UrS0NvS

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (DrivingTibNaked @ Dec 17 2007, 11:25 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Can you find watts or volt-amps or amps anywhere on it?</div>


couldn't find anything about power output on the owner's manual and i no longer have the box, sorry.

Vladimer

for the tires use meguires tire foam

i've used all kinds of spray shines and comparing to foam, they mean nothing, the shine just sprays on and comes off pretty easily, with the foam it actually eats the dirt away from the actual rubber and leaves them insanily clean for a very long time, i've had the foam last abit over a month with countless amount of car washs and a couple rain storms, the spray...? give it a car wash or a dirty day and its gone

DTN

^^ what is the difference between Meguires and Armorall tire foam?

DTN

Added: cleaning black plastic/rubber window trim & color sanding in conjunction with touchup paint.

DTN

I've been doing some research on commercially available car wash liquids from meguires as I generally use meguires products.

1. Gold class - costs more because of "conditioners" added to wash. Good general purpose wax
2. Crystal - Deep cleaning, designed for show cars.
3. NXT - newest, made to work with the meguires NXT series.

I'm not sure of the difference between them or what to make of NXT car wash soap. Does anyone have any input on that?

I waxed my car with 2 layers of NXT 2.0 paste wax. Meguires says there is no difference between their NXT 2.0 liquid wax and their NXT 2.0 paste wax. I grabbed paste because I trust it more. Apparently they both provide the same protection and durration. The NXT 2.0 series does not have a NXT 2.0 Booster Wax.

I'm left wondering if the booster wax from 1.0 should be used or if the new "ultimate detailer" spray should be used in place of it?

StrikeEagle

Couple things:
NEVER use armor all for the interior! It causes your windows to fog up much easier, and doesn't leave you with a full time shine. I always use products from a company called Black Magic (A.Z. and Advance always carry it). Most their products are silicone based, and leave an amazing shine For the interior parts, use their protectant (also comes in wipes):

Spray on your paper towel, wipe/rub it on, let it sit while you do the rest of the car, then come back and wipe it all off. It adds an extra layer of protectant and stays on muuuch longer than armor all. No limit as to how many times you use it. I used it once before doing one of my interior photo shoots, and it was so shiny it messed up my lighting really bad.
Also never use windex, it always leaves streaks, no matter what the bottle says about being streak free. I use something called invisible glass (AZ and advance also carry it, get the aerosol version, not the spray bottle):

www.invisibleglass.com/
Spray it on, rub it in, then use a dry microfiber cloth to rub it off. They really do mean invisible, it's completely streak free and perfectly clear. I've found it also reduces on fogging up (but only if you don't use armor all), and it's safe to use on tint. Use it both inside and outside.
I also use a product called Aquapel on the outside of the windshield. Basically it's a way better product than RainX. It does an amazing job of keeping your windshield clear of water, and it lasts forever too. Usually RainX lasts for a couple weeks, or until you use your wipers. I put mine on at Christmas and it still wicks rain as well as when I put it on. And I've used my wipers a lot, washed it, power washed it, gotten it dirty with salt and sand spray, and it still lasts. The stuff is so good, I never use my wipers during a downpour (occasionally I do when it's just misting, but never in a full rain). I have the $4 special wipers, and fortunately don't ever really need to use them (they're already squeaking and bumping...). And when it's dark out, you can't see the rain on your windshield at all. It just blows right off and the little that is on your windshield is completely invisible (unless there's other outside lights). Amazing product, I'd never use anything else. A bit pricey, but it lasts forever, and is highly worthwhile.

Aquapel site
RainX vs. Aquapel comparison
Tire shine: Black Magic makes a really good product, but it's kinda hard to apply... Looks amazing, lasts a long time.
Car wax: I've used the Black Magic carnauba stuff once, and being silicone based, it's really hard to apply and get the shine to come out, but once you do, it is amazing!
Clay bar: Definitely one of the most worthwhile products! After newly cleaning and waxing my brother's car, it still had sort of a bumpy feeling to it rather than that smooth just-waxed feeling. So the next time we waxed it, I used the clay bar, and wow what a difference! It was perfectly smooth, and really had that nice feeling. I think I used the Mother's, and have used the clar bar at least 2-3 times (just half) so I'll get around 6 uses out of it.

DTN

Good tip on the black magic! I'm going to try it out when I run out of Armor-all

I know for a fact that not all interior shine formulas are the same. Armor-all is my current favorite. I dont' have a problem with fogging windows. I know that when I was in Texas, my windows used to fog all the time because of the high heat and humidity coupled with the quick change of temperature in the early mornings. I don't have that problem in South Carolina.

I recently tried some of the no-name stuff at advanced. I think it was Advanced auto parts protectant brand. It sucks. Do not use Advanced auto brands. It made it shiney, but not black in the slightest. It's like it didn't get into the material, just put a residue on top of the pleather on the dashboard. It didn't hide any scuffs or anything. Just made them shine so they were more noticable. I'm seriously going to give away the 2-for-1 deal I got on the advanced crap.



As for the invisible glass, I'm not a fan of it at all. I have to clean up my car well before a show, because I smoke (yes, I'm a smoker) in my car. I've got some of the Invisible glass right now and I don't like it one bit. I have to wipe the window down a bunch of times and even then, it seems to just push the residue into the corners and leave it. It does not clean very well, but it does leave a streak free shine. Windex cleans very well though. I only have to wipe 2 times to get every bit up. I perfer windex.


Try some rain-x 2-in-1. I've found it actually cleans AND shines the windshield. It works pretty well. I havn't used it much, but it seems to be a great option. You can just spray it on a dirty windshield, rub it in, and wipe it off.



I like foaming tire shines. They tend to clean and shine. Usually you just spray on and walk away.

I just recently tried this tire shine NXT insane shine. It seems to be a really good product. It does not clean the tire, but it makes it real black and real shiney.


You're right on with the clay bar. Definately use clay bar every once in a while.

I don't really like carnuba waxes. I'm stuck on urethane for winter and the NXT series for the summer. NXT is kind of one of those apply and then maintain waxes. Carnubas is apply, then apply again. The NXT series can be applied then maintained with other products until you get lazy for while, then you have to re-apply it.

KCVoRTeX

One thing I would recommend is finding a glass cleaner that does not have ammonia in it as it CAN fog up certain kinds of window tint film over time.

also a good idea is to have 2 buckets for washing, one with soap and water one with just water... rinse out the sponge in the bucket with just water to keep your soap bucket free of dirt and debris

REDZMAN

I haven't looked here in some time, but the fogging isn't from Armor All. I use the thick ass GEL armor all stuff, and my stuff never fogs, not even in the humid times of the year, or in humid areas.

Caj Darkmoon

Redz, you live in one of the least humid states in the country, so it's probably different for those of us in more humid areas.