Ok, here's how it went...
The other day I prepped, polished and waxed my car. Today I did a general wash, using Meguiar's Car Shampoo & Conditioner. After that, I decided that I was gonna go ahead and polish and wax again, just to make sure that I hadn't missed any spots a couple days before. The back of the bottle guaranteed no wax stripping, and considering Meguiar's is a pretty much trusted brand I decided that I would try it. Well, I did. I thoroughly washed the car with the Meguiar's, then, immediately after drying and not really taking much of a look at the car, I started the polishing procedure. Everything went fine until I checked the paint after the polishing. It looked really dull and lifeless, I ran my finger across it over the terry cloth; it squeaked pretty good. Now I may have JUST begun, but I know that with this simple test you can find out whether the car needs waxing or not. From that test, it certainly did. Well, it sure wasn't like that BEFORE the washing! I proceeded to wax after the polishing, and it turned out really great anyway. Did the Meguiar's not live up to it's labeling, or did I do something wrong? I know to never buy their pos Clay bar, are there any other brands or products that I should really look out for that aren't what they quite say they are? I really admire the shine that the Meguiar's Deep Crystal system gave to my car, whether that holds for long or not is another question. I think I'm going to stick with this system for now, but I think that when I run out the whole next line is going to be all Zaino, and I'll see how I like that
thanks everyone!
Allen

 

Well, I believe the problem is that the polish removed most of the wax from the finish, leaving it squeaky again, and maybe taking away a little gloss from the previous waxing. The Meguiar's shampoos aren't too strong and it should not have removed much on the first wash. For carnauba though, it is normal to notice minute drops in gloss after every wash and/or every rain storm. Nothing major usually on the first wash, but it's just the nature of carnauba waxes that they lose gloss and slickness more quickly than non-wax products. Even so, I don't think the wash was the issue, but the polish. After you polished, it likely removed your previous wax. You don't really want to polish but once every few months using carnauba products, even for pure polishes. Instead of polishing, you probably should have done just the waxing again. Even applying pure polishes, like #7 Show Car Glaze, over a wax will remove most of the wax due to the high concentration of solvents. You never want to polish over your wax job, unless you want to remove the wax.

I think it's good though for everyone to use a carnauba and polish system at some point. Because, when or if you decide to use synthetic products, like Zaino or Klasse or whatever, you will appreciate their benefits with a passion. I don't regret spending many years with Meguiar's, Mother's, etc...as using those systems taught me a lot about car care. If I had just jumped into Zaino right off the bat, I would likely not know it's unique qualities compared to other products. But, as I always say, use what you like, and like what you use. If what you're using doesn't completely satisfy you, time to look elsewhere....

Mike