Newb here. How to complete a general detail.

[89gt-stanger]

Hey guys. I am basically the average weekend warrior. I wash the car weekly, vacuum etc. I have a few problems though. Maybe ya`ll can help me out with them. My car is a 2003 Sonic Blue mustang GT.



WASH: The way I clean my car is the Mr. Clean sprayer, with their soap, and a Meguiars X3002 microfiber wash mitt.



INTERIOR: I vacuum all the carpet, underneath seat etc. I just cant get the "new" car smell to come back. What can I use to get a great smell?



WAX: I have waxed the car about 5 months ago with Meguiars NXT wax. Is this a good wax?



BUFF: I have tried to buff the car before, but I dont think I need to. I used M105, and I saw the paint cleaned up, but it wasn`t glossy. How do I get a nice gloss?



I have a Makita Rotary, so how can I utilize this tool to make it work for me. I know it`s a lot of ?`s, but can ya`ll help me? I`ll try ot get photos up when I get it cleaned.



Thanks!

[Accumulator]

..

INTERIOR: I vacuum all the carpet, underneath seat etc. I just cant get the "new" car smell to come back. What can I use to get a great smell?



When the new car smell is gone, it`s gone. IMO nothing beats the interior simply smelling *clean*, so I`d clean it better (vacuuming is just the first step to cleaning an interior) and, once everything is clean, use something with a light pleasant smell like Meg`s Interior Quick Detailer. But it`s really all about having things perfectly clean (which can`t be that hard as I manage it even with the dog-haulers, which don`t smell like dogs). From products like Griot`s Interior Cleaner to steamers and carpet extractors, you gotta get all the dirt/soiling cleaned up.




WAX: I have waxed the car about 5 months ago with Meguiars NXT wax. Is this a good wax?



NXT is OK, but I`d apply it a lot more often than that.




BUFF: I have tried to buff the car before, but I dont think I need to. I used M105, and I saw the paint cleaned up, but it wasn`t glossy. How do I get a nice gloss?



M105 is an aggressive product that needs to be followed by a much less aggressive one. It`s like using gradually finer grits of sandpaper to sand a piece of wood. Try something like their #80.




I have a Makita Rotary, so how can I utilize this tool to make it work for me.



Rotaries are pretty easy to use for major correction, but somewhat (or *very*) tricky to use for final finishing. Check out the numerous threads here on how to use them...this is not something you`ll master in the first six (or sixteen) hours and it`s too involved a subject to answer succinctly.



For a quick intro, see if you can find the Meguiar`s video on how to correct paint with a rotary.



Oh, and Welcome to Autopia! Sorry if I didn`t answer things as well as you might`ve liked (especially that part about the rotary), but some of these topics are a bit more complicated that one might expect.

[89gt-stanger]

After deep cleaning the car, should I wax>polish, or polish>wax?



Should I apply wax by hand, or rotary?



With the #80, which pad should I use? Does the #80 dust?



Thanks.

[Accumulator]

After deep cleaning the car, should I wax>polish, or polish>wax?



Polish then wax.




Should I apply wax by hand, or rotary?



By hand. Unless you`re the most naturally skilled rotary user in history you probably shouldn`t plan to use the rotary for the final polishing either. It`s very likely that you`ll be left with rotary-holograms, even with something mild (and prone to concealing) like the Meg`s stuff.




With the #80, which pad should I use? Does the #80 dust?



It doesn`t dust that badly unless you use way too much product. #80 works best with a polishing pad; it`s too mild for a cutting pad and it`s too heavy a product to work well with a finishing pad (IMO).

[89gt-stanger]

Polish then wax.





By hand. Unless you`re the most naturally skilled rotary user in history you probably shouldn`t plan to use the rotary for the final polishing either. It`s very likely that you`ll be left with rotary-holograms, even with something mild (and prone to concealing) like the Meg`s stuff.







It doesn`t dust that badly unless you use way too much product. #80 works best with a polishing pad; it`s too mild for a cutting pad and it`s too heavy a product to work well with a finishing pad (IMO).



When you say final polish, you mean there is another polish after #80? How many different polishes do you use in what order? I just have a little bit of swirling, looks like spiderwebs.



Can you give me a list of what I`ll need? What pads with what polish, in what order, if you can?



Thanks a lot!

[JustinL67]

Now, I`m a newb too, but if you don`t know which order to polish or wax in, a rotary may be asking for trouble. I`m not trying to be a **** but it`s my understanding that a rotary will do more damage than good if you don`t know what you are doing.

[89gt-stanger]

Now, I`m a newb too, but if you don`t know which order to polish or wax in, a rotary may be asking for trouble. I`m not trying to be a **** but it`s my understanding that a rotary will do more damage than good if you don`t know what you are doing.



Actually, I do know how to use the rotary. I used it(makita) for 2 years striaight in wood working. I have used it a few times with m105 on heavily oxidized paint.



The thing that bothers me about detailing is, that there is so many different polishes, waxes, sealents(sp?) that I am confused.

[Accumulator]

When you say final polish, you mean there is another polish after #80? How many different polishes do you use in what order? I just have a little bit of swirling, looks like spiderwebs.



Can you give me a list of what I`ll need? What pads with what polish, in what order, if you can?



..Actually, I do know how to use the rotary. I used it(makita) for 2 years striaight in wood working. I have used it a few times with m105 on heavily oxidized paint.





The general idea is to use something like the M105 (IF, big "if", you need something that aggressive) with either a cutting or a polishing pad. Then something milder with a polishing pad. You might need an intermediate step in-between, I dunno for sure as I`ve never used M105 (I don`t really care for Meguiar`s polishes/compounds all that much). You might oughta search out some of the threads where people discuss M105 in detail.



I wonder if you really need the M105...maybe #83 would be aggressive enough :nixweiss



The final polishing can usually be done with the #80 on a polishing pad, but if you do it with the rotary you`re almost certainly gonna get holograms.



#80 is pretty gentle, so it almost always works OK as a final polish when used with a polishing pad. If you try to make it act even milder by using it with a finishing pad it can gum the pad up IME. And if you try to make it act more aggressive by using it with a cutting pad it doesn`t really work well either.



But IIRC a lot of people like using M105 and then 3M UltraFina Swirl Eliminator. Again, check out the threads with info on the combos you`re considering (I`m more of a 1Z and 3M PI-III user so I can only be of so much help with stuff I`m not familiar with).



Doing anything other than the initial work with a rotary takes a lot of experience (working on cars, not woodwork ;) ) and skill. I`ve used a rotary for years and I still can`t finish out 100% with it. Even Mike Phillips of Meguiar`s finishes with a random orbital and he`s been using a rotary professionally for decades. Don`t underestimate how hard this is ;)



Interesting that you used the Makita in workworking. One of the most popular random orbital polishers is the Porter Cable, which was originally designed as a finishing sander for woodworkers. I`ve used various sanders when finishing wood, but I never used a rotary for that.

[89gt-stanger]

The general idea is to use something like the M105 (IF, big "if", you need something that aggressive) with either a cutting or a polishing pad. Then something milder with a polishing pad. You might need an intermediate step in-between, I dunno for sure as I`ve never used M105 (I don`t really care for Meguiar`s polishes/compounds all that much). You might oughta search out some of the threads where people discuss M105 in detail.



I wonder if you really need the M105...maybe #83 would be aggressive enough :nixweiss



The final polishing can usually be done with the #80 on a polishing pad, but if you do it with the rotary you`re almost certainly gonna get holograms.



#80 is pretty gentle, so it almost always works OK as a final polish when used with a polishing pad. If you try to make it act even milder by using it with a finishing pad it can gum the pad up IME. And if you try to make it act more aggressive by using it with a cutting pad it doesn`t really work well either.



But IIRC a lot of people like using M105 and then 3M UltraFina Swirl Eliminator. Again, check out the threads with info on the combos you`re considering (I`m more of a 1Z and 3M PI-III user so I can only be of so much help with stuff I`m not familiar with).



Doing anything other than the initial work with a rotary takes a lot of experience (working on cars, not woodwork ;) ) and skill. I`ve used a rotary for years and I still can`t finish out 100% with it. Even Mike Phillips of Meguiar`s finishes with a random orbital and he`s been using a rotary professionally for decades. Don`t underestimate how hard this is ;)



Interesting that you used the Makita in workworking. One of the most popular random orbital polishers is the Porter Cable, which was originally designed as a finishing sander for woodworkers. I`ve used various sanders when finishing wood, but I never used a rotary for that.



I dont think I am going to spend the extra dough to buy a DA quite yet. Which DA would you recommend?



For the heavyduty woodwork, I used the Makita, and have never had a problem. I originally bought a PC, and it took a dive real quick.:bolt

[Accumulator]

Which DA would you recommend?



Either a Flex, a UDM, or a Cyclo.