Correct order to apply products???

T

TheWanderer

New member
Hey everyone,



I have been reading these forums for a few weeks now and finally decided to join. I have a whole list of products that I can't wait to try out. Some of the talk on here can be confusing for a newbie to detailing. I never really considered swirl removers/polishers/cleaners/glazes/sealant/waxes/quick detailers before. I have just always washed my car and put on an occasional coat of wax. But I recently bought a new (to me anyways) car and I want to take better care of it. It is a navy blue metallic color. After reading several threads here, I bought some Cobra MF towels and some Duragloss Car Wash and I am going to pick up some DG Aquawax this week. My paint has minor swirls in it and I would like to try to correct that by hand for right now if i can. Right now, I am not prepared to buy a DA to buff them out. I hope to do so later this year. What steps and in what order should I be doing until I get that? I am uncertain if I should apply one or more of the swirl removers/polishers/cleaners/glazes/sealant/waxes/quick detailers and how each product will interact with each other. Should I not even try to get the swirls corrected until I get the DA? Any help is appreciated. I look forward to being a member here.
 
The Wanderer- Welcome to Autopia!



Yeah, this stuff can get complicated and overwhelming (in all sorts of ways) pretty fast! Here's my advice, noting that I don't know what kind of car you have (as in, I don't know if your clearcoat is hard or soft).



-Clean it up and consider claying it. New cars often/usually need some degree of decontamination and claying is the usual way to do that. Eh, with a dark blue car you could probably skip such stuff with fewer consequences than with a lighter color.



-Marring removal by hand is tough, really tough. Hours and hours of hard work with generally mediocre results. But I understand that you're not gonna buy a polisher so...



-OK, gotta ask- what kind of car is it? Most of the time I'd say to just use a product that does more concealing than correction, but we might as well know what you're dealing with.



-Are you open to ordering online or do you want to stick with OTC stuff?



Answer those Qs and we can take things from there.



-OR, a very simple approach would be to go to most any autoparts store and buy some Meguiar's M09 Swirlmark Remover. No, it doesn't really remove the swirls, it just hides them, but it does that pretty well and it's not that hard to use. Go over the car with that and then apply some decent wax. For the wax I'd try to find some Collinite, but even Meguiar's NXT would work OK. There are other, newer products of a similar nature that I'm not familiar with (e.g., Meguiars' Ultimate Wax), perhaps somebody can chime in with comments on those.



Then you can apply the Aquawax after each wash to keep things looking good in between regular waxings. Redo the M09 whenever the swirls "come back".



-Meanwhile, note that almost all the marring occurs during the wash. Washing without marring is surprisingly difficult, and it'd be a shame to work really hard on the paint only to mar it up again right away. Getting your wash regimen squared away would be *my* #1 priority.



If you wash it the way most people would, pressing a sponge/wash mitt against the paint and "gently scrubbing it", you'll scratch it up something awful. If you dry it with a nice fluffy-soft 100% cotton bath towel, you'll probably scratch it. If you look at it sideways you'll probably scratch it ;) Seriously, I use this analogy- consider your paint to be as sensitive as the surface of your eyeball; that's not really too far off.
 
I have a 2007 4Runner. I have no idea about soft/hard clearcoat. This is definitely not a show car but I do want to take necessary steps to keep it looking as good as I can for as long as I can.



I do want to clay it soon. That leads to another question. I am going to buy some ONR and was also going to use that as a clay lube (at the proper dilution) but what clay bars work best with ONR?



OTC/Online - I'll do whatever and have already done both.



In an effort to keep it simple, would using a cleaner like DG501 or DG101 then applying DG105 be good? BTW, I am not brand loyal and do not mind at all using other brands, it's just that I have heard good things about those products and they seem to be well-reviewed. Would the Collinite or whatever wax I use go on after the DG105?



Thanks for your reply!
 
I've always heard that Toyota's clear coat is typically on the softer side.



I'm not sure about a clay bar that works "best" with ONR... I've used the OTC Meguiar's clay bars and thought they did a decent job, but now I just buy those in case I run out of my normal clay if I'm in a pinch, otherwise they're just used for wheels and glass. Currently I'm a big fan of Griot's Garage clay bar, my only complaint is that its more like a taffy texture and it gets pretty messy if you don't wear a glove with it (although who cares unless you're trying to keep perfectly manicured nails). Based on the lack of side-by-side reviews, results of claying with different bars must be pretty negligible. It seems to be mostly user-preference (or whatever happened to be on sale at the time of ordering). There are different grades of aggressiveness of bars, so I'd suggest just finding a mild grade bar (if the brand you're looking at offers different grades).



For your purposes, I'd find a good AIO such as Klasse AIO or the ZAIO. I believe Zaino products are preferred application by hand, however I refuse to try and detail a vehicle (daily driver) by hand. Especially a larger SUV like your 4Runner. The $130 you'll spend on a DA polisher is far less than what you spend on the medication for your soon-to-be carpal tunnel :P. Welcome and enjoy your new ride!
 
Yeah, the Toyota will almost certainly be on the softish-medium side.



Griot's clay is good but I don't like using their SpeedShine for the lube. Never did much claying using ONR as lube so I dunno which clays play nice with that. I'd sorta lean towards ClayMagic clay when it comes to what to recommend to somebody else.



Not familiar enough with the DG stuff to offer a useful opinion, but I *THINK* that might not offer the degree of filling/concealing you're after here. Neither would Klasse AIO (zero filling IME), much as I do think everybody oughta have it on the shelf due to its overall versatility.



I like ZAIO too, but again, no real concealing and it's not as overall versatile as KAIO.



Something like Autglym Super Resin Polish might fit the bill; it's an AIO that does conceal some minor flaws. Good stuff, I really like it (I use it on my Jag), but keep it off trim.



You *NEVER* hear about 1Z Wax Polish Soft, but that stuff is like a "super cleaner wax" that hides lots of flaws and gives a great shine. Top with Collinite and I'd be *astounded* if you didn't like it. Incredibly user-friendly..gee why doesn't anybody else ever recommend the stuff?!? Just did WPS topped with Collinite 845 on the RX-7 and it looks great.



And yeah, Collinite will go over top of most anything.
 
Accumulator said:
The Wanderer- Welcome to Autopia!



-Marring removal by hand is tough, really tough. Hours and hours of hard work with generally mediocre results. But I understand that you're not gonna buy a polisher so...
Click to expand...



This is where the magic happens...this is the step that affects the "final" appearance of your vehicle the most. As Accumulator mentioned, physically/abrasively removing marring by hand will take a long time and the appearance is usually not equal to a surface polished with a DA or rotary. I would recommend getting a feel for your balance of "Time Vs. Reward":



Purchase Meguiar's Ultimate Compound - It is very inexpensive (~$10), readily available anywhere, has similar performance to Meguiar's 105, and is fairly easy to use by hand. Pick a panel and go to town with UC...that will give you an idea on the difficulty level of removing the marring. Other than single-stage white, Toyota paint hardness is about medium so you should be able to make a noticeable and positive change on the paint's appearance.



If you find the going tough, definitely follow Accumulator's advice and get yourself some Swirlmark Remover (or equivalent product that can "hide" the marring). Save your arms and your money to purchase a DA.



On that note, Amazon has a ridiculous sale regarding the Griot's 6" DA Polisher Kit. The kit has been going on sale every 4 months or so:



Griot's Garage 6-inch DA Polisher Kit
 
Thanks for everybody's help. I was wanting to wait until later this year to purchase a buffer but that Amazon deal is tempting. I still need to wait a few more weeks before I purchase it though. At that time I am sure I will have more questions about it.



But for now, I think i will not do anything but maintenance washes until I can clay and then go to work with the DA. But I think I have decided that I will use the Collinite 845 wax as my LSP. I couldn't find anything that specifically said 1Z WPS, but is that the product that Ch96067 linked to? After I use the DA, is the 1Z WSP and Collinite 845 combo all I will need to apply between cleanings with the DA?
 
I think in the end you will be glad you will give in to the DA call ( the Griot's or another). :)



Regarding the last question, I am sure people will chime in, until they do I would say that the WSP will not be needed after the DA and before your LSP of choice.



Most probably you will use one or more 'proper' polishes for your DA, a glaze (if you think it is needed/fitting in your regime and budget) and your LSP.
 
Well, I can't seem to find anybody still selling the 1Z WPS; I'd heard they might discontinue it (at least in the US) and I guess they did. Too bad, I really like that stuff (even *after* doing a good job of polishing! It's simply a great glaze-type product).



The Wanderer- You'll be glad you got the polisher and the Griot's comes with a money-back guarantee.



The one Duragloss product (forget the number, I'm no expert on their stuff) is an all-in-one. Maybe you'll like it by itself (plenty of people do) or maybe you'd like to use it as a paint cleaner before the 845 (good choice BTW, also works great on plastic trim and I even use it on some rubber trim). You could just use the Duragloss like a cleaner wax and you can do that by hand.



Generally, you can just wash until you notice the beading starting to change for the worse. Then reapply the 845. Many (most, at least here) would say you should clay before rewaxing, but that's up to you. Every few rewaxes, redo the Duragloss to clean things up a bit better. Plan to repolish maybe once per year to reduce/eliminate marring.



You can do the 845 by hand or machine, your preference.
 
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