JonJeffman
10-12-2011, 01:09 PM
Hi All,
So after reading a ton of info on here, buying my products, and waiting till I had time to detail my car (my first proper detail), I wound up fairly disappointed. So I`m looking for advice on what I did wrong: am I using the wrong product, poor technique, or just have too high expectations? (sorry for the long post, trying to include enough detail for people to comment).
To the non-enthusiast, I`d say my paint would be considered very good. But once you get right up there I started to realize how many little scratches, nicks, chips there actually are. Also, under bright light, you can see lots of swirl marks, but I don`t really know what`s considered `bad` or `mild` swirl.
So my plan for this first detail was to not do anything too aggressive, until I get the hang of it. The plan was:
- wash wheels (P21S wheel gel)
- wash car with sheepskin mitt (P21S shampoo)
- dry (cobra waffle weave)
- clay (Riccardo yellow clay, ONR clay lube)
- Klasse AIO
- Klasse SG
- Natty`s blue paste wax, never got to this step yet
My biggest questions are what should I expect from the washing step, and the claying step? In several spots I had things stuck to the paint (sap, tar) that didn`t require a `baggie test` to feel. I could have used a finger nail to scrape off but figured that might scratch it. So, I scrubbed hard with the wash mitt, to no avail. Figured I`d wait for the clay to get it. But then I could clay it over & over & over, and it would barely reduce the size of the glob but not completely remove it. Even on other areas, where I needed the `baggie test` to feel any grit, claying seemed to do very little. I eventually gave up on it and moved on. I found the AIO removed a lot more tar than claying did. At first I used light pressure as instructed, but I tried using more pressure even to the point where the clay would eventually squish out of shape under the pressure, yet I rarely had any dirt showing up on the yellow clay, and the baggie test wasn`t much better after claying than before.
So: is the Riccardo yellow too mild? Do I need to go over the same spot over & over & over (I watched some youtube examples of claying and I went over it much more than they did). More pressure? And should claying make it feel perfectly smooth with the baggie test? Or am I expecting too much of the clay and I`d need a polishing compound?
My other question is regarding logistics of doing several coats. I got the SG on, but then it`s supposed to wait 24 hrs. Do you usually rewash the car before the next layer? My problem is if I`m at my place with a garage, the city bylaws don`t allow washing on the street. Or I can go to a friend`s in the neighbouring city that doesn`t have that bylaw, but then I don`t have a garage.
Then, after all this work, and I was hoping to get the Natty`s on top of the SG, I got rained on and now have water spots. Do you think ONR as a wash or QD is enough to remove this and prepare it for Natty`s or do I need a full blown wash?
Any advice is hugely appreciated.
So after reading a ton of info on here, buying my products, and waiting till I had time to detail my car (my first proper detail), I wound up fairly disappointed. So I`m looking for advice on what I did wrong: am I using the wrong product, poor technique, or just have too high expectations? (sorry for the long post, trying to include enough detail for people to comment).
To the non-enthusiast, I`d say my paint would be considered very good. But once you get right up there I started to realize how many little scratches, nicks, chips there actually are. Also, under bright light, you can see lots of swirl marks, but I don`t really know what`s considered `bad` or `mild` swirl.
So my plan for this first detail was to not do anything too aggressive, until I get the hang of it. The plan was:
- wash wheels (P21S wheel gel)
- wash car with sheepskin mitt (P21S shampoo)
- dry (cobra waffle weave)
- clay (Riccardo yellow clay, ONR clay lube)
- Klasse AIO
- Klasse SG
- Natty`s blue paste wax, never got to this step yet
My biggest questions are what should I expect from the washing step, and the claying step? In several spots I had things stuck to the paint (sap, tar) that didn`t require a `baggie test` to feel. I could have used a finger nail to scrape off but figured that might scratch it. So, I scrubbed hard with the wash mitt, to no avail. Figured I`d wait for the clay to get it. But then I could clay it over & over & over, and it would barely reduce the size of the glob but not completely remove it. Even on other areas, where I needed the `baggie test` to feel any grit, claying seemed to do very little. I eventually gave up on it and moved on. I found the AIO removed a lot more tar than claying did. At first I used light pressure as instructed, but I tried using more pressure even to the point where the clay would eventually squish out of shape under the pressure, yet I rarely had any dirt showing up on the yellow clay, and the baggie test wasn`t much better after claying than before.
So: is the Riccardo yellow too mild? Do I need to go over the same spot over & over & over (I watched some youtube examples of claying and I went over it much more than they did). More pressure? And should claying make it feel perfectly smooth with the baggie test? Or am I expecting too much of the clay and I`d need a polishing compound?
My other question is regarding logistics of doing several coats. I got the SG on, but then it`s supposed to wait 24 hrs. Do you usually rewash the car before the next layer? My problem is if I`m at my place with a garage, the city bylaws don`t allow washing on the street. Or I can go to a friend`s in the neighbouring city that doesn`t have that bylaw, but then I don`t have a garage.
Then, after all this work, and I was hoping to get the Natty`s on top of the SG, I got rained on and now have water spots. Do you think ONR as a wash or QD is enough to remove this and prepare it for Natty`s or do I need a full blown wash?
Any advice is hugely appreciated.