Help a semi-newbie with some questions.

[digital]

Ive been into detailing for about 6 months now, but i still have a lot of questions about the techniques and products that I use. Ive tried the search feature for some questions, but could not get an answer for all.



First, tell me how I can refine my routine.

(1)rinse the car off

(2)wash with meguiars hi-tech, dry with waffle weave MF towel

(3)claybar if needed

(4)polish with porter cable, wiping each section as I am done. Remove with terry towels (should I be using MF?)

(5)carnuba wax with a pad, wiping off the wax once I am done with the entire car. Remove with Terry cloth towels

(6)final inspection



What am I doing wrong or what Am I not doing that I should be?



Questions:

1. What kind of pad should I be using when polishing with my porter. Currently I am trying to restore two cars with heavy swirls. Can anyone tell me the technique for removing heavy swirls, and recommened products (and where I can get it) for removing heavy swirls.



2. can anyone recommend a good claybar to use? I ran out of the meguiars, and I felt as if it did not remove all the contaminents.



3. should i invest in a power washer?



4. I am thinking of switching from Meguiars prodcuts. I heard many great things about S100 wax. Where can I purchase S100 wax online? What wash, polish, etc. etc. should accompany s100 and where can I get it?



5. How often should I replace my MF towels? Where can I get MF wash mitts? should i be using MF or Sheepskin for wash mitts?



6. How do I know when wax hazes? I usually just wax the entire car then remove it, often the wax is very hard to take off. also, with polish, is it a apply and immediatley remove deal? or do I have to wait?



7. How often should I polish? I heard about once a year? how often should I wax? once a month?



8. should I be polishing/waxing all the parts of the car (lower front and back fascia?)



9. I think that some of my cars was not buffed right when it was repainted. In low/dim light I can see "waves" on the hood. I cannot really describe this but the light reflects off the hood in waves...Is there something wrong/can I fix this?





Thanks for the help

[digital]

here is a picture of one of the cars Im currently working with:

[Magellan498]

Well lemme try and tackle that first question of yours.



Now there are three basic pads for polishing with the PC. (in order of most abrasive to least) There`s the Wool pad, the cutting pad, and the polishing Pad.



To go along with those are a slew of polishes and compounds. Now personally I would start out with Meguiars #1 and a cutting pad. That might get rid of the scratches, but if they are as heavy as you say, you might need Heavy-Cut Cleaner by Meguiars (i forget the #) or a compound. If the swirls look alot better with the #1 and the cutting pad but not quite there, you might want to just try the wool pad. This might induce a little hazing but don`t freak out, go over it with lesser abrasive products untill you get that show car shine.



Hope this helped a bit. Good Luck to ya!

[switerajaya]

welcome digital :wavey

About your routine;

Steps 1-4 are fine, MF work great for removing residue. 100% cotton works well as long as it is truly 100%. Not all labels are truthful. Step 5, you can wait for the wax to haze before wiping off, as you found out though sometimes it can be a PITA to remove. Some products like P21s/S100 are wipe on a panel then wipe off. Although, there was a thread where folks were allowing Souveran to haze before removing. Step 6 is a good QD but since it doesn`t contain wax it won`t be prolonging your wax like some of the QD with wax.

[edit] forgot to say, nice car