# Nu-Finish bad for paint?



## lilskel (Jun 10, 2005)

I have a new car with 1800 miles on it that hasn't been waxed as far as I know, it was new in Germany and dirty at re-delivery. 

I have checked around a few places and one was $50 to automatic wash it and "hand" wax it, I decided to pass as this was a high volume place run by teenagers

There is a local guy that only works in my town and is always busy. He comes to your house hand washes and details. He said for $65 he would wash, polish with nu-finish, wax with caranuba paste, and use dupont teflon spray. Now I thought this was a decent deal..

but I'm unsure about the nu-finish as I don't think my paint needs any polish and I don't want to hurt the paint. I have never actually had a freshly waxed or detailed car, the closest is my own hand washes and wax-as-u-dry spray.. I just want a good coat of wax to protect and shine, bead water, make washing quicker and easier, be able to just rinse off the car after it rains to get the nasty stuff off instead of needing to hand wash it 3 times a week.

Will Nu-finish be bad for the paint or will it make a towel slide off the car as he says?


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## schley (May 26, 2005)

are you a disney executive.... i see you are in celebration. I played that golf course and loved it...:thumbup: 

I don't have any experience with nu finish sorry.


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## Rsavory (Jul 13, 2005)

The Nu Finish that I'm familiar with is sold in discount stores and is not very good. Most polishes made these days are designed for clear coats and will not hurt your paint. If I were you I'd take the car to a professional detail shop or learn how do it yourself. The proper detail sequence is washing, claying, polish and sealant. Spend a little bit more money (or time) and you'll appreciate the results.


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## Jalli (Jan 10, 2005)

Just do it yourself... wash then wax,Etc.. whatever makes you happy... 

There is no need to get too complicated, as long as you regularly wash off dirt and bugs you should be allright...


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## Desertnate (Mar 11, 2002)

I would NOT use Nu-Finish if you can help it. I am surprised that a "pro" detailer even uses the stuff considering there are far better products out there.

I used it on a car MANY moons ago (my pre-BMW days) and was pretty pleased with the results. HOWEVER, I am still not convinced that it is clear coat safe, I found that if I didn't perfectly apply the same ammount across an entire pannel of the car, I could see a difference in the color/shineyness. That and some streaking issues I had with the stuff lead to my belief it is not clear coat safe. No matter how much I buffed there were times I could not get an even appearence across body pannels.

You now own a premium German automobile, and one of the finest driving cars on the planet. Don't cheap out on the upkeep. If you do it yourself, at least use a good McGuires or Mother's carnuba wax (AT THE LEAST). If you go the wax route get the good stuff like is described here at length. I am a fan of the Klasse "twins" (yes, I know it isn't a wax...) There are plenty of products out there that aren't that expensive, yet protect the paint well and will leave your car looking great.

If you have a detailer do it for you, find one who is reputable enough to use professional grade products that will provide great protection and make your car look sharp...not some low grade stuff of questionable quality.


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## dboy11 (Mar 6, 2006)

lilskel said:


> I have a new car with 1800 miles on it that hasn't been waxed as far as I know, it was new in Germany and dirty at re-delivery.
> 
> I have checked around a few places and one was $50 to automatic wash it and "hand" wax it, I decided to pass as this was a high volume place run by teenagers
> 
> ...


Where I don't think that Nu-Finish is bad for your car there are certainly much better products that you can use....I would look at Klasse AIO and SG for hand use on your car....they can be found at any decent auto parts store or Germany car dealerships


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## TOGWT (May 26, 2004)

1


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## Peench (Aug 17, 2006)

I'll throw in a recommendation for Zaino products. More info on them can be found at their site:

http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc

I am still using up the rest of my Klasse All-In-One, but have used some of Zaino's other products (Leather cleaner, Leather in a Bottle, and Wheel Dressing) and have found them to be great! The results of a multi-layer of their polish produces some amazing results.

I too agree with what people here have said - if someone is going to be charging you to detail your car, make sure they are using professional grade or prosumer grade products and not something simply off the shelf at Target. Not that they are horrible products (since McGuires and Mothers are sold off the shelf), but there are better products out there.

The best advice is to learn how to properly detail and do it yourself. You will get to know your car very well and be that much more pleased with the results when you are done. :thumbup:


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## lilskel (Jun 10, 2005)

I called him today and said I didn't want to do the Nu-Finish..I asked him to Clay Bar the car and he said it's not necessary and he only would do it inside and doesn't think it would need it. Also don't believe he uses anything special for wax, said a Carnauba paste wax which could mean $2 turtle wax. I called a few dealers and got these responses:

BMW - $200, will not do just exterior and had no details on their process
MB - Cheaper, said no need to clay bar
Porsche - Doesn't do customer details
Ferrari - $175, uses 3M or Meguires !?!?!
Audi - Sounded best to me, $89 quick interior clean, hand wash, clay bar, Klassee AIO

I am thinking about letting the detail guy do another car and doing mine myself. Didn't get a clay bar but got Zymol Cleaner wax and One Grand Blitz, and a PC Polisher..maybe a coat of Zymol and then a coat of Blitz will be good?


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## dboy11 (Mar 6, 2006)

lilskel said:


> I called him today and said I didn't want to do the Nu-Finish..I asked him to Clay Bar the car and he said it's not necessary and he only would do it inside and doesn't think it would need it. Also don't believe he uses anything special for wax, said a Carnauba paste wax which could mean $2 turtle wax. I called a few dealers and got these responses:
> 
> BMW - $200, will not do just exterior and had no details on their process
> MB - Cheaper, said no need to clay bar
> ...


anyone that tells you that clay is not needed on a new car knows little about paint....why don't you come over to this site and see if there is a detailer from it in your area...they are a FL based site so there might be someone that can give you another option

http://www.detailcity.org


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## Desertnate (Mar 11, 2002)

lilskel said:


> I called him today and said I didn't want to do the Nu-Finish..I asked him to Clay Bar the car and he said it's not necessary and he only would do it inside and doesn't think it would need it. Also don't believe he uses anything special for wax, said a Carnauba paste wax which could mean $2 turtle wax. I called a few dealers and got these responses:
> 
> BMW - $200, will not do just exterior and had no details on their process
> MB - Cheaper, said no need to clay bar
> ...


Ditto on the comment about someone telling you that a car doesn't need to be clay-barred. That statement, rolled into thier use of Nu-Finish and the $2 Turtle Wax comment lead me to believe they don't know what they are talking about.

All Carnuba's are not created equal. They all differ based on the ammount of carnuba in the mix and the other chemicals. Each will yeild different results.

Looking at you selected materials I would recommend the following...

Try to find a clay-bar somewhere and find one on line. The cleaner-wax may help, but won't achiev the same results. One Grand yeilds some great results. I used it for several years before jumping to Klasse. I would recommend using a glaze/polish of some sort after the clay bar and before the wax. I used 3M Imperial Hand Glaze and Blitz Wax together for some amazing reslults.


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## Court M3 (Dec 26, 2005)

Klasse AIO and SG works best for me


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## lilskel (Jun 10, 2005)

I have One Grand that I purchased back in 2001 as I read it would be the best all around wax for my white Jetta, but never used it and sold the car a year ago lol. I just picked up Zymol cleaner wax today at Wal Mart while looking for buffer pads, but after I turned on the PC for the first time it kinda scared me lol. 

I really want to do it right and clay bar it first and he's not going to do it, so I am thinking about letting him do my old X3 although that one REALLY needs to be clay barred so I am at a loss..

I'm thinking of going along the lines of clay, Klasse AIO and then a layer of One Grand, but I'm obviously not going to find anybody to do that

I was looking at a friends dark blue 911 today and really found out what swirl marks were for the first time as well as the definate need for clay bar even on the hood...my observations of contamination have been usually on the trunk lid of my white cars like little dark specs that are rough and do not come off with washing..clay right?


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## Desertnate (Mar 11, 2002)

lilskel said:


> I have One Grand that I purchased back in 2001 as I read it would be the best all around wax for my white Jetta, but never used it and sold the car a year ago lol. I just picked up Zymol cleaner wax today at Wal Mart while looking for buffer pads, but after I turned on the PC for the first time it kinda scared me lol.
> 
> I really want to do it right and clay bar it first and he's not going to do it, so I am thinking about letting him do my old X3 although that one REALLY needs to be clay barred so I am at a loss..
> 
> ...


The contamination probably would look like specks on white...I've never owned a white car though... When claying, I have found the roof, trunk lid, and hood to be the most "contaminated". To fully understand what claying does for you, run your hands across a freshly washed body panel and feel what the paint texture feel like. Then after you clay bar that panel, do the same thing again....you will be amazed at how much smoother it feels.


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## alpinewhite325i (Jan 20, 2002)

FWIW, prior to my switch to Zaino, I used Nu Finish for 10 years and never had any problems with it. It lasted long and had a decent shine.


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## lilskel (Jun 10, 2005)

Ok so the guy comes today...should I just let him do Nu-Finish and then whatever carnuba paste he uses? Then next time I can clay and use Klasse? Or pray that it rains and he cancels?


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## lilskel (Jun 10, 2005)

Ok so he came and he uses Detail King paste wax... :-/ 

It was about to rain so we decided not to do it and I would call him next week.. :-/

He showed me his clay bar and said it takes a long time to do and wouldn't make a difference. I think at this point I might go get a clay bar and then try my hand with the PC

Yikes

Edit: To make it better he actually said the reason he uses Nu-Finish is to take out the scratches he will put onto the car by washing it with the sponge that has a net over it


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## schley (May 26, 2005)

lilskel said:


> Ok so he came and he uses Detail King paste wax... :-/
> 
> It was about to rain so we decided not to do it and I would call him next week.. :-/
> 
> ...


after I f up your finish I'm going to fix it don't worry, just like those junk cars in the nu finish commercials.:thumbup:


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## lilskel (Jun 10, 2005)

Got my Mothers clay bar today..

brother got his car (my old white x3) washed /waxed at work for $50...saw it tonight..shiny enough, somewhat smooth...still got that "needs to be clayed" feel to it that I really notice now that it's waxed...omg it's awful and will probably give me nightmares

Tomorrow mine will see a nice hand wash which I never mind doing, clay and either mothers cleaner wax, zymol cleaner wax, or one grand blitz..any suggestions?


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## Boxboss (Dec 25, 2005)

lilskel said:


> Ok so he came and he uses Detail King paste wax... :-/
> 
> It was about to rain so we decided not to do it and I would call him next week.. :-/
> 
> ...


Sounds like Goofy has quite Disneyland and is now working as a freelance detailer.


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