What do you use

[chrisemtff]

Hey all,

Just curious what you all you use whe detailing your Pilot....

Brand and type of:

Wax?

Leather cleaner/conditioner/protectant?

Dash protectant?

and so forth.....


Slainte,
Chris

[rlapid]

meguiars makes good stuff... i use their leather wipes for my pilot. the only thing is it leaves the leather shiny, so i have to wipe it down with a towel afterward. for the dash, i use armor all cleaning wipes.

[chrisemtff]

I reviewed the CR test on waxes. They rate the Black Magic Wet Shine liquid #1 and turtle wax liquid #2 overall. Anybody ever use the Black Magic?

The Eagle One spray/dry wax was ranked like #10 overall and #1 out of the sprays. We use the Eagle One in between paste waxing on our ambulances here in Florida and get pretty good results.

Never owned a car with leather until this one. So, I'm not to keen on leather protection. A buddy of mine has some $30 a bottle stuff he swears by. I will try to get the name of it tomorrow when I go to work.

Other than that, keep it coming. I would like to hear a lot of opinions on what has worked great for you and not so great.

Slainte
Chris

[MDPILOT03]

Twice a year I use a one-step polish/paint sealant along with some best of show wax from Griot's garage. Applied with a randon orbital, of course. I usually wash the pilot every other week, weather permitting. I also have the luxury of using the local fire houses engine bay to wash and wax if I need too. I only use products from griot's garage. ( best products out there, IMO)

[jarizzo]

Originally posted by chrisemtff
I reviewed the CR test on waxes. They rate the Black Magic Wet Shine liquid #1 and turtle wax liquid #2 overall. Anybody ever use the Black Magic?

I just put a coat of the Black Magic on my silver Pilot. It goes on nicely, doesn't leave white streaks or marks on plastic, wipes off easily with clean microfiber towels, and leaves a nice shine and smooth surface.

Before I applied Black Magic, I washed it well with a microfiber wash mitt and Meguiar's Gold something car wash then dried it with 3 or 4 clean terry cloth towels. Then I used Meguiar's clay bar kit that includes the quick detailer and clay bars. You spray a small area with the detailer and rub the clay bars over it to remove bugs, tar, tree sap, whatever is bonded to the paint. Before it dries, wipe it off with a microfiber towel. After the clay I put the Black Magic on. The Pilot looks like a million bucks and all the bugs are gone and the parts that get the most road crap are clean and smooth.

I don't know how long this stuff will last or how it compares to other finish protectants, but I sure like the way it goes on and wipes off and I think the Pilot looks great. I don't know if it's a sealer or a wax. The bottle says wax, but it seems to act more like a sealer. The lack of residue is my only evidence of that, though. Hopefully it holds up. I'll post in a few months with the results.

My Pilot is outdoors in the sun 4 or 5 days a week all day and garaged the rest of the time. I only put about 7-8k miles a year on it.

Hope that's useful to someone, somehow, someday...

John

[chrisemtff]

Thanks for the replies....

How did you like the clay bar from Meguiars??

I just pick one up the other day and haven't had a chance to you use it. With in the next few weeks, I'm going to spend a day claying, paint cleaning, polishing, and then wax. Never have undertook a day of detailing like this. I will post some before and after pictures to see how big of a difference all of this prep work before waxing makes......


Slainte,
Chris

[jarizzo]

Originally posted by chrisemtff
Thanks for the replies....

How did you like the clay bar from Meguiars??

I just pick one up the other day and haven't had a chance to you use it. With in the next few weeks, I'm going to spend a day claying, paint cleaning, polishing, and then wax. Never have undertook a day of detailing like this. I will post some before and after pictures to see how big of a difference all of this prep work before waxing makes......


Slainte,
Chris

I think you will be happy with the Meguiar's clay bar kit. When I bought it, AZ was out of the Mother's clay bar kit and the counter guy said that was a better one. I used the Meguiar's to remove mostly super-crusty bugs and some tar and tree sap. It was pretty easy to use and it removed everything without leaving any discernable residue or scratches. It takes some elbow grease to really clean 'er up if it's very dirty, but it's not like you have to clay the whole car. Just get the parts that feel slightly rough after a wash or visible stuff. It's really great for bugs and tree sap to prep the surface prior to waxing.

The guy at the counter told me to make sure to keep the surface wet with the Quick Detailer (part of the kit) or the clay bar will leave white residue that's hard to remove. I didn't have any problems with that at all. I just used a clean microfiber towel to wipe it off when I was done with the clay in one area, and I stuck to working on an area about 8" square or less at a time. You have to keep kneading the clay to keep the surface clean and tacky. The Quick Detailer tends to make the surface really slick so it doesn't really pick up the contaminants without a lot of passes. If you keep kneading it as you go, it keeps the surface clean and you can feel a little more resistance and it cleans better. Hopefully that makes some sense. I had a couple accidental contacts with the clay and a plastic part, but there was no residue to marks at all.

I just washed my Pilot, clayed the dirty areas, then waxed it with the Black Magic and the thing looks like brand new or better.

Hope that helps!

John

[sblvro]

zymol wax and zymol leather cleaner and protectant. smells good too.

[KarenCaren]

Meguiars have good products For polish you may use Adam's Polish, I already tried it and it work magic.


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[Bowzer]

Just washed our new 08 for the second time yesterday. It being black, it quickly lets me know of anything and everything wrong on the finish.

I used Meguiars Car Wash with a new microfiber wash mitt...all looks great and no apparent addition of swirl marks...meaning the sudsing action and the deep microfiber fingers did their job. I will be applying a coat of Wet Paint Glaze today and/or tomorrow. Google it for the site...fantastic product, although this will be my first time using it. Don't yet need to clay bar or other heavier work on finish.
Used Matte Finish on tires...low shine (my preference) and still makes the tires look very black and clean.

Used Meguiars Quick Detailer Spray on interior...worked very well, no greasy residue at all, good ceaning, great smell. 1st time I have used this and so far it works well. I have heard fantastic things about 303 Protectant also...just haven't had a chance to pick any of it up.
Invisible Glass used on windows...again, great job, very fast to remove streaks, etc.

[JimB823]

What is a good product to use to get rid of scuff marks in the paint (made by fingernails I suppose) around the door handles on the outside of the car? The Pilot is black if that makes a difference. Rubbing compound maybe?

[pilotinnebraska]

I use a product called "Back to Black" from Mother's Polish.
It works great on the plastic areas like under the doors, the plastic beneath the wiper assembly and tread on upper part of the rear bumper.
If you have ever got any conventional wax on these areas, you know how hard it is to get these areas to get clean. I have also used it on the roof rack and mud flaps.
Thanks for the other good ideas.

Mark

[charly]

I recently ordereda Vinyl &Leather Conditioner and Car Wash concentrate liquid. From Metro Tech. And i like the results specialy the Vinyl and leather conditioner. It leaves the interior not to shine and it smells lik brand new interior. You guys should get this....@ MetroTechChemicals.com

[JimB823]

I guess my question was too stupid to answer?

[Bowzer]

Originally posted by JimB823
I guess my question was too stupid to answer?

I think more of lack of a definitive answer. I have black also. FOr serious stubborn scratches, look at a rotary polisher to work on these and use very mild compunds...very mild. Look at Megiuiar's products and Poorboys brand I have heard good things about. They both provide graduated polish compunds.

You can also use fillers but these wear away leaving the problem. And there are some "polishes" that are made to remove swirls and light scratches that are similar that may provide a good starting point.

Lastly, once you do remove these, get some polish and/or wax on there. If this is prone to come back, put extra in these spots to help defend against it.

That's a lot of gray advice but may help to start.