View Full Version : Help a newbie out.
SiBeau
10-25-2003, 04:38 PM
I purchased my first new car in June of this year and it`s gotten horribly dirty since then. I have washed it a few times but I think it`s time for a good detailing. I`ve never really detailed a car before so I have no clue where to start. I want to do the whole shabang. I`ve read so many posts here on the forum and so many articles but I`m still lost. I stopped at Wal-mart earlier and purchased a few things.
1. Meguiar`s Deep Crystal Car Wash
2. Meguiars`s Gold Class Clear Coat Liquid Car Wax.
3. Clay Magic Clay Bar
4. Sheep Skin Mitt
What else should I buy and what order should I do things in? I am hearing I should use Dawn to remove the crappy wax job the dealership applied and that I`ll also need a polish. Please help!
Here`s a pic of the car the day I picked it up.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid67/p0e9479867d7adc403ac9041aa927b014/fbd862a2.jpg
NXT4now
10-25-2003, 04:57 PM
If it`s really dirty, rinse the car well to loosen the dirt before you start shampooing the car to prevent scratching. After washing, run your hands through the paint to see if you feel any rough spots; if you do--go ahead clay bar it (remember to use lots of lubricant). After you are done, you are ready to apply the GC wax. GC has a mild cleaner built in so it will take care of the old wax built-up. Use 100% terry cotton cloth or even better microfiber towel to remove and buff the wax. GC wax works really well on black so you may not need a polish/glaze.
The above procedure is for newbies... Do read and go through the learn sections and discover what the Autopians are doing!
acl99
10-25-2003, 04:59 PM
if you can get some more pics of the paint up close it will give us a better idea of the condition the paint is in, also describe the condition of the paint, is it lightly swirled? heavy? does it have alot of scratches? how deep are the scratches? Are you willing to invest in a PC? Are you looking for products you can purchase local or do you plan on ordering products from the internet? stuff l ike that. the more info you give us, the more detailed responses you will get. Btw welcome to autopia :wavey
SiBeau
10-25-2003, 05:03 PM
Wow, thanks to everyone for replying so quickly. I`ll take some better pics tomorrow morning of the paint up close. I dont think it`s too badly swirled. The wax job is horrible though, you can actually see the wax sitting on top of the paint and it`s all swirled and white. I`ve been browsing the articles but they dont give me a product names so I`m sort of lost on what they`re talking about. The only reason I bought stuff from wal-mart was because a car meet is coming up next weekend and I wanted to at least clean it up nice. I will purchase whatever it takes to get a perfect look.
chris0626
10-25-2003, 05:47 PM
More important than products is the processes you`ll use. For starters, have you read the article about washing and drying the car? That`s the first cause of scratches/swirls.
acl99
10-25-2003, 05:51 PM
take the pics after you strip the wax. 1 dawn wash wont hurt your car and it will remove any fillers along with the wax that the dealer might have used. After we see the pics im sure the pros here will give you a plan of attack. Also i didnt see any mention of the towels your using, if there not microfiber i would place an order for a few stacks of MF towels tonight, there a very worthwhile investment.
andriver
10-25-2003, 05:55 PM
Buy two buckets for the soap and rinse water. Nice microfiber towels are also desirable.
Hello SiBeau, welcome. :welcome
Personally I wouldn`t bother giving us any close-up pictures. Even carefully taken ones don`t translate well by computer and tell us very much. This is very much an in-person assessment unless there is something very wrong! Try looking at some other cars carefully in bright lighting and some brand new or well-detailed cars, and you can at least get a feel if your paint is badly swirled or not. Besides, the default course of action is to start off mildly, and then get more aggressive as required to fix the problem.
It sounds like you`re off to a good start though, with the purchase of clay and a sheepskin wash mitt. You can end up getting seriously deep into this thing, and at some point you have to set some limits on what you`re going to buy. Except for the important issue of applicators and towels, you already have some of the basic cornerstone products for "good" care for your paint. You will probably want a polish of some kind to both remove the old wax (if any) and to get rid of those swirls. Which one is a more lengthy issue of course, since preparation is one of the more important steps.
Like Lynn said, washing is critical, so be sure to read up on that issue.