Meguiar's Ultimate Quik Detailer: product opinions

[MisterShark]

OK, so I'm feeling my way through all the various brands available for the various stages of exterior finish care, and from what I've gathered Meguiar's brand of products is a fairly well-respected product line. Maybe not as highly-regarded as some of the other brands like Pinnacle, Poor Boy, etc.. but solid nonetheless, and a worthwhile purchase for someone like myself who is looking to keep my new car looking great without being as obsessive as someone who does this professionaly.
The fact that Meguiar's products are readily available is a huge plus as well, as I'm sick of paying and extra 1/3 - 1/2 of the product's cost added on for shipping due to web purchases being the only acquisition option.

Anyway, onto my thread's focus question.
From all that I've read, any possibilities of grit and grime particles being dragged across your car's finish is a bad thing. Before delving into this culture/community of detailing I knew this basic fact already to be true, and would have thought that a thorough washing (with water and a car wash solution) would always need to precede any cloth being dragged across the finish for fear of particles trapped beneath causing scratching.
So the process and products that facilitate 'quick detailing' without a prerequisite water rinse of some sort seem counter intuitive to me.

After watching the video promo (http://www.meguiars.com/video/index.cfm?playURL=rtmp://meguiars.flashsvc.vitalstreamcdn.com/meguiars_vitalstream_com/_definst_/TVS_UQD-UQW.flv&VideoName=How%20to%20Maintain%20Your%20Finish) on Meguiar's site I learned of the Ultimate Quik Detailer's (claimed) ability to chemically bond to and lubricate surface particulate contaminates in order to make the substances safe to be wiped across and ultimately off of the car's finish without causing any scratching.

So my question for the knowledgable here is: do you trust this product (and similiar brands of quick detailers) to not cause micro-scratching? I know the answer I'm about to get, but humor me: my car is all of a month old and it's the first new car I've had in many years so I want to get it right the first time.

I've already purchased and used Meguiar's 'Ultimate Quik Wax' and was quite satisfied with the final product. I just want to hear a few reenforcing words of advice from some of you before I stop by my local Target store on my way home from work tomorrow to pick up the 'Quik Detailer'.

Thanks in advance.

[ryandamartini]

OK, so I'm feeling my way through all the various brands available for the various stages of exterior finish care, and from what I've gathered Meguiar's brand of products is a fairly well-respected product line. Maybe not as highly-regarded as some of the other brands like Pinnacle, Poor Boy, etc.. but solid nonetheless, and a worthwhile purchase for someone like myself who is looking to keep my new car looking great without being as obsessive as someone who does this professionaly.
The fact that Meguiar's products are readily available is a huge plus as well, as I'm sick of paying and extra 1/3 - 1/2 of the product's cost added on for shipping due to web purchases being the only acquisition option.

Anyway, onto my thread's focus question.
From all that I've read, any possibilities of grit and grime particles being dragged across your car's finish is a bad thing. Before delving into this culture/community of detailing I knew this basic fact already to be true, and would have thought that a thorough washing (with water and a car wash solution) would always need to precede any cloth being dragged across the finish for fear of particles trapped beneath causing scratching.
So the process and products that facilitate 'quick detailing' without a prerequisite water rinse of some sort seem counter intuitive to me.

After watching the video promo (http://www.meguiars.com/video/index.cfm?playURL=rtmp://meguiars.flashsvc.vitalstreamcdn.com/meguiars_vitalstream_com/_definst_/TVS_UQD-UQW.flv&VideoName=How%20to%20Maintain%20Your%20Finish) on Meguiar's site I learned of the Ultimate Quik Detailer's (claimed) ability to chemically bond to and lubricate surface particulate contaminates in order to make the substances safe to be wiped across and ultimately off of the car's finish without causing any scratching.

So my question for the knowledgable here is: do you trust this product (and similiar brands of quick detailers) to not cause micro-scratching? I know the answer I'm about to get, but humor me: my car is all of a month old and it's the first new car I've had in many years so I want to get it right the first time.

I've already purchased and used Meguiar's 'Ultimate Quik Wax' and was quite satisfied with the final product. I just want to hear a few reenforcing words of advice from some of you before I stop by my local Target store on my way home from work tomorrow to pick up the 'Quik Detailer'.

Thanks in advance.

After drying comes claying. I would not trust a product to hold the contaminants down while wiping. QD spray is used for me to lube clay or use it as a last step to give the product some extra pop.

I wont wipe a towel across contaminated paint unless Im drying it off. The water provides much much much more lubrication than a fine mist of QD. I would say it depends on the condition of the clearcoat for me as a final factor.

[MisterShark]

Interesting. Not the answer I expected to hear. Looking forward to more opinions on what I thought would be a open & shut discussion. Please keep the replies and opinions coming; maybe I won't be making that stop @ Target after all.

[unclestu]

Now that makes me totally confused. Does that mean a QD is best only as a clay lube or a QD to a vehicle which has already been detailed?
What do you think about ONR?

[maddenbowler]

I use QD all the time and dont notice any marring. But before I wipe down with the QD i use a california duster and wipe all the dust off. Then all im doing is just adding gloss and slickness since all the dust is already gone

[gwilo]

A Quick Detailer is fine to use after washing your car, if it has already been waxed or sealed (sealant)

Wash & dry the car, then do a QD and it will look like it was just waxed.

As for Spray Wax, call me old fashioned, but I can not see how a 20 minute spay wax job can compare to a 6 hour multi-step process.

If you want to use Meguiar's products I have used the Deep Crystal & the Gold Class lines and have been very happy.

[Rsurfer]

IMO if the paint has light dust it's ok to QD. If it's been thru a rain then wash. ONR can be your best friend for washing and QDing. When my car is slightly dusty, I use a Euro Shag MF or a Duster to get most of it off first. (takes 2mins.), then use a QD. There are so many better QD's than Meg's, but use what you like best.

[TheJazzGuy]

Meguiar's Ultimate Quik Detailer is a really nice product. It produces a very slick surface, and deep gloss. I agree that using it over light dust is fine, though it's probably better to wash if rain has turned the dust into mud. :)

[GMC83]

I havent QD'd my vechile when it gets dusty in a long time. I am just too afraid to swirl the paint.

[LuxuryMobile]

I dont typically use a QD to whipe down the entire car. I love keeping it around to get bugs off the front during road trips or removing bugs when I dont want to do a full wash. I also like misting it over my car/panels before I dry as I feel it helps add shine and protect from scratches/marring during the drying process. I have been using Meguiars Ultimate Quik Detail spray.

[23jam]

For the last 4 years I have been using Meguiars QD products. Started off with consumer quik detailer, made the switch to Last Touch. Beta tested Ultimate Quik Detailer, now use #135.

I find for light dust Quik Detailers are great. If used properly they should not instill scratches or swirls. By this I mean if you thin k the vehicle is too dusty for a qd. Then it probably is. Do a wash. But if you use a California duster then a qd you will be fine. Heck, there are plenty of times that I just go straight to the qd. No cd at all.

I swear by the qd products. I keep last Touch on hand to use as a clay lube. Diluted 1:1. Otherwise I like #135.

[MisterShark]

I use QD all the time and dont notice any marring. But before I wipe down with the QD i use a california duster and wipe all the dust off. Then all im doing is just adding gloss and slickness since all the dust is already gone

I like this idea: remove the 'macro' particles so that only the small stuff remains for the QD spray and wipe.



For those that only use the QD following a wash with water: to me this negates the very reason I would consider using it at all. After I wash the vehicle and follow this up with the spray wax (which takes about as much time to spray on/wipe off as the QD does anyway) the finish looks great, and there's no need to inject another step + expense into the equation.

My intended use for the QD is for situations where a bird has dropped a lovely package on your finish but you simply don't have the time (nor will you in the next day or so) to break out the buckets and water for the whole process.
I wanted a quick but safe solution to simply leaving the brid s*** there on the finish to look horrible and possibly do damage.

If this Meguiar's QD does what it claims (safely, as it claims to) then maddenbowler's quick 2-step process seems like a winner to me. I'll just need to pickup one of those larger (already have the smaller one for the interior) California Dusters for the car's exterior.


Please do keep the opinions coming though. I'm listening to and processing everyone's input and am thankful for it.

[mackdaddyhibble]

If the car has any dust I'd lightly use the duster first,then QD,however in my experience M135 is a better QD than UQW.Since the car is new have u put any sealant or wax on it yet?Since Ive learn to prep and protect my car Ive found less need to QD since it only needs to be dusted and QD'ed only in those instances where a bird catches me or have fingerprints.Ive used megs products and their pretty good,however I get a much better shine from using Souveran or 4 star spray wax after washing once a week,than the megs.Spray wax isn't a substitute for a good coat of sealant and or wax.Eventually you have to weight the opinions and experiment for yourself to see what works best for you.

[MisterShark]

Since the car is new have u put any sealant or wax on it yet?

Since driving it home from the dealer's lot I have washed it (I think I used ArmorAll's Car Wash Concentrate (http://www.armorall.com/products/view_product.php?product_id=15&main_group=0&category_index=wash_wax)) dryed it with some microfibers I purchased at Target (before I found this forum and discovered better quality MFs) and then used Meguiar's Ultimate Qwik Wax (http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/detail/MEG+G17516).

Since then (2 weekends ago) I have simply rinsed the car down with the garden hose, flooding from the top down.
It was getting to be late evening and I didn't have time to dry so that was that.

I'm hoping to be able to find the time to do a full wash and spray wax again this weekend, weather-permitting.
In the meantime a bird with good aim has victimized my nice black finish and there's a light but noticable coat of dust over all.
I'm thinking I may hose it down tonight and use the Qwik Detailer after drying it, just to get me over until the weekend.

[akimel]

I have a black car. I have good quality microfiber towels. I have learned through negative experience that it's probably best for my car to avoid quick detailing sprays as much as possible. The less touches the better. I will use a quick detailing spray after a wash, though; otherwise, I try to only use it when needed for emergency attention, like bird bombs and tree sap (Last Touch is my choice for these situations).

I know that I'm in the minority on this question, but I know that I have accidentally generated swirls in my paint through quick detailing, despite my best efforts to be careful and gentle. As as result I find myself giving my car more frequent ONR baths.