March 29, 2008: The once a year car polish
I'm the type who just doesn't have the time or patience to use traditional waxes and all the associated tools and accessories. But I DO want to protect my new car's finish. Thankfully I discovered a product called "Nu Finish" several years ago. I'm not trying to promote this stuff but it's one of the few times I've found truth in advertising.
Like the bottle says "The Once A Year Car Polish" and it lives up to that claim in my experience. No rubbing, no buffing and it can be applied in direct sunlight. Perfect. It suits me.
This stuff is easy to work with... nearly. I really like this product and I'll continue to use it but it has one catch. You've got to be careful not to apply it to painted plastic, metalized plastic and rubber seals. It can permanently discolor the plastic. If you do get some on plastic bits, just use a damp cloth and wipe off any excess immediately and you should be fine. So just be careful when working on the panels around the front bumper.
All in all I think I spent 3 - 3.5 hours on the job. It took that long because I applied it to every square inch of painted metal including the door sills, behind the rear license plate, under the front bumper and side skirts, under the hatch cover, etc. My "reward" afterwards was a nice 28 mile drive on some twisty, light to no traffic rural roads.
*** REMOVED LIGHT SWIRLS ***
As I expected, after I had applied Nu Finish, the light swirls left in the clearcoat from the first mechanized car wash are virtually gone. If you're looking to get rid of swirls or even scratches, I suspect the company's $6 "Scratch Doctor" will do wonders for you. ;-)
The actual application process is easy: apply with a damp soft cloth, allow to dry to a haze (2 minutes), and use a clean cloth to wipe it off.