Auto Detailing

[thescreensavers]

I would love to learn how to do this. Instead of paying $200 plus for someone else to do it.

So if the suns right over my car and if you look at it you can see small scratches I think there called Swirl marks.

Meguiar's G7101 Gold Class Wash Shampoo & Cond
Meguiar's G1016 Smooth Surface Clay Kit
JETSEAL+5050 by chemical Guys

These are the products I Picked out. I know my first time at doing things I wont do a perfect job, but I am willing to learn.

I got to do this at 9am or so so that there's no over head sun.

Shampoo mixed with water in a bucket, scrub with microfiber cloth, Was off with hose then Dry with Microfiber cloth.

After ill move into my garage and use the Clay kit.

From what I know Spray the lubricant on the car and a little on the clay bar and just glide(no down pressure) it around the area you are working on till its smooth then wipe with a Micro cloth, then re mold the clay bar for a clean portion if dirty so forth and so on until the whole car is done. Then..

Polishing- ?? No idea, uh
This +3m Swirl Mark remover?
Recommendations?

Then I use

Jet Seal- Apply to the Microfiber Cloth and wipe the car with it. Then in 15 min Wipe the car down with another Micro Cloth then reapply the Seal again.

My question is how big of an area to work on at a time? How do I know that an even layer is going on, is it really just as simple as apply and dry? Will there be spots were there are more sealant on

and finally

I use the Wax with the sponge in the kit make sure its damp apply the wax, and in a circular motion apply the wax on a portion of the car. let it sit for an amount of time, then get a Microfiber cloth and polish it off and continue the same for the rest of the car.


This is as far as I know the way to do things as I read on the internet, am I missing something? Any tips for anything.



Thanks

 

[iamwiz82]

You may want to strip all of the wax and such off the paint after the clay bar. Just a quick wash wtih dawn is enough. It's a debatable subject, but I like it.

That random orbit you picked out is crap. You need a good one, like a Porter Cable 7424, or a Flex XC 340, or Ultimate Detailing Machine, there are a few more, but make sure it'a dual action orbital and not a straight rotary. A rotary in the hands of someone who is not careful is bad.

I personally don't like 3M's Perfect it(or II) Swirl Remover, but other swear by it. I use a more expensive product called Menzerna Super Intensive Polish. I have gotten the best results on my car with this.

Not to pimp out my own ware, but I am selling a lot of my detailing stuff as I just dont use it as much as I used to. It's here: http://forums.anandtech.com/me...ey=y&keyword1=ultimate

I've never used Jet Seal, but I normally do the whole car and then buff it out where I started, then do the next layer, etc. Most of the higher end stuff is meant to be used sparingly. Zaino, for example, will take about 1/2oz to do an entire midsized car.

 

[tigris649]

Hello screensavers it looks like you got a good start with your products, I am also just starting to detail cars (soon for profit ). Here are some tips/tricks for you:

Washing:
From your post it sounds like you will only be using 1 bucket when washing. This can pose a problem because as you wash your vehicle your bucket will become filled with dirt and debris, that dirt and debris will then transfer to your wash mitt and cause you to scratch and mar your paint.

I recommend using the 2 bucket method, you essentially have a dedicated rinse bucket(just filled with clean water) and a wash bucket with your shampoo in it. After washing a panel of your car dip your wash mitt(or whatever your using) in the rinse bucket to get all the dirt and debris off it, before putting it back into the wash bucket and continuing to wash your car. This helps keep dirt and debris out of your wash bucket that could potentially scratch/mar your car's paint.

Also if you want to help get your tires/wheels cleaner i reccomend swinging by autozone and picking up Eagle One's Tire and Wheel cleaner (just spray on let it dwell for about 30 seconds then rinse off)

Remember to always wash the wheels first before moving on to the rest of the car!


Clay:
That clay kit should do just fine. And looks like you got the procedure down :thumbsup:


Polishing:
Probably the most complicated/expensive/time consuming part of detailing your car. Those $40 polishers(like the one you mentioned) do not work very well(from what I've heard/been told)
If you plan on doing a good polishing job your looking to spend around $200-400 for buffer/pads/polish/etc.


Sealant/Wax:
hmm I don't want to steer you away from jetseal, but there is a cheaper and MUCH easier product out there that many, many pro's use and love (I also love it )

It is called Optimum Car Wax. It is a spray on, wipe off wax(no hazing or anything required). It gives amazing quality and is amazingly simple and easy to use. Took my about 15 minutes to apply it to my brother's suv.
you can buy it here for $15 (send me a pm and I can hit you up with some coupon codes for 10% discounts and such)



Sorry for the long post but I hope I helped!



p.s. Here are some great links to help you on your detailing venture :thumbsup:

Autopia.org great deatling guides and forum
Video tutorial takes you from washing-waxing your car. GREAT VIDEOS, helped me a lot

 

[thescreensavers]

if I were to get a polisher I am looking at the Porter-Cable 7424

This would also make waxing much easier. What pads would I need to get? Also it seems many people get Porter-Cable 18001 6-Inch 6-Hole Hook and Loop That's just a Velcro pad basically right?


So I if I do buy this I apply polish to the pad in the center and a little bit in a circle around the center, and with no down pressure, just glide the thing around, and make sure not to touch any of the trim.

For waxing with the machine the same?

In the end I want to spend less to do it my self then to to pay someone else, ofcorse tool cost is a one time thing, and it will pay for it self every time I use it.

I am looking at 109 bucks before then Orbital. With what I listed above.

Thanks for all your guys time and help

 

[tigris649]

The PC 7424 is a GREAT machine! It's a orbital polisher so you run virtually no risk in damaging your paint using it, great for beginners such as yourself. I own one and love it. With the right pad/polish combo you can get some great correction with it.

Pads and Backing plate:
For the PC I personally recommend buying the 5.5in foam pads from Lake Country

4 5.5in Orange Light Cutting Pads (for swirl/scratch removal with a compound or polish)
4 5.5in White Polishing Pads (to restore gloss back to your paint with a polish or finishing polish)
2 5.5in Gray Finishing Pad (to apply glazes, sealant, and waxes)

Since you will be using 5.5in pads buy a 5in backing plate for them.

Now the two most popular foam pads made by Lake country, are their Flat Pads and CCS(Collapsed Cell Structure, which according to Lake Country: "The face of a CCS pad is covered in strategically placed pockets. These pockets are locations where the foam cells have been closed. Polish does not absorb into these closed cell pockets, leaving more product on the pad's surface and on the paint") Pads. But tbh I don't think the CCS technology really makes much difference.
I will point you in the direction of this thread on autopia debating CCS or flat pads, and let you decide.
You can buy all this at autogeek.net (to lazy to add up price )


You do want to apply *some* pressure when polishing out scratches and swirls (I was told around 10lbs of pressure). You generally don't want to apply pressure when applying glazes,sealant, and waxes.


As for not touching the trim, go buy some 3M blue painters tape at lowes or Home Depot and tape up all the trim before you go about polishing. Here are some pictures to give you a general idea on what to tape down (pictures are not mine) Hood
Side



NOTE:My posts are based around doing *serious* paint correction, which many people do not find necessary to do . I do not mean to persuade you to go out and buy $500 worth of detailing supplies to do all this paint correction on your car. You can go out and buy mostly over the counter products and do a nice wash, clay, and wax on your car for much cheaper and yield great results. My posts are based around correcting your paint by polishing out the blemishes in it (swirls, scratches, marring) which many people, and maybe even yourself don't really care about or notice. So please do feel pressured by me to need to spend $500+ to be able to make your car look good.

 

[thescreensavers]

Originally posted by: tigris649
The PC 7424 is a GREAT machine! It's a orbital polisher so you run virtually no risk in damaging your paint using it, great for beginners such as yourself. I own one and love it. With the right pad/polish combo you can get some great correction with it.

Pads and Backing plate:
For the PC I personally recommend buying the 5.5in foam pads from Lake Country

4 5.5in Orange Light Cutting Pads (for swirl/scratch removal with a compound or polish)
4 5.5in White Polishing Pads (to restore gloss back to your paint with a polish or finishing polish)
2 5.5in Gray Finishing Pad (to apply glazes, sealant, and waxes)

Since you will be using 5.5in pads buy a 5in backing plate for them.

Now the two most popular foam pads made by Lake country, are their Flat Pads and CCS(Collapsed Cell Structure, which according to Lake Country: "The face of a CCS pad is covered in strategically placed pockets. These pockets are locations where the foam cells have been closed. Polish does not absorb into these closed cell pockets, leaving more product on the pad's surface and on the paint") Pads. But tbh I don't think the CCS technology really makes much difference.
I will point you in the direction of this thread on autopia debating CCS or flat pads, and let you decide.
You can buy all this at autogeek.net (to lazy to add up price )


You do want to apply *some* pressure when polishing out scratches and swirls (I was told around 10lbs of pressure). You generally don't want to apply pressure when applying glazes,sealant, and waxes.


As for not touching the trim, go buy some 3M blue painters tape at lowes or Home Depot and tape up all the trim before you go about polishing. Here are some pictures to give you a general idea on what to tape down (pictures are not mine) Hood
Side



NOTE:My posts are based around doing *serious* paint correction, which many people do not find necessary to do . I do not mean to persuade you to go out and buy $500 worth of detailing supplies to do all this paint correction on your car. You can go out and buy mostly over the counter products and do a nice wash, clay, and wax on your car for much cheaper and yield great results. My posts are based around correcting your paint by polishing out the blemishes in it (swirls, scratches, marring) which many people, and maybe even yourself don't really care about or notice. So please do feel pressured by me to need to spend $500+ to be able to make your car look good.

hehe I see the swirls so I want to fix it

Orange Light Cutting
White Polshing
Gray Finishing

You say 4? 4 of each? Are they not reusable like you cant wash them ( I dont know )

I cant seem to find the 5inch back plate, could you link me one that works on the PC 7424 ( sorry I am not lazy cant find it or what fits..ect)

Also what Polish and Finishing Polish do you recommend for a Black Car, does color matter on polishes? Do you need a finishing Polish?

Thank you for replying

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Originally posted by: tigris649

As for not touching the trim, go buy some 3M blue painters tape at lowes or Home Depot and tape up all the trim before you go about polishing. Here are some pictures to give you a general idea on what to tape down (pictures are not mine) Hood
Side

although my car has minimal badges, i'll definately tape off the body panel seams. cleaning those gaps with foam brushes took forever!

more info on clay bars would be appreciated

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: tigris649
Video tutorial takes you from washing-waxing your car. GREAT VIDEOS, helped me a lot

I love a clean car as much as the next guy and wash my own all the time but that is just way too much effort for something that will just get dirty again in less than a week. They're cleaning inside the wheels and the wheel wells... just way too much of an effort after all 4.

Soap + clean sponge = all set till next week.

The other info such as claying and polishing are good info though for spot treatments.

 

[thescreensavers]

So I been thinking some more, I don't have enough lighting in my garage for polishing . I do have Lamps I can bring in. How much is that 500watt to 1000 watt workers light that every professional uses? Does it really matter? or can I just use many lamps, I have about 3 23watt cfc bulbs which equals 300 watts of light plus any other lamps I might have.

Edit:I see the worker lights are about 40 bucks, but that would make me go up in my already thinning budget hehe.

Or I can order This for 10 bucks with everything else or will the 300 watt 3 lamps + be enough?


Thanks

 

[tigris649]

Originally posted by: thescreensavers
You say 4? 4 of each? Are they not reusable like you cant wash them ( I dont know )

I cant seem to find the 5inch back plate, could you link me one that works on the PC 7424 ( sorry I am not lazy cant find it or what fits..ect)

Also what Polish and Finishing Polish do you recommend for a Black Car, does color matter on polishes? Do you need a finishing Polish?

Thank you for replying

Yes, you need at least 4 pads each to do a whole car. As you will find out when you are polishing your car, after about 2 panels your polishing pad will become covered in polish (reducing the pads cutting ability etc.), so you will need to switch between pads as you go about polishing. Yes, pads are reusable, but I wouldn't recommend putting them in a washing machine, though. What I do to clean them is spray some Dawn power dissolver
($4 at walmart) on them and scrub them with an old tooth brush until I think they are clean. Then I fill up my sink with warm/hot water and let them soak for 2-3 hours, take them out then squeeze out as much water as a can and put them on my grit guard and let them dry.

As far as I know, color really does not matter on polishes. Now there are waxes and sealants out there that are made or just naturally look better on different colored paint. Optimum Car Wax should look just fine on your black paint.:thumbsup:

I can't really make a recommendation on what polish you should get as have also just started detailing cars. I recommend you go to the forums over at autopia and read up on what the more experienced guys over there have to say.

No, you do not *need* a finishing polish. As many polishes used with a white or gray pad will finish down nicely for a LSP (last step product).

So if your looking to do multi-step paint correction your steps may go as followed:


1.Compound (for more severe scratches and swirl marks, this will also remove more of your clear coat so be careful) or Polish with a orange foam pad to remove swirls and scratches

2.Polish with a white foam pad to restore/enhance the gloss to your paint

3.(Not really needed) Finishing polish with gray foam pad to help enhance your paint's gloss even more (again this step is really unneeded)

4.Apply sealant or wax of your choice

Again visit autopia for more in depth look and help in polishing.

Originally posted by: thescreensavers
So I been thinking some more, I don't have enough lighting in my garage for polishing . I do have Lamps I can bring in. How much is that 500watt to 1000 watt workers light that every professional uses? Does it really matter? or can I just use many lamps, I have about 3 23watt cfc bulbs which equals 300 watts of light plus any other lamps I might have.

Edit:I see the worker lights are about 40 bucks, but that would make me go up in my already thinning budget hehe.

Or I can order This for 10 bucks with everything else or will the 300 watt 3 lamps + be enough?


Thanks

Just swing buy your local Lowe's or Home Depot and pick up a 1000w dual Halogen light (500w each) with a tripod for about $40, works great for spotting swirls and scratches in your paint.



Here is a link to the 5in backing plate Linky


If still have more questions feel free to continue posting or pm me

 

[thescreensavers]

ok, I just called this Car washing place at my local mall, They can polish,clay,wax my car for 139.99 thats about the price for the Polishing Machine. So I think I am just going to go that route and let someone else do the wash/polish/wax. I will take pics of my car in places before and make sure they do a good job before I pay them.

Then when it is time to clean my car again and wax it I will do it my self sans the Polishing machine. I wont have the swirl marks anymore and I will wash the car my self after that so it will minimize swirl marks as well. I cant justify to spend $300 right now for all the materials to do it my self. Maybe later on ill buy the polisher.

Thanks for all your help guys especially tigris649

 

[mc866]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
You may want to strip all of the wax and such off the paint after the clay bar. Just a quick wash wtih dawn is enough. It's a debatable subject, but I like it.

I was under the impression that the clay bar would remove the wax and all other contaminates so the washing with Dawn step wouldn't be needed. You still need to wash, claybar, rewash to get the film from the clay bar off though.


As far as polishing goes, everyone has their own preference but I've had good luck with the Poorboy's world SSR series swirl removers, some say they fill the problem spots rather than permanently repairing them, but I'm OK with that, I would rather fill the problem spots than cause more issues with something that cuts too aggressively.

While we're on the subject of Poorboy's World you should also check out their EX-P sealant, great stuff also. I guess I like all of their products for that matter the Natty's paste wax is great too, best part is that it's reasonably priced.

 

[tigris649]

Originally posted by: thescreensavers
ok, I just called this Car washing place at my local mall, They can polish,clay,wax my car for 139.99 thats about the price for the Polishing Machine. So I think I am just going to go that route and let someone else do the wash/polish/wax. I will take pics of my car in places before and make sure they do a good job before I pay them.

Then when it is time to clean my car again and wax it I will do it my self sans the Polishing machine. I wont have the swirl marks anymore and I will wash the car my self after that so it will minimize swirl marks as well. I cant justify to spend $300 right now for all the materials to do it my self. Maybe later on ill buy the polisher.

Thanks for all your help guys

Alrighty, but if you do go that route I recommend looking up a professional on autopia.org in your area to detail your car. As most those Car washing places don't have a clue what they're doing, and I don't want to see your car in even worse condition with buffer marks and holograms from some guy who didn't know how to properly use a buffer.

Best of luck with whatever you do man

 

[amdhunter]

Before you pay a shop to do it -- MAKE sure you go there a few times and scope out their work. A lot of times they have guys guessing at what to do.

If you reallllllly like your car, spend a day and do it yourself. No one will be more careful than you, and if you mess it up -- you don't have anyone to fight but yourself.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: mc866

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
You may want to strip all of the wax and such off the paint after the clay bar. Just a quick wash wtih dawn is enough. It's a debatable subject, but I like it.

I was under the impression that the clay bar would remove the wax and all other contaminates so the washing with Dawn step wouldn't be needed. You still need to wash, claybar, rewash to get the film from the clay bar off though.


As far as polishing goes, everyone has their own preference but I've had good luck with the Poorboy's world SSR series swirl removers, some say they fill the problem spots rather than permanently repairing them, but I'm OK with that, I would rather fill the problem spots than cause more issues with something that cuts too aggressively.

While we're on the subject of Poorboy's World you should also check out their EX-P sealant, great stuff also. I guess I like all of their products for that matter the Natty's paste wax is great too, best part is that it's reasonably priced.

That is correct, but I very rarely have to clay bar an entire car, rather only hit the spots that need it.

 

[Kntx]

Originally posted by: tigris649

Remember to always wash the wheels first before moving on to the rest of the car!

Wat? Wash the wheels last. The crud that comes off of the wheels has the most scratchy things. Wash the wheels last to keep the scratchy things from scratching your car. Ideally you should use a seperate hand sponge for wheels only.

Have a nice new hand sponge for washing the main body of the car. Use an old raggity one for the wheels. When your main car hand sponge becomes old and raggity it becomes your wheel sponge.

If multiple sponges sounds like too much at least give the sponge a good rinse when you are done to get the evil scratchy particles out.

 

[FeuerFrei]

I don't know about this sponge or two-bucket approach to washing a car.

Best way to wash without inducing swirlies is to use a sheep-fleece mitt. Dip in sudsy water, slap onto vehicle. Use hose in opposite hand to flush the surface and rewet the mitt occasionally. Once you find the mitt needs more suds, hose the mitt off thoroughly to flush out any particles clinging, THEN dip it into the sudsy water. This way you don't need two buckets and dirt particles won't accumulate in the wash bucket.

This method works very well. (don't forget to pre-hose off the entire car before beginning wash)

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: thescreensavers
if I were to get a polisher I am looking at the Porter-Cable 7424

This would also make waxing much easier. What pads would I need to get? Also it seems many people get Porter-Cable 18001 6-Inch 6-Hole Hook and Loop That's just a Velcro pad basically right?


So I if I do buy this I apply polish to the pad in the center and a little bit in a circle around the center, and with no down pressure, just glide the thing around, and make sure not to touch any of the trim.

For waxing with the machine the same?

In the end I want to spend less to do it my self then to to pay someone else, ofcorse tool cost is a one time thing, and it will pay for it self every time I use it.

I am looking at 109 bucks before then Orbital. With what I listed above.

Thanks for all your guys time and help

Search for my old thread...I think it's coastaltool that has the porter cable with the 6" hook and loop, plus the 6" counter wieght for only $109.

For products I'd stick with a range of meg's rather than mixing (I had used 3M swirl removers at times though along with their fine cut polish as a combo when needed, but I have been using Meg's since).

You don't really need a lot of pad variety...they do help but now necessary for a decent job.

You do need down pressure, 10-15lbs...check out the meg's forums and youtube for porter cable how-to's. AutoGeek has videos too.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: FeuerFrei
I don't know about this sponge or two-bucket approach to washing a car.

Best way to wash without inducing swirlies is to use a sheep-fleece mitt. Dip in sudsy water, slap onto vehicle. Use hose in opposite hand to flush the surface and rewet the mitt occasionally. Once you find the mitt needs more suds, hose the mitt off thoroughly to flush out any particles clinging, THEN dip it into the sudsy water. This way you don't need two buckets and dirt particles won't accumulate in the wash bucket.

This method works very well. (don't forget to pre-hose off the entire car before beginning wash)

two buckets is much faster...you need to flush the mitt from inside out if using your approach...

sheep-fleece is not preferred any more.

 

[rh71]

how often do you guys wax your cars and does it help keep dirt off more? I know the benefit is really longevity of the paint but I haven't had problems with a 14yo car so I'm thinking it's not worth it if that's the only reason. I also don't think a white car could shine much more... if it were black it would be a different story.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: rh71
how often do you guys wax your cars and does it help keep dirt off more? I know the benefit is really longevity of the paint but I haven't had problems with a 14yo car so I'm thinking it's not worth it if that's the only reason. I also don't think a white car could shine much more... if it were black it would be a different story.

srsly? Do you think a white car looks as shiney dirty too?

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: rh71
how often do you guys wax your cars and does it help keep dirt off more? I know the benefit is really longevity of the paint but I haven't had problems with a 14yo car so I'm thinking it's not worth it if that's the only reason. I also don't think a white car could shine much more... if it were black it would be a different story.

srsly? Do you think a white car looks as shiney dirty too?

umm, it's spelled shiny. For someone who's into this stuff so much, you would think you could actually spell the word. White cars don't look dirty as easily as black does... this is pretty much a concensus.

 

[alkemyst]

i just don't know where to begin. It's no so much repelling dirt as making it much easier to clean and shine so much better longer.

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: alkemyst
i just don't know where to begin. It's no so much repelling dirt as making it much easier to clean and shine so much better longer.

What is there to begin? This was a simple answer to an open question. Sorry it was below you. :roll:

 

[jteef]

I really like the process i use, a lot of it has already been mentioned. I use 2 buckets and 2 brand new sheep fleece mitts. one i use above the trim line on a e36 bmw. The other, i use below it. then at the end, i use them to clean my wheels and then throw away. As for clay bar, i don't pay particular detail to which product i buy, but i like to use soap / water as the lube instead of quick detailer, as the qd can have some chemicals that interfere with the later paint cleaners, sealants and waxes.

a tip i learned a few years ago was instead of using the whole bar of clay, break it up into about 15-20 cubes that you can mash into half dollar sized pieces. then using your index finger + middle finger you glide it over the surface as mentioned. always glide front to back, back to front, never side to side or circular. gives you a great feel for when the area is clean, as you can really feel when the sandpaper textures of the foreign objects are gone. plus there is minimal risk for introducing new scratches since you're tossing each piece of clay after about 4 sq ft and starting with a brand new one.

i use klasse aio with a porter cable polisher and then klasse sg and p21s. I've tried zaino and didn't like it as much. I haven't tried anything else.