There is a special wax time on Saturday mornings. It is after the sun has come up enough to light the drive, but before it peaks over the rooftop to warm my Cadillac CTS. Waxing is best done out of the direct sunlight, so if I am out in the driveway around 7 am I have time to wash and wax before the CTS is in direct sunlight.
To read my prior detailing notes, please click on the detailing category.
Meguiar's NXT Car Wash, ProForce micro-fiber towels, and 2 buckets
It is important to use actual car wash solution and not dish soap when prepping the car. Actual car wash is designed to work with the type of contaminants you will run in to on cars, and it is more paint and wax – friendly. With the CTS I start with a rinse, then shampoo with Meguiar’s NXT car wash, and rinse again. I dry with micro-fiber towels.
While washing the car I use the ‘two-bucket method’. One bucket has clean car wash/water, and the other bucket is for dirty water. I soak a micro-fiber cloth in the clean water, and apply it to the CTS. Then I wash the towel off in the 2nd bucket, then wring it dry. Using 2 buckets keeps my clean car wash and water clean.
Today my plan was to get the Cadillac CTS clean, then to apply a coat of Meguiar’s Cleaner Wax. Everything went well, I had a beautiful morning for it. I got the car clean, then started waxing. After I had waxed the front hood I realized that the product in my hand was Meguiar’s Gold Class wax, not Meguiar’s Cleaner Wax. So week’s blog is about Meguiar’s Gold Class wax.
The Gold Class wax went on easily. As compared to the NXT Tech Wax I have been using, I would say that the Gold Class was harder to buff / clean from the car, and needed more effort. Optically it looks slightly deeper than the NXT Tech wax once it is buffed by hand a bit. It did not leave the paint feeling as silky smooth as the NXT Tech wax. My conclusion is that I would use the NXT Tech wax in preference to the Gold Class. Both products have a small cleaning component and a large wax component. I may apply the NXT tech wax as a ‘topper’ tomorrow.
Swipe Test - not quite dry yet.
Swipe testing: to test if the wax is dry, you swipe your finger along the wax. If the wax comes off easily with no smearing, it is ready to be buffed off.
After photo; click for the larger version, then click the larger version to zoom in. No, the wheels are not done yet 🙂
2005 Cadillac CTS 3.6L with Meguiar's Gold Class, after 1 layer of wax.
Cadillac CTS after Meguiar's Gold Class wax (1 coat)
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Very good blog and excelent themes. I wish good luck from Autoversicherung
I also have a 2005 Cadillac CTS. I bought it as a second hand. Its looks is almost similar to the photos. I will also try the steps on cleaning. Thanks for sharing.