# My review of Car-Lack Nano Systematic Care and Long Life



## ScoobyTT

I had a go with these products after claying the front of the car this weekend. They are:

Nano Systematic Care (AKA Klasse All In One): A non-abrasive cleaner, polisher and sealant. According to the manufacturer, its "patented nano-technology gives better adhesion of the acrylic seal giving a thicker, denser protective layer and extremely glossy shine." They recommend that it be topped up with the Long Life Sealant. Both are intended to seal the paint and protect it from acid rain, tar, bird cack, UV rays, etc.

Depending on whether you visit carlack.com or carlack.de, there are different instructions for the products, though those on carlack.com are more detailed. Immediately after claying and rinsing the lubricant off I started with the Nano Systematic Care. You don't have to bother drying the car if you don't want to, as any water remaining won't affect the performance - apparently. I was up for saving some stages having already dried most of the car once already 

*Nano Systematic Care*
- Comes in a small retro-style container a bit like a Jerry Can.
- Hardly any scent, and doesn't stink of petroleum spirits like many products. 
- Use twice or more a year. 
- Around £9 for 300ml.

The Nano Systematic Care is dead easy to use. I used a Sonus Der Wunder microfibre pad to apply it. It only needs tiny amounts, and you can quite happily do the whole car before removing it. In fact, it's recommended that you leave it for at least half an hour to bond. While it's curing you shouldn't expose the car to sunlight or water.

The Long Life Sealant can then be applied directly on top of the dried Nano Systematic Care, but I tried buffing it off on an area just to see what it was like. DEAD EASY is the answer. A few wipes and you're left with a clean, shiny finish with no powdery residues. I could have buffed the whole front of the car in a minute or two easily but took the option to apply the Long Life Sealant straight on top. There is one downside to that approach: as both products are the same colour, you need to remember where you've been and make sure you overlap your areas just to make sure 

*Long Life Sealant*
- Comes in the same kind of container.
- Has barely any discernible smell at all.
- Use every 4 months on well maintained paint.
- Can be layered up every 24 hours (provided the car's indoors to protect it I would say!)
- Around £15 for 300ml.

The Long Life Sealant applies easily, but unlike the Nano Systematic Care should be buffed off after about 15 minutes. It has a higher acrylic content than the NSC and it shows. Naturally during application some parts will be thicker than others and once the haze is buffed off you can see the streaks of the acryclic. Fear not! A quick puff and buff and it evens out. Maybe I was being a bit generous with my application. I'm not sure but I thought I was being as sparing as recommended. Overall though, the Long Life Sealant requires more labour to finish off than the NSC.

Reading some online reviews it seems some don't even put a wax on top of this and still have water beading after months. It should provide a very good base for a wax to sit on top of, and the wax will hopefully help it last a little longer still.

The result was a very smooth, very shiny car. I'm hoping to find the car more impervious to bird cack for one. As an additional and occasional extra step in keeping the paintwork in good condition, I reckon this is worth the time and money for its ease of use, lack of petroleum distillates, and ability to only use it once in a while.

Carlack also seem to be an excellent company having invented and innovated this kind of surface preparation and perusing their site they got 98 out of 100 points for ISO 9001:2000 certification. Those crazy Germans!


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## davelincs

No photos then Scooby


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## ScoobyTT

No, sorry, but you wouldn't really be able to get any comparative indication of the quality of the product anyway. With the right light and the right angles, I could make the car look stunning with or without the products. One photo of a cleaned car looks very much like another


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## Thundercat

Very helpful write up thanks


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## MrHooky

Scooby - been waiting for this write up! What however did you think to swirl mark coverings? That is a pretty key one for me on both my 6 year old TT and wife's A5. Sounds like the stuff would fill the swirls as it 'bonds' to the paint hence the long lasting ness of it.

You've seen me rant on about the SRP before and to get good defect removal by hand you need to really work hard at each panel. Did you put some elbow grease into the Sys Care to try and remove defects or was it more just using it to cleanse? Perhaps you're just not as obsessed about swirls as me!

Do you think it'd be wise missing out the sealent and just putting collinite on top of the systematic care? Sounds like an easy job non the less. Sealent followed by Collnite sounds like it would be a pretty good combo for longevity!


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## ScoobyTT

My car has hardly any swirls so I can't really comment. It may go some way towards filling them much like a pre-wax treatment but as the amounts applied are small I'm not sure. Looking at the visible depth of the dried acrylic I saw when buffing off, there would definitely be enough there so fill swirl marks.

I didn't put any weight behind the application beyond gentle rubbing. It doesn't seem like the kind of stuff where that would make a lot of difference, though I may be wrong. You could certainly just do the NSC and then wax. The Long Life Sealant is billed as something that tops up the former. As the systematic care is a combination product, I think applying the LLS is a good move. It's harder to buff off but you can save on buffing off the NSC by applying it over the top.

Logevity of finish is what I'm after. There are only so many hours in a day and I don't want to be repeatedly going over the car again and again so if I can get a good finish and then maintain it, then occasionally do the whole lot, that's my ideal. Hopefully the Car-Lack will do just that, and with long-lasting wax (allegedly) like Collinite on top I should be sorted and the paint well protected from dust and those flying crap cannon.


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## MrHooky

ScoobyTT said:


> Logevity of finish is what I'm after. There are only so many hours in a day and I don't want to be repeatedly going over the car again and again so if I can get a good finish and then maintain it, then occasionally do the whole lot, that's my ideal. Hopefully the Car-Lack will do just that, and with long-lasting wax (allegedly) like Collinite on top I should be sorted and the paint well protected from dust and those flying crap cannon.


Longevity for me too exactly what I'm after. Think I'll do another bulk order off CYC and give this stuff a go. How many applications do you think are in there? Enough for two cars you think?

Did you manage to get the collinite on top also then or not yet?

My car currently has had a good SRP and Collinite on top. Unfortunately it's prone to bird sh*t given where I park at work, but I must say it washed straight off the collinite. One wipe! Normally like cement! That went for cleaning to whole car, found the dirt was more 'sitting' on top of the wax as opposed to being cremated onto the paint. Makes everything much easier and quicker at the weekend...


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## ScoobyTT

There's easily enough for two cars in there, and enough to do a couple of cars a couple of times probably. The manufacturer's guidance is as follows:

Nano Systematic Care: 1ml per 1x1 foot area.
Long Life Sealant: 1ml per 2x2 foot area.

There's 300ml in the small bottles so it should easily do a couple of cars and then some, especially the LLS. I only did the front of my car as I'm going to do it in phases, and I hardly used any despite perhaps being a bit generous.

I did get the Collinite on top, and the beading is good. It does behave differently to other waxes though. Although it beads well and is definitely well waxed, I find that when driving the water will sit a little more persistently than other waxes. It's not a problem though. I'm more concerned with how long it'll last. No bird cack yet but it's only a matter of time. The sun baked some onto my HD Wax a few weeks ago and if the sun gets it it really doesn't matter how waxed the car is, it'll need something else to get it off. I've got some Autoglym bird cack wipes and no crud sits on my car for longer than a few hours.


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## RichDean

Hey Scooby and Hooky, good write up there!

I've just got my Carlack/Collonite winter pack from cleanyourcar delivered today and I cant wait to try them out this weekend. Like you, I'm also fed up with spending hours detailing my car every two weeks, only for it to be filthy again in a few days.

I have a couple of questions for you:

1. I haven't got a clay bar at the moment, and dont really have enough money to get one right now, however in a few weeks I'm going to get one and give the car a good claying. If I apply the Carlack now, will it be easy to get off when I do come to clay in a few weeks?

2. I've read a few reviews that have got me interested in also using polishes and glazes as well, for example Autoglym SR Polish (which I've used before) and Meguires show car glaze (think its either No. 7 or No. 21). Do you think you can use these kind of products in a detailing session with the Carlack? If so, which stage in the process would you use the Carlack? Before or after the polish/glaze?


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## ScoobyTT

Hi Rich, cheers. I would imagine that claying would get the Car-Lack off. It certainly seems to remove a bunch of cruft that you can't see. If it didn't remove all the acrylic it would certainly smooth out any variations to leave an even finish on which you could then apply other treatments.

See the following guide from CleanYourCar on the ordering (and frequency) of processes:









So you'd use the polish before the CarLack according to that, BUT, the CarLack Nano Systematic Care cleans the paint too and as it says it removes tar spots it may remove anything the AutoGlym left behind. The SRP would certainly remove the Car-Lack. MrHooky recently made a post which linked to a review of treatments for swirl removal and the Car-Lack did just as well as the SRP in my opinion. Personally I wouldn't add in an extra layer of effort for what may be very marginal benefit. I use the Car-Lack NSC and then the Long Life Sealant which is designed to go on top. It depends what you're trying to achieve though and how good your paint condition is, obviously, but if you were going to use the SRP, under the CarLack would be the place to do it I reckon.

I don't know about glazes, but would make the same query about effort to difference in result


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## MrHooky

Rich

Firstly think you've got the cleaning bug too! Just be sure not to spend all your money on products! Have to keep telling myself that one.

Claying, I'm yet to do it but plan on doing in the spring. Speaking to Marco34 he recommended this stuff - http://www.bilthamber.com/autoclay.html. Note it's a 'fine' clay, i.e. least abbrasive and you get a whopping 200g for £10. That's nearly four regular Mars Bars in confectionary terms! Best bit, can be used with water. Marco has used and said it did a good job, so I plan on taking a fun size Mars bar to the car in a few weeks.

What I would say though is seeing as the claying probably needs to be done to 'untreated' paint, it'd be best to do that before layering the Carlack on to the paintwork. That way you'll get the best results from the Carlack products also. You've just got to resist temptation as you'll probably go stick the Carlack on this weekend! I am a hypocrite of course as I did the same with SRP and wax when I got them!

Note the Klasse Nano Syt care (aka Carlack) was reviewed alongside the SRP, i.e. go one or the other in my opinion. I haven't purchased the carlack yet as I thought I'd use up the rest of the SRP for now. Oh and for the record, the pro detailer I spoke to on Monday said Autoglym SRP was a bit of a 'hidden gem'. Only other Autoglym product I own is the metal polish which seems a bit crap if I'm honest for the price, but it would seem they've made a good thing with the SRP.

Sounds like the Carlack sealent would do a good job of sealing in that hard work by what sounds like a pretty hard wearing acrylic layer. I think Scooby was planning on layering a bit of collinite on top again to make his car super durable which sounds a good idea.

It is all down to personal preference. Like scooby said, probably not a lot in it to the naked eye. The review of swirl removal products by hand (good link - http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/s ... ng+by+hand) seems to think SRP gave a 'wetter look' and I'll vouch for it being very easy to use if not a bit chalky. However, I dare say that even if you had the products side by side under massive halogen lights you'd struggle to guess which was which.

Like Scooby has alluded to you could go SRP followed by the Carlack Sealent, or the Carlack NSC followed by the sealent. Either I'm sure will be long lasting and should make the car look great. Personally not been interested by a glaze yet. Seems like yet another layer just to make things even more shiny. Surely there's a level reached which is too shiny!?!?

EDIT: Didn't realise Scooby suggested the SRP then both carlack products, if you want to go for all of them. I agree though in that you'd probably get no benefit, with both NSC and SRP trying to do a very similar job. Get the clay instead!

Let us know how you get on.


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## MrHooky

RichDean said:


> Like you, I'm also fed up with spending hours detailing my car every two weeks, only for it to be filthy again in a few days.


Oh and Rich meant to say - it won't stop your car getting mucky! For that I reckon you'll need some 80s style mudflaps!


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## DesignerDaveTT

Great right up, would like to give this stuff a go.

Has this product given you the best results for a deep shine? I am just wondering if it would be better than Meguiar's NXT Tech Wax 2.0. I would imagine the Carlack would last longer.


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## MrHooky

Dave - personally, immediately after I did the SRP followed by the Collinite the car was like a mirror (and I hadn't clayed either!). It still has a very nice sheen to it given it was done a month ago (which is nothing in Collinite's claim to last at least 6 months). For a 'deep shine' though I've literally just had some Britemax Detailing spray delivered today (http://www.i4detailing.co.uk/acatalog/b ... ine_1.html). Again, only bought some as saw it in the professional detailers kit bag on Monday, so plan on using as a means of topping up the 'shine' and prolonging the life of the wax already on there. I remain sceptical on detailing sprays until I've had chance to use it though...

How is the NXT tech stuff for durability? I saw your review of it and it did make you car look good in the pics.


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## RichDean

Hi Scooby

Thanks for that, it does make sense to put the polish on before the sealant, as by its nature you would expect the sealant to seal the products below it in. But then the Carlack is also a cleaner, so it does get a bit confusing!!

I also think you're right about the glaze, I'm sure it would look very good, but it may be a step too far, especially when you compare effort to result - I'm sure clay > polish > sealant > wax should be enough to get an excellent wet look and be durable enough to last.

I cant wait to give it a try this weekend. The weather looks like it going to be okay, so I'll give it a wash, then apply the Carlack, remove, the I think I'm going to give it two coats of the Collonite just for good measure.

I know it's been discussed on here before whether to apply one panel at a time or the whole car in one go.

I've tried both, particularly one panel at a time with the Zymol cleaner wax and the whole car with Mer, and my opinion is that you get really good results both ways - the only trade up being that doing the whole car in one go is a lot quicker, but you do get more white powder, obviously depending on the wax used.

As I'm going to be doing three coats and buffs, I don't want to spend all day out there, and as you're meant to leave the Carlack on for 30 minutes, I'm going to opt for the whole car buff on all coats


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## DesignerDaveTT

MrHooky said:


> Dave - personally, immediately after I did the SRP followed by the Collinite the car was like a mirror (and I hadn't clayed either!). It still has a very nice sheen to it given it was done a month ago (which is nothing in Collinite's claim to last at least 6 months). For a 'deep shine' though I've literally just had some Britemax Detailing spray delivered today (http://www.i4detailing.co.uk/acatalog/b ... ine_1.html). Again, only bought some as saw it in the professional detailers kit bag on Monday, so plan on using as a means of topping up the 'shine' and prolonging the life of the wax already on there. I remain sceptical on detailing sprays until I've had chance to use it though...
> 
> How is the NXT tech stuff for durability? I saw your review of it and it did make you car look good in the pics.


Hi Mate

It does last for about 3-4 weeks, and still has good beeding of water I have found.


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## ScoobyTT

Hi Rich,


RichDean said:


> Thanks for that, it does make sense to put the polish on before the sealant, as by its nature you would expect the sealant to seal the products below it in. But then the Carlack is also a cleaner, so it does get a bit confusing!!


I think if you're going to use the Car-Lack NSC then I reckon you can get away without the polish if your paint is very limited swirling. I clayed, then did both Car-Lack products, and then waxed. That was enough steps for me :lol:



RichDean said:


> I know it's been discussed on here before whether to apply one panel at a time or the whole car in one go.
> 
> I've tried both, particularly one panel at a time with the Zymol cleaner wax and the whole car with Mer, and my opinion is that you get really good results both ways - the only trade up being that doing the whole car in one go is a lot quicker, but you do get more white powder, obviously depending on the wax used.
> 
> As I'm going to be doing three coats and buffs, I don't want to spend all day out there, and as you're meant to leave the Carlack on for 30 minutes, I'm going to opt for the whole car buff on all coats


It depends on the product which is the right thing to do. For the NSC you can certainly do the whole car and then leave it for the requisite curing time. The NSC buffs off really easily and no white powder.

If you're adding the Long Life sealant you can skip the buffing of the NSC and just apply it right on top. As they're both white liquids it can be tricky to know where you've been. However, with the Long Life Sealant I would stick to the instructions and not do the whole car before buffing. It's more difficult to buff than the NSC generally. I did the whole bonnet and wings and found it required more effort to buff the slightly deeper streaks of acrylic that had formed down to an even finish - see my initial post. Great result though  I'm still waiting to finish the rest of the car with it.

I found Zymol Cleaner Wax excellent as a combination product, with good swirl correction/filling and a good layer of wax though not as long-lasting as a full hard wax obviously.


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## RichDean

Thanks for that Scooby, good advice.

I haven't got the long life product yet, but I'll get some for when I clay in a few weeks time.

For now I'm going to put two coats of the Collonite on top of the Carlack, hopefully that should give a very good finish!

Got to admit, I thought the Zymol Cleaner Wax was good and gave a good finish, but it doesn't seem as durable as other waxes. I've used Mer quite a bit in the past, and this seemed to build up the more you used it. Even when I washed the car using Tripplewax car shampoo, you could still feel the Mer after washing. With the Zymol, as soon as you wash the car it seems to disappear, leaving the paintwork feeling very dry.

Maybe that's just how the Zymol is meant to be. I've heard it's not actually proper Zymol product, just something else repackaged, which makes sense as normal Zymol is very expensive but, so I've heard, aslo very good.


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## MrHooky

Rich - be interested to see what you think of the NSC and Collinite combo. I'd assumed from your earlier post that you'd gone for the double pack NSC/LLS, didn't realise you'd not picked up the LLS at the same time.

Either way, I'm sure the Collinite will do a similar job to the LLS. One being a wax, the other being an acrylic product, although both aiming to give a good long lasting protective layer to the hard work done before it goes on&#8230;


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## RichDean

Hey Hooky, yeah I'm excited to see how it looks. Cleanyourcar seem to really rate the Collonite, as do a lot of other members on here, and they say two coats can last up to six months! Probably not in this country though.

It's a hard wax as well, which I've never used before so it'll be interesting seeing how that goes on.

Just hope it doesn't bloody rain!


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## MrHooky

RichDean said:


> It's a hard wax as well, which I've never used before so it'll be interesting seeing how that goes on.


Rich it's dead easy to work with. You can do a fair few panels at a time, then come back to buff off as unlike other waxes, it doesn't seem to cremate onto the paint if left too long. Think Scooby was the one to mention on another thread could do the whole car in one go with the collinite then come back to buff off with no problems. Big plus point there!

I spoke to a professional detailer on Monday and mentioned I'd put collinite on recently to which he said it's a favourite of his especially given longevity/price/ease of application. The bug tub has a wide opening so dead easy to get it onto a cloth/sponge. I only came across the collinite from this forum - think it was Scooby that suggested it actually (thank for that!), love the retro tub it comes in too...


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## RichDean

Yeah I've seen quite a few people raving about it on here too but I automatically assumed it would be really expensive.

I was very impressed when I saw it as part of that winter detailing package on cleanyourcar for £28 with the Carlack. And it comes with applicators for each and buffing towels too!

Really looking forward to trying it out, definitely want to give it two coats as well


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## MrHooky

Just looked at the CYC package and does seem a good deal, some glowing reviews on there already. Just read about the fact that you need to put the Carlack on using a damp sponge. Seems odd, or is that normal practise for polishing!? I have no idea!!!


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## RichDean

I usually use a damp cloth to apply wax onto mine, though I cant remember what it said about applying the Collonite.

Think I'll give that a double-check!

Apparently there are better instructions for the Carlack on the official carlack.com website, might give that a look too


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## SAJ77

MrHooky said:


> Just looked at the CYC package and does seem a good deal


I bought this a couple of months ago after hearing rave reviews.....just need the weather to improve now to try it out!


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## MrHooky

SAJ77 said:


> I bought this a couple of months ago after hearing rave reviews.....just need the weather to improve now to try it out!


Impressive patience levels! Think I'd be like Rich and go out in the dark the day it arrived to slap it on!


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## SAJ77

MrHooky said:


> SAJ77 said:
> 
> 
> 
> I bought this a couple of months ago after hearing rave reviews.....just need the weather to improve now to try it out!
> 
> 
> 
> Impressive patience levels! Think I'd be like Rich and go out in the dark the day it arrived to slap it on!
Click to expand...

I hate cleaning my car so I can wait :lol: It'll be the first 'proper' detail I will be giving it since Dec 08 when I bought it


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## RichDean

Yeah I cant wait to get out there and get buffing!

Though I'm sure in a hundred years historians will look back and think it's some kind of 'rain dance'. I'm certain every time I clean my car it releases chemicals into the atmosphere that cause it to rain.

I wish I had a garage!


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## ScoobyTT

Hmmmm well I continued my clay, NSC, LLC, Collinite 476 today on the sides of the car. I'd noticed no adverse affect to claying the bonnet, and the clay certainly brought off some browny gunk which was probably old wax for the most part. So the bonnet looks great. There are very very fine lines which show up in the sun from where cloth fibres brush the wax but these don't come off for love or money, they just change appearance with every wipe, no matter how gentle and ignorant of any detailing spray applied.

I did one side out of the sun, and on turning the car around to look at my work in the sun it's swirl city! [smiley=bomb.gif] I clayed the side after the car had been washed twice, and the side was still wet and had loads of lube applied too. Not a lot came off on the clay apart from towards the bottom so I thought the paint was actually pretty clean. And it sounded silent for the most part. I used a clean area of clay regularly and now after this four-step process that side of the car looks swirled to hell and back. Un-f'ing-believable! I should have left it as it was! Needless to say no clay is touching the other side or indeed any other part of my car ever again!

A friend managed to scratch his car with clay but he tends not to read instructions and said he had been pressing too hard. I, on the other hand, do read instructions, and wasn't pressing hard and saw less dirt coming off than I did for the bonnet. Now I've made MORE work for myself because I'm going to need to polish that side of the car to get all these thread-like swirls out. And they're not fibre marks in the wax because they don't change. Guess I'll be getting some Autoglym Super Resin Polish after all MrHooky!

Mr Clay let me introduce you to Mr Bin! [smiley=bomb.gif] [smiley=bomb.gif] [smiley=bomb.gif] :x


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## RichDean

Scooby that's interesting to read as I've never clayed my car but am looking to do it in the next few weeks.

Sorry to hear about your swirling. I think I've read a few posts on here that say swirling is normal with clay, and that you have to polish it after, but I'd be worried if it looked like scratches and not residue from the clay.

What clay did you use? I was thinking about getting the Sonus green ultra fine from cleanyourcar.

On a different note, I applied the Carlack NSC and two coats of Collonite yesterday, and I've got to say I was very impressed. The results were definitely shinier than other waxes I've used, and it now feels like the car is coated in a layer of lacquer. I have had similar mirror finished from other waxes, but this does seem that bit better. I'm now interested to see how long it lasts - I hope its more durable than Mer or Zymol Cleaner Wax


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## ScoobyTT

Hi Rich, I did the other side of the car without using the clay, and the car looks just as it did beforehand so I can definitely say it was the clay and not some cloth or pad contamination. I wish I'd known that claying causes swirls! It's not something I've noticed said on here. It was the Zymol clay, and as Zymol don't have any polishes as such I'm surprised that they do clay at all although their blurb has always said it leaves the car super smooth so I was expecting a result like glass and it didn't seem to affect the bonnet adversely. I've managed for nearly 10 years without clay so I'm certainly not going to miss it, and if it creates more work for you that you then have to polish out then I really don't see the point of it at all.

The idea of clay always seemed dubious to me but I thought I'd give it a punt. Picking up any contaminants from the paint into a clay base and then rubbing them over the paint can't be good, lubricated or not. I have to say stuff the clay unless you really want to make more work for yourself. There was jack-diddly wrong with my paint, so frankly I think just sticking to the CarLack and wax would have kept it that way. Now I need to go and spend more money on more stuff to fix it 

I now have the Car-Lack and Collinite on the bonnet and two sides of the car. I couldn't do the roof as it's sunny. It should prove more durable than the Zymol Cleaner Wax. You can certainly see where the wax remains after washing because of all the ultra-fine marks left by the cloth. The Autoglym HD that I initially panned has lasted about 3 months washing with baby bath and still isn't too bad where it remains, so I'm expecting the Collinite to top that result!

On the Car-Lack front, I thought I'd left the Long Life Sealant on too long before removing when I did my review. I took it off much sooner today, and also tried applying a finer coating. I still had the same problem of dried acrylic streaks and you have to be very careful looking at the car to see them. A puff and buff and they're gone but it's a pain having to check to make sure you've got them all. I had heard it said that the LLS is more difficult to buff and the NSC and this seems to be the case. Hopefully the protection will be worth it however.

There's an area towards the back of my car which looks ok but sounds like paper when you run your fingers over it. I found that the CarLack didn't do anything to this area, which surprised me as I was expecting a fine layer of acrylic to effectively cover it over and make it more silent. :-| On the rest of the car, which isn't noisy to touch, I observed the same as you and it's as smooth as anything. My mate who scratched his car with claying attributes the smooth feel of his car to the clay. The side of the car I CarLacked today without clay feels exactly the same: smooth as glass.


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## RichDean

Scooby, I've got to admit I've been polishing cars for over ten years now, nothing too intense, wouldn't say I was a pro or anything, but I only heard of claying when I came to this forum. Like you, the idea of rubbing a 'clay' block over the paintwork, however soft and lubricated it is, sounded scary to me, but everyone on here seems to rave about it, so I'm pretty confused as to whether to bother.

Like yours, my paintwork is in very good condition for its age. It's not perfect, but its been well looked after.

The issues I have are that, like you, the further you go towards the rear, as you run your hand over it you can 'feel' tiny grains on the paintwork, even though to look at it looks very reflective. Its particularly noticeable around the rear bumper and around the numberplate recess. I also lost a brake pad on the passenger-side rear wheel last year, which when the I braked, caused metal to grind and throw out loads of metal dust. Some of this landed around the rear wheel arch. I've done a lot of work to get this off the paintwork without risking it, and it's now hardly noticeable, but again I can still feel minute particles when I run my hand over it.

What I need is something that will get rid of this, whether its clay bar or something else, without damaging the paintwork. It's in such good condition and the car looks especially fantastic since applying the Carlack/Collonite, that if I used something that damaged it I'd probably cry!

Instead of clay do you think there's a liquid-based product that can strip contaminants in the same way? What about good old fashioned T-cut? Or Autoglym paint renovator?

Going back to the Carlack and Collonite, with both product I did the whole car all at once with both. It was sunny but I didn't let that stop me. Got to admit the Carlack seemed thinner than I expected when I first applied it. I left it 30 minutes before buffing, and it came off a little harder than I expected, but to be honest I was happy about that, as with something that's meant to form a hard protective layer on the paintwork, it was reassuring that it was tough to get off.

Applying the Collonite was interesting as I'd not used a hard wax before, so it was hard to gauge how much to apply. I think I applied it a bit too thick on the first coat as it was really tough to get off, plus it chucked off lots of white powder, but it gave a very good finish. The second coat I applied a bit thinner, and it came off a bit easier.


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## MrHooky

Rich you've got to get some pics of your results up! Sounds like you've been productive!

Question on the NSC - it's called a cleanser as well as a polisher. Does that mean it should be removing some of the bits of grit that are 'bonded' to the paintwork, i.e. doing a little bit of what a clay bar claims to do? I am also fully scared about the claying conundrum. Literally just ran my fingers down the side of the car and felts a few grains which I thought 'come spring the clay will be getting rid of' although now thinking not if it's going to cause scratches. Scooby - Was it a fine clay which you were using? Rich the Sonus Extra fine apparently is one to be used regularly hence you'd hope it wouldn't cause any scratches at all. When I did plan on claying I was also going to give the car a full polish, although don't want the claying stage to be causing grief for the polishing stage!

Scooby, sorry to hear about the swirls. Is it definitely the clay which has done them? I was a little confused as to what the side of the car had had done to it. Did you use the clay to get some old product off and then when you looked at it in the sunlight it then had the swirls, or are you saying you've just done a clay followed by a carlack/collinite combo.

I went out in the TT today. Hadn't taken it out since it had a good clean last weekend although it had a lot of water marks from 7 days of frost and a bit of rain also. Decided to use Britemax detailing spray to go over the car quickly with a waffle towel. Results were impressive. Only thing I did think was that in the bright sun today (must be the sunniest day for a long time here in Bham) I can still see some light swirls. Do you think going over a layer of wax when dry with a detailing spray and cloth would highlight such marks? Only ask since Scooby's comment about the lines in his wax which are brush marks in the wax. You think this could also be caused by going over 4 week old wax with a detailing spray, as I would have thought the wax should be nice and caked on now and hence shouldn't mark? Wasn't too fussed either way, as car looked great, and the detailing spray left a nice silky layer on top which they say should help prolong any wax on there.


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## ScoobyTT

Hi Rich,


RichDean said:


> Scooby, I've got to admit I've been polishing cars for over ten years now, nothing too intense, wouldn't say I was a pro or anything, but I only heard of claying when I came to this forum. Like you, the idea of rubbing a 'clay' block over the paintwork, however soft and lubricated it is, sounded scary to me, but everyone on here seems to rave about it, so I'm pretty confused as to whether to bother.


Similar here. I always remembered from the Zymol brochure them saying that claying was for emergency use only to repair damage to the paint. I'd tend to agree with that and certainly now I don't think it should be used generally, particularly if there's nothing wrong with the paint - which pretty much leaves it for repairs only anyway :roll: I think marketing men and/or enthusiasts got hold of it and BANG, now everyone sells it.



RichDean said:


> The issues I have are that, like you, the further you go towards the rear, as you run your hand over it you can 'feel' tiny grains on the paintwork, even though to look at it looks very reflective....


That's very similar. Mine looks fine apart from one tell tale run mark from some liquid or other that catches from certain angles. It wasn't petrol because it hasn't left those ulta-fine cracks everywhere. The paint is intact, but the area around is noisy even though it looks perfectly good. I can't feel any grains as such. Apart from that slight mark, there's a distinct sense of the unexpected when you run your fingers over it.



RichDean said:


> What I need is something that will get rid of this, whether its clay bar or something else, without damaging the paintwork. It's in such good condition and the car looks especially fantastic since applying the Carlack/Collonite, that if I used something that damaged it I'd probably cry!


Which is pretty much how I felt yesterday I have to say. I'd say if your car looks fantastic then, seriously, don't bother. If it feels rough in places but LOOKS perfect, leave it, because all you're going to change is how it feels not how it looks and unless you're into caressing your car as a habit, what'd be the point? 

People on here baulk when you mention T-Cut. I can't comment on any other products really, having only used Zymol Cleaner Wax for years to do that job. It's very mildly abrasive but I never had any problems with scratches and the paint was always uber-smooth and clean afterwards. You've used it before I recall, so I'd say if you like it, stick with it. I think I'll revert to it myself with the adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".



RichDean said:


> Going back to the Carlack and Collonite, with both product I did the whole car all at once with both. It was sunny but I didn't let that stop me. Got to admit the Carlack seemed thinner than I expected when I first applied it. I left it 30 minutes before buffing, and it came off a little harder than I expected, but to be honest I was happy about that, as with something that's meant to form a hard protective layer on the paintwork, it was reassuring that it was tough to get off.
> 
> Applying the Collonite was interesting as I'd not used a hard wax before, so it was hard to gauge how much to apply. I think I applied it a bit too thick on the first coat as it was really tough to get off, plus it chucked off lots of white powder, but it gave a very good finish. The second coat I applied a bit thinner, and it came off a bit easier.


I applied mine out of sunlight because it says not to expose the car to UV or water while it's curing. If you found it tough to get off at least it bonded to the car well  If you want an easier job, do it minus the sun. The NSC will just wipe off very easily. The Long Life Sealant remains tougher though 

I get very little white powder using Collinite so I'd say you are using too much. Literally just wipe your sponge across the top with the weight of your hand. It doesn't have to look like it's got any on. That'll cover a few square feet easily. You will notice some light discolouration of your buffing cloth but certainly not a lot of powder. I still see very fine marks in the wax though where you buff it. They just don't shift.


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## ScoobyTT

Hi MrHooky,


MrHooky said:


> Question on the NSC - it's called a cleanser as well as a polisher. Does that mean it should be removing some of the bits of grit that are 'bonded' to the paintwork, i.e. doing a little bit of what a clay bar claims to do? I am also fully scared about the claying conundrum. Literally just ran my fingers down the side of the car and felts a few grains which I thought 'come spring the clay will be getting rid of' although now thinking not if it's going to cause scratches. Scooby - Was it a fine clay which you were using? Rich the Sonus Extra fine apparently is one to be used regularly hence you'd hope it wouldn't cause any scratches at all. When I did plan on claying I was also going to give the car a full polish, although don't want the claying stage to be causing grief for the polishing stage!


It was Zymol's clay. It doesn't come in grades but it's a pale blue and looks just like blue tack. Possibly made from reprocessed Smurfs. It could well be the same as other Smurf-based, er, pale blue clays just with an extra sticker on the pack and a nice tin.

IMHO I wouldn't let a clay bar anywhere near grains that you can physically feel. When it does life it, the clay will hold it and it'll scratch back and forth until you happen to stop and fold the clay over. No clay should be used regularly though, no more than once or twice a year according to various sources.

The NSC is supposed to clean the paint, yeah, though I found yesterday that it didn't shift some larger tar spots on the side skirt. That said I wasn't really trying to remove them or using any different technique or extra NSC to try to.



MrHooky said:


> Scooby, sorry to hear about the swirls. Is it definitely the clay which has done them? I was a little confused as to what the side of the car had had done to it. Did you use the clay to get some old product off and then when you looked at it in the sunlight it then had the swirls, or are you saying you've just done a clay followed by a carlack/collinite combo.


It was definitely the clay. I clayed, then used the NSC and LL-Sealant and Collinite and the side looked bad after that. I did the other side of the car just with the NSC, LL-Sealant and Collinite using exactly the same cloths and applicators and ZERO swirls on that side with direct sunshine. The car had some Autoglym HD wax on from a couple of months back, but that was it.

The clay was actually coming up cleaner than it had done on the bonnet when I did that, so I had no reason to suspect that there was any significant dirt being picked up that would affect the finish. The only places it sounded noisy were where I expected it to: along the bottom. I was pressing very lightly and using plenty of lubricant, plus I didn't dry the side either to help. I really don't understand it, but that's what happened and I'm not happy as I now have to do the whole side again to get rid of the marks if I can 



MrHooky said:


> I went out in the TT today. Hadn't taken it out since it had a good clean last weekend although it had a lot of water marks from 7 days of frost and a bit of rain also. Decided to use Britemax detailing spray to go over the car quickly with a waffle towel. Results were impressive. Only thing I did think was that in the bright sun today (must be the sunniest day for a long time here in Bham) I can still see some light swirls. Do you think going over a layer of wax when dry with a detailing spray and cloth would highlight such marks? Only ask since Scooby's comment about the lines in his wax which are brush marks in the wax. You think this could also be caused by going over 4 week old wax with a detailing spray, as I would have thought the wax should be nice and caked on now and hence shouldn't mark? Wasn't too fussed either way, as car looked great, and the detailing spray left a nice silky layer on top which they say should help prolong any wax on there.


Wax remains slightly soft in my experience. After washing I could create lovely patterns in my weeks-old Autoglym HD wax with the cloth if I wanted to. I found spraying it makes no difference, so I just finish up with the lightest wipes I can to try and make them as fine as possible.


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## MrHooky

ScoobyTT said:


> very mildly abrasive but I never had any problems with scratches and the paint was always uber-smooth and clean afterwards. You've used it before I recall, so I'd say if you like it, stick with it. I think I'll revert to it myself with the adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".


I'd second that Rich. I had some horrible scratches after a recent visit to the wheel refurbers so went at the scratches with a very small amount of t-cut followed by SRP. The former does have abbrasives in it and leaves a 'marring' on the surface but this is easily sorted with a good polish after to bring the shine back.

Scooby for the side of your car maybe try the Megs Scratch X on it? I bought some last Friday to try out after hearing good reviews. I dare say it's essentially the same as going at a scratch with some t-cut followed by SRP. Similar consistency to the t-cut actually although I think the Megs claim is the polishing compound/abbrasives break down as you use it. Seemed to work well on a heavy scratch I tried it on so sure it'd sort those swirls you've now got.


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## MrHooky

ScoobyTT said:


> Possibly made from reprocessed Smurfs. It could well be the same as other Smurf-based, er, pale blue clays just with an extra sticker on the pack and a nice tin.


Very funny, and good use of pint sized retro cartoon characters&#8230;

I'm still intrigued and tempted by the clay idea. Perhaps the zymol just isn't a fine one then and so requires some heavy polishing afterwards. Annoying though as the irony is you've got a car that 'feels' silky smooth on one side but is swirl city, yet the other side may not feel as smooth but looks nice and swirl free. I can see your point though in that if you pick up just a couple of big grains early on then if you're smearing those over the rest of the paint, then you can induce all sorts of nasties. I'm guessing you were always folding the stuff over on itself like they say you should?

You'd have thought though that the NSC would have helped cure those swirls created by the wax, although sounds like you weren't particularly heavy handed with it. Time to crack open jumbo sized tub of elbow grease perhaps&#8230;


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## ScoobyTT

Quite, though the point of the exercise was to make less work for myself  I'd say the non-clayed side feels the same as the clayed side. Yeah I folded regularly. The clay for the most part was just picking up some yellowy discolouration probably from old wax. If I saw any visible particles the clay was folded immediately, otherwise I'd just turn it around 180 degrees on the same face and use the other half of that clean face. I was using the clay in an L shape to get a bit more purchase on it for the sides, so I could then use the "handle" as another clean face before folding.

The NSC may have helped, I'm not sure. I certainly didn't give it the 5 "hits" because it was only when I turned that side to the sun that I was aware of any problem. In the shade it had looked absolutely perfect. Now I need to get the Collinite and Car-Lack off again so I can polish it up. Can Autoglym SRP be used straight on this, or should I use something (anything buy clay!) to get those products off again first?


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## MrHooky

Not sure whether the SRP can go straight on, if it was me I'd take the collinite and NSC off first, as the SRP works by 'filling' the swirls so probably needs to be in direct contact with the paint/clearcoat. Have you got anything like Viro-sol? I use that for my wheels although some people use it heavily diluted to clean the car although it does lift/strip wax, so could be good for getting off those layers...

That or clay again! Perhaps not...


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## RichDean

Guy I've got to admit I'm really going to look into an alternative to clay. I think you're right - maybe people have taken something thats meant to be used in a certain way for emergencies only, and over used it.

Perhaps it's only good at removing contaminants on paint that hasn't been looked after for a while. Although particles probably do build up over time, I'm sure if you stick to a regular detailing routine this process should remove contamination over time as well. But I'm certainly going to look into a liquid replacement for the clay.

As for removing the NSC and Collonite, you could try Zip wax, which is the shampoo I've been using - it seems to remove every wax I seem to use! ;-)

One thing that did worry me when I applied the Collonite on Sat was the dust that built up very quickly. I had to go out for lunch and had only applied one coat. Although I live near a main road, the car wasn't parked anywhere near it, and it was a dry sunny day too. I was only gone a couple of hours, but when I came back and started applying the second coat, the sponge started picking up really fine dark grain - so I had to wipe the whole car down with a damp cloth to avoid rubbing it in to the paintwork!

Anyway, whats the deal with this detailing spray? It's another thing I've been hearing about but not used before. Are you litterally meant to spray it onto a dirty car? Surely you need to wash the car first?


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## MrHooky

Rich the detailing spray is something I'd only heard about since being on this forum! True to form I caved in and bought some purely to see what it was like! There are loads out there and plenty on CYC. I however was speaking to this pro detailer last Monday and he rated this Britemax stuff (http://www.i4detailing.co.uk/acatalog/b ... ine_1.html). It's actually a really big trigger spray bottle so not too bad value. Idea of them is two fold, you can either spray on to a damp/wet car after it's been washed and as your towelling the car dry it brings up a better shine. The other way to use is like I did at the weekend, in that the car hadn't been driven since it's last clean although in that week with all the frost and weather there was plenty of water marks and dust on car, so I squirted a bit over the car and used a waffle towel and it did bring up a nice clean shine again. Worked well on the glass too.

There are so many to choose from, some apparently work best on dry cars, others can be used like the britemax either on dry car or as a 'drying aid'. It did add a nice slippery touch to the car and like I've said they are supposed to prolongue the wax layer which I guess makes sense. Worth a look either way. I just figured seeing as the pro had it in his bag I'd give it a go!

Oh and I wouldn't take it to a dirty car due to the idea of wiping all the muck over the car and inducing some damage! There are some products out there for specific 'dry cleaning' i.e. MF and a spray but think I'll stick to the conventional bucket!


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## RichDean

Here you go Hooky, just for you! Took them on my iPhone on sunday, so not the best pics, plus there was a bit of frost the night before, but she still looks pretty decent:




























Still really nice to run your fingures down it and feel that slick waxy feeling


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## RichDean

Thanks Hooky, that does make sense now on the detailing spray!

Me and a mate were in Halfords after work on Firday, and he bought some Autoglym Aqua Wax, which is also meant to be applied as a spray when the car's been washed, so I guess that's a detailing spray too then!

He said he wasn't impressed with the results, bu then his car is only a couple of months old and hadn't had any wax at all, so it would make sense that he didn't get good results as there was no wax to 'top up'

I might have a look into the Britemax stuff then. I think that combined with some mild car shampoo that wont strip the wax off should make my life a LOT easier and mean that I wont be stripping and reapplying wax every two weeks!


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## ScoobyTT

RichDean said:


> Guy I've got to admit I'm really going to look into an alternative to clay. I think you're right - maybe people have taken something thats meant to be used in a certain way for emergencies only, and over used it.
> 
> Perhaps it's only good at removing contaminants on paint that hasn't been looked after for a while. Although particles probably do build up over time, I'm sure if you stick to a regular detailing routine this process should remove contamination over time as well. But I'm certainly going to look into a liquid replacement for the clay.


I'm going to opt for Autoglym Super Resin Polish and see how it does. Unless the paint's got major problems (which mine didn't before I used that chuffing clay :roll: ) I reckon gentle liquids are sufficient.



RichDean said:


> One thing that did worry me when I applied the Collonite on Sat was the dust that built up very quickly. I had to go out for lunch and had only applied one coat. Although I live near a main road, the car wasn't parked anywhere near it, and it was a dry sunny day too. I was only gone a couple of hours, but when I came back and started applying the second coat, the sponge started picking up really fine dark grain - so I had to wipe the whole car down with a damp cloth to avoid rubbing it in to the paintwork!


Yeah, there's a lot of dust in the air at the moment. If it was dark it was probably soot and the like from the road. By Monday morning my car looked like I hadn't washed it at all. Looking down the bonnet and in the rear view mirrors the car is beige with dust. A bit of dew of a light shower transforms the car into a spotty finish! :roll:



RichDean said:


> Anyway, whats the deal with this detailing spray? It's another thing I've been hearing about but not used before. Are you litterally meant to spray it onto a dirty car? Surely you need to wash the car first?


[/quote][/quote]
If it's really dirty, yes you would need to wash the car. For removing light dust you can apparently use them straight on the car to clean it up. There's probabaly no harm in that. After all, water has a habit of flying off a waxed car and leaving the dirt behind anyway even though the dirt sits on the wax so if you hose the car some dirt just sits there regardless. I could probably use a detailing spray to get the night's dust off for instance, if I were suitably motivated to engage in that particular losing battle :lol: I think I'd rather get a lot more water at it though. MrHooky seems to have found a good detailing spray - I may well try it when my current lot runs out.


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## MrHooky

RichDean said:


> Thanks Hooky, that does make sense now on the detailing spray!
> 
> Me and a mate were in Halfords after work on Firday, and he bought some Autoglym Aqua Wax, which is also meant to be applied as a spray when the car's been washed, so I guess that's a detailing spray too then!
> 
> He said he wasn't impressed with the results, bu then his car is only a couple of months old and hadn't had any wax at all, so it would make sense that he didn't get good results as there was no wax to 'top up'
> 
> I might have a look into the Britemax stuff then. I think that combined with some mild car shampoo that wont strip the wax off should make my life a LOT easier and mean that I wont be stripping and reapplying wax every two weeks!


Exactly Rich. I literally only bought it as I was more intrigued by it. I hadn't even heard of the Britemax brand until this detailer mentioned a few of their products (he wasn't affiliated by the way!!). I've bought some of their metal polishing stuff and thought seeing as I was already paying for postage may as well stick a bottle of that in! Different people have different opinions of them. Scooby should come on here and say he didn't notice much difference with one that he's used which may be true, but like with any product, they do all give different results. Like I said, only bought it as it wasn't silly money and if a detailer rates it then it should be half decent!

I don't plan on using it much to be honest, when the car has any sort of muck on it I'll get the buckets and hose out as it's a quick enough job, just might give a few squirts of that to make sure no water marks left when I'm drying the car and maybe it'll bring up more of a shine on the wax. It did leave that silky soft feeling which you get just after a wax, yet I'd put the collinite on a month ago.

Your car looks great by the way. Looks a really glossy finish even from those dusky pics! I've only put one layer of collinite on, might give another soon, either way, your hard work has paid off. Now you just need a detailing spray to top up that shine!!!


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