hey everyone,

I'm like a detail FREAK and I try and keep my car looking as new as possible...I have had my black coupe for a year and I've waxed it a couple times (NXT Wax is awesome) .. anyway everytime I've waxed, I only washed it with normal car wash soap first. I've been reading a few people use dawn to wash it down. Is this a better method to use? I know it takes off the old layers of wax but i would think the more layers on there the more protection, especially cuz i'm not exactly sure how durable and protecting this Meguires NXT is??? What are your thoughts?


And yes I did do a search but just I was just curious about it a little more and wanted to make a discussion topic...

You say you're a detail freak but then say you waxed your car a couple of times in the last year?

Dude, mine gets it once a month and sometimes more... In the group of guys I run with you'd be brought up on charges of neglect.

If you think the NXT is good, try putting a topcoat of real carnuba over the top of it - your paint will look like you can swim in it and it will outlast the NXT like you won't believe.

To answer your question, no, I don't wash with dawn between waxes. No need to. I use a good car wash soap - it does a great job and doesn't strip the wax. I have no problem layering carnuba - no harm that I know of. I've never had a problem with yellowing either - even on my pearl white Maxima.

If I decide to change waxes or apply something different than what's on the car, I'll usually claybar the car first to remove the old polish/wax. I haven't put dawn on the car in years - I don't like putting strong detergent on the clear coats they use these days.

IF you do use dishwashing liquid it's only recommended you do it 2 or 3 times a year. I usually do it twice a year to strip everything off. I use dawn dishwashing liquid, clay bar, zano polish (5 or 6 coats). I've been wanting to glaze and wax after but all that takes about 5 or 6 hrs and wears me out. If I had time I would go all out and take a couple days to detail. Zano products are good, NTX nano-wax, and I hear Shining Monkey products are really good too from the IS300.net forums

IS300's suck ***** dude. Get a different car. Especially black ones with clear middle taillights. I HATE those ones the most.

(P.S. - I got an 87 on the Heat Transfer final, how'd you end up doing? )

DAWN ON YOUR CAR!?!?!?!?!? I wouldn't put a strong detergent on my car unless I was planning to repaint it... Look, if you want to strip all of the wax off your car then go to an auto paint store and buy the wax remover. Forget dawn.

Im a detail freak- I wax after each wash....the more layers the better...(So far had it since January, total of 4 washes, only 2700 miles, garaged all week long, comes out to play on weekends.

Sal Zaino advocates the use of Dawn to remove existing waxes and contaminents as an initial step in applying the Zaino system.

"3. I would definitely recommend you remove the wax buildup on your paint. Just use Liquid Dawn (hand dishwashing liquid) as a car wash. It has a high alkaline content which cuts right thru carnauba wax, paraffin, silicone oils, etc. This will get your paint finish squeeky clean and wax free.

I don't advise making a habit of washing your car with Dawn. But for this scenario it's fine. High alkaline products like Dawn are tough on polishes. It will never harm the paint finish though. A car wash is made specifically to clean without removing durable polishes. ALSO, Make sure you remove any water spots, before you apply my products. Because Zaino has no abrasives or harsh solvents it will not remove water spots or stains. Z-18 ClayBar is great for removing any paint surface contaminants. Re-wash the entire vehicle with Z-7 Car Wash immediately after the ClayBar
Cleaning Process."

http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/...de=APPLICATION

OR

http://tinyurl.com/448am

I only use car shampoo and claybar to rid gunk off the surface.
I use swirl remover as needed, and then NXT.

swirl remover will remove the wax

I only need to spot remove swirls. not the entire car.