I was kind of surprised when I washed my tundra recently. Up until last summer I was pretty anal about cleaning it every weekend or every other weekend with frequent touch ups of wax (usually premium synthetics) because I love an *amazing* shine. One that people stop and look at when you get gas.
I put Meguiars NXT on one weekend, then a couple weekends later I put Mothers FX on because it's so darn easy to put on and take off. It's like spreading butter. But the FX doesn't clean very well, so I'd put NXT back on couple months later to clean spots and wax. NXT isn't hard to put on or take off but it is harder to take off if you do it by hand. (on touchup waxes I do it by hand and spread it thiiiiiiiiinnnnnn.) FX is like wiping off dry dust practically. I was being lazy and didn't want to put on any of my "good stuff" since it's more work.
I'm pretty sure the last thing I put on was Mother's FX because I've got white paint so depth doesn't matter, but total reflection does. So shine (synthetics) is most important.
The thing I was shocked about was that I have not washed my truck in 9 months. I thought it was going to be brutal to clean - even if it was only getting off the inevitable tree sap off - because I get the white paint virgin clean. You have to use a machine for that - unless you like a lot of work or petroleum products to dissolve it. Even if you use petroleum based cleaner, it's still some work by hand.
I even let my brakes go too long. No touching the wheels to clean them, no rotations, and the brakes had only a mm or 2 left. I really let them go and bought new rotors since I figured sure I'd trashed them after 70,000 miles on the pads. Nope. I could have turned them and gone on. But I put new premium rotors and ceramic pads on. So the wheels were filthy with brake dust. I thought I was never going to get it off the rims.
I washed the vehicle with some Turtle Wax ICE car soap
Turtle Wax - Ice Car Wash
that I picked up just so I *something* in the bucket besides water. I didn't have time to dig out my good stuff from the garage or storage - wherever I have it. I'm remodeling our house so things are all packed up. That soap is slick and works really well!!! I give it a thumbs up! I don't like the wax, but the soap is great.
But just about *everything* came off. Oh there was some very mild rubbing to get some spots off but I only used a microfiber mit and soap and 5 gallons of water. You just wipe back and forth 10 times to clean a spot rather than a usual swipe once to take off dirt. I didn't even touch the wheels, I dreaded the mess after washing them. Whatever I used to wash them with was going to be black afterward.
Then last week I took it to the local car wash and just let it run through. To my surprise the wheels came out spotless. Nothing was left. The paint was clean!! I didn't prep the wheels at all (no presoak, nothing). I just had the Mothers FX on it from 9 months ago (if not even longer, it could have been a year).
I was amazed. All that time - had to be 9 months, maybe a year - and nothing really stuck. Nothing significant. And I don't garage the vehicle, it's out 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
That FX not only shines really well, but its protection is amazing. It's so easy to use. NXT it easy, but this stuff is twice as easy (doesn't clean very well, but it has a mild cleaner in it).
This weekend I went over the front third of the truck with a Porter Cable and some Menzerna Final Polish II
PO 87MC, Menzerna Final Polish II (Micro Polish)
to bump up the paint brilliance and clean off some paint spatters that somehow got on the front bumper and hood from somewhere. I have no idea how many months that paint splattering was on my truck. I tried a Meguiars cleaner by hand to gunk it on and get most of the paint off, then followed up on the remaining spots - there were a LOT - with Menzerna and Porter Cable DA polisher. The clay I tried was worthless on the paint splatters, but it picked up everything else embedded in the paint on the hood and bumper.
That Final Polish II is a great Polish! A GREAT polish.
Then I topped with the Menzerna Glaze
PO 115C, Menzerna Finishing Touch Glaze
Might have been overkill because it is white paint. Glaze if for darker colors.
Then I went it all with Menzerna Full Metal Jacket (hi-tech synthetic wax).
I was surprised that what I used to do every three months I could do in 9 months and it had exactly the same effect.
If I wanted depth and gloss I'd add a layer or two of wax over this. But that won't matter on white. That's for dark colors to get depth.
I do have to say though, that Mothers FX was amazing. And it's so easy to put on and take off. It didn't shine that great but it was good 9 months later and the beading 9 months later was "okay" - hard to tell when the paint is so dirty. White looks clean even when it's dirty. But boy Mothers FX sure protects the paint!!!! And that's what wax is for - protection. Polish is for shine.
I'll have to see what Menzerna does, but that's right up there with the best stuff.
Alan
Here is my detail
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