New Member, first questions and intro

[rrd13]

Where to start. Well I`ve never been into washing cars, let alone detailing. That all changed a few months ago with a divorce and my purchase of my divorce present, a `95 Hellrot M3/2. After lurking here for the last month or so, I`ve been busy double washing my car almost every week (weather permitting) with car soap, not dish soap. At any rate, I finally decided that I needed to wax the car and used Meguiar`s Cleaner Wax. This made a huge difference in the color and shine. My car went from a tomato orange/red to hellrot (almost). Now I`m thinking that I need to strip the car, polish, and then wax to really bring it back. I did rub my hand over the car after a double wash and it felt smooth (but how smooth is smooth?). Yes, I do have swirl marks and they need to go but I`m thinking the major problem is oxidation. So, are my steps to first strip the current wax, polish, and wax?



Thanks,



Tim

[shaf]

Hi Tim, welcome. :) If the car has never been clayed before, it usually could use one. If there`s any feeling of grit or bumps in the paint clay will probably remove them and make the surface feel ultra-smooth.



You don`t really have to de-wax first if you intend to polish. Just do the usual wash, clay, polish and wax routine. I`m not sure how much oxidation you have left to remove, but try searching for that topic to get some ideas of what kind of products you can use for it. Polishes usually tend to deal with both swirls and oxidation at the same time (since they`re abrading away paint) so you don`t have to worry about really treating them separately in my opinion. Hope that helps and don`t forget about the Autopia eBook too.

[imported_BretFraz]

Welcome to Autopia :wavey:



As Brian mentioned, the ebook is a great resource and educational tool. It will help you with not just what products to buy but what planning process you need to employ in order to get the best results. And its full of great tips and tricks.



Check it out here: www.autopia-carcare.com



Its a very worthwhile investment for a newbie detailer. Print it out and read it every night before bed.

[F1Crazy]

If you got good results with Meguiar`s Cleaner Wax wait till you fully detail your car following the process presented in David`s e-book! :D

[rrd13]

Thanks guys, I got the book so I`m ready to clean. I`ll try to get some before and after shots of the M3.

[AMP01]

Lemming,



Welcome to Autopia! Even though I have been detailing my cars for a while now, I still learned alot from this place. The ebook is a great place to start. Again, welcome.



Cheers,

My Black 7 Series (http://www.cardomain.com/id/amp99)