New PC Owner - Veterans, check my spring cleaning list!

[eddieg]

Spring is almost here (although you wouldn`t think it given the latest cold-weather splash we just got in the north east), and it was my birthday a few days ago, so I got myself a PC 7424, pads and lots of other goodies!



Here`s a pic of almost everything I have as far as products:



http://trinity.cs-i.brandeis.edu/~eddie/gallery-albums/carTime/IMG_0002.sized.jpg



What`s there (sort of left-to-right):





The PC 7424 and the foam pad kit, all from autogeek.net :waxing:

A new sheepskin/nylon wash mitt also from autogeek; I have another older sheepskin one as well.

The absorber; I like it.

Finish Kare products (I love those guys and their samples!): #2685 Pink Wax (a bit dried out but FK says its fine), #216 Sealant Glaze, and samples of their #425 detailer and their #1016 wash and wax.

Poorboy`s SS&S wash (replacing my meguair`s gold class wash that I still have a bit of left), and their SSR1 polish

Wheel Wax (from autogeek)

The new Pinnacle clay bars (the small ones), as my Four Star clay is almost done for.

Finally, some misc products I don`t intend to use for now:

Michelin`s brake-dust repellant. Bought it on a whim after reading some good reviews; for now, I`m focusing on my summer wheels (forged aluminum) w/ the wheel wax and may try this out later in summer.

Teflon wheel cleaner: ditto, bought before I found the wheel wax, so probably won`t use at first.

Meguair`s step 2 polish: was a gift, don`t intend to use

Meguair`s interior shine spray: I use here and there

Meguair`s Scratch-X: before the PC, I used this one a few major scratches by hand. It did an ok job.





So, would the autopian experts and readers be so kind as to give me a check-over my planned list for the first big job on my now 1yr old red altima?



First, the car pics: just check out http://trinity.cs-i.brandeis.edu/~eddie/gallery/carTime ; it`s basically this:



http://trinity.cs-i.brandeis.edu/~eddie/ser/waxed.jpg





For those who have 350Z`s, it`s my understanding this code red se-r exclusive color is the same paint code (A20) that is used in the 350Z red.



What my car has after one year other than normal stuff is a fair amount of swirls and webbing due to the fact that I had to use a car wash (a good one, but still...) over the winter. Fairly often, even. I just hate seeing my car salted and muddy.



Ok, here`s what I think I`m doing:





Wash with poorboy`s SS&S; rinse, dry.

Use SSR1 with the orange light cutting pad w/ the PC where swirls/scratches exist. It`s in a lot of places, probably even "everywhere" but I won`t overdo it, I trust the rest of the products will mask most of the stuff you can barely notice.

Use FK #216 w the white "polishing" pads w/ the PC all over the car.

Apply a few coats of FK #2685 wax w the gray finishing pads w/ the PC all over the car.

Finish with FK #425 detailer for that last bit of shine. :bigups





The summer wheels, before going on the car will get washed and I`ll use the wheel wax w/ an applicator.





So, I appreciate those who read this far -- tips? advice? corrections? I`m all ears. It`ll probably be a week (or more?) before I get started, given the weather.





Thank you, you guys are the best :xyxthumbs

[Joshua312]

First off, you have a beautiful car! Love the color especially! Second, happy belated birthday, a pc is the perfect gift to yourself :) It looks like you got some great products to start off, You might want to pick up some ssr 2.5 if the ssr1 isn`t enough. I know if you visit the trading post, towards the last 2 pages their is someone with over half a gallon they want to part with so you could probably pick up 8-12 oz for cheap just to try it out. Good luck, be sure to take pictures. Once you get your baby looking good you might want to invest in a foam gun to minimize the swirling introduced via washing. Looks like you did some good research when choosing your products, good luck to you!

[eddieg]

*bump*



Some of my particular questions:

- is the use of the 216 and the ssr1 redundant? The 216 label says something about swirls removal...

- Do I have the order right?



thx...

[Raven]

The SSR1 will not do much, if anything, at removing swirl marks, you will need to use something more along the line of SSR2 or 2.5. I`ve used SSr 2.5 with great results on my black SUV. I`ve never used FK #216 but according to their web site it`s a sealant and probable will not to much if anything for the swirl marks.

[eddieg]

Pardon my *bump* again but I`m getting closer (the weather is getting better!!) to going for this and am still open to all sorts of comments and suggestions... thank you very very much!

[4details2win]

Lemme guess, you bought the PB SS&S b/c you wanted to try something new right :). B/c I know gold class soap is excellent. I`m the same way, always wanting to try new products. It`s an obsession I tell you!



But like others have said, try the Poorboys SSR2.5 you most likely wont get the results you want with SSR1

[eddieg]

I hear y`all about the SSR1, but remember my car is only a year old, only 10`000 miles and garaged day and night. I`ll be sure to take a lot of pictures before/after, and I think I can get a lot of shots of spider webs and scratches, but I have a feeling, just a feeling, that the lightest of products will do... that, and the wax, I think will get it to the point where they won`t exist.



Here`s hoping...



and yes, I got the PB SS&S to try something new, something I couldn`t buy at Autozone, for that special feelin`...

[4details2win]

Very nice Altima BTW. I really dig the rims, blacked out headlights and taillights and also the dual exhaust that resembles the 350Z. Oh and ya can`t forget the interior. Very nicely done with the chrome trim and such.