the road this year much less a wash and wax.

 

[Cup of Joe]

Originally Posted By: EdT
You guys certainly are not hardcore detailers !


Not since I stopped getting paid for it. Life has caught up to me and I simply have different priorities then when I was younger.

 

[mvw2]

Gave the NuFinish a second try.

Try #1
First attempt was with an unprepped surface, just a wash and direct use of NuFinish. I did 2 coats and was unhappy with the outcome, zero cleaning, polishing, or filling, very thin, not very shiny.

Try #2
I waxed the car less than a month ago, so it was still decently clean. I washed, did Meguire's Swirl Remover 2 (didn't really need it but helped clean and smooth the surface of dirt, etc. and any minor swirl marks. I used NuFinish as a base sealer, one coat, and then put a coat of Mother's Carnuba wax over that as a last step.

I'm still not tremendously fond if NuFinish. It's very thin and not very shiny. It will fill in any minor swirl marks but will emphasize any major scratches, chips, etc. I need to keep an eye on it over the next month or two and see how well it holds up. This will be its only saving grace. With a layer of wax on top, you can regain the shine, but it will be a little mellower and not so mirror like. I still have to see how it looks in the bright sun tomorrow as it is dusk now. It might be an ok protectant if it lasts a long time. You would just have to periodically reapply wax to keep a shine and wetter look. A filler glaze would be nice prior to the NuFinish to fill scratches and chips. This will prevent the NuFinish from highlighting these flaws.

I think a simple cleaner wax does a lot more than just NuFinish. However, if NuFinish holds up say a good half year, it might be a nice inbetween protectant.

 

[1sttruck]

I used Nufinish on one truck and one car this weekend, first time since since last summer. Judging from the water beading while washing it it doesn't last a year if the vehicles sit outside, instead it seemed to last about nine months (was still beading this spring) and then the summer sun kills the remainder. I used the paste this time instead of the liquid, and it goes on different, using less but not staying soft as long, thus perhaps not cleaning as well. I used the 'black again;' I think it's called, thick liquid, with a toothbrush to get the stray Nufinish off of the black plastic, and it worked well.

I'll keep using it until I hear about something else that lasts as long on vehicles that sit outside.

 

[Schmoe]

Well, based on these comments, I went out and bought some and tried it as well. Used it on my F150 and geesh, it was hard to get off. I even pulled out my mechanical buffer and I still couldn't get all the wax off. I don't know what the problem was. I washed it first but it some places you can still see the wax on the paint when I applied it. I've buffed that thing all weekend. I then used my MXT on my Honda and it was a night and day difference. Stuff came right off with no tell-tale residue signs. I was not impressed. Hope I can still find the reciept and take them up on their guarantee offer.