I'm confused now...buttery wax, super sealant questions

[Coderedpl]

Hi there all,

 

I'm trying to get back into getting the basics down for detailing and order products I will need for future projects today. I purchased a whole kit last year but never got to actually use it thanks to my car getting totaled.

 

For reference, all the family cars I do and have done are daily driven. I'm looking around and now I'm a bit confused.

 

The following are available from looking at the site and reading around:

- Adam's Buttery Car Wax (have it)

- Adam's Quick Sealant

- Americana paste wax

- Adam's Machine Super Sealant

- Adam's Brilliant Glaze

 

So the confusion part comes on what to use and when, obviously I won't be doing this stuff on a weekly basis, just when my cars get detailed which I'm planning to do every few months now instead of twice a year.

 

So from my understanding first comes the washing, claying, polishing.

 

1. Then it seems like I can do Adams Machine Super Sealant?

2. Then for hard to reach areas hit it with the quick sealant or is that not necessary? I don't honestly foresee too many "hard to hit" areas...

 

3. Is the following step(s) optional or necessary?

Brilliant glaze for that extra shine?

Followed by, or JUST buttery wax or americana?

 

4. As a side question, where/when would I use the revive polish?

 

Am I understanding somewhat correctly? I saw Adams sprayed the subaru with the quick sealant but from some reading it seems that it was suggested for the hard to reach areas once you do the machine super sealant.

 

EDIT: I've edited this post a few times already and I know it's the 4th so I shouldn't expect a reply right away, I'm actually watching the videos right now and some of the questions are being answered as I go along, so sorry in advance!

Edited July 4, 2012 by Coderedpl

[egott_91]

Yes, it'll go sealant, glaze (optional, adds no protection but improves shine), then buttery or Americana.

 

The machine sealant will offer the best protection, followed by quick sealant, followed by Americana, and buttery the least as far as protection.

[dipolley]

Peter,

 

You have all of your preliminary process correct: wash, clay, and polish. Revive is primarily used for hand polishing, however, it can be useful for light polishing on some vehicles with a PC when mixed with Fine Machine Polish. That is another subject.

 

Here is what I typically tell people.

 

Quick Sealent (QS) was developed as a synthetic sealent similar to Machine Super Sealent and was not expected to last more than a couple of months. However, real-world testing has seen it dimish as long as 5 months after application. It is an easy to use, short-term protection product. Its best quality is that it cures in 30 minutes (more on this in a moment). QS is great for door jambs, trunk jambs, and wheels.

 

Machine Super Sealent is similar to QS. Biggest differences, it lasts longer, is applied by machine, and takes 24 hours to cure. Both sealents must be applied directly to the vehicle finish.

 

Brilliant Glaze is an amazing product. Its thin application provides some protection to your finish but does not last long on its own. When combined with a sealent and/or wax it will "flatten" your finish by filling in micro scratches and provides a level surface on which to lay your choice of wax on top of. This will give you your best depth of shine. You can either place Brilliant Glaze on your finish or on top of a sealent. When you apply BG over a sealent you have to consider the cure time of the sealent. The sealent must fully cure before applying BG. This is why most prefer QS as it sets up much quicker. BG also has a detergent in it and is optically clear. Feel free to use it on your windows as a short-term glass sealent in a pinch.

 

Buttery Wax is a liquid caranuba and Americana a paste caranuba. Personally I prefer Americana. It is a superior product and when applied is less wasteful. Americana is more expensive, but more is apllied to the finish (less loss in the applicator), cures harder, and provides better protection and shine. Buttery wax tends to accumulate in the applicator but is more economcially priced. Both products provide excellent results. When either is applied over Brilliant Glaze, the BG and wax create a depth effect.

 

Here is your options for protection:

-Quick Sealent or Machine Sealent applied to the vehicle finish.

-Buttery Wax or Americana applied to the finish.

-Brilliant Glaze applied to the finish with Buttery or Americana applied over the BG.

-Sealent applied to the finish, with a layer of BG on top of the sealent, then wax on top of the BG. (Quick Sealent, Brilliant Glaze, then American is my prefered method. This provides the best possible shine and depth in the least amount of time). The sealent protects the car, the BG protects the Sealent, and the Wax protects the BG. This will provide the best shine and depth and longest lasting protection.

 

Hope this helps.

Edited July 5, 2012 by dipolley

[Coderedpl]

Late reply but thank you both dipolley & egott_91

 

Makes more sense now!

Going to refer back to this thread when I do a detail.

[Z71_Denali]

when they say sealant has to be applied directly to the vehicle finish, they mean bare paint. to get the paint bare (i.e. no glazes or waxes on it) do a strip wash with car shampoo and a little APC mixed in, clay bar the finish if the baggie test reveals it's rough, and if your doing any correcting or hand polishing, your last step before adding sealant needs to be with either Revive Polish or Isopropyl Alcohol to remove any polishing residues left on the paint.

[mjhpadi]

Please don't think that Buttery Wax doesn't offer great protection. It was Adam's only wax a few years ago, and I have had great results using Buttery. It lasts well, and leaves a great looking finish. So it is a great product, at a great price. Not to be dismissed as an inferior product. I have found it is superior to almost every other wax I have ever tried. BTW, I just put a coat of Brilliant Glaze followed by Buttery Wax on my car today, even though it just had 3 coats of Americana a few weeks ago. The Brilliant and Buttery was a great treatment to bring back the car to a great looking shine, since it really didn't need a full detail with clay bar, Revive, FMP, Sealant, Glaze, and wax.

[Doug123]

One of the other great things about buttery wax is that you can apply it in full sun. I have done this on my black paint when it was hot (as a test) and it worked great. Very shiny stuff. On and off very fast. One of the first things that got me hooked on Adams.

[Coderedpl]

Might be trying some of the stuff out this Sunday if all goes well.

[ExpressThis13]

One of the other great things about buttery wax is that you can apply it in full sun. I have done this on my black paint when it was hot (as a test) and it worked great. Very shiny stuff. On and off very fast. One of the first things that got me hooked on Adams.

I agree. I did this more than once on my Black Grand Prix with great results. If you do not have buttery I would suggest picking it up. Its the one product I think everyone should have in their arsenal just simply because its such a great product and very user friendly in all conditions!

[Coderedpl]

I agree. I did this more than once on my Black Grand Prix with great results. If you do not have buttery I would suggest picking it up. Its the one product I think everyone should have in their arsenal just simply because its such a great product and very user friendly in all conditions!

 

Sure do have it, it came with one of the packages I ordered.

Might be doing the machine sealant tomorrow and on Thursday applying brilliant glaze and buttery.

[TAP135]

how often would you apply the sealant?

[Redvenm]

Peter,

 

You have all of your preliminary process correct: wash, clay, and polish. Revive is primarily used for hand polishing, however, it can be useful for light polishing on some vehicles with a PC when mixed with Fine Machine Polish. That is another subject.

 

Here is what I typically tell people.

 

Quick Sealent (QS) was developed as a synthetic sealent similar to Machine Super Sealent and was not expected to last more than a couple of months. However, real-world testing has seen it dimish as long as 5 months after application. It is an easy to use, short-term protection product. Its best quality is that it cures in 30 minutes (more on this in a moment). QS is great for door jambs, trunk jambs, and wheels.

 

 

 

Machine Super Sealent is similar to QS. Biggest differences, it lasts longer, is applied by machine, and takes 24 hours to cure. Both sealents must be applied directly to the vehicle finish.

 

Brilliant Glaze is an amazing product. Its thin application provides some protection to your finish but does not last long on its own. When combined with a sealent and/or wax it will "flatten" your finish by filling in micro scratches and provides a level surface on which to lay your choice of wax on top of. This will give you your best depth of shine. You can either place Brilliant Glaze on your finish or on top of a sealent. When you apply BG over a sealent you have to consider the cure time of the sealent. The sealent must fully cure before applying BG. This is why most prefer QS as it sets up much quicker. BG also has a detergent in it and is optically clear. Feel free to use it on your windows as a short-term glass sealent in a pinch.

 

Buttery Wax is a liquid caranuba and Americana a paste caranuba. Personally I prefer Americana. It is a superior product and when applied is less wasteful. Americana is more expensive, but more is apllied to the finish (less loss in the applicator), cures harder, and provides better protection and shine. Buttery wax tends to accumulate in the applicator but is more economcially priced. Both products provide excellent results. When either is applied over Brilliant Glaze, the BG and wax create a depth effect.

 

Here is your options for protection:

-Quick Sealent or Machine Sealent applied to the vehicle finish.

-Buttery Wax or Americana applied to the finish.

-Brilliant Glaze applied to the finish with Buttery or Americana applied over the BG.

-Sealent applied to the finish, with a layer of BG on top of the sealent, then wax on top of the BG. (Quick Sealent, Brilliant Glaze, then American is my prefered method. This provides the best possible shine and depth in the least amount of time). The sealent protects the car, the BG protects the Sealent, and the Wax protects the BG. This will provide the best shine and depth and longest lasting protection.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Excellent answer, but could you be more specific?

[TAP135]

Excellent answer, but could you be more specific?

 

I agree

[mjhpadi]

Revive is really more of a paint cleaner then a polish, I use it after clay bar, leaving the residue from the clay bar on the vehicle and then using Revive to finish the cleaning process. It really leaves a very clean finish for whatever your next step is going to be. I apply it by hand since it doesn't need to dry, apply and remove immediately.

As far as Brilliant Glaze I can't agree that it "flattens" your finish. It is a glaze that also has some cleaning properties. If you apply it before using one of the waxes, it will really make your finish look tremendous. As I said in a different thread, before there was and Adam's Waxes the final step was Brilliance (what Brilliant was called before it was Brilliant).

As for the 2 waxes ( Buttery and Americana) I have used both and Buttery lasts fine, and looks great. I have found it is a bit harder to remove then Americana, but I believe this is because it is a liquid so that it generally ends up being a thicker coat. Americana is just great, a bit harder and goes on thinner, but a super wax. Just hate the Americana container as it ages the darn container gets almost impossible to get the lid on and off without the strength of 3 men and a boy! Hope this helps!