Autopia.org - Car Detailing http://www.autopia.org/forum The Main Event... Perfect appearance through auto detailing perfection! Sponsored by: Autogeek.net. en Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:48:55 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.autopia.org/forum/autopia_style/misc/rss.jpg Autopia.org - Car Detailing http://www.autopia.org/forum Over spray... http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/125420-over-spray.html Sat, 21 Nov 2009 04:03:32 GMT I thought I taped off and covered as much as needed for painting the frame underneath my Jeep. Then I looked at my hood, which needs repainting any way, and it now has a very light black film over it. Clay has removed the majority of the film and made it difficult to see. So all of the over spray was not direct from the can, but settled from floating through the air. I believe the next step would be a low cut finishing polish? I would imagine that should take care of the rest. I thought I taped off and covered as much as needed for painting the frame underneath my Jeep. Then I looked at my hood, which needs repainting any way, and it now has a very light black film over it. Clay has removed the majority of the film and made it difficult to see. So all of the over spray was not direct from the can, but settled from floating through the air.

I believe the next step would be a low cut finishing polish? I would imagine that should take care of the rest. ]]> Car Detailing Alexia http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/125420-over-spray.html Micro Marring????? http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/125418-micro-marring.html Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:07:01 GMT Currently I'm working on my own personal car my 98' vette, while using a medium compound today to remove some lighter to heaver scratches from my finish I ran into a problem.... Micro marring everywhere, what did I do wrong, I never had a problem with compounding with 105 and 205. Is it the flex, compound or the towels?

Products used:

Chemical Guys Laser Buff
Orange CSS Pad Flat
Flex DA
Pro Force Microfiber Towels (80% 20%) ]]> Car Detailing DetailnByDustn http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/125418-micro-marring.html Too much lube for claying http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/125416-too-much-lube-claying.html Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:30:55 GMT I use ONR as a clay lube so it alot of lube. Can using too much lube reduce the effectiveness of claying? I use ONR as a clay lube so it alot of lube. Can using too much lube reduce the effectiveness of claying? ]]> Car Detailing shadow85 http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/125416-too-much-lube-claying.html Getting ready to detail a black PT cruiser...need some advice! http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/125413-getting-ready-detail-black-pt-cruiser-need-some-advice.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:34:01 GMT I am getting ready to detail a black pt cruiser (not sure what year, but it looks like early 2000's model), and I need some advice on the process that I'm planning to use. This will be done by hand. I have already washed the car thoroughly and dried it with a chamois. I inspected the paint, and it looks like there are some scratches (not too deep, though), and some white scuffs of paint where it looks like someone bumped the car. The paint also has swirls and holograms in it. The paint has definitely been neglected. I don't have time to clay it, so I hope it will still look good without that step. The paint doesn't feel rough when I felt it.

1. Megs Ultimate compound,
2. Klasse AIO, or Megs 81 hand polish (not sure which one is best),
3. Collinite 845 for the LSP.

I'm also going to use AIO on the windows because they have lots of water spots. I'll use megs trim detailier for the plastic bumper on the back of the car, and wheel wax on the chrome wheels.

Do you have any better advice for me about what products to use? I'd appreciate any help you can give me. This is my first time with a black car, and I want the paint to pop as much as can be done by hand. Thanks!!

:heelclick ]]> Car Detailing Spike73 http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/125413-getting-ready-detail-black-pt-cruiser-need-some-advice.html green kitchen scrub pad used to remove bugs. Help! http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/125412-green-kitchen-scrub-pad-used-remove-bugs-help.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:36:30 GMT So my mom called me the other day and said she had a project for me once I get back home for thanksgiving. Im not sure if its one I can do on my own or what but here is what the issue is. She has a 2008 Honda Accord which she bought brand new and she washed the car herself and removed the bugs in a harsh way; she pulled out the green kitchen scrub pads. Yikes! I havent seen the car yet but she says that it has scratch swirl marks in many spots on the hood, front bumper, sides and basically the entire top of the trunk. She says its all just visible and cant be felt with the hand maybe in some spots on the trunk but not in too many areas, but some spots do now have discoloration. Would discoloration indicate that the clear coat is now worn off? I know the car is young and I too am new to auto detailing but have been working with a professional detailing business for about a month now. I was planning on getting a porter cable 7424 orbital for this job and the polish I have on hand right now is Meguiars Ultimate Compound and just some Turtle wax rubbing compound. Is this something I can do or should it just be taken in to a professional shop for repainting? If I can do it what else do I need and steps to take... type of pads, best polish to use, etc. Thanks in advance for the advice! I'll see if I can get pictures from her and will add when available. ]]> Car Detailing jsahr http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/125412-green-kitchen-scrub-pad-used-remove-bugs-help.html NEW to the business http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/125394-new-business.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:41:40 GMT Hey guys I'm new here and new to detailing, I'm located near Pittsburgh Pa and just starting a detailing business, I have the proper insurances, large shop and great staff but one dealer we are looking to work with wants us to have our own plates to transport the vehicles to our shop is this common? some thing like a dealer plate? necessary? ]]> Car Detailing xtremesuperduty http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/125394-new-business.html Is this repairable? http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/125383-repairable.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:56:56 GMT Hi everyone,

I'm new to detailing so I wanted to get some pro's advice on repairing the paint on my Jeep Liberty. The car has been in a few minor accidents and has scraped a few concrete barriers. But for the most part, its in decent condition. There are just a few really damaged parts, being mainly the front and rear bumpers.

Front bumper damage:






Rear Bumper damage:




Other noticeable defects:




The scratches seem to be pretty deep where the white is showing, and I think its exposing the primer or a lower coat of my paint on the car. Is there any way to polish that white stuff off and achieve a "smooth" look to the paint again?
Also, what polish(es) would be best at repairing the paint on my car in combination with a 6" Griots random orbital w/ orange griot's pads.

Thank you for your time,

Lincoln Square ]]> Car Detailing LincolnSquare http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/125383-repairable.html Wet Sanding http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/125378-wet-sanding.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:47:16 GMT About 2 years ago, I took my molded mud flaps off my Nissan Titan to make room for my lift and 35" tires. The problem lies herein...they are the factory mudflaps, and from driving it for about 2 years with them on, you can see an outline scratch of where the mudflaps were positioned. Although this is on the bottom (rocker panel) portion of the vehicle, it is still bothering me. I finally have some free time on my hands to actually clean up my vehicle's a little, and wanted to wetsand out the scratch these left. It sounds easy, but the problem that I have and the question that I pose is this...the very bottom of the rocker panel where it curves underneath the truck has the protective coating on it (same color as the truck), but it's not smooth...it is very textured. Do you think I can wet sand the scratch out of that part without smoothing out the "texture" of it too much and making it look different than the rest of the coating which runs along the entire bottom of the truck.

Here is an idea of what I am talking about. The scratch is hard to see in the pictures, but it cannot be buffed out...it will need to be wetsanded, eventhough it doesn't appear to be the case. Also, don't mind the adhesive, I still haven't gotten around to removing all of that, either.

]]> Car Detailing Street5927 http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/125378-wet-sanding.html Flat-Black goodness http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/125377-flat-black-goodness.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:13:33 GMT I love this look on a car. When I had my 350Z, I always wanted to get it painted flat-black, but the wife wasn't too crazy about this color. Autopians, what do you have to do diffferently to keep this color looking it's best?







]]> Car Detailing wxtornado http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/125377-flat-black-goodness.html Creases in Ford leather seats http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/125370-creases-ford-leather-seats.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:22:06 GMT Hey guys....maybe I'm just being overly anal, but I have a 2009 GT500 that I bought new in May....drive the car on weekends.....it has 5000 miles now....and have noticed a couple of creases in the driver's seat....the sides of the seat, actually...

I am embarrassed to admit that I haven't conditioned the seats....just vacuum and wipe with a damp cloth

My questions, please, are.....is this considered normal for automotive leather?....and what can I do to minimize the look of these creases...

Thanks
Melissa ]]> Car Detailing melissa809 http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/125370-creases-ford-leather-seats.html Best Halogen Stand Lights http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/125369-best-halogen-stand-lights.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:11:53 GMT I'm looking to buy some halogen stand lights. I'm thinking the ones that have two lights. What brand and what wattage is recommended? ]]> Car Detailing jw http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/125369-best-halogen-stand-lights.html Best Polish Combo for black Porsche 997 http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/125368-best-polish-combo-black-porsche-997-a.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:09:13 GMT I plan on doing a polish this weekend and i'd like to know which pad combo/polish would work the best. I have the following products/pads.

Menzerna P085rd
menzerna 106ff
Menzerna SIP
Megs 105
yellow, orange, white, green, blue ccs pads

PC or Makita rotary.

I'm more comfortable with the pc but I do have a rotary. I've never had great sucess and removing swirls. ]]> Car Detailing jw http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/125368-best-polish-combo-black-porsche-997-a.html Best Wash Mitt?? Zaino says towels?? http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/125352-best-wash-mitt-zaino-says-towels.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:02:44 GMT I recently purchased a 2006 BMW 750LI. Up to this point my car detailing experience was pretty basic but with this car I elected to do some in-depth research to try and take care of it. After plenty of online research I found a pretty good following for Zaino products so I decided to try them. I spent over $200 on their offerings and meticulously read and followed all the steps. After 17 hours of work with prepping, claying, wax/polishing, glossing, and synthetic sealing the result was pretty good. I was expecting a little more but I'm still pleased (see attached image).

Anyway, the other day I had the chance to inspect the paint under some fairly high intensity light and I could make out some minor scratch and swirl marks. I can't be certain but I may have actually produced them during my detail work. I will be doing more washing than anything from this point forward and don't want to contribute to the issue.

I called Zaino to see what wash mitt they would recommend and they said they don't even use mitts. They recommended using the towels on their web site to wash the car (see attached image). I have three of these already so it would be very easy for me to use these, however, common sense is deterring me. Wouldn't any towel when wet lay too flat to the surface and potentially drag grit across the paint and possibly scratch it? I would think almost any mitt would be better than a towel but I just don't know.

So what do ya'll think? Is a high-quality towel like what Zaino offers really the best? Would it be just as good as any mitt? Would a mitt clearly be a better tool for this and if so specifically what product do you think is the best? Naturally, I do know one's process when using any of these tools does have something to do with it. If you press to too hard on the paint you run a much greater risk of causing a scratch so I'm asking these questions where that is already understood. Thanks for any guidance.
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]]> Car Detailing JPW http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/125352-best-wash-mitt-zaino-says-towels.html <![CDATA[Wouldn't the two-bucket method be inferior compared to this?]]> http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/125351-wouldn-t-two-bucket-method-inferior-compared.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:46:01 GMT This seems sort of obvious to me but I thought I should ask in case I'm missing something. I've read quite a few articles around the benefit of the two-bucket method when washing a car. The second bucket is used to rinse out your wash mitt. It seems reasonable to me that this is certainly better than using only one bucket for washing and rinsing.

However, what about just using the hose to rinse off your mitt completely rather than using a rinse bucket? In a rinse bucket I would think there is still some potential for loose particles to get back in to the mitt and then on to your car. By rinsing off the wash mitt each time it seems to me that you have a better chance of evacuating all the loose grit and as a result greatly diminish your chances for swirl marks or a scratched surface.

Does anyone use this method? Is there any reason why it wouldn't be better than the two-bucket method? It seems weird to me that I've never heard anyone mention this before as a process.

Addendum: Grit Guards would be used in the buckets as well. ]]> Car Detailing JPW http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/125351-wouldn-t-two-bucket-method-inferior-compared.html Stains on freshly polished valve cover. http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/125348-stains-freshly-polished-valve-cover.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:19:02 GMT So I decided to polish my valve cover. I started sanding with 80grit and than did 120,220,400,800,1000,1500 and 2000. After than few coats of blue magic and mothers metal polish. I used wd40 while wet sanding. For some reason there are few spots on the cover that have some smear spots. I have no idea what did I do wrong, I did everything like I always do. The only thing I can think of is that i did not wash the cover between the grits but I always wiped it out with a clean towel. I even went and sanded down everything again going down to 60 grit but the stains are still there. Any idea whats did I do wrong and if it's possible to clean it? Thanks




]]> Car Detailing KaeROeS http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/125348-stains-freshly-polished-valve-cover.html