Please.... Make over my RRover!

Hello to all my fellow car fanatics,
I have just registered at Detail city after reading your postings for nearly 2 weeks! I thought I was taking good care of my car (you know the usual stuff, detailing it at a car wash from time to time) until now!! I was so blown away by how much time and effort you put into your cars and how knowledgeable and experienced you are. I am so embarrassed now to even look at my car after all the injustice that I have done to it!!:(

I am very glad that I joined this forum. Getting down to business, I have a dark blue 98’ Range Rover 4.6. I have upgraded EVERYTHING to a 2002 RR model. I even added twin exhausts, a front spoiler, custom rims, you name it!! The only thing left now is to take care of the paint to help my car live up to its 2002 status!

I took the car a couple of times to so-called professional car wash detailers and spent hundreds just to be disappointed in a matter of 2-3 weeks upon seeing all the swirls resurface after washing it (hmmm….fillers). I have decided to take care of my car myself no matter how long it takes, coz I figured if I can’t do it to my satisfaction, no one can! I thought it would be best to take the advice of all you car-shine gurus regarding what I have and what I need for my car to look its best!!

What I have:
-P21S GEPC, P21S wax, P21S shampoo
-303 protectant
-2 turtle wax MF towels (are these any good?)
-Autoglem bumper care
-Meguiars QD
-Clay magic
-A bunch of terry towels
-2 good strong hands…..haha

Products that have been demonstrated on my car by hand with good results in the order applied:
1. 3M Perfect-It III
2. 3M Perfect-It II
3. Pink colored carnauba wax (??!!)

Products that I have in mind (Dwayne get ready for this!!):
-UPP/GE & UPPC
-AIG & SG
-Hi-Temps light cut swirl remover
-Some good MFs
-Any other products that go well with the color………

My goals:
-to remove swirls to the best of my ability
-protection and shine (unfortunately my car is not a garage queen)

Guys please help me make sense of all these products so that I can determine what order and combination are best for my car, coz the more I read the more confused I get. I will be applying all the products by hand (God help!!) no PC for me for now till I get the hang of the products.

Sorry if I’ve written too much, I know you must have to deal with these questions repeatedly from newcomers like me but somehow I feel like each car has prescription products which work best for its color and paint type and you guys are the docs! Please help prescribe what’s best for my car to give it the ultimate shine attainable!
Thanks a ton for your time, bigger thanks from my car in advance………..
Rover boy

Welcome!!

Seems you have a pretty good idea what your going to do, I`ll comment on what I think might help.

Firstly, Turtle Wax MF towels are pretty good ( i own a couple) save em for the glass, as thats the most critical for lint.

Terry is ok for the paint, but I love the way MF just holds all the junk with nothing left behind.

P21S is good stuff! I use S100 which is basically the same thing.

I`m not too familiar with the 3M line, as all my abrasives are from megs, but by hand you cant really go too abrasive.

A PC would speed things up and give you better results tho ;)

Depends if you have $109 to spare, plus a little extra for pads.
Worth every penny if you ask me, especially on something as big as a Range Rover.

As for yer last paragraph, AIO RULES!!

UPP is also an excellent product and will last longer than just a wax.

There are many chosen routes to looking after your pride n joy, many heated arguments for all manner of protectants (someones GOT to bring Zaino up here eventually........ )

BUT

My preferred prescription would be DACP (or 3M equivalent) /AIO/UPP and P21s.

But thats just me ..................

Just my 0.02

Hey there Rover Boy...welcome to DC! Congrats on deciding to take charge or your Rover`s finish, it can be a rewarding experience.

You`ve already got, and mentioned some very good products. I love P21s GEPC and the paste wax. 303...excellent on interiors and the clay is a must. Still, remember that your process and procedure will make the greatest difference. Done correctly, a full detail with Wally World products can look pretty damn good.

Smoker made some good points and his prescription is a great mix. Still, without seeing the vehicle it`s impossible to know where on the abrasive scale you`ll need to start. Have you tried the P21s GEPC yet? If so, whay were the results? If there is marring that GEPC doesn`t touch then time to step up.

No need to go absolutely bonkers buying a million different things (wait, did I just say that:confused: ). One product representing each part of the abrasive spectrum is all you need. One light duty swirl remover polish, a medium duty and a compound. For isntance, Megs #82 Swirl Free, Meg`s DACP and perhaps 3M PI-II (or something heavier like Coats Power Buff). Add your AIO or Platinum Paint Cleaner along with UPP and you should have it covered.

General rule....start with the least abrasive product and pad. If I have to I`ll change to a more agressive pad before changing the product. If still no good, time to go back to the lighter pad but with a slightly more agressive product. This method of finding the right product/pad mix seems to work well for me.

BTW...nice ride! Sounds great.

Natty

Quote:

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Originally posted by Smoker
My preferred prescription would be DACP (or 3M equivalent) /AIO/UPP and P21s.

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Welcome to DC, rover boy.
Smoker`s procedure should turn out a great looking job. The only thing I wonder about is the DACP by hand. Does it break down with hand application? If you have first hand experience with the 3M products by hand, they might be worth researching a little further.
The PC was a purchase I put off for a long time, but for removing swirls and minor blemishes, it is a valuable tool.

Since you are getting overwhelmed with ideas, here`s what I think. You have a great handle on what you are going to do. I might suggest 3M Swirl remover for dark cars, it`s along the lines of a heavy polish and might help with your swirls. I have a client with a LR Discovery (dark blue) and it worked well for me, it really brought out the richness of the paint.
If your RR has as much ext. black plastic as a Discovery, you might want to try Forever Black. I was a big fan of Mothers Back to Black, but I have been vetoed and am going to try it myself, it`s supposed to be good.
Another great product is Wheel Wax. It really cleans and protects your wheels from break dust sticking to them making it much easier to keep clean. Check with Dwayne, he can hook you up.

Oh Yah!
Quit fiddlin around and get a PC.
And also many more MF towels.
:D

smoker, regarding the MFs, should i buy more Turtle Wax MF towels for polishing, cleaning, drying or is there any other mfs that i should buy :confused:
do u guys use mfs to wash the car??

right now, i dont have any upp, AIO, DACP, or a PC :mad:
but my hands are itching to do something :D

this is what am gonna try to do:

1- wash with dawn...(is it ok?)
2- clay
3- wash
4- dry.... (what is best for drying?)
5- 3M Perfect-It III.... how to applay it by hand and with what?
6- 3M Perfect-It II
7- P21s GEPS
8- 2x P21s wax how long shoud i wait in between?

please let me know what u guys think and if the order is correct !
i will try to post some pictures if i do a good job :o

yes natty i have tried GEPS buy hands but i stil can see some swirls !

thanks guys
rover boy

Start with a beer, then go from there!

Rob.,..you really put 3M SMR for dark cars in the "heavy polish" category? From my limited experience with it I`d put it in the light slightly moderate spectrum. Also, for working by hand I think either of the Megs products, Swirl Free or DACP work much easier and better. Just my experience though.

Rover Boy....IMO, starting with PI-III then going to PI-II is redundant. I would skip the PI-III and start with PI-II then follow up with your next lighter polish which I guess is GEPC. Whatever you do, start with one panel, do your PI-II then GEPC and check to make sure the GEPC was able to take acre of any hazing or compounding marks left over by the PI-II. You don`t want to do the whole car only to find out that you needed something with a little more oomph after the PI-II.

Also, I would skip the dawn and just wash with your regular car soap. The 3M PI-II will easily remove any protective product already on the finish. As fo washing after the clay, some people do, some don`t. Personally I`ve never really felt the need for it. I`ve done it a few times and didn`t really see or feel any difference but it certainly won`t hurt anything.

P21s....2 coats in the same day won`t make any difference. Been there done that and IMO, it was a waste of time. The only possible benie of doing that will be that the second time around you may cover spots that were missed on the first pass. P21s actually takes on a deeper gloss after 4-5 days and a wash/QD.

I`ve been using waffle weave MFs for drying and love them. The best one I`ve used thus far is the Premium drying towel from the folks here at 4-Star. It`s way more absorbent than the waffle weaves I purchased from another MF supplier.

Have fun with the project! It is your ride and the satisfaction you`ll get from the time and energy will be great. Don`t knock yourself out trying to get it all done in one day. If you can, great. If not don`t sweat it.

Regards,

Natty

Hello Rover,

I think the pro`s here at DC have given some really good advice. My only suggestion is to get a PC. I don`t own one because I use a rotary but I know that it would be a great investment for someone like you that cares deeply about their cars appearance.

Most detailers wax/detail our vehicles at least once a month (or at least I think most of us do). If you`re as much of a fanatic as the rest of us, the time you would save by investing in some good equipment like the PC would be well worth it.

If possible, post some before and after pictures and then let us know what process you used and if you`re satisfied.

Good Luck !!!

EEEEK Natty I think u just techno-babbled him!

I had a hard time keeping up and I know what yer on about.....

I would happily go with more Turtle Wax MFs or PM Dwayne at 4-Star or Ranney at PakShak to see what sorta deals theyll do for you.
TW ones are ok, but the proper ones are far superior and prolly only a shade more expensive.
I`ve heard nothing but good things about both companies.

One thing, you WILL go through alot of MFs while detailing, so make sure you have plenty to hand.
Nothing worse than running out.

I use the nice ones for glass, paint etc and the wallyworld ones for door shuts, under the hood and the wheels etc.

Next.

Compounding by hand is do-able (Scottwax says so ......) but I personally would only use one with a PC.
If nothing else to save yer shoulders!

My wash/clay/wash is just that, soapy water wash, clay it while its still wet, then rinse it off with the hose again.

Drying, I use an Absorber and a freshly tumble dried old bath towel with the edges cut off (the tumble removes all the lint) tho I`ll progress onto a big Waffle Weave when time and money allows.

Abrasive-wise, I tend to go against the grain by assessing the paint after the wash and as a general rule unless its in DAMN good condition it gets DACP right off the bat.

I tend to find an SMR doesnt do much more than something like GEPC does, so my #9 spends most of its time on glass polishing duty.

Hit it with your most abrasive then go straight to the GEPC.
Once your done with all that by hand im sure youve earned a coupla beers, then top it off with the P21S.

It doesnt really seem to layer much, more `reinforce` the coat thats already on it.

I hope ya followed all that, and we expect before and after piccies :)

P.S. If you go to Wallyworld, treat yerself to a can of Stoners Invisible Glass, only 3 bucks and AWESOME!

Quote:

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Originally posted by Smoker
EEEEK Natty I think u just techno-babbled him!

I had a hard time keeping up and I know what yer on about.....

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So so sorry. Didn`t mean to be overwhelming. Man, I need a vacation:rolleyes: ! Thank God I`ve got 4 days out on a trout stream in western PA next month! :D

Natty

smoker, thanks for the plane English advice :D
Ringo, the PC is already in the list ;)

just as an appetizer before starting this new mission, i will try to post some old before pics of my car as soon as i scan them, one picture before the upgrades and some pics after the upgrades with only P21s GEPC + P21s wax. (that was the first big step for me to enter the detailing world ;) , but joining DC was the BIGGEST :D



i wish there was a simplified PG13 version of each post that we
"newbie`s" can choose , so u "pro`s" dont have to explain everything to us!! :D

any tips will be appreciated :)

rover boy

Quote:

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Originally posted by rover boy
smoker, thanks for the plane English advice :D

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Aw c`mon. It wasn`t THAT bad...was it? :confused:

after i read ur post my head was spinning like a PC and i almost gave up on detailing my car !!!:D

hey... i am not that bad, i understood everything u said, but i had to acknowledge smoker for understanding the mindset of "newbies" :D :D

appreciate ur help,
rover boy