When I polish my car I use . . . . . .

[Westy]

1) Nothing, my paint sux

2) Carnuba based wax

3) A polymer based polish

4) Whatever my significant other wants to use is OK with me

[klaucke]

Carnuba, Mother's California Gold to be exact.

[emcon5]

I don't polish it.

Tom

[carmad]

Used to use Zymol which is not very durable. Just switched to Zaino and so far it has worked well, much more durable, shine lasts longer and my black paintwork has never looked better.

[ken_xman]

Oh my....where to begin.
You must first clay the car.
Use wizards low cut compound with a low speed buffer & wool pad.
Move to 3M hand glaze, low speed with foam bonnet.
....garage and wait 24 hrs.
then wizards sealer and glaze ..low speed/ foam bonnet
then meguiars #7 show car glaze, low speed/ foam
....wait 24 hrs/ garage car
apply meguiars - yellow high tech wax....by hand
apply #7 hand glaze ... by hand as final layer.

...leave out the clay & compound... and I do the rest monthly.

Heres a site for some crazier than I.
http://www.autopia.org/forums/index.php

[Westy]

What do you do with the other three days of your week????

[ken_xman]

It only takes 10 minutes with some practice. Its a release from daily stress.
Buffer saves lots of time.

[B D]

...leave out the clay & compound... and I do the rest monthly.

Come on, that is over the top! A good detail job should last 3-6 months. With that routine your car is out of commision 10% of the month so you can clean it. I try to only wash my car once a month to keep it nice and dry and keep the rust away. Stop cleaning and start driving!

Here is what I used last time, it's the Mothers three step proccess. Check out there site to learn more.

CALIFORNIA GOLD®
PRE-WAX CLEANER – PHASE 1

CALIFORNIA GOLD®
SEALER AND GLAZE – PHASE 2

CALIFORNIA GOLD®
NATURAL FORMULA
PURE CARNAUBA WAX – PHASE 3

[qcwang]

clay and detail spray by hand
step 1 Meguires paint cleaner
step 2 Meguires polish
step 3 Meguires carnuba wax
Porter cable buffer for the Meguires
About 3 hours or so.

So far have done this once about a month ago, will probably do this twice a year.
My plan for in between, wash and step three every 2-3 months.
Wash and detail spray when dirty (every 2-4 weeks?)

[juanbenae]

i use the mr miyagi methog, wax on wax off.....

[RickM]

I don't use "polish" either. I use Meguires #26 pure yellow Carnuba.....but rarely. I usually do the car with detail spray after a wash. It's kept the paint in excellent condition.

[pwd72s]

Original paint, other than front bumper resprayed in the 70's when I had the bumperettes removed, holes filled. Wax? Since it's the original acrylic enamel. I've used lots of products over the years, but hand only, the usual product is Meguire's #6 for the first coat, then a pure carnuba for the 2nd...I've found the brand not all that important...Meguiar's, Blitz, Harley, Zymol, they all seem to work about the same.[img]

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads3/emorys03pic21091206467.jpg[/img]

[Rich Lambert]

Zaino...there is no substitute.

[JonT]

3m Imperial hand glaze followed by Omega Blitz wax. Works fantastic on my black paint and seems to last a fair amount of time--car never sees rain though so I don't wash it much.

[pwd72s]

trying again for a pic that shows...dunno what I did wrong before.

[Carl Bauer]

Originally posted by B D
Come on, that is over the top! A good detail job should last 3-6 months. With that routine your car is out of commision 10% of the month so you can clean it.

If you don't live in CA and your car is a daily driver you might have to wash/detail it a little more often... That said One Grand Blitz or P21S.

[ken_xman]

Try living in NY. Pollen/ salt / acid rain/ pollution. Infrequent detailing is not an option.

[chuckr]

If your 81SC has origional paint, you have NO clearcoat.
I suggest a high quality Carnauba for waxing... polishing is a different
thing. The 3M Imperial Hand Glaze OR Griots Fine Hand Polish are excellent polishes. I'd suggest www.carcareonline.com for more detailed
info and do a search here on Pelican.
Good Luck,
Chuck

[nostatic]

hmm...I think I waxed it about 6 or 8 months ago. I can't remember. I wash it about every 3 or 4 weeks. Unless I don't. That isn't what my car is for.

[sammyg2]

3M perfect-it (for dark colors) to polish with power buffer and foam pad, then carnuba (not the correct spelling) wax.