[mantaray]

I intend to polish the i30 when it arrives and I don't want the white staining in the black rubbers and plastic that can happen if you get too close.
I will cover it with masking tape, but what sort, there must be 10 different types at Bunnings. I looked at them all and thought the generic one would do. ie...there is 5 day, 10 day, outside, inside, high tack, leave on for 24 hours,blue, green yellow white etc.
Is a recomended automotive one? Sheesh there used to be just one, in the old days.

[Lorian]

I intend to polish the i30 when it arrives and I don't want the white staining in the black rubbers and plastic that can happen if you get too close.
I will cover it with masking tape, but what sort, there must be 10 different types at Bunnings. I looked at them all and thought the generic one would do. ie...there is 5 day, 10 day, outside, inside, high tack, leave on for 24 hours,blue, green yellow white etc.
Is a recomended automotive one? Sheesh there used to be just one, in the old days.

You really shouldn't need to Polish it to start with.  The paint on my car arrived in great condition, with no fallout, no swirls etc.

The best things on a brand new car are a synthetic selant (Meguairs NXT is easy to use) and/or a good traditional Wax (I'm using collinite 476S during our winter but is much more of a workout). You will get nearly no staining from these products compared to polish. If you do a quick wipe with a clean microfibre cloth and a Quick Detailer will remove it (I use Meguiars Ultimate Quick Detailer).

This is a usefull resource

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28676

You will of course want to wash and dry the car carefully before sealing/waxing.

[bumpkin]

I use Autoglym bumper restorer for that, the sunshine always fades the plastics and rubbers anyway, so best to just give them a treatment at the same time as polishing.

I realise you are asking about masking tape not "polish" recommendations but I thought I'd just mention that I used Nu-Finish polish which is really a sealant type. It has definitely lasted well and rain still runs straight off just like it did after I polished it a year ago.

Nu-Finish seems to be quite disliked by the waxers but I've got nothing but praise and it's dirt cheap. Probably doesn't shine as much as wax but as I've got a white car it's hard to get that deep shine anyway. 

WRT not getting it on the black bits: agree, however a reasonable amount of care should be all that's necessary. I'm sure though that any tape you choose will work well enough because it will only be used for a hour or so. The trouble with tape sticking/tearing etc only seems to happen when you leave it on too long... like in my case years. I hate painting. 

[Hemmi]

I dont understand? are you going to polish your car for many days?

Just pick one.

I once picked some tape many painter buy. Easy to put on and easy to take off.

Mine is from Car System: http://www.autopaintsholbourne.com.mt/Car_System.html

[Nagaz]

Hi mantaray,

I understand what you mean.. When I started detailing my i30, I was overwhelmed by the number of options available for everything...

I too am a Meguiar's user, and swear by it.. Makes the car look great and is really easy to use.

Although you can detail a car (wash, clay, correct paint (swirls/scratches), polish, seal and wax) without using any tape, I use it all the time. A bit of wax (including NXT 2.0) on black trim and left for only a few minutes will leave a nasty white residue. Meguiar's Trim Restorer will get rid of this, but it does take time. As such, I would recommend spending 10 minutes to tape your car to save yourself having to clean the possible mess.

As for tape, many people use the blue 3M masking tape to cover all trim. I looked through bunnings and found 3M blue painters tape to be about $10-13 each. I checked online and saw that a lot of people on MeguiarsOnline.com also recommend green 3M painters tape as it is for high temps and car paint. Bunnings has it for the same price as 3m Blue tape, but I was able to find it cheaper!

The following site sell it for much less then bunnings (depending on width from $3 a wheel to $12 a wheel) and is specifically for cars (3M 233 Auto Masking Tape). I got 8 rolls of varying sizes and with shipping cost less then 3 rolls from Bunnings.

They are Australian and ship really fast - Highly recommended and I will be buying more soon..
Give them a go and let me know how it turns out.

Site: http://www.shapers.com.au/category95_1.htm

Also, the following is a link to my detailing process - feel free to ask any questions.
Another day with Meguiars - https://i30ownersclub.com/forum/index.php/topic,4117.0.html
An afternoon with Meguiar's (Mirror Glaze Professional Paste Wax - M16) - https://i30ownersclub.com/forum/index.php/topic,4157.0.html

Nagaz

[mantaray]

thanks for all the help.

[mantaray]

Well after being a fan of Nu finish for over 10 years, I must say the new product is not a patch on the old one( I bought a new bottle)
The shine and water beading whilst good was not that good and to say I was discouraged after a fair bit of work  is an understatement.
Now biting the bullet , I went forth and bought a bottle of Meguair's NXT2.0 wax, and re did the car , well straight away you could see and feel the difference. It was like a coating of glass was applied and after a couple of hours it was even better.The next day the difference was like cheese and chalk, if I hadn't of done it myself I would not have believed it and this is on a silver car- I can only imagine how good it must be on a black one.
Sometimes you only get what you pay for and whilst The Meguairs is not cheap- I am now a convert. Being silver photos don't do it justice-one thing though the metallic silver just shimmers now, whereas before you really needed to get the light right to really get the same effect.

[Lorian]

NXT is so very easy to apply too. An smells nice 

[Hemmi]

Meguiars seems to have gained a lot of fans here, I assume I'm responsible for some of those fans

Well after being a fan of Nu finish for over 10 years, I must say the new product is not a patch on the old one( I bought a new bottle)
The shine and water beading whilst good was not that good and to say I was discouraged after a fair bit of work  is an understatement.

I just re-did mine a few weeks ago after a year or so (just before the hail storm made it irrelevant) and it came up just as good as the first time. Mind you, the year old shine had diminished little anyway and the beading was still (just) happening.

Nu-Finish it was! Whether or not you think it shines, it lasts...

White doesn't offer much help to a good shine though. As an aside, I saw a red one today down Geelong way (took a trip to Airie's, looking to buy a house...) that positively glowed. Red is just a beautiful colour for a car - until the paint packs it in and then you have a beautiful powder pink.

[Dazzler]

I've got an old bottle of Nu-Finish (interesting you say the new formula is not as good...)

I use something else now... maybe I should sell the old bottle on Ebay