guys pleeeeas help!!!!

excuse me if i may sound ignorant......... :o ..... i am getting a little :confused: about the difference between paint cleaners, swirl removers, polishes, and glaze. which one shoud be applied first???? lets say that ur car has some swirls and u whant to remove them. washed the car and clayed. whats next???
say u have:

P21S GEPC, 3M Perfect it- III and II, megs DAPC and #9 , 3M SMR and Imperial Hand Glaze, Hi-Temp`s "Light Cut" , upp , AIO
which one to start with?


also, glaze, sealant, and wax do thay serve the same thing? can they work on top of each other?

guys i dont have a pc right now..... i know, i promise i well get one soon and start practicing. tell then i want to know if i can do it by hand? if its not possible i can take it to a detail shop to only polish the car. i well wash and clay and wax. but i dont know if i need to do anything els by hand befor or after polishing?

i am trying to save some mony for buying products, pc, fixing 2 dings and the headliner :eek:

any advice will help clear things up :confused:
thanks,
rover boy

rover boy,

Your confusion is understood, and manufacturers don`t make it any easier today with their labeling, and terminology. Anyhow, Ill try to help a little, without confusing you more. Be advised that everybody`s take on this is a little different, and you will get some other good opinions from people more knowledgeable than me.

There are products that are pure paint cleaners (little or no abrasives) like Medallion paint cleaner. These are good products to start with if you have paint in excellent condition (no swirls, scratches, or bad blemishes). These products will add no gloss but will remove oxidation and minor blemishes. GEPC is another paint cleaner that has does no more than clean the paint, although it does add a little gloss, so it`s a tad different than Medallion paint cleaner. Now, AIO confuses the matter a little more in that it cleans, and leaves behind some minor acrylic protection.

There are products that are labeled cleaners that are very abrasive like Meguiars Heavy, Medium, and Fine Cut cleaners. DACP also is somewhat abrasive. These "cleaners" are made to remove scratches and bad swirls with the abrasives in the product.

The SMR`s like #9, 3M SMR, and others have some abrasive characteristics, some with oils/fillers to remove/hide minor swirls/scratches.

Today`s terminology for Glazes is completely different than in my day. In the body shop world of many years ago, a "Glaze" was a product to remove sanding scratches and swirls after painting. Today products like 3M`s Hand Glaze, and Meguiar`s #7 are pretty much strictly for "show". Lot`s of oils and stuff to add to gloss, and maybe "hide" some minor swirls.

Waxes, and sealants, are the final stage.............. purely for protection with no cleaning or polishing abilities (unless of course, you use a cleaner wax).

Anyhow, the general process should go something like this for a carnauba finish:

Clean first (use a cleaner based upon the condition of your paint)
SMR or mild abrasive polish if required after cleaning.
Glaze if you want to add more gloss.
Finish with the wax.

For a synthetic sealant like UPP, Klasse, Zaino, the process is different, as the synthetic won`t bond to the oils/fillers/residue left behind by many products. It would go something like this:

Clean first.
SMR or abrasive polish.
Clean again (remove oils/residue) with a cleaner that bonds with the sealant.
Finish with sealant.

In the end, you need to understand each product , what it is used for, and how it fits into the end result you are trying to achieve.


Hope this helps.

Boss, you shoulda been a teacher! Very good synopsis there. :)

Boss_429 I will second that thought reagrds to being a teacher,good job sir.

1st. Boss...that was an excellant post....which I agree with..
2nd.
Problem...The products that are mention`d (in Boss post)
say (on the back of bottle) they clean and remove swirls and all types of scratches....some marketing guy writes this I guess on the back of the bottles. This had cause`d me confusion in the beginning.

Stick with Boss and his outline and "don`t" read the back of the bottles. Ask Dwayne (admin) about the PC and the products mention`d and he will send you down the right path.
jeff

Boss is DA MAN!

I`ll thrid that one what a great explantion of the process. I`ve printed it out for for reference.

ur DA Boss......... thanks for the advice.
just to make sure, what do u guys think of these steps:

1-wash
2-clay
3-use least abrasive paint cleaner GEPC then check (any tips using it)
4- if i have swirls, use more agrasive like #9 then folow withs les agrasive like M3 pIII. (is that right?)
5- use 3M hand glaze to enhance the shine
6- top with P21s wax

is that correct guys???!!!! can i add AIO in between ?? my car is dark blue.
thanks again
rover boy

OK.I hope you get several responses...Heres what I do.
If paint is in great shape..I just go for Platinum cleaner, GEPC , or some others I have...and skip 2 and 3..
1st Senerio
1. Wash ..
2. Clay
3. DACP or swirl remover (depends how bad the paint is) I may have to do this a few times ..not just one round...depends..
4. Klasse AIO
5. Platinum UPP - wait 1 to 3 hours, take off with Micro Fiber towel
Wait 12 or so hours and add another layer of UPP.

2nd Senerio:
1. Wash
2. Clay
3. DACP or swirl remover (depends how bad the paint is) I may have to do this a few times ..not just one round...depends..
4. Then I use my Glaze (some may want to use GEPC here)
a few rounds of this....
5. Then my wax, I use s100, Souvran or Blitz..
layer another one the next day...

my 2c`s
jeff

edit`d..
Haven;t tried PoorBoys yet......waiting on Dwayne

Either of the scenarios given by Jeffbruce sound great to me.

First.......... thanks guys!

Second, I agree with Natty, either one of Jeff`s processes will sure get it done nicely!

you are doing way to much analizing several yrs ago we did not have all this stuff. there are only 4 steps to buffing and waxing a car. buff with mild or heavy compound swirl remover wax then glaze. write me back if anymore questions

Quote:

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Originally posted by detailnico
you are doing way to much analizing several yrs ago we did not have all this stuff. there are only 4 steps to buffing and waxing a car. buff with mild or heavy compound swirl remover wax then glaze. write me back if anymore questions

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detailnico,

I believe thats pretty much what was said in the thread........ compound, and/or SMR, then glaze, and then wax........... unless it`s a sealant type system.