Exterior cleaning preferences: wax vs. Klasse

[pmulry]

The end of February is upon us, which means that for us here in Dallas, winter is soon to withdraw for good. Which means it's time to start thinking about the first good exterior hand cleaning of the year for the car. I'm thinking about changing my approach to cleaning the car exterior, and I'm looking for opinions. I've heard I can get those here :)

I've used Meguiar's products for about 5 years now, and am mostly happy with the results using my Porter-Cable polisher and their polishes and waxes. Except for one thing: they don't last long enough. With two kids under 3 years of age, I can't be washing and polishing the car every other weekend. Or even once a month, most of the time.

My dad uses Griot's Garage stuff on his car, which I like but I think it's way, way overpriced. And it doesn't seem to last that long either. Nice results, though.

I was reading the other day about Klasse ALL-IN-ONE and was wondering if anybody here has any experience with it, good or bad. It's not a wax but some sort of acrylic non-silicone sealant. Apparently the rage among show car people is to do Klasse all-in-one, let it set overnight, then apply a high quality wax over the top, but Klasse also makes a high gloss sealant for a second step, too.

So, thoughts? Opinions? Heated diatribes? Please inform me! Thanks.

Pat

[AA540]

Ok, you asked, here is my opinion. Start with a good washing, strip off the old wax, use a clay bar , wash it again. Then use a good wax like zaino or 3M liquid polish, I use 3M, last owner used it and left a huge bottle with the car. Like you I have a busy life and my 52 weekends get used up quik, so I really can only wax twice a year and the 3M last 6 months easily. I think 3M might have changed the name on the wax, but mine is in a white non retail bottle.

http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc


AA

[Alan_525i]

What color is the car? This will determine what types of waxes look good on it. Head over to Autopia and read the forum there. Very dedicated group of detailing guys. Currently on my white car I am using a combination of 3M prep products, Autoglym resin polish/wax and S100 as a topper.

[steven]

i've never used the zaino products, but i think i will try them this year. i've been using maguire's and 3m. both are really nice - especially the different 3m polishes.

before you experiment though (especially with polishes or compounds in that they can leave some major swirls if you're not careful), do some research to find out what is best for your particular situation. it can be very frustrating in that some things will not come out - especially on cars that are pushing 15 years old. there is no sense in doing more harm than good.

http://www.properautocare.com/exteriorcare.html