So on my Matador ISC, I spent some time clay barring, polish, and wax.

I really like the depth to the paint.


Car is garaged. Is driven 3-4 times a week. I am not a big proponent of car washing, and usually just do a Meguirs/Mothers/NXT quick detail spray+microfiber on the weekends.


Curious, if there are other recommendations on maintaining this look, without washing?


Thanks

 

I mean...when it gets dirty, you have to wash it. If you want ease of washing, you should really look into a ceramic coating (CQuartz, Ceramic Pro, Opti-Coat, Gtechnique, Gyeon, etc.).

You can do waterless or rinseless washes to save the time and clean-up typically required for a bucket wash if the car is not too dirty.

 

Thank you. I usually go 24-30 months on my cars without washing. Doing a QD after every few days, seem to keep them looking perfect.

Around here, only little dust. No rain, or other issues

 

Looks like a car thats quick detailed on a daily.

The way most people quick detail their dirty cars add a lot of swirls an damage to the paint during the process not sure how you quick detail it, but I would up the product to ONR rinse less washing or something similar and upping the quick detailer to a dedicated synthetic wax such as meguiars xpress spray wax. That way your gaining a lot more protection for the same amount of work. Today's products is nothing like before where we had to use paste wax back then (sometimes an all day task), technology has blessed us in many ways. Reducing the work time, easier to use, good as drying aid, plenty of off label use, synethic and same if not better durability/protection.

Not a Lexus, but a 10+ year old car that I dedicate 30 mins weekly to keep it in top notch with a simple rinse less wax and wax, all original paint, hasn't been polished still going strong. Would love to polish it for maximum bling one day but then all of the dings from bad la drivers that occurred from the past decade would show and it wouldn't look appropriate.

 

Dang I used to have the same car and color (6 speed) and it never looked that good!! PROPS, especially for what seems minimal effort to maintain!

 

You have great taste! Yeah I think these cars are becoming more rare and everyone you see has clear coat failure (or near to it) at this age, Acura/Honda is not known for their good paint either, probably slightly above the worst in the industry.

6speed is the only way to enjoy these cars


Well the first time always takes the longest, but after that maintenance becomes a breeze.

 

Yup. I was blown away when I test drove it and saw how much fun I could have with a 2.4L 4 banger. It had so much pep for what it was. I was doing quite a bit of driving so the MPG and fun factor sealed it for me. Drove that car from 39k to 128k in just over 5 years. Then the bumper started falling off and we had a kid so traded it for my Infiniti. It still ran great mechanically tho, never had a single major issue with it.

 

Definitely

To thread starter what Im trying to say is save those quick detailers for touchups of missed spots or emergencys and instead use a spray wax, since you use the meguiars they also make an off the shelf one that performs great although it can get costly buying retail may be a good product to try out in lieu of the nxt quick detailer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Really depends on what the car needs, but yes I use that rinse less method as maintenance using distilled water (this allows me to avoid water spots and let the chemicals work better than with using tap water) with about 15-20 microfibers and a nice drying towel such as the pluffle 20x40 spritzed with xpress spray wax, you can spray the clean panel or microfiber direct. Then quick detailer for any missed spots you may encounter.

The microfibers stay clean after a cold wash and light air dry so it may sound like I use a lot but they are reusable.

 

I have been through the coatings and am back to sealants. I like the appearance of a sealant better than the coatings I've used. The last was Pinnacle. So I am back with a sealant which I redo every quarter. I maintain the paint here in Florida with occasional washing, if needed, but usually I use a QD to remove light dust and pollen daily and apply UQW Spray (D156) after the QD. Easy and quick, with no regard to overspray or use of different products for exterior vinyl. This approach keeps my paint deep and vibrant with very little effort. I also now have a Matador Red ES and this color really pops in the sun with this treatment, a jaw dropping appearance. The regular application keeps the surface smooth and slippery so cleaning is ultra easy as nothing sticks.
Matador Red ES-350