Help, I don't know what I'm doing..

[Callmealunatic]

I am new to this detailing. The way I was taught you washed your car with dish soap & then maybe waxed it. I thought clay barring was actually a paste & was amused to find out it was actually exactly what it was called lol. Everything I've recently learned has been from this site. I've spent the past wk & a half reading & reading & reading.

I just got a 2006 manaual transmission Honda civic coupe with 112000 miles on it the Interior is in pretty amazing condition but the outside not so much it had wax all over the trim which was my first indication it wasn't cared for properly. I used peanut butter can got all of the trim clean of wax & then used the turtle trim restoring stuff. I'm pleased with it. My question come to the paint. I washed it & then clay barred it with the
meguiars clay bar kit which I got from Walmart. I used that on the good until I wasn't getting any discolor on the clay. Then I got Meguires compound which was in a black bottle, it was liquid. Used that ... Then waxed with mothers wax the mothers carnauba wax.... Waited a full day & then a sec coat of that. I did the same processes on my front bumper & the roof.

My car isn't as shiney as I'd like it to be. I want it to have a deep smooth shine ...
I did the all by hand btw.

Tell me what I did wrong or need to do or is it because indie it by hand & not a machine?

I am a female btw so please try not to confuse me ..

[Callmealunatic]

Hood not good. Sorry typo.. Posting from my phone

[Alexshimshimhae]

well it's hard to say..but working by hand almost always (99.9%) will result in less than stellar results...assuming there's nothing terrible wrong with the paint (thought at 112k miles who knows) using a dual action (DA) polisher might do you a whole lot of good..if you are doing it by hand finding a good cleaner might also help your cause.

I've heard people recommend using an aio (all in one) type product to help.

TBH I'm not a huge fan of the mothers wax.

[Callmealunatic]

well it's hard to say..but working by hand almost always (99.9%) will result in less than stellar results...assuming there's nothing terrible wrong with the paint (thought at 112k miles who knows) using a dual action (DA) polisher might do you a whole lot of good..if you are doing it by hand finding a good cleaner might also help your cause.

I've heard people recommend using an aio (all in one) type product to help.

TBH I'm not a huge fan of the mothers wax.

so i should get a cleaner ... like a car soap id actually wash it with?
and whats a dual action polisher?

and if i already put the mothers wax on the hood and roof and front bumper should i remove it before i go buy a new wax?
or not even a wax at all? something else?
what kind should i get? i want it really smooth and to shine a lot.

[Alexshimshimhae]

Dual action polishers are what most people would use to polish their cars...Griots Garage Polisher, Porter Cable (PC), just to name a few instead of just spinning they also oscillate which mitigates risk of burning your paint.

Mother's I would put in the category of "better than having nothing on it at all"

It's really hard to say until we know what we're working with...and working strictly by hand has a way of making things difficult.

[Thomas Dekany]

Welcome to the forum!

I agree with Alex.

If we knew where you live, maybe a member could demonstrate how a polisher works and what results you can get with it. In any case, you are on the right track. White is not hard to make great.

I used 2 products only - HD UNO and HD POXY. But getting a polisher is definitely a plus. Good luck and again, welcome.

[jeffny09]

def need a polisher!!

[Alexshimshimhae]

As much as I'd love to recommend products etc... I think Accums first words to me made the most sense--we'd all love to spend your money for you but at the end of the day it's a matter of what's reasonable for your budget etc.

[Callmealunatic]

Welcome to the forum!

I agree with Alex.

If we knew where you live, maybe a member could demonstrate how a polisher works and what results you can get with it. In any case, you are on the right track. White is not hard to make great.

I used 2 products only - HD UNO and HD POXY. But getting a polisher is definitely a plus. Good luck and again, welcome.

i live in Fla but im not sure where the car was before me or if it has always been a fla car.
its not grey, its that beige/grey color that honda has.. i wouldnt consider it a sand color either, its darker than that. more like tan i suppose..

considering that im the only one that will be using this polisher thing if i get it and im not a Detailer or anything like that could i get away with a cheap one? lol forgive me... i warned you..

[Callmealunatic]

do i have to have a polisher to use those products?
HD UNO and HD POXY

[Alexshimshimhae]

Using a polisher would certainly give you more optimal results (and likely save you time in the long run) new, you can prolly pick up a DA for under 150. I think PC goes for like 120? but hacen't checked prices in a while xD

[Accumulator]

...considering that im the only one that will be using this polisher thing if i get it and im not a Detailer or anything like that could i get away with a cheap one? lol forgive me... i warned you..I am a female btw so please try not to confuse me ..

Welcome to Autopia! Heh heh, I won't cut you all that much slack for being female, no sexism here But yeah, I understand where you're coming from.

Hey, I just went over a lot of this same stuff with melissa809, wonder what she'd have to say (bet she wouldn't mind a Private Message).

Don't buy a cheapie polisher, really. Get a Griot's Garage 6" Random Orbital, or the one from 3D/HD, or the one that Meguiar's sells (gee, note that I did not mention the Porter Cable ). It's not about being a "detailer" or a "novice" or anything like that, it's about spending your money on something that'll do the job properly and thus making your life easier.

If you can't swing the cost of a decent polisher I'd rather see you just live with the marring (swirls/scratches/etc.) that the polisher will remove and stick with products that work OK by hand (but note that those won't really remove said marring unless you spend countless hours at it). I do question whether you'll get the level of shine you're after without the polisher though, but with a six year-old car with >100K miles you gotta have realistic expectations.

Eh, you could do a lot worse than just go over the car by hand with an All In One product to maybe improve upon its current conditiona, and then top that with something glossy and durable. Sounds like the color you have is pretty forgiving in the sense of how badly it shows any flaws.