Input on process and polish/wax combo

[walnuts]

Hello autopians and thanks for the great forum. I`ve been lurking here for a month or so and have learned a lot.



My first post here, just wanted some input on what I plan to do. Getting back into serious car-care after a 8 year break.



I have a 2004 Honda Accord, Silver with Black Leather interior. I park in a garage during the day and recently made room to park in the garage at night while home. It has been somewhat neglected over the past year but overall the paint is in good condition (other than small rock chips on front of hood, dead bugs on the front bumper and minor water etching on the horizontal panels - I`ll try and post some pics soon)



A friend of mine told me about Griots garage so I ordered a bunch of stuff from them, then found this board and ordered more, and more from the Autopia store and picked up a PC 7424 from Amazon.



Interior is in good shape and I’m all set with 303 cleaner, 303 AP and Fabric Guard, Sonus applicators, Sonus Leather package, etc. I also plan to get a Rigid wet/dry vac for the garage.



I have plenty of good MF towels (drying, polish, wax, buffing) thanks to the sale here and the Griots package.



Wash - Griots with sheepskin mitt 2 bucket method

Bugs - Megs APC + diluted (12:1?) to take care of the bugs

Tires and Wheels - The Griots rubber cleaner and wheel cleaner work well - no complaints there.

Engine - Meg APC+ cut 4:1 and 303 AP to dress

Glass - I`ve been using Stoner IG for the windows, works great!



Clay - Griots clay with Speed Shine



Polish/Wax/Sealant (Here is where I need help)

I have a Sonus 6" DAS FlexPlate backing plate and 1 6" polish and 1 6" wax pad from Griots to use with the PC. I plan on applying the polish and wax with the PC and remove by hand.



I was going to order some machine polish from Griots and top it with the Griots wax I have. Should I stick with the Griots polish/wax and pad combo or a different polish/wax combo? The winters here in VA are not too harsh but I really want to get the most protection over the next 5-6 months.



Any input is greatly appreciated, thanks!

[imported_02ZTSfocus]

For a polish, if your car is in pretty good condition I would recommend Optimum Polish. It should be aggressive enough to take out the water spots and any light swirl marks you may have but will leave a very nice LSP ready finish. One of the best parts about OP is that it doesn`t dust at all.



For wax, if you want durability I would go with Collinite 845 or 476. I`m pretty impressed with mine so far. Other good waxes are P21S or S100, but they aren`t near as durable as Collinite.



If your looking for a sealant, A LOT of people swear by Zaino. Zaino looks amazing and is arguably the most durable LSP available.

[walnuts]

Thanks for the reply. On further inspection I have found that there is deep etching (acid rain?) and will probably need an slightly agressive polish. I am thinking about going with PB SSR 2.5 then follow it up with PB SSR 1 on the places that need it (with LC or DAS pads) I`ll try and see if I can get a good picture and post later today. Could the collinite go over the PB SSR?

[Accumulator]

Walnuts- Welcome to Autopia!



I`ve used a *LOT* of Griot`s stuff over the years, so maybe I can help point you in the right direction. While I like a lot of Griot`s products (especially their Car Wash), I think their polishes and waxes leave a *LOT* to be desired.



I agree with 02ZTSfocus`s recommendation of Collinite waxes. I`d recommend them over sealants like Zaino, at least for this point in your return to serious detailing (not a slam at sealants, I use them on two of our vehicles, but I still think Collinite is the way to go here). I`ve used BOS and I assure you that the Collinite is much better. Collinite should work fine over any polish.



Next time you need clay, get the Sonus stuff from Autopia/Better Car Care. Hands-down suprerior to the Griot`s, as a recent side-by-side comparison reminded me. I`d try the clay on the bugs, it`s what I usually use for such contamination. But they might have etched the paint (that`ll be a job for your polish).



For the polish, there can be a world of difference between removing light marring like "swirls" and deeper problems like acid rain etching. If I were you I`d limit current efforts to removing/improving any light scratches and giving the paint a good shine. Much waterspot etching is too severe to remove without a rotary and even then can require the removal of more clear than is advisable.



For relative newbies, I generally recommend polishes from 1Z. Their Paint Polish is good for a one-step polishing and topping it with Collinite should give you great looks and good protection. I just did this combo myself on a pewter metallic Blazer and I`m very happy with it. Used with the orange Griot`s polishing pad, the Paint Polish will be pretty mild, but it`s one *very* user-friendly product, much better IMO than the similar-strength Griot`s Machine Polish #2. If nothing else, go with some polish other than Griot`s, even if you don`t go with my 1Z choice or 02ZTSfocus`s Optimum recommendation. I`d much rather have one can of 1Z Paint Polish than a the whole range of Griot`s Machine Polishes (have `em all on the shelf, never touch the Griot`s stuff any more).



If you want to use more than one polish (you mentioned the two SSR products), there are a scad of choices (including combos from Optimum and 1Z, among others). But I`d really just stick to doing a basic full detail and see how that goes.

[walnuts]

Thanks for the welcome and the great advice Accumulator. You`re right, I`m just going to keep it simple for my first full detail (in years) and go with either Optimum or 1Z on the Griots polish pad, buff off and then top it with Collinite. And thanks for your insight on the Griots polish line - saved me some $$ and headache. I used Meguiars/3M products in the past....man there is a LOT of stuff available now (and probably even 8 years ago, just didn`t know about them all)



The etching I have is not noticeable in full sun and only noticable in the garage under very close inspection. I`m not going to worry about it for now....just try and get a good shine. The light silver paint doesn`t really show the blemishes as much as a darker color would...so that is one advantage.



I`ll keep you guys posted on my progress and thanks again!