orionredwing Detailed: 2000 VW Beetle GLX Turbo

[orionredwing]

I am new to detailing. My background is 10+ years using a simple Meguiar's Glaze & Wax routine. I honestly thought that was good, because nobody I knew even detailed to that level. Little did I expect how the online community would open up a whole new world, and redefine the definition of 'detailing' to me. You can imagine if my friends were impressed at my simple routine before, they flat out call me crazy now. Wonder how many of you guys received the same remarks?

I have to say that as a first time machine user, the Flex was not the daunting obstacle that I feared. After 45 mins on spd 3-4 to get the hang of it, I did the rest on spd 5 & 6. I learned to control the 'runaway' and had to stop every hour or so because the 'vibration' would numb my wrists and elbows - these are the 2 words you hear reviewed about the Flex most often.

My fiancee's yellow beetle has NEVER been detailed in the past 8 years. The entire car was swirled up (see tail light pics). It was so much work removing swirls, but was fun seeing the transformation on her Herbie.

In terms of product selection, I selected Meguiar's NXT 2.0 over my Poorboy's EX-P. This is because NXT 2.0 was SO easy to remove, I wouldn't feel lazy reapplying it for her later. I also did a carnauba topper test, but surprisingly, I liked it better w/o a topper. Maybe because her car was yellow.

Note: Since you guys are enthusiasts, I won't be able to slide one past ya. Yes, her door panel was discolored because of a re-paint job, hehe. Sorry the pics are not better; I have a really crappy camera.

Flex XC3401VRG on spd 5 (6 for spot areas)
Clear Kote Clay & Lube
Menzerna Intensive Polish (LC orange pad)
Menzerna Final Polish II (LC white pad)
Menzerna Final Tough Glaze
Meguiar’s NXT 2.0 (2 coats, 24 hrs apart)
Poorboy’s World Wheel Sealant (2 coats, 24 hrs apart)
Meguiar’s Rich Leather Conditioner
303 Aerospace Protectant
Stoner’s Invisible Glass

Total Time: 20 hrs (ouch - hopefully less next time)

[Fowvay]

I'll pay ya to do mine.

[callisto9]

Looks excellent! 20 hours though? WOW! Now that's committment.

[orionredwing]

One year update:

It doesn't look like this forum has too many owners showcasing their details, so I thought I'd give a 1 yr update on this old thread.

Since I posted this, I've gone and detailed many more cars and am now very comfortable with machine polishing (that 20 hrs is down to <8 hrs now hehe). I've also upgraded to other professional grade detailing products.

In regards to my fiancee's beetle, I was absolutely amazed at Meguiars NXT 2.0's durability. When the product first came out, Meguiar's experts estimated a coat would last ~3 months here in sunny California. This would make NXT 2.0 a little bit less durable than the 6+ month professional sealants I now use (e.g. Chemical Guys JetSeal 109).

However, what was surprising was that after 1 year, the paint on my fiancee's beetle still felt very smooth! The NXT 2.0 has long been washed off, but it must've stayed on for 6-9 months and the paint had less contaminants than my car which uses JetSeal 109. Given very similar driving and parking conditions, this would seem to indicate NXT 2.0 is a lot more durable and longer lasting than I thought!

The Beetle was smooth enough that I did not need to clay bar the car before re-applying a layer of sealant & wax. (It is important to prep a car properly b4 wax, aka clay bar, so that the contaminants do not bite into the paint and cause swirls when the wax is applied. However, in this case, no pre-wax prep was needed.)

Overall, a big thumbs up on Meguiar's NXT 2.0.

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P.S. Just for laughs, I'm using JetSeal 109 on her car now and the NXT 2.0 has been shelved indefinitely NXT 2.0 is a great product and I am recommending it highly. But of course, professional grade products are even better