Glaze or Sealant needed?

[calhoun1]

Well, after talking with my wife and doing some thinking, I have narrowed my prospective order down.

Menzerna Porter Cable Ceramic 5.5 Inch Polishing Pad Kit (http://www.autogeek.net/pc7424-menzerna-ceramic-kit.html)
Pinnacle XMT Pad Care Combo (http://www.autogeek.net/xmtpadcacofs.html)
Gray Finishing CCS Smart Pads™ DA 5.5 inch Foam Pad (http://www.autogeek.net/ccs-5-5inch-foam-buffing-pads.html)
Pinnacle Signature Series II Carnauba Paste Wax (http://www.autogeek.net/pisisepawax.html)

Now my question is, do I need a glaze or sealant? I have read that sealants do last longer, but I am not worried about the time as I have the time available to wax as needed.

And I also read that glazes basically fill in swirls that are left after polishing. So to get it would help the finish look better, but it is not required to get a good looking finish before wax.

I also am not showing my cars, this is for my own personal want to have good looking, swirl free cars. I am not getting top inspection as an IPA will accomplish the same thing for less money.

This is a bit disjointed and I apologize if I am asking too much, but I want to confirm what I have read.

Thanks again for all the help and comments.

PS - Is there anything else that I am missing that may be needed?

[D]

You do not need a glaze, or the XMT pad care combo.

[Dkblue05]

Glaze can do some filling, and make paint look extra wet, but it would be better to polish those defects out, so they dont come back after a few washes.
Are you ordering any compounds or polishes?

[calhoun1]

The Menzerna PC kit has SIP and 106FA.

And why dont I need the pad care combo? How else do I clean the pads easily?

[heatgain]

A glaze might fill in some swirls, depends on the glaze. Also I find glazes add a bit of gloss on darker cars, not on lighter colors.
You can clean your pads with a bit of dawn and water, although you may find that pad combo more convenient.
I prefer a sealant because of the longer durability, but many people prefer the look of a wax and don't mind re-detailing the vehicle more often.

[loudog2]

I myself use the pad conditioner. To clean the pad I would get some pad rejuvenator(DP or Wolfgang). No need to glaze after the 106FA, it finishes down great. SSII is a great wax. What color is your car? As for the recomendation to use dawn to clean your pads, as stated above. I was always told it would damage your pads.

[calhoun1]

I have a black 08 Pontiac G5 GT and a slate grey metallic 06 Pontiac G6 GTP.

Yea, I want to make sure I clean the pads with something that will not damage them or make the life shorter.

Thanks for the replies.


I also have a trim question, the G6 has the plastic panel stuff on the lower part of the body as well as the mirrors, I recently used armor all on it, it made it look 100% better, however I notice after it has rained, the armor all left a trail down the side of the car off the mirrors.

Is there a better thing to use for that? Is there something OTC? Or only available online?

[loudog2]

A normal wash should do it. If not a IPA wipedown on that spot would work. The IPA wipedown will remove all wax or sealant applied to that area.

[ScottB]

Based upon the items shown above, you really need neither. You have your polishes and the wax is your protection. If you want some further durability then add a sealant before it.

[94LT1]

I also have a trim question, the G6 has the plastic panel stuff on the lower part of the body as well as the mirrors, I recently used armor all on it, it made it look 100% better, however I notice after it has rained, the armor all left a trail down the side of the car off the mirrors.

Is there a better thing to use for that? Is there something OTC? Or only available online?
Mothers back to black is OTC and sometimes u can find Meguiars #40 Vinyl and Rubber cleaner/conditioner.

[vinnier6]

why do you think you need a kit desinged to polish out ceramic clearcoats....does pontiac use a super hard clearcoat??....if i were you i would get a premium synthetic sealant...if the car is a daily driver you will be better off with the protection that a sealant gives you over a carnuba wax....not to mention it will last longer as well...

i like 4 star ulitmate paint protection and you can get that here as well....

[loudog2]

why do you think you need a kit desinged to polish out ceramic clearcoats....does pontiac use a super hard clearcoat??....if i were you i would get a premium synthetic sealant...if the car is a daily driver you will be better off with the protection that a sealant gives you over a carnuba wax....not to mention it will last longer as well...

i like 4 star ulitmate paint protection and you can get that here as well....
Why would you think he can't use that kit?? I use the same stuff on a lot of cars. So do most people on this forum. SIP/106FA is a popular combo to use. The SSII that he's going to get is a great wax.

[calhoun1]

I got that kit since the Menzerna SIP and 106FA are recommended for all finishes as well as ceramic and because it comes with the smaller 5.5" pads. Which is cheaper than buying all the polishes, pads, and PC separately.

If I need I sealant, I can just go grab some Megs NXT 2.0 or Megs #20. Right now I am pretty much at the price point where my wife is ok with it, but I can't go higher. So having stuff that I can get OTC is good as that lessens the shock of a huge purchase.

So the NXT followed by a Carnauba would work well? Would any cure time be needed between NXT and the carnauba?

[loudog2]

Usual cure time is 12-24 hours between applications(longer the better). SSII is a nice easy wopo(wipe-on-wipe-off) after the NXT.

[calhoun1]

The only downside is my cars are not garaged. So it gets dew on it nightly, Megs QD will work fine to use after letting something cure correct?