So many new products

[snowtop57]

I'm not a professional detailer, that is I don't do it for a living, and quite frankly I have been rather lax in my car care for the last 4 to 5 years because of caring for my aging parents. My detailing skills have been limited to my own vehicles and some family members. My product of choice was the Pinnacle XMT line followed up by Pinnacle Souveran Carnauba Paste wax. My vehicles are daily drivers so they usually get a bath at least once a week followed up with Pinnacle quick detailer. Until I got sidetracked, every spring I would do the whole process again: wash, clay, wash again, condition/polish (Porter Cable DA with LC pads of various colors), & wax. I had dark colored vehicles at the time and I was very pleased with the finish and received many compliments from friends & families.
So now, my parents have gone to a better place, and I find I have more time now to devote to the car of my vehicles. I recently picked up a 2015 Cadillac SRX Premium (Platinum Ice Tricoat) with only 17,000 miles and the paint seems to be in pretty good shape. I've never owned a white vehicle so I'm looking for suggestions to make the white color "pop" as well as one can. I've also wondered about the new ceramic coatings, would this be a better route for me to go? A friend of mine put a ceramic coating on his Pontiac G8 GT and he says that he has water spots on it now and cant seem to get them off.

[Paul A.]

First off, sorry to hear of your losses, snowtop57.

XMT and Detailers Pride were combined to form the new brand McKee's 37 by Bob McKee a few years back. Nick Rutter is the man here that works directly for Bob and is the M37 expert. They are dynamite products. Pinnacle Sov remains my favorite wax.

I have been dabbling with coatings almost since they came out and I will always have one on mine and the wife's vehicle. Because of their durability, the prep is the key and that's scratch free and prepped with alcohol or prep wipe products so it lays on virgin paint. You'll be locking in the finish for at least a year and depending on the product, years (yup, plural).

Until recently, I've battled water spotting with my previous coating try outs. I'm currently trying GTechniq Crystal Serum Lite + EXO, a 2 layer coating system, that claims to limit water spotting. So far their claims have been justified with me.

One of the points talked about with coatings is, with the durability claims, you don't really cut, buff, polish and add a wax or sealant say 2-3 times a year. Some people (myself included) like to fiddle with paint correction and then try different LSP's frequently. I mean, isn't that the fun part? Coatings go a year or more and aren't really messed with once they're applied.

I do detailing as a business and get to do the fun parts often enough. Because of that, 1. I don't have as much time for my own vehicles and 2. My black car serves as a selling point and looks nice all the time because of a coating.

And, hey, looks like post #1 for you. Congratulations on stepping into the active discussion and I extend a hearty WELCOME to you (or welcome back).

[PaulMys]

Paul said it all.

But, I can second the welcome to AGO.

Any and all questions welcome. No question is "dumb".

[snowtop57]

First off, sorry to hear of your losses, snowtop57.

XMT and Detailers Pride were combined to form the new brand McKee's 37 by Bob McKee a few years back. Nick Rutter is the man here that works directly for Bob and is the M37 expert. They are dynamite products. Pinnacle Sov remains my favorite wax.

I have been dabbling with coatings almost since they came out and I will always have one on mine and the wife's vehicle. Because of their durability, the prep is the key and that's scratch free and prepped with alcohol or prep wipe products so it lays on virgin paint. You'll be locking in the finish for at least a year and depending on the product, years (yup, plural).

Until recently, I've battled water spotting with my previous coating try outs. I'm currently trying GTechniq Crystal Serum Lite + EXO, a 2 layer coating system, that claims to limit water spotting. So far their claims have been justified with me.

One of the points talked about with coatings is, with the durability claims, you don't really cut, buff, polish and add a wax or sealant say 2-3 times a year. Some people (myself included) like to fiddle with paint correction and then try different LSP's frequently. I mean, isn't that the fun part? Coatings go a year or more and aren't really messed with once they're applied.

I do detailing as a business and get to do the fun parts often enough. Because of that, 1. I don't have as much time for my own vehicles and 2. My black car serves as a selling point and looks nice all the time because of a coating.

And, hey, looks like post #1 for you. Congratulations on stepping into the active discussion and I extend a hearty WELCOME to you (or welcome back).

Thanks for your reply, actually I've been on this forum before but was away for so long that I forgot my original log-in and password (age catching up with me) so I just signed up under a new name.

As you can see with the products I've used it has been a while. I'm not a big fan of the correction/polishing routine (but then who is) though I know its necessary at times. But nothing makes me smile bigger than that wet/glassy look. My wife has always told me I'm too anal about my cars appearance. From what I've been reading lately, looks like I'm going to try one of the coatings. Just going to read a little more before I decide which one.