Quote:
Originally Posted by
95maxrider
Hi everyone, long time no see!
Welcome back! Since you mentioned me a few times I figured I`d better chime in, maybe something will be useful.
I too really like that color!
From what I`ve read here, I gather Infinity paint trends soft.
Quote:
1. Power wash the car with my puny electric power washer, at something like 1500 PSI. I don`t have a soap foamer, because my washer doesn`t support one as far as I can tell, and most of them out there seem to get pretty poor reviews. Is a soap foamer a necessity these days, or is it just one more thing to do with no real benefits?
FWIW, I use a similar pressure washer and I don`t use a foamer and I don`t have problems with wash-induced marring. BUT hey, that`s just me.
FWIW#2, my wash technique is utterly dependent on the use of a FoamGUN (not a "foamer"). I simply have to use that or I`d do exactly what you did- mar the paint.
Quote:
2. I have an old wool wash mitt, the kind you stick you hand inside. Since I made my washing mistake on the FX, I learned that wool mitts require maintenance, and I have never done any of it, and likely never will..
All I do is make sure it`s clean and I run it through the washing machine with Woolite if it`s not.
The whole thing with any wash medium is that once it gets dirt on/in it, it`s sandpaper.
Quote:
I also learned that Accumulator likes these mitts, but only if you fill them up with the soapy water and lightly wisk them over the paint, letting the suds soak out and keep the surface moist. I have been doing it wrong this whole time, sticking my hand in the mitt and applying pressure. That`s likely the main cause of all the scratches.
Right. BUT...even using it that way, I have to spray foamgun output at the point of wash medium-to-paint contact or I`ll get some marring. Others do OK without such measures, so I don`t think it`s absolutely necessary for everybody, but it sure is for me. IF you wash tiny sections at a time and don`t let the vehicle get too dirty maybe you can get by without the foamgun, but I`d hate to try that.
Quote:
.. I haven`t been using the two bucket method, nor have I been using a grit guard. I do, however, spray the mitt very well with the hose and wring it out before putting it back in the soap bucket. I feel like the hose gets stuff off better than just throwing it in a second bucket of just water, but I`m starting to reconsider that. I plan on buying a grit guard and will use two buckets in the future. Do I need two grit guards, one for the wash and one for the water bucket?
What you`re doing oughta be OK if you do it often enough, but it might be a huge PIA (and those never last long...you get tired of messing with it).
I use/like/recommend GritGuards and Cyclones, but IME they don`t work miracles.
I bet you`re doing areas that are too large, resulting in the mitt getting too dirty before you clean it.
I do like the 2BM, even though (if I do it right!) my Rinse Bucket hardly ever gets dirt in it (thanks to the foamgun/etc.).
Quote:
3. I`ve been using the fine blue Clay Magic clay bars for years now, and don`t know anything else. I have a feeling I`m not as meticulous with it as some people are. I will often smush it into a shape about the size of my palm, and use it over an entire panel before smushing it again. I`ve read that some people will fold it over after going like 6". Manipulating my clay isn`t exactly easy, and can tire out my hands, so reforming it every 6" of travel doesn`t seem especially realistic or productive. How terrible of a detailer am I for only folding it over after each panel?
Heh heh...I won`t gauge you on the "how terrible..", but I myself don`t clay even a 4" area unless I`m planning on a really major correction. Same as with the Wash Media, once the clay gets something abrasive on it, it`s sandpaper.
Q: Do you *need* to clay? It`s sorta become "something everybody does all the time" but that doesn`t mean you need to do it. I only spot-clay most of the time, only doing a full-vehicle claying every so many years (and I don`t mean just two or three, I hardly ever need to do it).
Quote:
4. I usually wash the car again to remove the clay remnants, and then move on to polishing. I have a Flex 3401 and a variety of pads. I think I`m pretty comfortable with this aspect of detailing. For polishes, I use Menzerna Intensive Polish and Final Finish. If I`ve never detailed an older car before, chances are I`ll start with a round of the IP on my harshest pad, and then do a round with the FF on a softer pad. The Flex is great, but boy does it vibrate like a mofo and it makes a ton of unpleasant noise when running at full speed, which is where I usually leave it.
FWIW, I can`t finish out well with my Flex 34014, even on my harder clears. I`d at least turn the speed down for the final work, even though I too generally run my polishers fast.
Quote:
I don`t have time for slower settings!
Heh heh, I`d consider a mindset adjustment ;) Some things just take (a lot) more time than we`d like.
Quote:
5. I finish up with some Klasse Sealant Glaze. Normally I`ll try to do two coats, but I read someone mention that it doesn`t start to get good until you put down 6+ coats or something ridiculous. I don`t have time for that! I also have some Finish Kare 1000P, which I have been using only on wheels. Well, apparently Accumulator strongly recommends the FK1000P over the KSG for a variety of reasons, so now I think I`ll use it instead of the KSG.
I`m gonna give you whiplash if I change my recommendation back to KSG, but if your clear is very soft the KSG will provide more marring protection by far than the FK1000P. But I`m the guy who says that KSG only gets good after 4 layers and that 6 is better and that takes a lot of time.
Note that on the soft/smooth/glossy plastic trim, I still use KSG for the marring protection.
But OH MAN would the FK look better on that paint!
Quote:
... I`m not a pro doing this every day. At most, the cars get a full detail once a year, and infrequent washes in between. I need to increase the frequency of my washing for sure...
I could`ve posted that exact same thing :D And yeah, you should probably wash more often (easy for me to say).
Quote:
..Since I don`t want to deal with the upkeep of a wool mitt, I`ve been considering a MF mitt instead...
I use my wool mitts all the time but only use my MF ones with a RW (and then only after I`ve otherwise cleaned the car first). MF mitts can retain dirt worse than wool and can even be "too gentle", resulting in more pressure being applied to make `em more effective (result = marring).
Quote:
Quality and design are all over the map. Right now, the best one that I *think* is best is this $25 Incredimitt by Microfiber Madness.
If you want a MF mitt that`d be a good, if pricey option, but you`ll need a few of `em IMO. I really don`t think the mitt material is the problem here.
Quote:
I`m also considering splurging on a boar hair brush, the fancy one Accumulator recommends.
I`d only use a BHB *with a foamgun*, otherwise I fear it`ll lead to things getting worse instead of better. It`s just *SO* tempting to use a BHB the wrong way because that lets you cover ground very quickly. And note that, used *properly*, a BHB is very, *VERY* gentle, too gentle to get things perfectly clean with just one pass, or evey to get things thoroughly clean *at all*. I always follow up my BHB + foamgun combo with at least one additional step (which is basically a whole additional carwash process).
Quote:
But I`m still unclear on the best way to use one. He mentions not using long strokes with it, but I`m not clear on how to do that in practice. Do I need to wipe 12" and then rinse it off completely? How do I avoid scratches when using a BHB without spending 5 hours just washing the car? Part of the reason I don`t wash as often as I should is that it simply takes too long!
To be perfectly clear: I do spend all those hours on each wash, but it`s *NOT* because of the care I take to avoid marring, it`s because I spend hours on aras that many wouldn`t bother with at all. My basic "wash the exterior" part of the wash happens almost as fast as I can walk around the vehicle a few times. (But hey, I`m really dialed-in on my technique after all this time.)
Gotta use a foamgun with the BHB, or else forget it. There. Awfully unconditional, but that`s how I feel about it. If you`re washing all the time, like every few days, that`d be different, but I bet that`s not in the cards.
The foamgun flushes the BHB clean while you`re washing, so the dirt gets flushed away. Otherwise it`s the same problem- dirty wash media = marring and it gets dirty the moment it picks up dirt.
Quote:
I also came across clay bar rags/mitts..
Plenty of people love those, but I won`t touch one because I`d bet my life I`d mar the paint. And again, do you really need to decontaminate all that often?
Quote:
How do you remove contaminants from it during use?
Bingo.
Quote:
Last up is the Optimum No Rinse Wash and Shine
I prefer Garry Dean`s Ultimate Use Detail Juice. Others love the stuff from Ultima. But I only use such stuff after first cleaning the car the old-fashioned way. Otherwise, I get marring. Others don`t seem to have that problem, but I do.
Quote:
.. I`ve read about people who just soak MF towels in a bucket of this stuff, and then casually wipe the car down with no prep work. How in the world does this not ruin the paint? What am I missing here?!?
I don`t think you`re missing anything. I wonder the same things.."how do they do that?!?" All I know is that 1) I can`t explain the positive experiences that others report, 2) I don`t have those same positive experiences when I try it, and I`m confident I`m not doing anything wrong.
Quote:
..Then there`s the whole development of ceramic coating. I`ve read great things about durability and minor scratch resistance that really piqued my interest, but I`ve also read they can help cause severe water marks if water sits and dries on it. All of our cars are daily driven, no garage queens here. Can these ceramic coatings hold up that much better than FK1000P on a daily driven car that isn`t washed weekly? It seems their effectiveness decreases if the car isn`t washed regularly.
I think the coatings might be great for your situation, *IF* you can find the right one, and apply it properly, and find the right way to maintain it. Just because I stick with FK1000p (or even KSG), only using coatings for some wheels, that doesn`t mean that the right coating might not be perfect for you...I just don`t know.
Quote:
..To sum it up, I need some help crafting a wash technique that won`t mar the paint, but also won`t take half the day...
I`m all about using the foamgun (the way Bill D and I use it), but it goes through a *LOT* of water and shampoo, and it does have a learning curve (not like I got squared away after just a dozen washes, not by a long shot). Repeating- That`s *NOT* why my washes take so long, but yeah I do take longer than many if only because ...well... I basically wash the car a few times (pressure washer rinse, BHB + foamgun until it looks "clean", mitt + foamgun until it really *is* clean, and then a Rinseless Wash as my Drying Aid).
A Q that`s Autopian Heresy: Do you *really* care all *that* much? I bet you could make things quite a bit better without going off the deepend the way some of us do. I did pretty OK without the foamgun, but I did have wash-induced marring. Not awful, but enough that it bugged me. On vehicles that I washed after most every drive (yeah, really :o ) I did OK, but, well...so what, who`s gonna do that?
Yikes, this is one *long* post even for me! Hope something in it is of use...let me know if I can clarify anything and I`ll try my best.
Quick EDIT: Goodness knows how many typos are in the above, kinda rushing... :o