bjgross

Sweeeet! Looks fantastic! What kind of tinting is that? Where did you have it done and how much was it?

Your link to photobucket just takes us to the main page and I can't see your pictures. Try editing your post and then copy the IMG Code (see circled area in photo below as example) on each photo and paste into your post.

Since someone revived this thread, I should comment that I finally got my Optiseal and love the shine and slickness it gives. I have also started using ONR, so now wash Miss Moneypenny in the garage. The stuff works great!

The humor in the two previous posts escapes me! Someone asked what I thought was a serious question and I directed them to a site that they could get more information. Guess it is my turn to put up the unsure icon

You should look up on the Pakshak forum - there is quite a bit of traffic about Swissvax AND they are a dealer. http://www.pakshak.org/forums/

I have a similar problem, but on the lower part of the front bumper, where I just kissed a curb and put several scratches in the plastic. I put some touch up paint on them, but they are slightly raised. I checked out the linked sight and they have some other small hand tools (small nib files and wet sand block sets) that I plan to use to smooth out the plastic, re-touchup and then buff smooth (unless someone has a better approach) thanks for the tip!

We looked seriously at the 07 A4, but in the end just couldn't get over the abortion Audi calls the center arm rest/console. That thing totally looks like the designer finished and then someone pointed out they forgot the center console, so they just stuck something on. Not only is it just about worthless, it interferes with the hand brake. That was the crack in the armor that got us looking elsewhere. Yeh, and those hints of electrical and engine quality issues were started to make us feel very uneasy as well. In the end the Audi couldn't match up with Lexus for styling and luxury. Wish I had the Audi rock hard paint though!

Thats a tough one - Have you thought about trying the Optimum No Rinse car wash. You could wash your whole car with just a couple of gallons of water. Of course, then everyone will think you are wasting water, because your car will be so clean. Given the choice, I would go with the clean car!

I think the AFS is great on country roads at night, and really don't notice them too much. When I do notice them is in town when turning street corners, but it really doesn't bother me. BTW - Congratulations on your 07 IS AWD - same year and model as mine, although I got Smoky Granite. Black is a beautiful color, but it will take a little more effort to keep her looking great. There is a lot of great advice on the detailing forum. My advice - buy a good supply of microfibre towels and some quick detail spray, so you can wipe her down often, between washes.

A Lexus is "just a car" - Not to many of us! Pride of ownership is one thing that drew me to this forum to begin with. Researching and finding out how to make our baby look her best and to protect the finish is well worth the effort. As far as product recommendations, I asked if anyone had tried OptiSeal in a previous post on this thread, and now have some feedback to pass along. I tried the OS on our daily commuter (94 Accord), to check it out first, and the results were fantastic. Repeating what others have already said, the preparation steps are the most important part, so having seen the difference that claying and polishing did for our 12 year old Honda, I am definitely a believer. After the Honda, I did our 07 IS250 AWD (Smoky Granite Mica). The OS goes on super easy - you spray the clear OS onto a yellow foam applicator that comes with the product, then wipe it on in slightly overlapping swathes. There is virtually no pressure required and unlike wax where you rub it in, you simply are pulling the applicator across the paint. Its hard to tell that anything is going on, but if you look at just the right angle to the light you can see a slight film that flashes off pretty fast. It takes about 15 minutes to do an entire car, and if you do it correctly, that's it!! That is why they call it a WOWA product (Wipe On Walk Away)! I re-loaded the applicator a little more frequently than required and had a couple of minor streaks. All these streaks required were a gentle wipe with a MF towel and the finish looked perfect. As I stood back I thought, "this looks really nice", but I was hard pressed to say it looked better that a good wax job (it just took less time). Then, a couple of days later, I was in the garage getting ready to head out to work. After turning on the lights I was amazed to see the finish was just "glowing". The shine was somehow deeper and wetter looking - the term liquid comes to mind. It is really hard to describe, and the picture I took just does not do her justice! Based on these results I plan to use OS from now on. BTW - I am not a professional detailer, having just purchased our Lexus in August, and I just started researching and reading about detailing at that time. I don't have a PC and do everything by hand, so even beginners can get fantastic results! Hey tex2670, Optiseal is so easy to use, even you might have enough to time to make your Lexus more than "just a car"! BJ

We got our 07 IS250 AWD at the beginning of Aug 07. We consistently get 24 mostly in town driving and 29-30 highway driving. Very satisfied for weight and power of this car!

I saw this on another forum, so can't take credit for it - but I had basically the same question. Here are some before and after photos, showing what the Surf City Maximum Metal polish did. Think I will order some!

We took another trip to Eastern Washington last Sunday, and just got around to washing and reappying a quick coat of P21S. Damn, that stuff goes on and off nice. Have ordered some OptiSeal for a little more protection, but haven't received the order yet!

Has anyone tried the OptiSeal sealant, instead of Zaino. They are the same company that makes the ONR wash, which gets good reviews on this site. They also claim to get 9 months between coatings, lots of gloss from multiple coats, etc. Also claim their product's polymer formula cross-links with previous coats to make it more durable. I have ordered the OptiSeal and spray wax, but haven't received yet, so can't give my review yet. Here is a link to the Optimum products forum, in case anyone is interested. http://optimumforums.org/index.php?act=idx

Nice looking ride! Personally, I would never wash my car without the lubrication of a good automotive car wash. Perhaps the silver color doesn't show fine scratches very easily, but with a dark color I think washing with water only would be asking for trouble even with a good quality MF mitt. But I do love the leave blower idea. I picked up on that one from this forum and it works so well, especially for blowing water out of small cracks, that I wonder why I didn't think of that years ago! Not only does it save a bundle of time, it also reduces the amount of rubbing you have to do with a towel (and hence further reducing the chance for scratching). BJ

Right - next I will be dispensing advice! Whoops, I guess I already did on the NXT! LOL Actually, when I decided to learn more about how to protect our new IS250 I had no idea there were such an array of impressive and exotic coatings one can use on paint. I thought a good wash and quality wax was about all there was. There is huge amount of information on the web, but it takes a lot of time to filter out the wheat from the chafe, so to speak. LOC is the best. I really love this forum, since there seems to be a real range of expertise; from newbie's, with lots of questions like me, to professional detailers. It creates a great mix! BTW - How do most people protect the trim when applying wax or sealants?

hold on--not so quick. NXT has a great look--no doubt about that. However, many users find the longevity of NXT to be quite lacking. As a compromise, when I use NXT, I will let it cure for 24 hrs and then coat with an acrylic sealer like OptiSeal. I'd be curious to get an update comparison in a few weeks! For the IS, longevity really isn't an issue for us - it is only our weekend ride. The daily commuter is another story though, and I will be tracking how long it lasts. After your post on Optiseal I found another detailing forum that specializes in the Optimum product line. Lots of interesting information up there, including the fact that OptiSeal is a cross-linking polymer and not an acrylic! Here is a link: http://optimumforums.org/index.php?act=idx

I have to agree with Scott. My IS250 is Smoky Granite and, except for the edge, the 3M clear bra is invisible, even up close. For $386 this couldn't have been a reputable installer, or it was some sort of knock-off product. I paid the dealer over $900 for my 3M for the hood, bumper, lights and mirrors. But then again, I am extremely happy with it. Guess you get what you pay for! I would have it removed and get my money back - then find an experienced installer who deals in the 3M product.

I saw this on a Volvo owners website, while I was trying to find reviews on Turtle's ICE product Rating: Turtle Wax Ice Polish is marketed as an easy to apply, all surface safe wax. In this review we tested all of its claims. Here is what we found: Can be applied in direct sun: Yes, it did go on and come off fairly well in direct sun. It was however much harder to remove. The polish almost feels like it is abrasive when you are applying it. All surface safe: The polish was applied to both trim and seals with no ill effect. This is a huge plus for this products over a more conventional wax which would leave a white residue. Same shine less time: This is where the disappointment came. While the polish was easy to apply, the shine was not on par with other products. From bottom to top the four waxes applied were: Ice, Nut Wax, Zymol Carbon, 6 week old Nut Wax. Even in low resolution web images you can see that the Ice is not as glossy as the others, note the reflections. Below you can see the only section not to bead up was the newly applied Ice section

After reading lots of information on this forum, I decided to go with the P21 line of products and Poorboy's EX as a sealant. So, after ordering my detailing supplies from Pakshak, I couldn't wait to give them a try on our new '07 IS250 (Smokey Granite). A few of my co-workers have been praising Meguiar's NXT paste wax, so I thought I would do a little experiment. After washing and drying, I clay bared the entire trunk using Clay Magic Detailing Clay Bar (Fine Grade) and quick detailing spray (I wanted to work in a small area to make the visual comparison easier). Then I polished/cleaned only halve the trunk using P21S Paintwork Cleansing Lotion. I noticed the difference between the two halves immediately - the polished site was definitely slicker and wetter looking. I then applied a sealant to just halve of the polished area - Poorboy's EX Sealant with carnauba. The entire polished side then received a coat of P21S Carnauba Paste Wax. I split the unpolished side, with halve receiving a coat of P21S Carnauba Paste Wax, and the other halve receiving a coat of the Meguiar's NXT paste wax. All of this was done by hand - no PC. For the polish I used a microfiber-over-foam applicator (Detailers Paradise Skinny Foam Applicator Pad) and all others got their own new foam applicator (Micropak Yellow Foam Applicator Pad). Each treatment was buffed off with its own microfiber towel. The Results - As you can see by the attached photo, visually there is no difference between any of the treatments. However, the part that received the Meguiar's was definitely slicker to the touch - and that was just the synthetic wax with no other treatment. Very impressive. All three areas that received the P21S wax felt the same - don't get me wrong, they all felt slick, but just not a slick as the NXT. To be certain I had my wife and neighbor evaluate the finish, not knowing how many treatments or location of each. Both of them agreed there was no visual difference and both picked out exactly where the NXT was applied by touch. Being new to detailing, I realize that technique is a big factor, but with the NXT producing as good or better results than the other treatments combined, I am rethinking which to use long term. Of course, this doesn't speak to the issue of durability - basically the NXT versus Poorboy's EX, since P21S is a show wax and won't last more than a few weeks. Daily commuter - I then decided to clay, polish and wax our 94 Accord daily commuter using the Meguiar's NXT. Wow, the car looks better than the day we bought it. And as a side benefit, the NXT goes on and off as easier than any other wax I have used in the past. See the results for yourself. Bottom Line - For those of you without a lot of time (and a big detailing budget), Meguiar's NXT Tech Paste Wax should be in your detailing toolkit.

The air is starting to turn a little crisp, so winter driving conditions in the passes can't be far away. I have read a few posts on this forum, lauding the performance of the IS AWD in the snow, and I am really looking forward trying out the AWD feature on our new 07 IS250 AWD. I also haven't seen any posts on the use of chains, so thought I would throw this out. I plan to keep the stock wheels and M&S tires on the car, and hope that will handle 99% of what we run into. Just to be on the safe side, I want to purchase chains. Anyone have any experience with chains on their IS250 AWD? Issues with wheel well clearances? Recommendations? Thanks!

07 AWD <1000 miles So far getting 24 in town and just under 30 highway (all according to the trip computer)

Awesome shine! Nice job! What products do you use?

Thanks Steve, My wife and I are absolutely thrilled with the IS and it is our intent to keep her (we named her Miss Moneypenny) in perfect condition. That is the main reason we decided to keep the old Honda for trips to the store, errands, etc and keep Moneypenny away from the parking lot jungle. Since you recommend GEPC for our color (about every 6 months or so), what do you recommend for the top coats? When you say it works best with a wax, is that a pure wax or do the hybrid systems work as well? I do like the idea of added protection (from a sealant or hybrid product), and from what I can tell, a final coat of a good carnauba wax (like P21S) gives the deepest shine, which something I am also interested in (and willing to put in the effort). As you can tell, I am completely new to this and don't want to make any mistakes on our baby! We really appreciate all of the great information you and the team share on this forum. Thanks again!

I have been reading so much of the car detailing forum that my head is about to explode. A lot of this advice is directed at restoring and maintaining existing cars, but I can't seem to find anything specific on new cars. My wife and I just purchased a new IS250 AWD Smoky Granite and it just turned over 500 miles last weekend. The finish is perfect and so far all I have done is to wash it with a microfiber mitt using Meguiars car wash, followed with a light application of Meguiars Gold paste wax. I have followed this forum's advice and only washed and wiped in a single direction (man, the old circular motion habit is hard to break). The results are silky smooth and so far I am satisfied with the look. I keep reading about using pre-wax cleaners, but I really am hesitant on putting anything on the clearcoat and really don't think I need it at this time. Is that correct? I plan to wash every couple of weeks with monthly re-applications of a good quality wax. Is that sufficient? Would a different wax (like P21S) improve the look? We only plan to drive the car on the weekends for short trips, which includes a once per month trip over Steven's Pass (elevation 4000 ft). I am a little concerned my once-a-month wax job will not provide enough protection for the winter pass conditions (snow, ice and sanded roads - Washington State supposedly doesn't use salt). Should I plan to put a sealant on before winter? If so, what type and what steps are needed to prep the car for sealant? Is a synthetic wax, like Meguiars NXT the same thing as a sealant? If I do go the sealant route, this forum suggests: 1) Wash the car with Dawn detergent (to strip off all the wax) 2) Apply P21S Gloss Enhancing Paintwork Cleanser I like the description "P21S GEPC is better at adding oils to the paint, better for near new condition paint", but wonder if I need this step given how new the car is? 3) Apply some type of sealant I would really like to have some additional recommendations other than Poorboy's EX 4) Follow with a good carnauba wax like P21S, which I would continue to do once a month. Does this sound like a good regimen, or are there other recommendations for a brand new car? Love this forum - thanks for all of the great advice!