My tentative steps....

[ExplorerXLT95]

For the exterior of my car, I have assembled the following steps/procedures from various threads, David`s articles/responses and his book. I basically want approval of the following steps/procedures. For background purposes, assume that the paint conditon of my dark blue Ford Explorer is about a 5.5-6.0 on a scale of 10 for overall condition(some minor scratches, swirl marks, couple of chips, VERY slight chalkyness to paint). It`s a little long, but here goes.....



Products/Tools:

Terrycloth Applicators

Foam Wax Applicators

Big Blue Drying Towel

MF Towel kit (5)

Eimann Fabrik Powerwash+ (Wash)

Pinnacle Paintwork Cleansing Lotion (Pre-wax Cleaner)

3M Perfect-It Paste (Light Rubbing Compound)

Eagle One Scratch Remover (Scratch Remover)

3M Perfect-It Swirl Mark Remover for Dark Paints (Swirl Remover)

Pinnacle Poly-Clay Kit (Clay Bar and Lubricant)

3M Imperial Hand Glaze (Polish)

Klasse All-In-One (Sealant)

Klasse Sealant Glaze (Glaze)

Pinnacle Souveran (Wax)

Plexus (Headlight/Plastic Cleaner; Aerosol)



Procedures/Steps:

1) Cleaning/Washing: Wash twice with Eimann Fabrik Powerwash + with frequent rinsing and a final free flowing water rinse (take nozzle off of hose and allow water to sheet off; I have pretty hard water); after wash, dry immediately and examine paint by hand finding any defects to be fixed with a clay bar and lubricant to remove the contaminates; go over all of the painted surfaces with Pinnacle Paintwork Cleansing Lotion after defects are repaired using a cotton terrycloth over a foam applicator and a 100% cotton terrycloth towel for removal/buffing



2) Polish/Treat: Examine paint for any heavy scuffs or surface scratches and use Eagle One Scratch Remover where needed; swirl marks and other blemishes can be polished out with 3M Swirl Mark Remover for Dark Cars rubbing back and forth, not side to side or in a circle to avoid swirl marks; go over any areas treated with the Eagle One Scratch Remover or 3M Swirl Mark Remover with 3M Imperial Hand Glaze to restore the full luster of the paint; cover all areas of car with 3M Imperial Hand Glaze



3) Sealing: Use the Klasse All-In-One to seal; wait two hours for the All-In-One to cure and you will begin seeing swirls and imperfections again



4) Glaze: Use the Klasse Sealant Glaze to hide swirls and other paint defects; apply 2-3 coats of the glaze; for application, ensure that you APPLY OUT OF DIRECT SUNLIGHT; when entire coat is applied, take into the sun for 10-15 mins and let it warm, then return it to the shade and buff off excess



5) Waxing: Apply wax with a quality foam applicator and remove/buff with a Miracle Towel; approximately 2-3 coats of Pinnacle Souveran, allowing 2 hours of cure time between each coat





I would like to know if I`m including any self-defeating procedures or duplicate products.....Any input on this would be greatly apprecaited, just try to keep comments/suggestions/questions focused....The more specific the better....I would especially like suggestions on numbers of coats for each step (if applicable) and any application techniques to reduce the amount of "curing" time on any step would be GREATLY appreciated.....Thanks a lot guys, can`t wait to hear from ya...

[imported_BretFraz]

First off you are using very good products. As long as you use them properly then they should work very well for you.



1st step with the washing is fine.



I`d clay the whole truck regardless of how certain areas feel. If its never been clayed before, it needs it.



Then look closely for serious scratches and use the E1 scratch remover on those spots. Do the best you can on them realizing that hand removal of some scratches is an excercise in futility. Follow up those spots with some of the SMR to remove any hazing or swirls created by the scratch remover.



The PPCL is a very mild paint polish; milder than SMR. Since you have some oxidation I think using SMR on the whole truck will be more effective. Your paint should sparkle afterwards.



Do you need to use the PPCL? Maybe, maybe not. My suggestion is to apply some on a small area and evaluate results. If it seems to make a difference then go ahead and do the whole truck. But I think it might be a wasted step because......



AIO has a mild polish in it as well. So the PPCL and the AIO are self-defeating. So perhaps a side-by-side experiment is in order. I`ll bet you will not be able to tell the diff between the AIO and PPCL.



Skip the IHG altogether. Glazes are fine if you are following up with carnauba but since you are using Klasse (an acrylic sealant) the IHG will prevent the Klasse from bonding.



If you haven`t seen it, do a search for JIMWH`s Klasse application procedure. It will help you big time.



Seek out the serious Klasse users and get their input on when to top with carnauba. I know lots of them do it but timing is an issue, IIRC.



Sounds like a helluva lot of work. I hope you take some pics of the truck so we can all see before and after`s. Good luck.

[ExplorerXLT95]

Thanks a lot for your input, bretfraz....Anybody else??

[imported_Intermezzo]

BretFraz`s advice is very sound. I don`t think there is much I could add to it except...



The MF towel kit is fine, except you`re definitely going to need more MF towels for buffing. Don`t use the same towel you used to remove Scratch Remover for Klasse & Wax removal.

[ExplorerXLT95]

Skip the IHG altogether. Glazes are fine if you are following up with carnauba but since you are using Klasse (an acrylic sealant) the IHG will prevent the Klasse from bonding.



Isn`t Pinnacle Souveran a carnuaba??? I was planning on following one of David`s articles on this topic where he suggests AIO, SG and then Souveran. Is that not a good idea?? He also suggests that before the class you should use the IHG....



I`ve *AGAIN* called his attention to the thread, and hopefully he`ll have some input on the topic....



Oh and I realize that Intermezzo...Just listed that from the copy/paste I did on my list.



Comments/questions/concerns/rants/suggestions???????

[imported_Tony]

I agree with Bretfraz. Now ask about removing swirls by hand.

[imported_Intermezzo]

Originally posted by ExplorerXLT95

He also suggests that before the class you should use the IHG....





Explorer, which article are you looking at? "The Perfect Shine?" I just re-read that article and there is no mention of 3M`s IHG anywhere. Are you reading it from the Autopia Guide to Detailing? It just says to use AIO after prepping your paint with clay and PPCL.

[shaf]

Personally I`d do some of the middle steps in reverse order:



-clay

-SMR

-PPCL

-Klasse last



Basically you clay to get the big junk and grit off, then SMR to remove any scratches this may have left (or light rubbing cpd before SMR), then PPCL to finally remove any oils and fillers and to finely polish it (some cleaners have mild polish, don`t know about PPCL).



As mentioned, skip the IHG because it`s full of oils and is meant to be used prior to a conventional wax, but not sealants. Before the Klasse you want the surface as clean and bare as possible.

[ExplorerXLT95]

After using the clay bar and the Paintwork Cleansing Lotion, the paint will literally squeak. You will also be able to see all of the paint defects. It’s time to get out the polish and treat each area of damaged paint. If I find heavy scuffs or surface scratches that I can feel with my fingernail, I repair these areas with Eagle One Scratch Remover. Swirl marks and other minor blemishes I polish out using 3M Imperial Hand Glaze (it’s a polish, not a glaze) or Meguiar’s Professional Hand Polish. I also use one of these polishes to go over any area where I used Eagle One Scratch Remover to restore the full luster of the paint.



That paragraph was taken from David`s article entitled "The Perfect Shine" here on the forums. I hope David can get to it as he just let me know that he`s going to be on the road this week. Keep the comments/suggestions coming guys....

[imported_BretFraz]

Using the glaze is fine as long as you top it with carnauba. The problem you`ll run into here is that you will be using a polymer sealant between the glaze step and the carnauba step. The sealant will not bond to a glazed surface.



I suggested skipping the glaze step completely if you were planning to use the Klasse. If that`s not correct and you are planning to go from glaze to carnauba, please disregard my comment.



For any polymer sealant to bond properly you need a perfectly clean surface free of oils and fillers. IHG is all oils and fillers. SMR has some to but is aggressive enough to remove the swirls where IHG only hides them.



So the proper thing to do is ensure the surface is clean prior to sealing. You`ll have to wash off the IHG, negating all the work you did.



Please don`t fall into the common newbie trap of focusing on the products instead of the process. Detailing is a results-driven activity. The products are interchangable in many ways. As long as you have a well-defined process the product choices are clear.

[ExplorerXLT95]

This was taken from another thread....




Originally posted by DavidB

As far as the AIO being counter productive to IHG, I don`t believe that is true (and I have the paint to prove it). The oils have two purposes. The first and most important purpose is to act as a lubricant to the polishing process. If you use the products with a foam pad (by hand or PC), the lubrication prevents the creation of more swirls while the fine polish is doing its job. The second purpose is filling, which actually has little value at all. The fact that AIO removes the oils is a good thing... it cleans the surface for better bonding of the Klasse acrylic.



That`s my story, and I`m sticking to it!



I understand that this quote is discussing the reason that AIO is not counterproductive to IHG, but the last sentence says that AIO removes oils and provides a better bonding surface for the acrylic (Klasse SG). In one of his articles, David states this as well:




Originally posted by DavidB

When you’re finished sealing, you’ll be looking at a beautiful finish. Your first thought will be “hey, the car looks awesome… I must be doneâ€�. Not so fast, bucko! In about two hours, after the Klasse All-In-One has had a chance to cure, you’ll begin seeing swirls and other imperfections come to the surface. Klasse All-In-One is so thin it can’t fill the micro, hair-line surface scratches. To hide these imperfections, you must use a glaze. I like the companion to Klasse All-In-One, called Klasse Sealant Glaze.



You can apply 2-3 layers of Klasse Sealant Glaze as necessary to hide the swirls in your paint. This is the most effective product I’ve found for troubled black and dark blue cars.



You’re almost there. The final step, the literal icing on the cake, is the waxing. Many will ask “after sealing and glazing, why wax?� The answer lies in the richness of color, depth and clarity that only a high quality carnauba wax can bring out on a polished surface.



For the wax job I reach for only two products: Blitz Wax or Pinnacle Souveran.





Hopefully this will clear things up a bit and explain why I`m stating the process that I did. Does this make sense?? Let me know guys....Keep the comments/suggestions/rants/etc coming....

[imported_Intermezzo]

ExplorerXLT,



I remember that thread and I posted one or two messages on it as well. I use a product similar to IHG (called Meguiar`s Hand Polish) and they both have very mild cutting ability. In fact, those products have the lowest amount of cleaning or cutting power among all the polishes on the market. I follow MHP up with a carnauba wax (no Klasse) the way BretFraz suggests above. However, if I WERE to use Klasse on my car, I probably wouldn`t use any glaze at all prior to Klasse. But that is just me. I guess my point is that there is no one single correct way to detail your car. If David says he gets better results using IHG, then I believe him because he has about 30 more years of detailing experience than I do. I think AIO is mild enough of a polish to not require any extra lubricating oils from IHG, but then again I haven`t tried DavidB`s suggestion so I can`t say for sure whether or not it REALLY is counterproductive to use IHG before AIO.



If you are going to treat your entire with with 3M SMR (which also contains some oils and fillers), then perhaps that alone might provide the lubricating effect that David is talking about.

[ExplorerXLT95]

Alright, I`ve slightly revised my order.....check it...



1) Dawn wash

2) Eimann Fabrik Powerwash+ wash (x2)

3) PolyClay (whole car, it needs it)

4) Paintwork Cleansing Lotion (whole car)

5) Eagle One Scratch Remover (for any visible scratches)

6) 3M Swirl Mark Remover for Dark Cars (for any visible swirl marked areas)

7) 3M Imperial Hand Glaze (over all areas; SMRed and EOSRed areas too)

8) Klasse All-In-One (2-3, not buffing off until last coat; little residue should remain)

9) Klasse Sealant Glaze (2-3; allow 20 mins between application and buff/removal)

10) Pinnacle Souveran (2-3 coats; approx 2 hours of cure time between coats)



Any better ideas on cure times for AIO/SG/Souveran???? How`s this sound?? I`m assuming the majority of my time will be spent on the Scratch Remover, Swirl Mark Remover, AIO, SG and Souveran steps.....Any ideas on how to cut time down would be helpful (I am doing it by hand, not PC).....



PS: I will be doing a quarter-panel by quarter-panel pic post of the progress. Each quarter-panel will have a before/during/after picture (although during may be elminated due to time/personal constraints). That`s 33 pics total (22 if just before/after). 3 for each of the 11 body panels. Stay tuned kids!

[imported_StyleTEG]

Looks pretty good, the only things I notice are






1) Dawn wash

2) Eimann Fabrik Powerwash+ wash (x2)





Not sure why you need a dawn wash, then two more washes with Eimann? The should be clean after the first wash.






6) 3M Swirl Mark Remover for Dark Cars (for any visible swirl marked areas)

7) 3M Imperial Hand Glaze (over all areas; SMRed and EOSRed areas too)

8) Klasse All-In-One (2-3, not buffing off until last coat; little residue should remain)





Using IHG before AIO is pretty much a wasted step. The AIO is going to remove all the IHG, and IHG will have little to no effect on your paint. IHG isn`t very abbrasive at all (about as abrasive as Z2 from DETAILKING`s test), it is mainly used to hide swirls and provide a glossy look by coating the paint in oils. Those oils will be removed by the AIO. You should be fine going from SMR to AIO.

[ExplorerXLT95]

Originally posted by StyleTEG

Not sure why you need a dawn wash, then two more washes with Eimann? The should be clean after the first wash.



I`m a neat freak?? :rolleyes: I feel like maybe it will just be THAT MUCH CLEANER and ready for the full overhaul that I intend if I do that. I mean is it a COMPLETELY wasted step??




Originally posted by StyleTEG

Using IHG before AIO is pretty much a wasted step. The AIO is going to remove all the IHG, and IHG will have little to no effect on your paint. IHG isn`t very abbrasive at all (about as abrasive as Z2 from DETAILKING`s test), it is mainly used to hide swirls and provide a glossy look by coating the paint in oils. Those oils will be removed by the AIO. You should be fine going from SMR to AIO.



This was in the thread earlier I think, but here`s a quote from DavidB.


Originally posted by DavidB

As far as the AIO being counter productive to IHG, I don`t believe that is true (and I have the paint to prove it). The oils have two purposes. The first and most important purpose is to act as a lubricant to the polishing process. If you use the products with a foam pad (by hand or PC), the lubrication prevents the creation of more swirls while the fine polish is doing its job. The second purpose is filling, which actually has little value at all. The fact that AIO removes the oils is a good thing... it cleans the surface for better bonding of the Klasse acrylic.



That`s my story, and I`m sticking to it!



Other than these two minor issues, everyone think this is a good plan of attack???