Any car detailers here? step inside

[ricer]

So i have a 2011 Pickup (black) that i want to detail. It has very minor "spider webbing" almost zero scratches and just want to stay on top of it since its black. I haven't detailed a car in a good 5yrs or so and researched the latest procedures (or at least tried to).

I am a little confused on what to do. Going to Meguiars site there is so many freaking choices my head hurts, then going to Mothers and its super general almost to general if you ask me. I bought some stuff but thinking of returning it before i get started. I really don't want to clay bar and don't think its necessary since it is so new and gets washed alot. Also don't want to spend a ton of money for any fancy ****. your basic selection at Oreilys/advance/autozone/etc

So i was thinking of doing a paint cleaner (not sure if this is actually needed) then some sort of polish or glaze (don't really know the difference here) and a nice carnuba wax. This will all be done by hand since 1) i don't have a buffer and 2) inexperienced with it.

What do you guys recommend in terms of products and steps?

I bought all meguiars stuff since i have used their stuff in the past -cleaner- ultimate polish- carnuba wax. If this is ok to do then i will do the truck but what to hear what the experts say before getting started.

[mpozziCPL]

The first step is to wash the exterior with a good car wash detergent, then remove the impurities that have collected on the painted surfaces and the best way to do this is with the clay bar. Only then ca you start to protect what's now clean. I try to clay bar my nicer cars every year no matter if they're parked indoors or not. Even though the vehicle is a year old, there will be gunk that's stuck on the paint.

From there, a good wax coating followed by serious elbow grease, and then a repeat of wax and final buff. Use good quality micro-fiber towels that are designed for detailing and make sure the tags are removed and the seams are not going to scratch the paint if they happen to touch it.

I use Adams Products for the best results but Meguire's and OTC product are also good.

Just my .02 from a lot of detailing work ...

Mary Pozzi

[Ron in SoCal]

http://www.autopia.org/forum/forum.php

[Spiffav8]

I have used the process Mary mentioned numerous times and it does a really good job. It takes a ton of time, but it's worth it.

[Vegas69]

Select the rainbow option at the car wash.:unibrow:

[Ricochet]

Select the rainbow option at the car wash.:unibrow:
:rofl:

[barrrf]

Defintely check out Adams website. There are 24 videos showing how to do pretty much everything. Theyre free. Even if you dont buy their stuff, you'll learn alot about paint care.

[HAULNSS]

Basically, you need to clean, clay, polish, protect.

The polishing step is where the defects are removed, usually with a buffer of some sort. If you don't want to invest in the tools and products to do it, you can always have a quality detailer take care of it for you. Once the vehicle is clean it will be easy for you to maintain from there.

Avoid the $50 craiglist specials and expect to pay a few hundred for a quality paint correction.

If you want to check to see if your car needs a clay bar, find a plastic sandwich bag. Put your hand in the bag and lightly rub your fingers over the paint. If it feels rough, you need to clay. (The bag will amplify the sensitivity) Clay bars were designed for new cars that had rail dust on them and they would start to get rust blooms while sitting on the lot. If you picked up your car at the factory then it may be nice, but usually it sat on a lot at the factory, rode on a rail car, sat in a depot, and rode on a car carrier to the dealer where it will sit on the lot. ;)

If you use a glaze (which is usually a product for filling and hiding minor imperfections) don't expect much durability. They will only last a couple of weeks before the product washes / evaporates away.

There is so much to a proper detail if you are looking for correction and protection. :yes:

Some of my detailing examples:
http://www.mnzaino.com/phpbb3/viewforum.php?f=3


Good luck!
Randy

[ricer]

From there, a good wax coating followed by serious elbow grease, and then a repeat of wax and final buff. Use good quality micro-fiber towels that are designed for detailing and make sure the tags are removed and the seams are not going to scratch the paint if they happen to touch it.

I use Adams Products for the best results but Meguire's and OTC product are also good.

Just my .02 from a lot of detailing work ...

Mary Pozzi

so there is no need to polish/glaze it? The spidering is very very fine so maybe the wax will be enough i don't know. I was under the impression the polish/glaze is required.

[barrrf]

so there is no need to polish/glaze it? The spidering is very very fine so maybe the wax will be enough i don't know. I was under the impression the polish/glaze is required.

HaulnSS said it best.

Wash / Wash Again / Clay / Polish / Protect

Check out his examples. And again, see the Adams Polishes website for tutorials. The polishing is the most time consuming part.

[ricer]

i am ok hiding them as i know the only way to get rid of them is to wet sand and then wait for them to come back in the coming months.

So i called meguiars and they said to use swirlx, ultimate polish, and one of their waxes. So i am going to give it a shot and if it doesn't work at least it will be protected, b/c the marks are barely there and just wanted to get back to the original deep finish it had when i got it (ordered it from the dealer so truck literally came from the factory to me and didn't sit on the lot)

[barrrf]

Dude, why come on here asking if you were just going to call Meguiars in the first place.

At least take 10mins and check out the tutorials on the Adams website. It still applies even if you buy the Meguiars stuff.:thumbsup:

[HAULNSS]

To remove the swirls you need to use an abrasive system of some sort. By abrasive, it doesn't mean wet sanding, just something that will abrade the paint (SwirlX and Ultimate Polish are mild abrasive I think). The remove a swirl in the paint, you have to remove all the material around it down to the lowest part of the scratch. Light swirls can be removed with fine abrasive polish and deeper defects will require a coarser compound. It can be done by hand, but you will look like Popeye. :lol: This is where buffing comes in and the use of mechanical action to level the surface. By matching the proper pad with the proper polish or compound, you can remove most average defects.

On a properly prepared surface, the swirls will only "come back" if you are washing/drying the car improperly, using low quality towels, car dusters, etc.

Most of the glazes that fill and hide, don't fill or hide as much as you think (or want them to), so don't be disappointed if there are still some visible defects.

This black Chevelle was compounded then polished to remove the defects. I don't think a glaze would've made a big difference on this one.
http://www.mnzaino.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9&sid=003c44ff1f6aca9893fc8c8c40e7a1f6

Good luck and post some pictures of your progress when you start working on it.

Randy

[ricer]

Dude, why come on here asking if you were just going to call Meguiars in the first place.

i didn't realize they had a helpline that's why. I looked on their website forum and that just confused me more so i came on here for advice.

To remove the swirls you need to use an abrasive system of some sort. By abrasive, it doesn't mean wet sanding, just something that will abrade the paint (SwirlX and Ultimate Polish are mild abrasive I think). The remove a swirl in the paint, you have to remove all the material around it down to the lowest part of the scratch. Light swirls can be removed with fine abrasive polish and deeper defects will require a coarser compound. It can be done by hand, but you will look like Popeye. :lol: This is where buffing comes in and the use of mechanical action to level the surface. By matching the proper pad with the proper polish or compound, you can remove most average defects.

On a properly prepared surface, the swirls will only "come back" if you are washing/drying the car improperly, using low quality towels, car dusters, etc.

Most of the glazes that fill and hide, don't fill or hide as much as you think (or want them to), so don't be disappointed if there are still some visible defects.

This black Chevelle was compounded then polished to remove the defects. I don't think a glaze would've made a big difference on this one.
http://www.mnzaino.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9&sid=003c44ff1f6aca9893fc8c8c40e7a1f6

Good luck and post some pictures of your progress when you start working on it.

Randy

Thansk Randy......i realize my arms will be killing me but i would rather take my time/effort this way at first than burn through the paint b/c i really didn't know what i was doing with a buffer.

I did a test section (spot on a-pillar) with the swirlx and polish and it came out pretty good to very good. Some slight spidering there but really have to look for them. I will take some before/after and have to wait for a cool day to detail it b/c its a large pickup and will need most of the day to do it....screw doing it in 98* heat with humidity, and unfortunately I'm not wealthy enough to have climate controlled garage :(

[Stuart Adams]

Maaco drive thru paint job.

[barrrf]

i didn't realize they had a helpline that's why. I looked on their website forum and that just confused me more so i came on here for advice.



Thansk Randy......i realize my arms will be killing me but i would rather take my time/effort this way at first than burn through the paint b/c i really didn't know what i was doing with a buffer.

I did a test section (spot on a-pillar) with the swirlx and polish and it came out pretty good to very good. Some slight spidering there but really have to look for them. I will take some before/after and have to wait for a cool day to detail it b/c its a large pickup and will need most of the day to do it....screw doing it in 98* heat with humidity, and unfortunately I'm not wealthy enough to have climate controlled garage :(

Ok - not a helpline, not their forums. They have tutorial videos. Here is a link to one of them.
http://www.adamspolishes.com/t-Detailing_Video_Vol_7_Chapter_14_Scratch_Removal.a spx

Trust Randy when he says use a buffer. If you dont want to use a variable speed polisher then use a random orbital buffer. Borrow one. YOur arms and your eyes will love you for it. Your work will come out 10x better than if you did the hand job - nohomo.

Also I agree with not doing when its hot outside. For 2 reason - 1) working this kind of heat SUCKS and 2) trying to remove polish in this kind of humidity SUCKS

[billetman]

I don't use everything Meguire's makes but I can say for a fact that the Next Generation Tech Wax has really helped the finish of my 46 Ford. Its not black but it does have a dark blue basecoat-clearcoat paint job. As stated above the wax job last only for a time and then it needs to be applied again but the results are very good as opposed to other products from other companies. Also as stated above a random orbital buffing every now and then and using a clay bar correctly can helped as does keeping the car in a garage especially during hot sunny days. Hope this helps.

[ricer]

well decided to brave the heat and knock it out. I forgot to take a before pic and when i was a done a nasty storm was coming so can't really see the sun reflection. However in the garage with the lights on it the swirl marks are nearly gone as well as some small scratches that i discovered while doing it. Overall i think it came out very good. Now i can enter any arm wrestling tournament. :thumbsup:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a142/2001accord/th_truck1.jpg (http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a142/2001accord/?action=view&current=truck1.jpg)
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a142/2001accord/th_truck2.jpg (http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a142/2001accord/?action=view&current=truck2.jpg)
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a142/2001accord/th_truck3.jpg (http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a142/2001accord/?action=view&current=truck3.jpg)