IntrstlarOvrdrv
New member
I wrote this real long article for another detailers challanged board...was wondering if anyone could critique it and tell me what I said wrong, or left out. Thanks!
Tools
-First I will start off with tools. When detailing, tools matter just as much as the actual product itself. You do not want to use brushes, and cloths that will cause scratching, and there are several different methods to doing this.
-Brushes When testing various brushes for compatibility with your car, you want the softest, yet convenient brushes for your application. One of the more popular ways to test a brush is the "CD test." The CD test is where you take the brush and rub it against the back of the CD, if the brush leaves scratches on the cd, it will most likely leave scratches on the surface that you are working with. Also important when choosing your brushes is practicality, if you have small openings on your wheels such as BBS mesh wheels, and others of the sort, you do not want a huge bulky brush.
-Mitts When looing for a wash mitt, usually your best bet is to go with a mitt that is made out of a single piece of material, rather than patches of something. I use a wool mitt, made from a single cut piece, this reduces the number of seams that could potentially harm your cars surface. Othe people swear by Micro Fiber mitts, I just have not used them. When washing the car a good method of doing so is by using the "two bucket" method. This requires two buckets (duh!), one bucket is solely for the wash itself, and the other is for water to rinse with. After washing each panel, rinse your mitt in the rinsing bucket, this eliminates on the amout of dirt collecting on your mitt.
-Towels There are several different towels on the market right now, there are Microfiber, Waffle Weave, and Terry Towels. All of which have their benefits, but again you want to choose the right towel for the right surface, especially on your cars paint. Generally you want all 100% cotton towels. The different sizes of different towels are good for different purposes. Waffle Weave towels are great for drying cars; they are super absorbent and durable. Chamois towels are also good, but I have little personal experience with these towels. I prefer to use Micro Fiber on my cars surface because it is so plush, and does not leave scratches. Terry Towels may also be used, as long as they are actual cotton and contain no polymers. I prefer to leave those to the wheels though.
-Many products claim to be 100% cotton but are not, a popular method of testing the amount of cotton in a product is the "burn test." The burn test is where you take a small sample of the cloth in question, and burn it. The smoke should be gray, and it should burn cleanly. Black smoke, and melted particles means that it is not 100% cotton and has other products in it that can quite possibly harm your cars surface.
-Buffers There are many different buffers on the market, however there are two different kinds of buffers: random orbital buffers and rotary buffers. Random orbital buffers are generally a step above hand power, and a step below rotary power. Most people do prefer the random orbital buffers because it is almost impossible to mess the paint up with them. They do not stay in the same place, so they do not burn through the paint, and usually are not strong enough to do much harm to the paint. Rotary buffers are high-powered machines capable of doing costly amounts of damage in the wrong hands; however in the right hands they can do magic. These can buff out the worst of damage, but again you can do serious damage with one of these. With a rotary burning through the clear is not that hard to achieve, and causing more swirls than there were previously is also a common happening. One thing to remember is keep it moving, and starts out slow with one of these.
-The best and most popular random orbital buffer is the Porter Cable, or PC. I will go into this later so stay tuned.
Products
There are many different products out there to use on your car, you must assess the damage to your paint and chose which product is right for you. Clays, polishes, rubbing compounds, glazes, and waxes are all among the different products intended to be used on your cars surface.
Clay Bars Clay bars are an in between step that comes after washing and before polishing. By claying you make it safer to polish because you remove all of the surface contaminants. There are several different clay bars out there, and you can chose which you like the best, different colors usually indicate different grades of clay, and the packaging usually tells you what it is. When using clay there are different methods to use it. Most kits come with a clay bar spray, but if yours does not then you can just mix car wash and water and it will work well. Using a standard 80g bar of clay, I usually break it in half and cut it into about 15 pieces. Using it as follows
1 piece for each door
1 piece for each fender or quarter panel
1-2 pieces for the trunk (depending on size)
2 pieces for the roof
2 pieces for the hood
To determine what areas need to be clayed you can use a cellophane bag and put your hand in it, rub it over the surface and areas that your hand does not glide over needs to be clayed.
Now moving onto the claying process itself. After you have used apiece once, throw it away and never use it again, even if it looks clean don’t be tempted to re-use it. While using it knead the clay often and roll it out into a spherical shape and apply pressure on the surface with your index and middle finger. Remember to keep the clay well lubricated, you will notice if you’re not. When claying you will hear a slight sound, and resistance on the surface, no need to be alarmed because this is just the clay doing its job.
For right now this is enough, I will continue later, but I do not have the time.
Polish There are many good polishes out on the market, and all of them have different strengths. It is pretty hard to tell about any specific polishes, because I don’t know your cars paint, selecting polishes is really a matter of trial and error. I usually try to buy more reputable polishes and decide which one I like for which application, and the severity of damage to the paint. For heavily faded paint you want a heavy polish, or heavy buffing compound like Einzett Ultra Polish, or a 3M buffing product. Mild damage requires a mild polish, and very lightly damaged paint, almost perfect paint requires a very gentle polish, and in some cases a cleaner wax will do quite well in these areas. Cars should be polished about twice a year, and polishing too often can have bad results, unlike waxing. Polishing is removing oxidation, and moving old paint around to give it a deeper shine, however polishing too often results in thin paint. If using a buffer pad selection is also an important area in the polishing process. There are several different types of pads, orange, yellow, and white which are the most commonly used. Orange is a pad for very aggressive jobs, yellow is about as aggressive as I go, and white is for finishing.
Glaze Glaze is like makeup for women, it really has no abrasive qualities and it hides defects. Usually glaze is applied before a final coat, but different products have different directions, so read them before following my advice. Glaze contains oils, and fillers that will help hide slight imperfections in the paint, it does not last very long, but for a smoother show finish many people prefer to use a glaze before their final coat. There are many good glazes out on the market right now, again find one that suits you the best.
Wax Wax is another large and touchy subject. The main two types of waxes are carnuba and synthetic waxes. Canuba waxes are not all that durable, but provide a deeper, wetter shine, while synthetics cannot compare to carnubas in slickness, and depth. Synthetics however do last much longer than a carnuba. I prefer carnuba, but just have to re-aply the wax often. While shopping for waxes you will also see “cleaner waxes� I usually do not use these because I polish, but cleaner waxes contain slight abrasive qualities that can help with very small amounts of oxidation. Sealants are also something to consider, a sealant can be applied before a wax too to give it a longer lasting effect, I sometimes put Klasse Sealant Glaze under my Canruba so it will last longer. Sealants seal the paint like waxes, they just last longer. Again, as much as I hate to say it, you will probably want to try different waxes on your surface to see which one you like the best. Also, read directions on them, I personally do not like layering carnubas, but other waxes can be layered to have a more lasting and deep effect. Selecting a wax depends on what your after.
Again, all of this comes from my personal experience, and is meant to be a guide on how to select, and use different products. I am not responsible for any damages that occur to you or your cars finish while using this FAQ.
Tools
-First I will start off with tools. When detailing, tools matter just as much as the actual product itself. You do not want to use brushes, and cloths that will cause scratching, and there are several different methods to doing this.
-Brushes When testing various brushes for compatibility with your car, you want the softest, yet convenient brushes for your application. One of the more popular ways to test a brush is the "CD test." The CD test is where you take the brush and rub it against the back of the CD, if the brush leaves scratches on the cd, it will most likely leave scratches on the surface that you are working with. Also important when choosing your brushes is practicality, if you have small openings on your wheels such as BBS mesh wheels, and others of the sort, you do not want a huge bulky brush.
-Mitts When looing for a wash mitt, usually your best bet is to go with a mitt that is made out of a single piece of material, rather than patches of something. I use a wool mitt, made from a single cut piece, this reduces the number of seams that could potentially harm your cars surface. Othe people swear by Micro Fiber mitts, I just have not used them. When washing the car a good method of doing so is by using the "two bucket" method. This requires two buckets (duh!), one bucket is solely for the wash itself, and the other is for water to rinse with. After washing each panel, rinse your mitt in the rinsing bucket, this eliminates on the amout of dirt collecting on your mitt.
-Towels There are several different towels on the market right now, there are Microfiber, Waffle Weave, and Terry Towels. All of which have their benefits, but again you want to choose the right towel for the right surface, especially on your cars paint. Generally you want all 100% cotton towels. The different sizes of different towels are good for different purposes. Waffle Weave towels are great for drying cars; they are super absorbent and durable. Chamois towels are also good, but I have little personal experience with these towels. I prefer to use Micro Fiber on my cars surface because it is so plush, and does not leave scratches. Terry Towels may also be used, as long as they are actual cotton and contain no polymers. I prefer to leave those to the wheels though.
-Many products claim to be 100% cotton but are not, a popular method of testing the amount of cotton in a product is the "burn test." The burn test is where you take a small sample of the cloth in question, and burn it. The smoke should be gray, and it should burn cleanly. Black smoke, and melted particles means that it is not 100% cotton and has other products in it that can quite possibly harm your cars surface.
-Buffers There are many different buffers on the market, however there are two different kinds of buffers: random orbital buffers and rotary buffers. Random orbital buffers are generally a step above hand power, and a step below rotary power. Most people do prefer the random orbital buffers because it is almost impossible to mess the paint up with them. They do not stay in the same place, so they do not burn through the paint, and usually are not strong enough to do much harm to the paint. Rotary buffers are high-powered machines capable of doing costly amounts of damage in the wrong hands; however in the right hands they can do magic. These can buff out the worst of damage, but again you can do serious damage with one of these. With a rotary burning through the clear is not that hard to achieve, and causing more swirls than there were previously is also a common happening. One thing to remember is keep it moving, and starts out slow with one of these.
-The best and most popular random orbital buffer is the Porter Cable, or PC. I will go into this later so stay tuned.
Products
There are many different products out there to use on your car, you must assess the damage to your paint and chose which product is right for you. Clays, polishes, rubbing compounds, glazes, and waxes are all among the different products intended to be used on your cars surface.
Clay Bars Clay bars are an in between step that comes after washing and before polishing. By claying you make it safer to polish because you remove all of the surface contaminants. There are several different clay bars out there, and you can chose which you like the best, different colors usually indicate different grades of clay, and the packaging usually tells you what it is. When using clay there are different methods to use it. Most kits come with a clay bar spray, but if yours does not then you can just mix car wash and water and it will work well. Using a standard 80g bar of clay, I usually break it in half and cut it into about 15 pieces. Using it as follows
1 piece for each door
1 piece for each fender or quarter panel
1-2 pieces for the trunk (depending on size)
2 pieces for the roof
2 pieces for the hood
To determine what areas need to be clayed you can use a cellophane bag and put your hand in it, rub it over the surface and areas that your hand does not glide over needs to be clayed.
Now moving onto the claying process itself. After you have used apiece once, throw it away and never use it again, even if it looks clean don’t be tempted to re-use it. While using it knead the clay often and roll it out into a spherical shape and apply pressure on the surface with your index and middle finger. Remember to keep the clay well lubricated, you will notice if you’re not. When claying you will hear a slight sound, and resistance on the surface, no need to be alarmed because this is just the clay doing its job.
For right now this is enough, I will continue later, but I do not have the time.
Polish There are many good polishes out on the market, and all of them have different strengths. It is pretty hard to tell about any specific polishes, because I don’t know your cars paint, selecting polishes is really a matter of trial and error. I usually try to buy more reputable polishes and decide which one I like for which application, and the severity of damage to the paint. For heavily faded paint you want a heavy polish, or heavy buffing compound like Einzett Ultra Polish, or a 3M buffing product. Mild damage requires a mild polish, and very lightly damaged paint, almost perfect paint requires a very gentle polish, and in some cases a cleaner wax will do quite well in these areas. Cars should be polished about twice a year, and polishing too often can have bad results, unlike waxing. Polishing is removing oxidation, and moving old paint around to give it a deeper shine, however polishing too often results in thin paint. If using a buffer pad selection is also an important area in the polishing process. There are several different types of pads, orange, yellow, and white which are the most commonly used. Orange is a pad for very aggressive jobs, yellow is about as aggressive as I go, and white is for finishing.
Glaze Glaze is like makeup for women, it really has no abrasive qualities and it hides defects. Usually glaze is applied before a final coat, but different products have different directions, so read them before following my advice. Glaze contains oils, and fillers that will help hide slight imperfections in the paint, it does not last very long, but for a smoother show finish many people prefer to use a glaze before their final coat. There are many good glazes out on the market right now, again find one that suits you the best.
Wax Wax is another large and touchy subject. The main two types of waxes are carnuba and synthetic waxes. Canuba waxes are not all that durable, but provide a deeper, wetter shine, while synthetics cannot compare to carnubas in slickness, and depth. Synthetics however do last much longer than a carnuba. I prefer carnuba, but just have to re-aply the wax often. While shopping for waxes you will also see “cleaner waxes� I usually do not use these because I polish, but cleaner waxes contain slight abrasive qualities that can help with very small amounts of oxidation. Sealants are also something to consider, a sealant can be applied before a wax too to give it a longer lasting effect, I sometimes put Klasse Sealant Glaze under my Canruba so it will last longer. Sealants seal the paint like waxes, they just last longer. Again, as much as I hate to say it, you will probably want to try different waxes on your surface to see which one you like the best. Also, read directions on them, I personally do not like layering carnubas, but other waxes can be layered to have a more lasting and deep effect. Selecting a wax depends on what your after.
Again, all of this comes from my personal experience, and is meant to be a guide on how to select, and use different products. I am not responsible for any damages that occur to you or your cars finish while using this FAQ.
