First Timer Questions

[redundant]

Hey guys, I am about to attempt my first two step on my car and had a few q`s regarding the process. To my eyes, my car (g35 sedan) has some decent swirls and more than a few hard water etches, as seen in this photo

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/8830/img1575cj0.th.jpg (http://img508.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1575cj0.jpg)



Before I received all of my supplies, I did a test run on my car and washed it with Dawn, Clayed with claymagic blue, rewashed with Z7, and sealed with rejex. It looked decent

but I was still so very annoyed at the imperfections in the paint. I did some intensive reading and tried to figure out the best combo. Here is my proposed process:



ONR Wash

Clay w/ OID lube

Optimum Polish on Orange with PC

ISA Wipedown (?)

ZPC (Or pink moose + to save a step?) on White with PC

Pink Moose on black with PC

Optiseal

Carnauba Moose wax



Would I need another dawn wash to rid the car of rejex, or would ONR suffice in the stripping duties? Also, which trim do you tape off during polishing? I have tried to search but that has yielded few if any results. Do I polish the plastic trim in between the windows? And do I tape off the black plastic trim on the bottom of the doors and the plastic around the door handles?? http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/4708/img1577bs5.th.jpg (http://img176.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1577bs5.jpg)



Any help would be greatly appreciated, I have been agonizing for weeks over which products to buy and use =]. Thanks!

[snowskate]

I don`t think ONR will have any `stripping` abilities, you could just wash with Dawn again and/or IPA wipedown.

I think a general rule of thumb is, if the plastic is porous, it could stain (which products you use makes a big difference too, I`ve heard CMW shouldn`t stain trim).

But if you are new to Autopian level detailing, you`ll still gain from the practice of taping a car.



Anyone else want to chime in?

[Accumulator]

redundant- I`d expect the OCP to cut through any Rejex that`s left after the ONR (which won`t remove it) and the clay (which might remove a little).



No need for the IPA between the OCP and the ZPC unless you`re worried about the OCP hiding some imperfections. Dunno how well the OCP/orange will work on that paint, I`d be using 4" pads as larger ones don`t do much correction for me.



You`ll need another, milder abrasive polishing step after the orange pad, so don`t just go to pink moose after the OCP/orange. Do some real polishing with the white pad and something like the ZPC.



I dunno about using Pink Moose before Optiseal, won`t the Optiseal just clean it off? Sorry, I`m no expert on the Pink Moose or the Optiseal :nixweiss



That`s just more products than I`d use...I`d correct it and then seal or wax it.



Some plastic trim responds well to some polishes, but if in doubt tape it off so you don`t have to be extra careful. When the trim does *not* respond well (i.e., the white polish stain issue) it can be a hideous PIA, so err on the side of caution.