aznives3
02-04-2009, 11:01 PM
Hey everyone! just joined here, and am very excited about finally getting some detailing supplies and tools to get my cars back to showroom shine!
Ill try to be as thorough as i can about what i`ve got and what im trying to achieve, as well as some ideas for things i`ve already thought of, but would like extra opinion.
Firstly, the cars
Mainly i will be working on my own 2 cars, but my girlfriends car may sneak in to the mix, as well as some friends cars too.
My cars:
1) Suzuka blue (lighter blue) honda S2000
2) 06 atomic blue honda civic (also a "lighter" blue, but not as light as the s2k, but not as dark as the fiji blue civic`s)
3) gf`s car : winning blue mazda 3 (yes i know, lots and lots of blue)
4) my sisters car, is a light green 02 altima (could probably be a good practise car as this one is VERY beat up)
Okay, so with that out of the way, lets get on to the conditions
1) The S2000 is in pretty good condition for an 04, i would rate it light swirls, with 1 significant scratch on the rear 1/4 panel, as well as many rock chips and "pitting" in the bumper/hood that need to be filled. I`ve included a picture of the S2000`s scratch at the end of the post, i tried to capture the look of it. When i run a fingernail over it, it somewhat catches, but very little, doesn`t feel too too deep but im also no expert.
2) The civic is winter driven here in canada, so it does take a beating in the winter. I would rate it not too bad either though, light/moderate swirls, as well as some scratches that could use a buffing. I had a spoiler on the trunk before, and its also left some black oxidation/rusting maybe? that seems quite crusty. Its not imperative to get this off, as i have a CF trunk now, but it wouldn`t hurt. This car also has the 3m film on the hood and bumper, so i will also need some direction if i need to stay away from this area or if it can be detailed as well.
3) The mazda 3 is quite a bit worse than my 2 cars, moderate swirling, and probably moderate scratching as well, nothing out of the ordinary though for a daily driver thats had some neglect from the previous owner.
With the cars out of the way now, ill list some of the products and idea`s i`ve come up with for tackling these projects:
Being a canadian, im most likely going to have to order from eshine.ca, as our $ value and shipping problems are keeping me from ordering stateside. Eshine is definately capable though it looks like of fulfilling my detailing needs, so please, if you are going to reccommend me some products/tools, please make them "canadian" friendly i would say.
here is the "starter set" im thinking of going with:
Polisher tool : Flex XC3401 (decided after reading lots and lots its worth the $ over the PC)
LC 6.5" pads : Since there is a BOGO on these right now, im going to get 6 in total, i`m thinkin 2 orange, 2 white, 1 black, 1 blue (is this overkill? or should i just go with 4 pads or any other comments?)
towels : i`ve got some various MF towels at home already, but nothing high quality enough for buffing, so i`ll go with 4 "cookie monster" towels from eshine for the paint care, the rest of my towel arsenal will be for the other random items, will 4 high quality super fluffly towels be enough per detail?
clay bar: will be going with the yellow riccardo clay bar (do i really need a detailer spray or will it be okay to use car wash soap+water?)
Now on to the good stuff, i based this lineup from the detailersdomain flex intermediate kit, so this is where i`ve got these product choices from.
Menzerna SIP + Menzerna 106FA + 1Z Glanz
Now i`ve gotten alot of comments that this lineup of polishes would be great, but at the same time, im also wondering if theres a more cost effective solution. Ill point out that i wont mind spending more to get the best/easiest to use things, but if theres something comparable out there for a significant savings, im all up for it too. I`m also worried about spending so much on the menzerna products as well since they are large bottles....how long will it actually take me to go through these things?
Anyways, im looking for some help regarding whether or not my choices here, and the package im thinking of starting with is going to get me some results! Is there more cost effective solutions to the menzerna line? how about using 85RD instead of the 106FA (as this is the highest cost menzerna product on eshine).
One more thing to add, the rock chips i`ve encountered on my car, i would obviously like to fix as well. what im thinking of doing is filling the chip in, and using maybe 2000grit sandpaper in order to "level"the blob back down to the paint, and then using the paint correction process in order to get out the scratches, so if reccomending some products, please keep this in mind as well.
Well, i think thats about it that i`ve got to ask, i know its a long post, so i THANK YOU hugely if you take the time to read this and help out a fellow anxious detailer.
PS: if you think my "starter kit" is missing anything that would make life easier (pad cleaner/spur tool?) or where i can go to a wal-mart etc and get something to clean pads with, i`m all ears to some of the tricks of the trade!
Thanks alot guys! hope to hear from you soon!
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff6/aznives3/ac4e219b.jpg
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff6/aznives3/49a3565e.jpg
Ill try to be as thorough as i can about what i`ve got and what im trying to achieve, as well as some ideas for things i`ve already thought of, but would like extra opinion.
Firstly, the cars
Mainly i will be working on my own 2 cars, but my girlfriends car may sneak in to the mix, as well as some friends cars too.
My cars:
1) Suzuka blue (lighter blue) honda S2000
2) 06 atomic blue honda civic (also a "lighter" blue, but not as light as the s2k, but not as dark as the fiji blue civic`s)
3) gf`s car : winning blue mazda 3 (yes i know, lots and lots of blue)
4) my sisters car, is a light green 02 altima (could probably be a good practise car as this one is VERY beat up)
Okay, so with that out of the way, lets get on to the conditions
1) The S2000 is in pretty good condition for an 04, i would rate it light swirls, with 1 significant scratch on the rear 1/4 panel, as well as many rock chips and "pitting" in the bumper/hood that need to be filled. I`ve included a picture of the S2000`s scratch at the end of the post, i tried to capture the look of it. When i run a fingernail over it, it somewhat catches, but very little, doesn`t feel too too deep but im also no expert.
2) The civic is winter driven here in canada, so it does take a beating in the winter. I would rate it not too bad either though, light/moderate swirls, as well as some scratches that could use a buffing. I had a spoiler on the trunk before, and its also left some black oxidation/rusting maybe? that seems quite crusty. Its not imperative to get this off, as i have a CF trunk now, but it wouldn`t hurt. This car also has the 3m film on the hood and bumper, so i will also need some direction if i need to stay away from this area or if it can be detailed as well.
3) The mazda 3 is quite a bit worse than my 2 cars, moderate swirling, and probably moderate scratching as well, nothing out of the ordinary though for a daily driver thats had some neglect from the previous owner.
With the cars out of the way now, ill list some of the products and idea`s i`ve come up with for tackling these projects:
Being a canadian, im most likely going to have to order from eshine.ca, as our $ value and shipping problems are keeping me from ordering stateside. Eshine is definately capable though it looks like of fulfilling my detailing needs, so please, if you are going to reccommend me some products/tools, please make them "canadian" friendly i would say.
here is the "starter set" im thinking of going with:
Polisher tool : Flex XC3401 (decided after reading lots and lots its worth the $ over the PC)
LC 6.5" pads : Since there is a BOGO on these right now, im going to get 6 in total, i`m thinkin 2 orange, 2 white, 1 black, 1 blue (is this overkill? or should i just go with 4 pads or any other comments?)
towels : i`ve got some various MF towels at home already, but nothing high quality enough for buffing, so i`ll go with 4 "cookie monster" towels from eshine for the paint care, the rest of my towel arsenal will be for the other random items, will 4 high quality super fluffly towels be enough per detail?
clay bar: will be going with the yellow riccardo clay bar (do i really need a detailer spray or will it be okay to use car wash soap+water?)
Now on to the good stuff, i based this lineup from the detailersdomain flex intermediate kit, so this is where i`ve got these product choices from.
Menzerna SIP + Menzerna 106FA + 1Z Glanz
Now i`ve gotten alot of comments that this lineup of polishes would be great, but at the same time, im also wondering if theres a more cost effective solution. Ill point out that i wont mind spending more to get the best/easiest to use things, but if theres something comparable out there for a significant savings, im all up for it too. I`m also worried about spending so much on the menzerna products as well since they are large bottles....how long will it actually take me to go through these things?
Anyways, im looking for some help regarding whether or not my choices here, and the package im thinking of starting with is going to get me some results! Is there more cost effective solutions to the menzerna line? how about using 85RD instead of the 106FA (as this is the highest cost menzerna product on eshine).
One more thing to add, the rock chips i`ve encountered on my car, i would obviously like to fix as well. what im thinking of doing is filling the chip in, and using maybe 2000grit sandpaper in order to "level"the blob back down to the paint, and then using the paint correction process in order to get out the scratches, so if reccomending some products, please keep this in mind as well.
Well, i think thats about it that i`ve got to ask, i know its a long post, so i THANK YOU hugely if you take the time to read this and help out a fellow anxious detailer.
PS: if you think my "starter kit" is missing anything that would make life easier (pad cleaner/spur tool?) or where i can go to a wal-mart etc and get something to clean pads with, i`m all ears to some of the tricks of the trade!
Thanks alot guys! hope to hear from you soon!
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff6/aznives3/ac4e219b.jpg
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff6/aznives3/49a3565e.jpg