A Solid List of Steps for a Good Detailing?

2

2000TL

New member
I was directed to these steps/products by some very kind Autopia folks a few months back. Now that I have the cash to buy all these products, I just wanted to know if these are still the proper steps/products for taking out my dark blue 2000 Acura TL's awful swirls and minor white scratches and giving her a nice shine again...



1) Wash (Sheepskin Mit, NXT soap); Dry with Microfiber WaffleWeave

2) Clay (Clay Magic)

3) Wash again; Dry

4) Use PC with 3M Perfect- It III Rubbing Compound- orange foam pad (Lake Country)

5) Follow up on PC with 3M Perfect- It II Machine Glaze on PC- white foam pad (Lake Country)

6) Vanilla Moose

7) Top it off with Poorboys EX



Does it get approval?
 
Yes, that will work well. Whether to clay after/during the wash and whether or not to rewash after claying might be debatable, but your plan should work just fine.



Note you have a minor typo- it's PI-III MG, not PI-II ;) but whatever you call it, the PN is 05937 in quarts and 39012 in smaller bottles.



But then I was probably one of the people who recommended this approach in the first place :D
 
Thanks for the reply! And also, what is this I was reading about certain size pads "Bogging down" the PC? Something about needing to use a 4" as the most optimum pad?
 
When you apply pressure to the PC, as is common when removing marring, the "dual action" of the machine tends to become a bit less "dual"; all it does is "jiggle". This is not desirable. Using 4" pads seems to help enough to be worthwhile.
 
So should I just not even buy the 6'' pads and go with 4", or just buy the 4" cutting pad and the rest 6" ?
 
The 6 in. should work fine. Another advantage that you get with the four in. pads is that its easier to get into smaller areas. On my old car the 4 in. were just the right size to do the bumpers without slinging products everywhere. If you have the resources you can do what I did, get both the 6's and 4's and use either one that you feel would work best given the situation. Good luck, and I'm 100% positive your going to be extremely happy with the way your car turns out using the above procedure. :xyxthumbs
 
I felt same deep gratitude last summer when I first started using a PC, with confidence I had a good product mix and helpful tech tips from freindly pros and enthusiasts on this site.
 
Yeah, it really does make you feel more confident about going into "unchartered territory" on something as important as your own car.



I bought a 5" velcro backing plate and 6.5" pads, are those compatible well?
 
2000TL said:
.......I bought a 5" velcro backing plate and 6.5" pads, are those compatible well?
Click to expand...

Those will work just fine with your PC.



You have selected your products well. The 3M PI III RC and MG are very good polishes, and VM topped with EX will look very nice :xyxthumbs.
 
Thanks, you were the one who recommended the products and procedures to me a few months back, so you deserve the credit ;)
 
Also, could someone recommend a good Car Wash liquid? I was so caught up with the specialty products, I forgot to get a recommendation on the soap. I have some Zymol soap (it's blueish green, smells quite good), but I was reading that it isn't particularly good and doesn't have much lubricitiy (sp?). My car isn't a beater or anything so I'd like something good, if the Zymol won't cut it, and since I ordered all my products already, I'd like to know if there is a good quality soap I can pick up at my local store?
 
i love that zymol soap, smells like coconuts or something tropical. you might be able to still use it if you're careful when washing yoru car, like don't apply too much pressure with the washing mitt and such. but yeah, if you need another car wash soap, Meg's Gold Class or NXT soaps are good. i think Eagle One's soap (don't know the name but i think it's red) also comes recommended.
 
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