First Post... go easy on me Your recommendations please

B

Buddha92SLC

New member
Hello all, I've heard tons about the great advice on the autopia.org forums so I decided to join. I had my 1992 Corrado SLC painted about a year ago. I've used Meguiars professional products in the past and really liked the traditional deep luster that they give. I also enjoy the length of protection that Adam's products have given me. My car color is a very dark burgundy pearl metallic.



I've never had such a nice finish before so I needed to step up and purchase some microfiber towels. I of course went to Walmart and purchased the towels there. I wasn't happy with the finished detailed product at all. You could see fine scratches in the finish from the damn towels.



So now I'm at a crossroads. I'm looking to purchase some excellent microfiber towels probably from pakshak.com and some new products. I'd like to see this finish with zero scratches the way it was intended to be! I'm interested to see what you would recommend for the following:



Wash:

I use Meg's gold class

Thinking about getting a gilmour foam gun (is it worth the price?)

Upgrading to do a 2 bucket wash w/ grit guards

Genuine Sheepskin mit



Dry:

Waffle Weave MF from PakShak (are these good towels?)



Clay:

I usually use clay magic products blue or red

lube I usually just mix some gold class & water



Do you guys do a 50/50 wipedown as well? What is the benefit of this?



Polish/Glaze:

Your recommendations



Wax:

Your Recommendations



LSP:

Your Recommendations



Detailing Spray:

Your Recommendations



I've heard great things about the Optimum and Chemical Guys products... although I beleive the CG products are Adam's in disguise.



I look forward to reading your reccomendations. Thanks in advance! ZAC
 
Welcome to your new addiction!





Wax is your LSP (last step product)



Do you have a DA or Rotary? If so you have many choices for compounds and polishes. Optimum polish is excellent, current favorite on this boards seems to be Meguires 105/205



You really can't go wrong with anything Optimum makes, all the products I have tried were excellent.





Please use the search function, as everyone will have a different opinion and there are already a million posts just like this one. I have learned so much here from searching. Its also an easy way to find which products have staying power and what is just a flavor of the month. Just search Optimum Polish and soon you will find other products compared to it.... then you will search that product and someone will mention this product.... you search that product... ADDICTED!!!
 
Thank you Derek. Yes I have a Porter Cable 7424. I have some 7.5" pads but CCS pads but I'm not a fan. They are too big. What are the favorites on the forums? Thanks for the link btw. Will I need a rotary to apply the 105, 205 and Optimum? Or will the PC do fine?
 
Buddha92SLC :welcome



Buddha92SLC said:
I'd like to see this finish with zero scratches the way it was intended to be!
Click to expand...



That would be in your polish and washing/maintenance routine.



Buddha92SLC said:
Wash:

I use Meg's gold class

Thinking about getting a gilmour foam gun (is it worth the price?)

Upgrading to do a 2 bucket wash w/ grit guards

Genuine Sheepskin mit
Click to expand...



IDK anything about GC but it's somewhat respected here as an OTC car wash, lubricity is the key in car soaps. 2 buckets is a good starting point and I would add a few more mitts as well.



Buddha92SLC said:
Dry:

Waffle Weave MF from PakShak (are these good towels?)
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Once again I can't comment on the Pak Shak towels but I really like the blue perls Blue Perl Cleaning & Buffing Towels, Pkg/2



Buddha92SLC said:
Clay:

I usually use clay magic products blue or red

lube I usually just mix some gold class & water
Click to expand...



Should be good. Wanna know when to clay? Insert your hand in a sandwich Baggie and lightly feel the paint after a wash session, if it feels rough-then it's time to clay.



Buddha92SLC said:
Do you guys do a 50/50 wipedown as well? What is the benefit of this?
Click to expand...



The wipe down serves two purposes: to remove any oils from a polish session or to remove LSPs if not claying or polishing and wanting to start w/ a fresh surface.



Buddha92SLC said:
Polish/Glaze:

Your recommendations
Click to expand...





As I only do corrections on my DDs annually I use glazes to fill minor swirls between those sessions. As a rule oily glazes are topped w/ waxes while the poly friendly glazes can be toppped w/ the same.





Buddha92SLC said:
Wax:

Your Recommendations
Click to expand...



Lots of options here and as many choices as there are Autopians :) I like CMW.



Buddha92SLC said:
LSP:

Your Recommendations
Click to expand...



Once again lots o' options...I use DG 601/111 and 105. Lots of believers in Collinite. Remember if topping a poly w/ a wax you'll need to strip if going back to poly but retopping w/ wax will be fine.



Buddha92SLC said:
Detailing Spray:

Your Recommendations
Click to expand...



The only time I use 'em is for claying and use the one I have the most of.



HTH



Don't forget do do some reading on this thread as it has lots of info put together in one place:



http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/108836-helpful-threads-newbies.html
 
Buddha92SLC said:
Wash:

I use Meg's gold class

Thinking about getting a gilmour foam gun (is it worth the price?)

Upgrading to do a 2 bucket wash w/ grit guards

Genuine Sheepskin mit



Dry:

Waffle Weave MF from PakShak (are these good towels?)



Clay:

I usually use clay magic products blue or red

lube I usually just mix some gold class & water



Do you guys do a 50/50 wipedown as well? What is the benefit of this?



Polish/Glaze:

Your recommendations



Wax:

Your Recommendations



LSP:

Your Recommendations



Detailing Spray:

Your Recommendations



I've heard great things about the Optimum and Chemical Guys products... although I beleive the CG products are Adam's in disguise.



I look forward to reading your reccomendations. Thanks in advance! ZAC
Click to expand...



You would get some flak from my suggestions (I like turtle wax products) but here goes. My take is that the biggest impediment to shine is enviromental and surface hazing.



Obsessing over scratches is useless, you can't remove the deep ones, and reducing the clearcoat to completely get rid of small scratches is self defeating.



Wash: Turtle Wax Ice car wash, gets the car nice and clean. I don't think the car soap really matters all that much.



Dry: A Jelly blade for the windows and roof, then waffle weave towels for the rest of the car.



Clay: I think that Clay step needs to be broken down into claying and prewax cleaning. This is why I really like Turtle Wax's Ice Clay kit, it comes with both pre-wax cleaner and clay. But using claymagic and Mother's prewax cleaner would be fine as well.



Some TW Bug and Tar remover in the metal can is very useful as well. It's got lots of solvents so it marvelous for removing road grime from the area's behind the wheels and front bumpers. These area's are the main source of grit that will scratch up the finish as you wash the car. Best to clean them first.



Polish/Glaze: Not needed if you are going to use a synthetic polish. Basicly these are shiney oils ment to be absorbed into spongy paint. If you have a brand new clear coat, you don't have spongy paint.



Wax: Whatever you like! The big splits are liquid vs paste (cream paste), cleaning vs pure, and synthetic vs carnauba based.



For myself, I really like TW Ice Liquid since its quick to apply, and leaves a remarkable silicone like shine. It's also designed to be used on all surfaces and so it will do wonders for plastic/rubber trim etc.



Even if you don't use Ice liquid as your wax, its still good to have for doing the trim and cladding.



If you're just starting out with paste wax, get a cheap can of cleaner wax, and use that to practice with.



It takes a while to learn how thin a layer of wax you really want to be applying, and how to keep reworking the wax over the panel to get a layer of thin even thickness (basicly the wax should be invisible when you are looking at it head on and be smeary when looking at it at an angle). Then doing a swipe test, and buffing off.



Buffing off works best with a microfiber towel, especially when using synthetic polishes.



Detailing Spray: TW Ice QD spray. It's a good QD spray, works well on carnauba waxes, and even better on surface waxed with TW Ice.



A trick with carnauba waxes is to "lock" the wax by rebuffing it after a splashing a few drops of water on the surface.



The most important step to getting the maximum performance out of any wax is the pre-wax cleaning. The fancy shine that you see in magazines etc, is achived by applying QD to a very smooth waxed surface.
 
Ok fellas,

After doing some more research using the links that you have provided... I have a few more questions.



1. What is the best size pad to use on a p/c 7424? I have 7.5" pads and they are too big. I was thinking 4" pads but I think they are only used for areas that need major attention. Am I wrong in my thinking here? What are you all using for pads/diameter sizes?



2. There are tons of synthetic products and natural products. I'm looking for products to use mostly with my show car so that it brings depth to the dark paint. This car is garage and has minimal mileage put on it every year. I'm thinking that I should be looking at natural products rather than synthetic. Can I put a pure carnuba on top of synthetic polishes? Will this still create the depth I am looking for?



3. There seems to be a bunch of different polishes/compunds available. How many stages of polish do you typically apply before applying your carnuba/LSP?



4. I've just began researching compounds, polishes, and waxes. Here is my list to research. Did I miss any that are worthwhile? Any to stay away from?



Meguiars

Optimum

3M

Menzerna

Blackfire

Einzett

P21S

Pinnacle

Wolfgang

Poorboys

Sonus

Adams

Chemical Guys

Ultima

Lusso Oro

Gliptone

Dodo Juice

Collinite

Zaino Bros

Klasse



TIA,

Zac
 
unfortunately, everyone you ask will give you different answers on products. The only real way is to bite the bullet, buy some try them, and see if you like them, and if not, buy others, try them, rinse and repeat. I now have bags and bags full of products (until i finally found what I liked).
 
Buddha92SLC said:
Ok fellas,

After doing some more research using the links that you have provided... I have a few more questions...
Click to expand...



Welcome to Autopia! Cool car :xyxthumbs



1. What is the best size pad to use on a p/c 7424? I have 7.5" pads and they are too big. I was thinking 4" pads but I think they are only used for areas that need major attention. Am I wrong in my thinking here? What are you all using for pads/diameter sizes?
Click to expand...



I use 4" pads exclusively when doing correction. Larger pads are OK for paint cleaners, all-in-ones, and waxes (only).

2. There are tons of synthetic products and natural products. I'm looking for products to use mostly with my show car so that it brings depth to the dark paint. This car is garage and has minimal mileage put on it every year. I'm thinking that I should be looking at natural products rather than synthetic. Can I put a pure carnuba on top of synthetic polishes? Will this still create the depth I am looking for?
Click to expand...



Get the prep right and the LSP won't make that huge a diff. Don't make a big deal out of natural/synthetic either. For my garage-queens I use a sealant on one and Souveran wax on another. This is such personal-preference stuff that it's almost pointless to discuss!





3. There seems to be a bunch of different polishes/compunds available. How many stages of polish do you typically apply before applying your carnuba/LSP?
Click to expand...



These days you can pretty much get by with two grades of polish but it might take a few different go-arounds using varying pads. And a final burnishing with a finishing polish can make a nice diff on a truly good finish.

4. I've just began researching compounds, polishes, and waxes. Here is my list to research. Did I miss any that are worthwhile? Any to stay away from?
Click to expand...



Tell us what car (is the factory paint on the VW? hard/soft?) and its condition and we can go from there. Some very popular products are *NOT* user-friendly IME ;) But these days you can do incredible work with (just) a PC and in a timely manner too.



But the big thing is to sort out the wash so you don't instill new marring. If you have to polish more than once a year you're doing something very wrong, even on a daily driver.
 
Thanks Accumulator!



The paint is aftermarket. I beleive he used Dupont base and another brand clearcoat. I'd say that the clearcoat is soft. It had very light scratches from the Wal-mart cheapo MF towels I bought in a hurry. Don't worry... I'm switching to PakShak towels. So now knowing that I have a softer clearcoat... what do you recommend?
 
Buddha92SLC said:
.. So now knowing that I have a softer clearcoat... what do you recommend?
Click to expand...



I'd probably lean towards M205 or even good ol' Meg's #80. Or something from Menzerna(but *NOT* their 106FF).



Sorry...I'm not too helpful with soft clear. I only have a couple medium/soft vehicles and I use old (out of production) 3M stuff on them.



There are people here who know a *LOT* more about working on soft clear than I do, maybe one of them will chime in.
 
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