CanuckG35

Every detailer has their own preferences as to what products they use. Having said that, my personal preference is Menzerna's Synthetic Polymer lock sealant. Durability with any product will be effected by environmental conditions and also your washing habits. I get approximately 6 months durability with Power Lock and just love the look it provides. As for your chrome plated wheels, I would use P21S wheel cleaner and Poorboys Wheel Sealant. PB's wheal sealant protects your wheels, makes them easier to clean, and cuts down on brake dust. For safely removing water spots, you can use a waterless wash product like Poorboy's Spray & Wipe or Optimum Instant Detailer & Gloss Enhancer.

Sorry for being MIA lately, it's been a very busy summer. Now to answer your questions. Basically a compound and a polish are basically the same. An aggressive polish can be considered a compound and a mild compound can be considered a polish. If your paint is severely damaged you might require an aggressive compound (say 800-1200 grit). When using an aggressive compound like this, you would then need to follow it up with a light or fine cut polish to remove the marring and hazing left by the heavy compound. As for a glaze, their main job try and "fill in" paint imperfections. If your professional detailer is doing the job right, they really won't need to apply a glaze. One benefit about a glaze though is that is does provide a great shine before applying your LSP and restores original brilliance and clarity. If you are using a sealant/carnuba combo as your LSP, definitely allow the sealant to cure for 24 hours before applying the carnuba over top of it. Any other questions, just let me know.

The sealant needs to be applied first before you apply your carnuba. Sealants will not bond to a carnuba.

Mark, congrats on the purchase of your upcoming Edge! If you can, try and stay away from the automatic car washes.....even the touchless ones. The ones that touch your vehicle are obviously death to your paint. The touchless car washes use very harsh detergents to clean your vehicle will will drastically reduce the durability of any paint protection you have on your vehicle. To answer your question about keeping your wheels protected, I would recommend using a wheel sealant like Poorboys Wheel Sealant or Wheel Wax. For wheel cleaner, I like using P21S the best. Also like dr.edge I use Poorboys Bold N Bright as my tire dressing for all customer details. It's a fantastic water based dressing that doesn't sling whatsoever. Yes, MF = microfiber. Other than using a foam applicator to apply my sealants and waxes I use MF towels for virtually everything else. There is varying qualities of MF towels so try and stay away from the cheaper ones. Sealing your paint is just another alternative to a carnuba wax and will provide protection to your paint from the elements. Sealants last much longer than waxes which is why a large number of people and detailers use them. Unless you opted for some type of paint protection package from your dealership (which I never recommend), your Edge will not come with any type of paint protection applied. It's always recommended to apply protection to your paint to guard against UV rays, acid rain, bird bombs, etc. Since you are in the US, a great place to pick up some detailing supplies is www.detailedimage.com. They are extremely knowledgable and their service is top notch. I hope this helps however let me know if you have any other questions.

Yep, you are correct.

Scott, I haven't tried that particular tire dressing yet, but I am glad to see you switch from a silicone based tire dressing to a water based tire dressing. Not only are most silicone tire dressings extremely messy with sling back, they are harmful to your tires.

A synthetic polymer sealant provides durability for up to 6 months or so, sounds like it would fit the bill for you.

One thing I can guarantee you is that there are a LOT more ways than nine to ruin your paint. Thankfully, it's what keeps us detailers in business.

Bump. For anyone that is looking to do a spring detail of their Edge (or any other vehicle for that matter) feel free to post up your questions here. Akirby, would you mind moving this thread to the detailing section? Thanks.

Definitely DO NOT use a magic eraser on your leather! The magic eraser can/will also remove the dye from the leather. There are many tips out there for removing denim from leather, however be very careful as you don't want to ruin your leather. I've removed denim safely in the past buy spraying a small amount of hair spray on the spot. I then proceeded to use my normal leather cleaner. Follow up with a leather conditioner as well.

It's located in "Display Mode", which is the first menu choice in your left LCD screen.

Are you sure that's where it's located Scott???? It's not like you've had any experience pulling fuse 29 before or anything!

1. The absorption of oils into leather from your skin can cause cracking. If you use a water based protectant like 303 Aerospace, it will act as a scotchguard and prevent the naturals oils to absorb into the leather. 2. I use Poorboys World Bug Squash to help remove all of the bugs from the front of mine and customer vehicles. It works great. Having your paint protected with a wax or a sealant at all times will make it easier to remove the bugs as well. 3. You could take a hairdryer and warm up the residue a little then wipe off with a damp cloth. Follow up with a leather cleaner of your choice. 4. I use a wheel well brush along with P21S diluted down to 3:1. It will degrease just about anything in your wheel wells. If you choose to use a mitt instead of a wheel well brush, have a dedicated mitt for ONLY the wheel wells. You can even apply your favourite tire dressing to the wheel wells after if you choose. The wheel wells on the Edge are extremely easy to clean compared to some other vehicles. I hope this helps.

Obviously it's your choice how much time and effort you want to spend on keeping a leased vehicle in top condition. If you are considering buying out the lease at the end of the two years, I would certainly spend the time, effort, and money needed to take care of it properly. If you know for sure that you are will turning it back in after the two years, there is really no necessity to spend the money on polishing and waxing/sealing constantly. Again, it's totally up to you how much time and effort you want to spend. My Edge is leased as well as a business write off, however I still detail it like I own it. Personally, I enjoy detailing, love having a vehicle that always looks like it came from the showroom, and it's also a form of advertising for my business.

^ Yep, they sure have been Ed. Since the APIM replacement, all MFT/SYNC features are working fine. How is yours working?

Add me to the list of members that are having this issue. Annoying to say the least. I much prefer Infiniti's intelligent key system over Ford's so far.

Ugh, spring can't come quick enough Carrie. Looking very forward to all of the snow being gone and going for the first top down drive in the roadster.

Hahaha, I know what you mean. You should smell the Nattys Blue, it's got a great bubble gum smell that makes you just want get a spoon and eat it!! Good job on the 50/50 mix. It's a also great way to remove any oils, residue, etc from your paint before detailing.

For all of my MF towels and MF mitts, I use Chemical Guys MF Wash Cleaning Detergent. Using an actual MF cleaning detergent will greatly prolong the life of your MF towels as it removes was and other residues much better than a regular detergent. I would highly recommend picking up one to prolong the life of your MF products.

Goo gone is perfect for just about any sticky residue on your paint. I use it quite frequently on customer vehicles, especially when removing dealership stickers.

^ Looks great!!! :shades:

I got the APIM replaced yesterday at the dealership. All is well.........so far. :hyper:

^ Keep me posted Carrie, good luck with everything.

Getting my APIM replaced on Friday.......really hoping that things go smoothly.

Yeah, you can trust any detailer on George's website, that's for sure. I used to be on there myself but his map is US only now.