Buying Product. Completely Overwhelmed. Need help.

[BookemDano]

Get lots of MFs!

enuttage,
I would get "several" quality MF towels for removing the polishes, QD'ing/Spray & Wipe, and for remove the Z2.

I second the MF suggestion. Get lots of MFs. You'll probably use more than you think. First, use an MF for one purpose only. Use one (or more) MFs for wiping after claying, one for each polish, one for Z2, one for detailing inside, etc. Second, if you drop an MF retire it to the "wash" stack immediately and grab another. Third, if you even think that the MF is contaminate with the wrong product or grit, retire it immediately. I can use 10 MFs easily for one car.

Regarding the MFs...

Get a large, quality waffle-weave MF for drying and a smaller one for windows. I use the CMA's Big Blue Towel for drying (actually I have two):
http://www.properautocare.com/bigbludryint.html

And the Dragon Fibre Glass Cleaning Cloth for the glass:
http://www.properautocare.com/vipglasclean.html

I have several of their white, green and blue MFs for several purposes. The white Perfect Shine MF is very good for buffing glazes and the last step protectant:
http://www.properautocare.com/vipeshmibucl.html

And the green one is fairly plush and good for general detailing:
http://www.properautocare.com/vipmicdetclo.html

But oddly, I like their blue economy Viper MFs more than the green for removing polish:
http://www.properautocare.com/viecmicl.html

The blue Viper cuts through the polish residue better than the plusher, green MF. The blue Viper MF is also the one I use when applying QD, wiping out door sills, etc. I got a six pack to start and then several kits that I bought included some too.

Here's a kit that includes most of the towels you need and some Foam tire applicators (I like them):
http://www.properautocare.com/bemitokit.html

Add a six pack of the blue Viper MFs and you should be set for towels.

One more thing - cleaning your MFs and pads. You can wash your MFs and pads with detergent but you might want to use cleaners made for them. I use Micro Restore for cleaning my MFs:
http://www.properautocare.com/miremicl.html

And, Snappy to clean the pads:
http://www.properautocare.com/snclpadclpo.html

I bought all my detailing product, towels and tools from CMA (also called Proper Auto Care) to keep the shipping cost low, but there are several quality vendors out there.

Good luck on your project.

Regards,

Dan.

 

[enuttage]

Well. Good news and bad news. Good news is thanks to you guys I was able to break out the PC last night for a test run with the SSR2.5 and a LC white pad. And it was WAY easy. I'm very pleased with how much surface I can cover with the PC and how little time it took.

Bad news is that I've got some hard learning to do. I went after a test patch on the hood of a black, '98 Aston Martin DB7. It has pretty serious scratches, swirls and a water spot (or something) in the area I was working.

I followed the instructions on the PC and the 2.5 as best I could and did two runs over the area I was working. No dice. I saw little difference after I got done.

I suppose it's time to get an orange cutting pad? Either that or get some stronger SSR? I don't want to burn a hole through the paint, but clearly I need something else, as I saw no noticeable difference.

Keep in mind that I believe this is a very difficult project for a beginner like me. My and my wife's cars will be a little bit easier, as they've been maintained better than the DB7 has. It was a Florida car that saw no garage time. It's a '98 and my inlaws got it in '03 and brought it to Texas. Do the math + salt + sun on that one. Eesh.

Anyway, any suggestions?

-E

 

[Poorboy]

wow ..do have any pictures of this hood? yes it sounds like a cutting pad is in order to work out what you have described...how long did you spend on the section you worked on..from your description I'd stay on that spot for quite a while...

 

[enuttage]

wow ..do have any pictures of this hood?

Nah. I might be able to snap a couple off later today though. To my credit, the body shop guy my father-in-law uses for his business has told him that the car needs a re-paint. Of course, he's the body shop guy. But he has been incredibly honest with my FIL in the past. They run a ton of business through him, as a dealership.

yes it sounds like a cutting pad is in order to work out what you have described...how long did you spend on the section you worked on..from your description I'd stay on that spot for quite a while...

I'd say I probably spent 3-5 minutes each, for two runs, on a 2'x1.5' section on the upper hood on the driver's side. I'm a little unclear about when the polishing is officially done, and how much pressure I should apply. Last night I was applying very little pressure.

-E

 

[Poorboy]

if you followed the steps you wrote, and there was little or no improvement, the body shop guy might be right...I'm thinking you might also have single stage paint, was there any color coming off on the pad? You are right not to put pressure on the pad as a r/o will not be random if you apply pressure.
If it is a clearcoat (no color) then either the body guy is right or you would need a rotary to really make a difference....if you do have a good relationship with the guy, ask him to hit it with a rotary and see what he can do, if he says no then he probably is right and a repaint would be in order.
Consider one more thing...for a gorrous car like an Astin Martin, the body shop guy is probably thinking that no matter what you do at this point, the only thing worthy of the car is a repaint:dunno