[SUPERSPORT]

I had bought Formula 1 liquid carnauba wax two weeks back and used it on both of my rides. I bought the liquid one thinking its pure wax but later found that even this one has micropolishing agents or abrasives. I am a complete newbie to all this detailing stuff so please help me with my doubts. Can I use this wax on my car every 3-4 months? Will it cause any permanent damage to the paint and will my car look worser than what it was earlier after 2-3 months once the wax is washed out? After using it both my cars look glossy now and water beads out nicely too. Dirt doesn't stick to the car like earlier and cleaning is also easy. Swirls remain the same though. I first washed the car, dried it, gave it a coat of kerosene to remove all the tar and other stuff and then washed it again with plenty of sonax gloss shampoo. Then applied the wax. Also used tire shine but by the time pics were taken most of it was already gone. This was my first detailing session. Pics of the Polo were taken a week after applying wax while that of the Linea the next day. Can someone suggest me any kind of pure wax that can last for a few months and any shop in Cochin where I can get it? I couldn't find Collinite or other good brands in this shop and ended up buying this one for 600Rs(actual cost 356/-).

[SUPERSPORT]

Here are the pics again. Don't know what happened earlier as the uploaded pics never showed up.

[Pedaltothefloor]

I have been following the discussion on international forums about Sonax Brilliant Shine Detailer for a few months and initially I refused to buy into the hype. It seemed too good to be true. A quick detailer that works like a spray sealant, costs a fraction of the nano spray sealants out there, has exceptional water behavior, darkens the paint a little, goes over coatings, waxes, sealants or even as a stand alone LSP? My initial reaction was to just ignore the discussion but then both DIY detailers & some very reputed professional detailers/testers continued to challenge what the product could do. What caught my attention was it's ability to keep the car cleaner, for longer. I thought I have heard that many times earlier as well and how these products perform in the UK or USA is very different than how they may perform in India. Finally, a reputed & unbiased tester started challenging it for durability, water & anti static behavior; and after reading it I was tempted to try it.

I washed my car with Sonax Xtreme shampoo and applied Sonax Brilliant Shine Detailer to the entire car about 10 days ago. The car has no other wax or sealant at the moment. The application was easy - spray, spread, buff. It instantly added a brilliant shine and the slight paint darkening was visible. After that, I restrained from using any water less or rinse less washes. I have only been using Jopasu duster once a day and I noticed that the dust seems to sit as a very fine top layer that is easily removed by the duster. I then drove down from Chennai to Pondicherry and exposed the car to the Auroville dust, parked in the open under direct sunlight for two days. I spot treated a few bird droppings with a water less wash and they came off easily. Other than that, the car has not been washed at all for almost 10 days and about 600 km for this period. I have used several waxes and sealants but nothing has kept my car this clean, for this long, with so little work. I have not used any coatings yet and I may have given in to a coating sooner than later as I was getting tired of the whole dust thing. This product will not offer the mar resistance that you would get from a coating but in terms of it's self cleaning ability, it is a fantastic product. It will go over every wax, sealant or coating that I may try from here on.

I have attached a few beading pictures that I took this morning and a few from the recent trip to Pondicherry.

[amazer2013]

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor

This product will not offer the mar resistance that you would get from a coating but in terms of it's self cleaning ability, it is a fantastic product. It will go over every wax, sealant or coating that I may try from here on.

I have attached a few beading pictures that I took this morning and a few from the recent trip to Pondicherry.

Hey that's brilliant! Thanks for reviewing this product. I'm so tempted to buy it. Where did you source it and at what price?
If I use this as topping over my FK 1000, does it tend to alter the original shine that I get from my base sealant?

[sourav9385]

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor

I have been following the discussion on international forums about Sonax Brilliant Shine Detailer for a few months and initially I refused to buy into the hype. It seemed too good to be true....

Hi there!

Can you please let us know the source of this product and the relevant pricing?

The water beading looks fantastic! If it is as easy to use as you say, it should be an excellent product to be used by lazy people like me

Please PM if needed. Thanks! Cheers!

[linuxmanju]

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor

I have attached a few beading pictures that I took this morning and a few from the recent trip to Pondicherry.

That beading is epic . I have also been experimenting with few Sonax products, reason being they are cheap and locally available. Might I say, I am impressed with their range I have used so far.

Here is a picture for your viewing pleasure, This was a test section which I experimented with Sonax Perfect Finish polish, Sonax Protect and Shine and topped with Sonax BSD.



I am planning to do the whole car with the above combo in a week or two and post the results with a review, when the time permits.

[Pedaltothefloor]

I am beginning to view Sonax as the best kept secret in the Indian detailing industry. They have been here for years and are distributed by Methods Automotive based at Bangalore.

The range is broadly divided into four categories - Base, Extreme, Profiline & Premium Class. The base range is what most of us can find at the Shell petrol pumps / Shell shops. While this has very affordable & decent products like the Sonax shampoo, the overall range is targeted as the lower end of the market. Move up to the Xtreme range of products & things suddenly become very interesting. This range is targeted at DIY enthusiasts and professional detailers alike, who are willing to pay for quality products. Some fantastic products like the Award winning Sonax Brilliant Shine Detailer, Sonax Full Effects Wheel Cleaner, Sonax Xtreme Protect & Shine Hybrid NPT Sealant fall in this range. The Profiline range of products is targeted as Professional Detailers looking for world class polishes, shampoos, waxes & detailers. It has products like Sonax Polymer Netshield Sealant, Sonax Perfect Finish Polish, Sonax Machine Polishing pads etc. The premium class range as the name suggests, comes at a premium and is priced quite high compared to other ranges.

The interesting thing is that their products are readily available in India at fantastic prices. You can buy the Sonax Perfect Finish polish in one liter packing at the price of 4K odd rupees which is a fantastic price for a fantastic one step polish with good cut and excellent finish. What Sonax needs to perhaps do better is either launch an online store or make the Xtreme & Profiline range of products readily available at the Shell outlets.

Over the last month or so, I had the pleasure to realize buy and try some of the best shampoos, polishes, pads, sealants, waxes and other products that I have ever used. To be honest, after using a few of the products from their base range; I was not expecting a lot from this brand. However, the brand is gaining massive popularity abroad and two of it's products won the product of the year award in UK this year. That coupled with local availability & very aggressive pricing just made me approach them with all the money I had in my bank account this month. And I have not regretted a single purchase yet.

Here is a little weekend detailing project that was executed last Sunday.
The idea was to wash, decontaminate, clay, compound and random deep scratches, polish, panel wipe, coating and sealant.

Wheels First: The wheels were washed with Sonax Full effects Wheel Cleaner and unlike other bleeding style wheel cleaners, this is a wheel cleaner & fallout remover rolled into one product so no need to wash your wheels, then use fallout remover and wash again. Just spray, wait for the reaction, agitate if required & rinse.







Decontamination: Since I only planned to use their coating on the bonnet, I quickly washed it with the Sonax Xtreme shampoo and dried it. After that, Carpro Trix was used on the panel. No reaction so there wasn't any fallout but it still managed to break the traffic film and remove all greasy residues. After this step, the entire car was washed with shampoo & dried. Sonax offers both Fallout Cleaner as well as Tar remover & both are readily available in India. I had already invested in Carpro Trix so will get to try the Sonax products once I am through with the Trix.






Tire Dressing & Wheels: Tires were dressed with Sonax Xtreme High Gloss Tire Gel and the I sealed one wheel with Sonax P&S sealant (Retail version of their Polymer Netshield) and the rest of the wheels were sealed with Sonax Brilliant Shine Detailer. Sonax BSD is already a superstar worldwide but the Tire gel was a surprise. It held well for 2 weeks even after a long drive when I applied it for the first time.





Clay: Next step, the panel was clayed.Sonax does sell it's clay in India as a kit with a clay lube but I had my clay block so did not buy the Sonax clay yet to try.



Polishing: I tackled a random deep scratch with Optimum Hyper Compound on a CG Hex Logic compounding pad. Then I moved on to using the Sonax Perfect Finish polish on a Sonax Orange Foam polishing pad. The combination corrected very well and the finish was spectacular. Just out of curiosity, I tried Carpro Reflect polish on a LCHT finishing pad and though it added a slightly more gloss; it wasn't required after this polish. SPF (Sonax Perfect Finish) is a true one step polish as far as I am concerned. The pad cost around INR 550 while the 250 ml polish cost around INR 1,000



Attachment 1223539





Trim Cleaning & Dressing: I worked without masking tape on the cowl for a reason. I wanted to test the Sonax Dirt Eraser sponge and whether it will work with water to thoroughly clean the plastic. And it did. The cowl was dressed with Sonax Profile Trim Restorer.






Panel Wipe: The polishing residue was removed with Sonax Paint Prepare.



Coating: Sonax Nano Paint Protect coating was used. This isn't a so called "Permanent" coating. It claims to protect for one year. At INR 1,500; I am not complaining.



Sealant: Sonax Polymer Netshield is a hybrid sealant that comes in an aerosol can and is the recommended topper for this coating. The coating was allowed to harden for one hour and then the PNS was applied.



Disclaimer: I am not associated with Sonax in any manner. All the products were used by me on my personal car and it was done purely to check if Sonax really has the world class products that are gaining so much popularity abroad while we were only exposed to their base products sold through Shell outlets.

[kutlee]

thanks lot for the feedback on Sonax products. But where did you get these products from? Also what type of polisher machine dod you use? I got set of CG hex logic pads from US. but since Polishing machine is expensive and polishing is activity done once or twice year, i am considering other options. I have used only Sonax car wash and i found that to be a little strong. But your feedback was informative on sonax range. I never knew they had professional range. Looking to buy compound and wheel cleaner.

[amazer2013]

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor

I am beginning to view Sonax as the best kept secret in the Indian detailing industry. They have been here for years and are distributed by Methods Automotive based at Bangalore....

Very detailed write up..! Thanks a lot. Where did you source these from? I looked up the vendor (eliter packing) that you've mentioned in your post but couldn't manage to find it.

[Pedaltothefloor]

Originally Posted by amazer2013

Very detailed write up..! Thanks a lot. Where did you source these from? I looked up the vendor (eliter packing) that you've mentioned in your post but couldn't manage to find it.

I have reported that part of the post to read as " in one liter packing". Stupid ipad spell check did not kick in. Anyway, you should have probably figured out the website for Methods Automative by now.

[hubolt]

Thanks to this thread and the info in it , did the 1st 6 monthly waxing of the car , called in my daily washer on sunday , procured the necessary material - a foam pad, amway car shampoo, MF cloths, 476S and diesel (1 LTR), chamois

1. Started with a diesel soak of the doors , front fenders and bonnet , after 30 mins a slight rub on the tar areas with a diesel saoked cloth .
2. 1st shampoo - wash using amway car shampoo over these areas.
3. 2nd shampoo - saoked the entire car - started with roof and when to the door sills and bumpers, avoided the alloys to prevent mud from contaminating the cloth.
4. Liberally rinsed off the shampoo and wiped dry with a pre-wetted chamois.
5. Gave a 10 minute break
6. Applied 476S starting from the bonnet - rubbing it in thin but unformly with the foam pad , changing the application movement pattern after each couple of cycles, initially was cautious because of the feedback about difficulty to remove if this wax dries too much so gave it 5 minutes on the watch before wiping off, but later got more confident giving it 10 minutes - completing two doors at a time and still giving some time before wiping off (what a gleam !!).
7. Once the exteriors were done opened all doors and started the inner painted areas of door , pillar sills etc

loaded image as pdf , others formats too large to comply with uploading rules ( this was done about 6 weeks ago and the beading still happens without a problem), grime comes off much easier now , havent had to shampoo wash since the.

Alloys will be next...

[kutlee]

I searched in methods. I could not find sonax premium products there. All i could find was reflect polish on detailedclean.in. What machine do you use for polishing?

[Pedaltothefloor]

Originally Posted by kutlee

I searched in methods. I could not find sonax premium products there. All i could find was reflect polish on detailedclean.in. What machine do you use for polishing?

I use a Dewalt rotary. A cheap piece of machinery but does the job.
For Sonax products, just drop an email to info@methods.co.in and mention your city; they will revert with the details of availability, prices and where can you pick them up from.

This may or may not interest you but ai did capture the initial days with the rotary here http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...-polisher.html

[sada]

Originally Posted by Mudhalaipatti

Get the clay from Notorious. You may needs a lube like Megs Quick Detailer.
If you need something more, then Bilt Hamber would be fine. It needs plain water as it's lubricant.

Can I get more details on how to buy clay from Notorious? Is it by using the "PM" option? If yes, may I know how to use this option as I have never used it before

[Myth_sx]

Hi TBPians.

Thanks for this great thread here. Lot of information and photos for inspiration. This thread and my new black color car have got me motivated to upgrade from the basic car washing and drying.

I need a little help purchasing the right items to begin my own detailing. So a little basics to set the background:
Model : Verna fluidic 1.6sx vtvt black
Age : A little more than 2 months old.
Garage: Ground floor of a flat, so 4 pillars and a roof.
Exposure: No direct sunlight, bird poop average of 2-3 times a week , very fine layer of dust daily.
Washing: 'steam' wash monthly and jopasu when required.

Apart from the washing, I am thinking of polishing and waxing atleast once a month also. According to my understanding,
Polishing = Fine scratch/swirl removal and shining.
Waxing = Protective coating on the polished paint layer.
Correct me if I am wrong here please.

I would like to start with minimal items(quality stuff but not too costly) and get into more details as i learn from the hands-on experience.
Based on my limited knowledge on detailing( and brands), given below are a few shortlisted products which i considered quality stuff at a reasonable price.

Foam pad : Meguiar's Gold Class Applicator Pad
Microfiber : Meguiar's Supreme Shine Microfiber Towel, suggest me a drying MF.
Clay : Bilt Hamber AutoClay Medium 200g(works with water as lubricant)
Polish : Meguiar's Ultimate Polish Pre-Waxing Polish
Wax : Meguiar's Ultimate Paste Wax, Meguiar's Gold Class Carnauba Plus Premium Paste Wax, Collinite 845

I am a bit inclined towards the Meguiar's Ultimate Paste Wax since i read in here that it can be used right after washing and claying. Also, the box contains a Meguiar's foam pad and MF towel, so that saves me the cost of buying a separate set.

Please advise.

Regards,
Myth