Help me with my plunge into serious detailing

[danz24]

OK I think I have a grip on exactly what I should get to dive into the world of detailing. This is the end result of 2 weeks worth of research. Let me know what you think.



WASHING:

1 Sheepskin mitt

2 buckets

Meguiars Gold Class Soap



DRYING:

1 Dehydrator Towel

1 Microfiber towel



CLAYING:

Riccardo Clay

Riccardo Clay Lube

Microfiber Buffing Towel



POLISHING/CLEANING:

UDM Swirl Buster Kit w/ Orange, White and Blue Pads (I guess I will use the orange to remove swirls and polish with white after.

Microfiber Towel for buffing

ColourX





WAXING:

UDM Swirl Buster Kit w/ Orange, White and Blue Pads

Microfiber towel for buffing

S100 wax

[citizen arcane]

You`ll have lots of suggestions for waxes and polishes. What I recommend is *lots* of mf for removing them. When doing the family cars I use 6-8 on the polish/glaze step and at least 2 for sealants per car. Also don`t forget products for interior, windows, tires/wheels, and exterior surfaces.

[ktorres1120]

Don`t forget the Digi-cam to take all those beautiful before and after pics for us :)



Edit: This is my first post! :dance

[BigAl3]

you`re going to need a good polish. colorx is an aggressive cleaner wax so it`s not going to do much for correction. as mentioned, have plenty of mf towels both for paint work and dirtier tasks (wheels, door jams, interior, etc)...

[danz24]

Ok it looks like people are telling me to get more microfiber so im i`ll probably get these. Its the microfibers at canadiantire.

Canadian Tire (http://canadiantire.ca/browse/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=84552444329 5885&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474396672469&bmUID=1213064152918&deptid=1408474396672395&ctgrid=1408474396672402&subctgrid=1408474396672469)

Are these good enough?



I also forgot the step to clean my tire

TIRES:

soap/water

dry

Meguiars Gold Class Endurance Tire gel



And BigAl3, is colourX seriously not a good polish/cleaner? I made a post before about it and people had good feedback on it, claiming it is similar to poli-seal.

[BigAl3]

And BigAl3, is colourX seriously not a good polish/cleaner? I made a post before about it and people had good feedback on it, claiming it is similar to poli-seal.



colorx is a great cleaner wax, but for the more serious defects, you`ll have to step up to a more dedicated polish...

[Asad_A203]

I would say add these:



Waffle Weave Towel

2-3 Grout Sponges for the lower body panels and tirewells/tires

More MF Towels (probably 10-15) ***DONT GET THE ONES FROM CRAPPY TIRE; THEY ARE CRAPPY; the difference between my eshine ones and Crappy Tire is huge

Grit Guard

Poor Boys SSR 2.5 -> compounding

Poor Boys SSR 1.0 -> finishing

Low profile orange pads (not sure if eshine carries these; well the 5.5 variety; makes compounding on the UDM much quicker)

Optimum No Rinse * not really necessary and probably shouldn`t replace Gold Class but you can also use this as a no rinse car wash in winter, a clay lube (dump the Ricardo), an APC and a Quick Detailer; overall a very economical product for the price

Meguiars Tire Shine Endurance

Aerospace 303 Protectant



Halogen Lights (on sale at crappy tire)





One other thing to note is the durability from S100/P21S Concours is not that great; I would top it over a product like Klasse AIO or Klasse SG.

[SOCALEXO]

You can save a few bucks by using water with a few drops of your meguire`s car wash in a spray bottle. Works for me...........that will leave you more money for MFs LOL.

[danz24]

I have read all the responses and will add more products to my arsenal, but first here is a link to my post with pics of my car

http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/107795-new-guy-his-first-post-now-judge-me.html#post1133074



What polish/cleaner would your recommend from the pics observed? Since im buying from eshine would the "Einszett Intensive Paste `Pasta Intensiv" and "Einszett High Gloss Polish `Hochglanz Politur`" be an excellent choice for my application for removing the swirls and polishing? If it were me I would stick to a cleaner/polisher in one but im still new so noob<experienced peoples opinion.



Also what 3 pads should I get for my UDM??? The pics of my car are from the link.^





And ASAD, why should I drop the riccardo clay? I asked eshine which clay to purchase and their response was that riccardo was the best they carry. I also wanted the S100 wax because I hear its a good product, im still considering if I should purchase a sealant to make it last longer but I already have so many steps in cleaning my car, it might turn into work not fun. And I dont get why you recommended the halogen lights, is this a joke?





Yes for sure i`ll be buying more microfiber towels

[Accumulator]

..

What polish/cleaner would your recommend from the pics observed? Since im buying from eshine would the "Einszett Intensive Paste `Pasta Intensiv" and "Einszett High Gloss Polish `Hochglanz Politur`" be an excellent choice for my application for removing the swirls and polishing? If it were me I would stick to a cleaner/polisher in one but im still new so noob<experienced peoples opinion...





You have to be a little careful with the Pasta Intensiv and for your situation I don`t think you`d reap all the potential benefits from the High Gloss.



While *I* love those two 1Z polishes, in your case I`d go with their Paint Polish and the Metallic Polish with Wax from the 1Z consumer line. These are effective and are absolutely as user-friendly as such products get.



I can honestly say that IMO "if you have to ask about polishes, you should use the 1Z consumer line". Period. While I use/like polishes and compounds from a whole lot of manufacturers, this 1Z recommendation is a complete no-brainer.

[ichixban]

Think ASAD was referring to the Riccardo clay LUBE not the clay itself. ONR dilluted to clay lube strength will last you longer than the brand name lube and will save you money in the long run.

[danz24]

O ic, I was avoiding the ONR thing because Im a bit confused on what that is.



Accumulator why should I avoid the 1z products mentioned? I did a search and the only "caution" I found was to make sure I applied them at a low speed. Are these products not good enough for my car?



Im soo close to making my big purchase, hopefully I get everything right

[imported_User Name]

More MF towels... 100% (can never have too many).



Clay is clay as far as I`m concerned (all things being equal). I happen to prefer "Clay Magic" not because I necessarily think it does a better job than anything else, but because I think it is the perfect marriage between size and maliability.



Also, don`t be afraid to head over to good old Canadian Tire and get some OTC products. Last time I was in Canada I was VERY impressed by what I found (although the prices were really high).

[Todd@RUPES]

It depends how serious you want to get... I like to have a variety of everything to cover all situations... A small sample of what we generally carry. You said "serious"



Wash Supplies...



Several quality car soaps (We carry Z7, ONR, 1Z Pearls, amognst others)

2 to 3 buckets with grit guards

Several lambs skin wash bits

Different boars hair brushes

CR Spotless Water De-Ionizer

Leaf Blower

High quality waffle weave and plush microfibers

Tire brush and quality tire cleaner (I like Emmin Fabrick Tire Cleaner)

Several Wheel Cleaners (P21s Wheel Gel, Megs Wheel Brightner)

Various wheel brushes (swissvax`s, EZ Detail, others)

Various brushes for wheel arches etc

Quality APC`s (I like Meguiars)

Bug Tar remover (Surf City)

High strength wash (P21s Total Body Wash)

Q-Tips

High Quality QD`s (Z6, Z8, FK1 425, Meguiars UQD, Pinnacle Crystal Mist)

Tire Dressings (Optimum, Meguiars Hotshine, Cleak Kote, Z16)



Paint Correction.



Rotary (I prefer Makita`s 9227)



Paint Gauge

Lots of Pads in both regular and small size with various backing plates...

Compounds (Meguiars M105, M95, M84; 3M Extra Cut; Presta Strada 1000)

Meduim Polishes (Meguiars M83, M80; Menzerna PO91, P083, 114E; Optimum Polish, 1Z Intesive)

Final Polishes (Meguiars M09; Menzerna PO85u, PO85rd, PO87mc, PO106ff/fa; Zaino Z-PC, 3M Ultra Fina-SE)

Glazes (Clear Kote RMG, Meguiars #07, Meguiars #03-HD Cleanse, XMT Finishing Glaze, DWG)

Also 3M 1500 and 2000 grit sand papers and Meguiars UniGrit 2500 and 3000 grit.



I`m tired of typing but it depends on how serious you are willing to get...

[danz24]

Ok I see how ambiguous the "Serious" term is. The purpose of this thread is to see my technique/products and see if I should change things around or if my order is good the way it is.



So far the changes I will make are order more Microfiber Towels, claybar, and either ONR or lube for the clay.



The only thing stopping me from finalizing everything is to find what I should get to fix swirls and polish which are the "Einszett Pasta Intensiv" and "Einszett High Gloss Polish `Hochglanz Politur`". If I get swirl remover/polish products right I think I should be good to go. Im starting to get tired or researching...



The only canadiantire product I was thinking of getting atm was the microfiber towels, but I hear they are junk...