ArmyofOne

i try to use the paste whenever possible steve, as i work mostly by hand, hoever with waxes like gold class luquid and #26 you are right. with darker colors, letting these dry are a no-no. i find on my lighter colored car that if i dont let it dry, i get the same effect the OP is experiencing.

NXT 2.0 Is one of the best OTC waxes you can get. It does leave blotches on darker cars, if not properly applied/removed. I have a sneaky suspiscion that you applied when the humidity was too high and removed too early. Steve, You and I almost always see eye to eye...However, I am going to RESPECTFULLY disagree with you here. NXT 2.0 must dry on the car for at LEAST 15 mins, I usually wait an hour. I do the whole car, and from the time I finish applying to the time I remove will be exactly 1 hour. I use that time to get started on the interior ;).

well thank ya! I try. :)

NEG-A-TIVE!!!! I wouldnt mind some blue neons tho..

I knew all that already (not to toot my own horn...been doing this awhile), and I already have zaino in my aresenal. Incredibly the paint wasnt that bad. It didnt need a large amount of clay.

Thats what I am thinking. And no im not gonna do a CF grille. Are you crazy? I like the look of CF, but a CF grille Vs. Composit plastic is what, 6 oz. weight savings? Nah, thx. Lexus Black Pearl emblems FTMFW.

OK, no disrespect but... STOP! Before you ruin your paint. I CAN SEE the contaminants on your paint. You NEED to clay. Do a search for the info on how to clay, it is right here in this very forum. It will fix alot of your issues. Use the following process: Wash Clay Wash Polish Glaze Wax/Sealant If you really want your paint to pop, I suggest Swilx or scratchX2.0 by meguiars. But for you, you NEED to get a Porter Cable 7424 DA Polisher or Meguiars G110 and some fairly aggressive paint correction pads. Believe it or not, you may have just done more harm than good by waxing over all of that crap. When you waxed, it felr like you were dragging the applicator over sandpaper didnt it? Make sure when you clay, you dont use the quick detailer they supply you with...its garbage for clay lube...warm water with a little bit of plain old dawn dishwashing soap works WORLDS better. OH yeah, and Someone's butt is on your hood. RULE #1 of Lexus/Nice car ownership: DONT LET ANYONE TOUCH YOUR CAR! again, not meaning to be an !Removed!, just trying to help you. Wanted to make sure I got your attention ;)

When I had mine replaced back when i had my lexus, the parts were $22 and labor was less than $200. I could have done it myself, Just didnt have the time....

Ok LOC, it is currently 5:55 am Local time...and Im leaving for the 15 pass. Ford Van that will take me and the group to D.C. for the week. See you when I get to the Hotel! Steve...See ya when I get there!

Well it is either that or get a CF one. I like the look of CF but I am afraid it will look too aggressive for this car. after all...it is NOT the Si, and it is NOT fast. Peppy, yes...fast enough for CF, no...not really. I was honestly thinking of smoking it. Much like the Pearl Black/Gray Lexus Badges.

Meh, it doesnt bother me. Im eventually gonna paint it black though.

The Auto Armor Paint cleaner is a very hard cleaner/polish, much like Zymol/Nu-Finish. It gets whatever clay misses, and is easier to use than clay, cause as you know it can be arm-breaking work! You use it just like liquid wax. I went in this order: Clay, Re-wash, Paint cleaner, then I followed with Megs #7 (Show Car Glaze), then Did a coat of #26, and just to make sure I got it sealed up good, I threw a coat of NXT over that. The process for #7 is as follows: Pour a quarter sizesd amount on Meguiars foam applicator pad. Apply to about a 2 sq ft section and wipe clean w/ microfiber towel. DO NOT LET PRODUCT DRY ON PAINT. BAD JU-JU! Thank you!

No, not at all, It was whatever the previous owner had done. I think it was from lack of being driven. I bought it in 08 with less than 20k miles. it was built in sept 2005 as a 2006 model...and according to carfax, was purchased originally in Las Vegas in october of 2005. so it wasnt driven alot, and when it was it was HOT. Rotors warp, it happens. Well, not anymore LOL.

Steve, you have a PM, DCfish, you will shortly.

umm...yeah, to say the least LOL. the old rotors were SHOT. thin and warped so bad that you could see it just by rotating with your hand.

If any of you local want to meet up, I will be staying at The comfort Inn in Silver Springs MD. I will be having Corrective Eye Surgery on the 23rd...PM me for my cell number!

and after: Products Used: Megs Dash Trim Foam. Megs #26 Paste Megs Deep Crystal Auto Shampoo Megs All Wheel Cleaner Mothers Aggressive Clay system-Lubed with soapy water. Megs Aerosol QD Megs Microfibers Megs #7 Auto Armor Paint Cleaner-this stuff is the same stuff dealers use. it is AMAZING. Megs Quik-Out Uphostery Cleaner Oxy-Clean Laundry Stain remover (for the carpet) Simple Green Aerospace 303 Megs Quick Interior Detailer Stoners Invisible Glass aerosol glass cleaner. Megs Hot Shine Xtreme Tire Shine

First, I apologize for the pix, Light wasnt the greatest. It was cloudy, but a balmy 50 degrees. Great day for a detail, other than the lighting. So without further ado: Before Pix:

And...After: Interior After: SO what do you think?

Now before you go getting all judgemental, the owner of this minivan has 3 kids, 2 girls and one boy, (8, 3, and 2). It would explain the mess. She is my sister-in-law, and as such, was not charged. I used the 2 bucket method, and a variety of products on this job. I started at 930am and didnt finish until 7pm The products I used include: Megs Dash Trim Foam. Megs #26 Megs Deep Crystal Auto Shampoo Megs All Wheel Cleaner Megs Clay Kit Megs Aerosol QD Megs Microfibers Megs #7 Megs NXT 2.0 paste Auto Armor Paint Cleaner Megs Quik-Out Uphostery Cleaner Oxy-Clean Laundry Stain remover (for the carpet) Simple Green Aerospace 303 Megs Quick Interior Detailer Stoners Invisible Glass aerosol glass cleaner. Megs Hot Shine Xtreme Tire Shine Without further ado... Before: Interior Before: More to Come (please hold your replies till final post).

mmmmm....wax. And bada-bing! Showing some flake: Ahhh...no more salt in my carpet: Thats all folks!!!

Here is what I used: Megs Dash Trim Foam. Megs #26 Megs Deep Crystal Auto Shampoo Megs All Wheel Cleaner Megs Clay Kit Megs Aerosol QD Megs Microfibers Megs #7 Megs NXT 2.0 paste Auto Armor Paint Cleaner Megs Quik-Out Uphostery Cleaner Oxy-Clean Laundry Stain remover (for the carpet) Simple Green Aerospace 303 Megs Quick Interior Detailer Stoners Invisible Glass aerosol glass cleaner. Megs Hot Shine Xtreme Tire Shine I took the wheels off again, and did the engine this time The color is Galaxy Gray Metallic Pearl. So here we go! Before (Yes I know it was fairly clean already...but I was itchin to detail. This is the second time this week LOL!) : Interior Before: phew...

And...After! ^Stripes on the floormats :)

Before (cont.): ^Some of the paint contaminants I was talking about. ALOT of tar, salt, grit and grime. I had to break out the aggressive claybar, which I hate doing because it requires paint correction if you make even the slightest mistake. Thankfully, Nothing went wrong. ^Orange Dots I was talking about. Claybar took them right out. ^RUST!!!!!! UNACCEPTABLE on a 2008. Its barely a year old! Some tin foil and hot soapy water takes care of that.

Ok, so this trucks paint was DESTROYED. it is an 08, and already needed a complete claying top to bottom, end to end. It had the little orange spots from tar all over the paint, and being that it was a white vehicle, they had to be removed. They stuck out like a sore thumb. You will see what I mean in a minute. Megs Dash Trim Foam. Megs #26 Paste Megs Deep Crystal Auto Shampoo Megs All Wheel Cleaner Mothers Aggressive Clay system-Lubed with soapy water. Megs Aerosol QD Megs Microfibers Megs #7 Auto Armor Paint Cleaner-this stuff is the same stuff dealers use. it is AMAZING. Megs Quik-Out Uphostery Cleaner Oxy-Clean Laundry Stain remover (for the carpet) Simple Green Aerospace 303 Megs Quick Interior Detailer Stoners Invisible Glass aerosol glass cleaner. Megs Hot Shine Xtreme Tire Shine ^Pretty much my same stuff I always use. For the interior process, in case any of you wonder how to get those "lines" in the carpet, I do it this way: Spray Oxyclean (or equivalent) on capets and floor mats. Spray floor mats down with water hose till they are SOAKED! use your scrbbrush (NOT THE SAME ONE YOU USE FOR THE TIRES) and scub the entire carpeted floor mat. DO NOT SPRAY the inside of the vehicle. This would basically be the equivalent of flood damage. Here is whats key. After you have scrubbed rigorously and removed all stains to the best of your ability, RINSE THOUROUGHLY, then get your genie wet/dry vac (dont forget to remove the filter for wet use). Attach your flat vaccuming attachment and vaccuum the water out of the mats. For the actual carpet inside the vehicle the process is the same, except use your spray bottle full of hot soapy water to saturate the carpet, scrub, rinse with regular hot water and vaccuum dry. Bear in mind to run the vaccuum slowly over the mat. down from the top of the mat, move the Attachment over an inch, and go up from the bottom to top. (Think mowing the grass). This will achieve the "striped" pattern in your carpets. There are alot more before pix, than after. And once again, I forgot to get after engine shots. I started at 830am and didnt finish until 5pm, so I was exhausted. Now, On to the pix! Before: