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Wax for the focus

6K views 33 replies 19 participants last post by  Sonic_HedgeHog 
#1 ·
Living in western Pa and driving in woodsy type areas the front of my focus meets bugs of all sorts all too often. It's really an unapealing look. Prior to this past week I had been using McGuires spray wax which made the car look great but I could tell it didn't provide protection, so, I picked up turtle's ice paste wax. I'm sold forever, not only does it bring out the rich-race red color of my car, but my bug problem was even solved, instead of seeing smooshed bug remains, the remains are nothing but what looks like little dust spots that can be BLOWN OFF. The trouble dirt spot on the top of the rear bumper has been fixed. I highly recommend this wax for the focus for that reason alone.
-Nick
 
#7 ·
I use Mother's Reflections series of products, best wax I've found thus far. I like to clay bar first, or if I'm not really into to doing that I have some wax stripper by Mother's that works pretty well. Then I use the Reflection wax followed by the Top Coat, really brings out the metallic in the tuxedo black.
 
#9 ·
I just clay barred my car a little over a week ago and even with new paint it was a bit rough but not now it's the cliche "smooth as a baby's butt". I followed it up with some NXT wax and it came out real nice.



 
#10 ·
I live in Ohio near the lake and get a lot of bugs. I just use Meg's carnauba wax on mine. Bugs come off pretty easy when I wash my car the next time.
 
#19 ·
I recently learned about Griot's Garage products. They are sold brick-and-mortar at Advance Auto Parts, and online at many Internet stores.

I washed my car the other day with everything they sell. Wheels first with their wheel cleaner. Then I used their clay with their impressive Speed Shine product. After that, waxed with their Best in Show wax. Followed with Speed Shine polish.

I also used their tire detailer, and their rubber product for the nasty stuff Ford uses on their window seals.

The clay bar is excellent. Larger than Meguiar's, and it was fantastic. Paint is smooth as day one. :)
 
#21 ·
I've used my brothers polishing kit - 2 Menzerna polishes, first intensive polish and second final polish, with Menzerna pads on a porter cable sander / polisher. Worked wonders on my black Explorer I bought slightly used and highly uncared for - really brought the deep black back and subdued the swirl marks. Also used it on my wife's Taurus we bought new but had been sitting on the lot for a while and therefore had swirl marks. Again, a noticeable improvement.

Then Liquid Glass as a protectant.

No need to use the Menzerna kit on the Focus yet since the paint was in good shape from the dealer (except for some light clear coat scratches on the hood which I hand polished). But I did clay bar it and used Liquid Glass within about a month of having it.

Not sure if Liquid Glass is worth it - my brother gave it to me and when it's gone I may just switch to Nu Finish which is pretty highly rated. Seems to me Nu Finish every 6 months should protect it just fine.
 
#24 ·
Better than new after a clay job and my paint was only two months old and it had already collected a myriad of interesting textures;I think I'll clay my car at least twice a year.
I need to do my 4Runner but I'm afraid it might need about 3 kits to clay it with all the crap on my paint that I can feel.

 
#27 ·
I thought it was going to be harder than it was and running the bar over the whole thing went pretty smooth but the buffing part gave me some soreness and the whole job wash,clay and wax took me a leisurlely 4-5 hours with a few breaks.
 
#31 ·
The day I brought the car home I ran my hand lightly over the car and you can feel the stuff on what appears to be a clean car. Another test is too run a cottonball over your paint and see how it tears apart or not.

My paint was only two months old when I got it but in that time it's still subjected to the elements not too mention raildust from the trip across country and then sitting in the elements (especially winter) on the lot not to mention the rain then the drying waterspot cycle that can happen so you do accumulate alot of crap in a short time.

Once a year clay job is fine for the average owner and maybe 3x for those who will be driving it in the snow or more frequent inclement weather. This is for us who really want to keep their paint looking new for alot longer than those who just wash and wax.

With that said I've never done my '99 4Runner and it looks great cleaned up but when you touch it then it's a different story so I plan on a clay bar job after wheelin' season but it will be worth it.
Looks good at first glance but don't touch it as it does show some regular abuse and off road wear and tear but for a 13 year old paintjob it is holing up well.


My scoop insert peice oxidized a bit so I painted it simple black but look closely and you can see my hood is a bit rough and the awful chips from winter plus waterspot hell but claybar will remove 90% of the surface contaminents.


A claybar job is soooooo worth it. I'll post up some after results of my truck sometime.
 
#33 ·
Yes,just be careful with your stripes and take your time and that silver will look more awesome than it already does. The green does have an odd contrast that really works well with the silver.
 
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