Maybe this should be under the other forum for car detailing but there never seems to be many people who read that so I'm posting it here.

I did my annual deep cleaning of the car and man did it need it! I wash the car then use a clay bar which gets any contaminants under the paint surface in cracks or scratches. After that I use Meguiar's liquid rubbing compound which gets all the deep dirt off that's above the paint so you're back down to actual paint. Then I used their #7 polishing compound to give it a nice shine, followed by a wax to protect the paint.

Here's why I buy Meguiar's ...... I had some leftover Mother's "Wax and Cleaner" and an old 16 ounce can of Simoniz II liquid wax that I wanted to use up and get rid of. I called Mother's to ask what "wax and cleaner" meant. She said "our guy is out". That's basically all they have at Mother's, is "one guy". When I got to him, he said the cleaner will take off the polishing compound I just put on, so don't use that.

Next, I called Simoniz about their old Simoniz II can that I had. They didn't know any technical information at all about ANY of their products and never even heard of Simoniz II. They referred me to their sales person in my area who I called and same thing, he never even heard of it. In days gone by, they probably sold what, 1 million cans of this stuff yet I get "we never heard of it".

When I call Meguiar's , they typically answer their phones and know all about their products, they know how to use them, in what order, and why. I'll never buy Simoniz again. Why would I want to buy from a company who knows nothing about their products? It's like they're saying, "Sorry but all we do is sell products to make money off of you, but we don't know anything about them". That doesn't encourage me to think they even make quality products.

1991 300d, 220k

Meguiar's is now owned by 3M. They've rolled out a lot of new products since the acquisition. I was never a big fan of theirs before but I buy their stuff now.

The product isn't necessarily any "better" as their old line was pretty much top shelf but they do have more varieties and better pricing.

3M products were always my "go to" guys for the hard stuff.

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“Whatever story you're telling, it will be more interesting if, at the end you add, "and then everything burst into flames.”
― Brian P. Cleary, You Oughta Know By Now

"A wax?" Which one of the many Mequiar's wax products have you decided is best?

And I will bet that they even know how to spell Mequiar's.

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When cryptography is outlawed, bayl bhgynjf jvyy unir cevinpl.

I wish I had a car that was pretty enough to detail, I did a FULL detail my SDL.

Wash, clay bar, compound, polish, synthetic coating. Also detailed the glass and interior, it took me sun to sun down to complete. it got a lot of complements.

One day someone keyed it, the bumper paint began peeling off, and the trunk lid became faded. After that I stopped.

Still have my DA polisher. I forgot the brands I used.

Many cars look clean or spotless to the average joe, but when you begin detailing you realize most cars are ravaged.

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1998 Ford Escort ZX2 5 speed - 279,000 miles My Daily

1992 Mercedes 300D 2.5 202,000 - Pure junk
2000 Mercedes E320 Black - 136,000 miles - Needs repair

Don't forget to grease the screw and threads on the spring compressor.

Ain't that the truth! "Mission creep" sets in quickly when you start to detail your car.

"I'll just throw a quick buff and shine on the beast" turns into "When did that scratch occur? I 'll take care of that little item" and pretty soon the weekend is over and you STILL haven't finished cleaning the windows.

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“Whatever story you're telling, it will be more interesting if, at the end you add, "and then everything burst into flames.”
― Brian P. Cleary, You Oughta Know By Now

If you had bothered to do a very general Google search, you would be able to spell Meguiars too.

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Milan Brown 1979 240D, rebuilt OM617.952 turbo diesel, rebuilt 722.315 transmission (my only daily driver)

Instagram: @maximed93

Facts! If I get into the shipyard, I'm buying a CLEAN Benz, then I'm going all in on detailing.

Paint coating, tire coating, wheel coating, glass coating. Going to get a electric pressure washer for touchless washes etc.


Gear heads usually don't detail their cars and car detail enthusiast usually don't tackle jobs bigger than fluid changes.


I'm hoping be the best of both soon.

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1998 Ford Escort ZX2 5 speed - 279,000 miles My Daily

1992 Mercedes 300D 2.5 202,000 - Pure junk
2000 Mercedes E320 Black - 136,000 miles - Needs repair

Don't forget to grease the screw and threads on the spring compressor.

Several years ago I had an opportunity to meet Barry Meguiar at a car show (Road Kings of Burbank, CA). Barry is a great down to earth person who really enjoys talking to the people who use their products. As I understand it, Meguiars was a family owned business before the purchase by 3M. Great products.

I didn't use Meguiar's wax this time, though I'm sure they have some good stuff. I used my old leftover Simoniz. And you're right about the spelling of Meguiar's! That's a weird spelling. Thanks for correcting me. I corrected my original listing.

Actually, I looked at their website and still got my g's and q's mixed up. At any rate, I have been pretty happy with their stough, whether I can spell it write or knot.

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When cryptography is outlawed, bayl bhgynjf jvyy unir cevinpl.

I'm a fan of Meguiars cleaning products, but their wax leaves a lot of room for improvement. I've found that in the sun and rain (you know, weather?) it simply doesn't hold up. After 3-4 weeks, the water beading is reduced, after 6 weeks, the paint's gone flat again. I'm certainly not lazy, but re-waxing monthly is ridiculous.

My go-to wax tends to be Turtle-Wax Super Hard Shell paste wax. More of a synthetic wax with a goopy consistency, but it seems to hold up for 4-6 months for me, even with washing and raining. I'm sure there's better waxes out there (or at least more expensive ones) but it's served me well.

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Current stable:
1995 E320 149K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 120K (SLoL)

Black Sheep:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)

I have a 1972 114 gas coupe I intend to repaint sometime. Whatever is on it has to come off. I suspect it is high in silicones. It is a chalky maroon and I suspect some form of a color matching wax product might be involved years ago.

I tried cleaning an area with various things but was not very happy. I suspect I may have to use something pretty aggressive to get down to the paint properly and clean.

I also do not want to rub whatever it is into the existing paint any more than it may be already. I had the feeling I may have to resort to paint remover yet. I just hope not.

Barry,

Have you tried to clay bar the paint before using a rubbing compound, then polishing compound? I've seen "dead flat" single stage paint brought back quite nicely this way.

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Milan Brown 1979 240D, rebuilt OM617.952 turbo diesel, rebuilt 722.315 transmission (my only daily driver)

Instagram: @maximed93