tbcrain

I exclusively use products from http://adamspolishes.com/. All quality stuff.

bamablueoval

Same here

69CanaryCamaro

I'm a huge fan of Chemical Guys. I just spent about 5 hours last weekend washing, paint sealing, and waxing my Ruby Red truck. The sealant/wax made a huge difference. The color is much more deep and before.

WestTexas277

iTrader: (1)

I use all Meguiar's products here. I'm quite a stickler for detailing, and Meg's products have always been great. The NXT 2.0 is a great wax.

NDcent

I like Meguiars Ultimate, I use the whole line.

K-J

I have a 16' with black paint. So here's a couple questions.....

What's the deal with those California Dusters, is that realistically something you can regularly use in between washes or does it damage the paint?

Also, if I were to get a soap gun to foam the truck does that just add a step to my wash or would it be similar to " dusting " the truck in between washes ?

I too have never had a black vehicle, nor one that I cared enough about to keep clean !

Thanks for the tips 👍🏻

DangFoo

The California Duster is good provided that you don't wait a full week + and try to wipe away heavy dust and pollen. I use it on my Cadillac (black paint) and no issues. I'm also a fan of the Meguiar's Spray Detailer between washes; just make sure the cloths are 100% cotton and not the cheap rayon stuff or you'll really beat-up the clearcoat.

osxi

Not a pro detailer here but some of the best advice I've received was to dedicate a high quality microfiber towel to quick detailing between washes. That means using a product like Meguiars Ultimate Quick Detailer or Meguiars Final Inspection (my personal favorites) to remove light dust. I do it daily and if I miss a day, I'll avoid using QD until the next wash. If it rains, I don't touch it until it's washed. QD is good because it provides lubrication that surrounds the dust/dirt so that it can't scratch your clear coat.

A lot of people use ONR (Optimum No Rinse) to basically wash a car if it's not super dirty. It's kinda like QD but a higher lubricity.

This is is a really subjective topic but there is a ton of info out there on the internet. I think the Chemical Guys YouTube channel and the Meguiars forums are great places to learn more about detailing. Somewhere out there, I read and understand that you might want to stay away from using California dusters even with light dirt because the lubrication piece is missing from that technique and it most likely would create at least light swirls over time.

Good luck not developing detailing OCD

For wax though, I personally use Meguiars Ultimate Paste Wax and then add a layer of Meguiars Gold Class Carbuba (paste), using Meguiars Ultimate QD as often as possible to keep it ridiculously shiny. I always clay bar using a cheap QD as lubricant like Meguiars Quick Detailer (not the Ultimate QD). That's just me, though!

Kutch98

What exactly does the clay bar do?

osxi

The idea is that it removes "above-surface bonded contaminants". Stuff stuck on the clear coat like tree sap that would otherwise not come off from washing in order to provide a better surface for wax to bond to.