• May 21, 2020
• By: Steve

I am not a professional detailer, but I am very picky about any vehicle I have being in top form, not just the S2000.

I decided to try the Turtlewax Ceramic Polish and the 3-in-1 Ceramic Detail Spray that I have seen advertised lately on Motortrend  TV.  I wanted to see how it performs compared to the products I have used in the past, such as the line offered by Surf City Garage.  Fast forward to today, curiosity got the best of me during this social distancing downtime. I ordered both from Amazon and I was pretty happy with the price of the product as I was able to get both for about $25.  There seems to be quite a lot of product for the money and I think I will get several uses out of just one supply.

I decided to try the product on both my S2000 and Toyota Rav 4, the latter of which was in need of polish due to very light swirls in the Barcelona red paint.  There was also a very faint haze which tends to annoy me because it is pretty noticeable on a dark red car. It is a 2016 with 70,000 miles and sits outside in the sun while I am at work.

On to the polish

Let me be honest here.  I don’t like the term paint correction.  It is just a weird way to say that you polished your paint and it is way over-used in car circles. I know the detailing purists will be quick to point out the difference between a wax/polish and paint correction, but I digress.

As indicated, I just worked a panel at a time dabbing 4 dime-sized spots on the foam applicator and working it lightly into the paint in a tight swirling motion. I let it sit for a minute or two and then wiped it off with a dry microfiber towel. The most important step is next … you take a damp microfiber and wipe the panel down in a smooth motion to knock down any high spots. After that, I went back over the panel (while it was still hazed from the damp wipe) with different dry microfiber for a final buff. Out of curiosity, on the next panel I did not wipe it with a damp towel and tried a buff with just a dry towel. There is a definite difference and the damp wipe is very important to get the best result.  I basically go through six towels on a car:  1) wipe, 2) damp wipe, and 3) final wipe switching the set for fresh ones halfway through.

I couldn’t tell a lot of difference on the Honda S2000 because the paint was already in good nick.  It did smooth out the very few faint swirls that I could see.  I have to say that I am very impressed with the results on the Rav 4. It took off the light haze and faint swirl marks leaving a nice smooth, glossy surface. After doing two vehicles, I still have easily 3/4 of the bottle left. For the price and amount used, it is an outstanding value for the budget-conscious detailer. I did spray a little bit of the detailer, which also has wax in it, and it really leaves a nice silky coating that an egg would slide off of. My plan with that is to do my regular California car duster process and then spray the S2000 down weekly with the detailer. It is a 32 oz bottle so it should last a long time.

I will probably stick with this brand for a while.  It is easier on the wallet than other brands and it seems to do what it promises.  The only thing I can be sure of right now is that since I have both vehicles detailed, it will surely rain for the next three days.