Newbie question (sorry if this will aggravate the experts)

[sprite113]

Hi everyone,



I have been reading a lot of articles relating to detailing and this weekend, I am planning on giving the car a complete wash & wax to prepare for the winter. Pls let me know if these steps will be adequate for me. These will all be done by hand. Thanks in advance.



I plan to do the following:

1) wash with Meguairs GC wash

2) Clay car with Clay Magic

3) rinse

4) I believe Ihave the 3M polish or something like that

5) Apply Meg Hi Tech wax

7) Finish off with Meg quick detailer spray

8) What applicator pads & towels can i pick up from autozone for the time being..



Also - what type of pads should i use for polishing (Terry or foam)



Is it correct to use the yellow foams for waxing?



Finally - pls let me know what motion I should be using to apply polish & wax (straight line vs circular).



Thanks a lot..

[raymond_ho2002]

3M polish? What kind? Imperial Hand Glaze? IHG is fine by hand.. Use anything more abrasive and you`re going to wish you hadn`t. =P The 3M swirl removers would leave a lot of hazing unless you really work them in well.



Foam pads are good for waxing. Use terry for more abrasive polishing action; foam will apply the product with less abrasion.



The motion of application shouldn`t matter as long as your surface is clean. I personally tend to do wide arcs moving top down, like if I were to crayon in a big sheet of paper, pivoting at my elbow.

[sprite113]

I use the 3M Perfect-Itâ„¢ Foam Polishing Pad Glaze Swirlmark Remover, PN, is this bad?

[imported_indy]

I would probably do another full wash after the clay

to make sure to remove all the residue from your clay

process.



Also the QD would be fine after the wax has hardened.

(at least overnight) If you tried to use it immediatly after

applying the wax, I think it might remove alot of it.



When applying the wax use a foam pad (the one that

came with is fine) in straight lines. Applying this wax in

very thin coats and waiting about 15min to buff makes

it go much easier.

[2wheelsx2]

If you are looking for a polish to use by hand, you might try Meguiar`s #81, Swirl Free polish, or #9 2.0, Swirl Mark Remover. Those are easier to use by hand than anything else, of all the products I have tried.



Don`t be worried about posting on here about beginner questions, AU is the right place for it.



I personally don`t think you need to wash after claying, if you`re going to polish the whole car, but it couldn`t hurt, if that`s what you`re concerned about.



To give the car the wet look that you might want, you may want to invest in some #82, Meguiar`s Hand Polish under the #26.

[sprite113]

2wheelsx2 - thanks for the response...I do plan on using the 3M SMR for dark color cars as every onthe forum seem to agree that it have very light abrasives (although I might just run out ot pick up the meguiars SMR since it might be easier to work with by hand)



What i am confused about is the following:

After using the 3M SMR or the Meg SMR, do I have to wash the car again before applying the Meguiars #26??



Finally, If I wanted to use a glaze, what is a good product to use and do I use after rinsing from the SMR and apply before using the wax or is it supposed to be used after the wax..



Thanks again everyone.. (i am planning to do all this starting @ 7am this saturday)



;)

[2wheelsx2]

I used 3M SMR for dark cars by hand prior to getting the PC and DACP, and it worked fine. Plan on having sore arms and shoulders. :) It`ll work fine though.



No need to wash after SMR. It has fillers which will help make the car look perfect. #82 (Hand Polish) is a glaze. Another good one is Mother`s Sealer and Glaze. They can go right on top of the SMR under the #26. If you don`t want to glaze, #26 on top of SMR works great too.

[chris0626]

sprite113, since you have all week, you might want to read the articles located in the "Learn" icon (available at the top of the page) and the Autopia Guide to Detailing (from the homepage) so you`ll really understand not just the products, but (more importantly) the processes that are critical to a great finish. :bigups



Me, I`ve never experienced residue after claying, so I don`t wash afterwards. But that`s just me.

[sprite113]

2wheelsx2-can you show me a pic of the Meg#82. I checked out the acronymns sheet and it didn`t really say `hand plosih` am i missing something??I went to the meg site and noticed in the Professional line that there is a Body shop Professional hand polish; is this the product???

[2wheelsx2]

Dang, sorry Sprite. Quoted you the wrong number. It`s #81. That`s right, they are the pro line. It`s the pro equivalent of #7. But reportedly, less finicky to use. Scottwax uses it a lot. #82 was the Swirl Free Polish, which is the pro version of #9.



Sorry about the confusion.



So in summary, #81 - Professional Hand Polish, is the one you would want to use as a glaze.