Best wax IMHO

[desertkj]

(bowdown) That's an awesome inventory 67customs! The Poli-Seal and Duragloss look particularly good though...

 

[67Customs]

(bowdown) That's an awesome inventory 67customs! The Poli-Seal and Duragloss look particularly good though...

Thanks!

They definitely bring out the reflections in the paint. While I don't think anything I have beats Souveran on black and other solid colors, Duragloss and Poli-Seal just bring out the refelections and pop in metallic paint unlike most of my other waxes/sealants.

 

[67Customs]

A couple of important process that many refuse to do is good prep work.
Nothing beats a quality warm wash once or twice depending on how bad your rig is. Never use dish soap.
Now once clean, onto the clay bar. All of the fine impurities need to be removed, before you seal with any wax or sealant.
If you miss the claybar treatment you will be sealing in a bunch of crap below.
A polymer sealant like Duragloss should offer a great shine and long lasting protection. (have not tried Duragloss yet)
I still like the Meguires 3 step, but am willing to try something new next time.
I will need more clay too. I wonder if we could use modelling clay or something that is still safe but not $30 for a kit?

I seal my own personal vehicles twice a year. Once before winter and once after winter.

The key for me in getting a sealant to last is the prep, as you mention above. After the wash, I move onto the claybar. I wouldn't detail any car without using a claybar. I also use a paint cleaner like Meguiar's Deep Crystal Step #1, Duragloss Bonding Agent, Klasse AIO, etc... A lot of people will only do claybar or only do paint cleaner. I have found that both work well together. The clay bar gets stuff a paint cleaner wont get and the paint cleaner gets suff the clay bar can't get. Together, they give you the cleanest surface to work with. (Now, if I'm doing a paint correction with a machine, I go from clay to polish as the polish acts like a cleaner.) I then apply my sealant. My vehicles stay slick until I redo the whole thing. Clayng is a breeze after that first one.

As far as cheaper claying goes, you have a couple of options that are well under $30 per kit. One is the Clay Magic kit. It is only $10. Comes with a bar and lube. None of the added junk. You can also purchase some Optimum No Rinse Wash and Shine. You can make your own clay lube by the gallons for a lot cheaper than one kit. Now that you have lube, you can purchase those Meguiar's non-kit bars. Both are cheaper alternatives to the $24-$30 kits and work just as well.

Modeling clay won't work the same. That has been discussed in great length over the years on different forums.