1-Step vs 3-Steps

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Makes me want to go out and buy a used Saturn.

[m4bama]

Mike you definately have a way of making a statement for shure.

It's Autogeek's gain to have your vast knowlegde and character here for sure.

Hope all goes well for you.

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I've always been a 5-6 step finisher, but have found that while still spending 12-15 hours on a car, I have begun to use some 1-step products.

Especially like the Mezerna Acrylic Jacket, but don't think AG offers it. Also like
the Griots G Polish/Sealant.

[Mike Phillips]

UC is just 105 right? If it is, it's good stuff. Been using it for a while now.

Derrick

M105 is more aggressive and formulated to be used with a rotary buffer. UC is not formulated to be used with a rotary buffer, the primary factor being the higher temperatures generated with a rotary buffer.

[MisterShark]

Is XMT 360 considered one of the better AIO's? No wax wars please!

Was hoping to read a response to this sub-question. Anyone?

[ASPHALT ROCKET]

Was hoping to read a response to this sub-question. Anyone?

I would go with Mezerna 203 or even Megs 205. With the right pad 205 can do a decent job.

[Buckskincolt]

I would go with Mezerna 203 or even Megs 205. With the right pad 205 can do a decent job.

Well being as neither one is an AIO I don't think that answers our question, but thanks for the feedback. Looking for a good All In One and was looking at the XMT 360, it's supposed to be durable but I'm not sure of it's cleaning and abilities.

[ASPHALT ROCKET]

Well being as neither one is an AIO I don't think that answers our question, but thanks for the feedback. Looking for a good All In One and was looking at the XMT 360, it's supposed to be durable but I'm not sure of it's cleaning and abilities.

Alot of people use these two to do a one-step and then follow with an lsp, plus it would end up being alot more durable then just using XMT 360.

[Mike Phillips]

As promised, here's the follow-up to Dana's question about how the results will look after washing the car. First I'm just going to wash the section, and then later this week I'll do the chemical strip of the same sections.


So in the normal world, if a person were really trying to restore their paint, then afterwards they would likely wash with a non-detergent, premium car wash, not a known strong detergent wash.

Agree?

So to play Devil's Advocate, I went ahead and washed the text section with Dawn Detergent Dish Washing Soap even though it about killed me to work backwards.

Not only did I use Dawn, I used plenty of Dawn and really washed the paint down thoroughly.











Again, if you re-read this thread, Dana, aka ASPHALT ROCKET was wondering if after the test sections were washed if all the swirls that were in the paint to begin with would simply show back up, meaning the Ultimate Compound, the SwirlX and the NXT for the most part just filled them in.

After lunch, when the sun is directly overhead, assuming it stays sunny here at work, (weather changes quickly), I'll go out side and take some after pictures.


I'll take a guess right now, without having checked the results yet as the sun is still at a low angle, that the before side will look horrible and the after side will still look very good.

Note I never said my 2 applications of UC were going to remove 100% of the swirls. If I wanted to remove 100% of the swirls I would have applied it 2, 3, maybe 4 times and used a more aggressive applicator pad and then, 99.9% of all defects would be removed.

What I did, not knowing the thread was going to turn this direction, was simply apply UC twice using an applicator pad that the same company sells, then the SwirlX as a finishing polish and then their wax, (so their system for working by hand), to show another member in another thread the difference in results a person could get by using only a one-step cleaner/wax versus breaking the process up into multiple, steps using dedicated products. I wasn't trying to show him how to get flawless show car results by hand, if I were I would have invested the amount of time required by checking my results and doing what ti would take to reach the goal. Instead I did what I thought would be a good example of what the average Joe Consumer could do.

For the record, I never mind a challenge and while my preference is to always work by machine, I very comfortable working by machine or by hand on clear coat finishes and always willing to tailor the process to best serve our customers and what they're interested in.

So hang tight, and if it's sunny, I'll snap some after shots of both sections and post them, if it's not sunny, then we'll just have to wait till it is, with the fact that with more time the finish results won't be getting better and better but worse and worse, or in other words, time is NOT on my side to prove my point.

Since moving to Florida, I now understand the say,

"If you don't like the weather, just wait 20 minutes and it will change"

Thanks everyone for their patience...

[Mike Phillips]

Looking for a good All In One and was looking at the XMT 360, it's supposed to be durable but I'm not sure of it's cleaning and abilities.

XMT 360 is a true one-step cleaner/paint sealant that uses a synthetic polymer blend for it's protection ingredients, no natural products like Carnauba wax. It's durability and protection should be as good as any similar product in this category.

My Jimmy arrived from California Sunday night on a Transport Truck here at Autogeek. After I stepped down at Meguiar's in installed a Big Block Chevy and in the process the truck sat outside and I'm sad to say I neglected the paint as I was pretty much focused on the mechanical upgrades.

The sides of the truck are all scratched up from my son and his buddies climbing up the tires to get in the back. The front fenders are filled with swirls and scratches from me and my buddies leaning over the fenders installing the engine and hooking everything up. Right now, the Jimmy is a pretty good rolling test bed for testing the cleaning ability of product like the XMT 360 so this weekend I'll test it out and then post some results.

One thing for sure, it's going to be fun to work with as it really smells good.

XMT 360

Especially like the Menzerna Acrylic Jacket, but don't think AG offers it.
Also like the Griot's G Polish/Sealant.

Our XMT 360 would be in the same category as the Menzerna Acrylic Jacket, that is they are both one-step cleaner/paint sealants that use synthetic ingredients for protection.

Haven't used the GGPS yet but liked their Paint Sealant, it's still shining bright on the 1964 Ford Falcoln and everyone tells me it's rained more here in Florida more than they've seen in a long time. I lived in Oregon most of my life and I thought it came down in buckets there, not so... when it rains here there are drops of rain, it's pretty much just a layer of water descending upon the earth.