Help a semi-newbie with some questions.

[digital]

Ive been into detailing for about 6 months now, but i still have a lot of questions about the techniques and products that I use. Ive tried the search feature for some questions, but could not get an answer for all.



First, tell me how I can refine my routine.

(1)rinse the car off

(2)wash with meguiars hi-tech, dry with waffle weave MF towel

(3)claybar if needed

(4)polish with porter cable, wiping each section as I am done. Remove with terry towels (should I be using MF?)

(5)carnuba wax with a pad, wiping off the wax once I am done with the entire car. Remove with Terry cloth towels

(6)final inspection



What am I doing wrong or what Am I not doing that I should be?



Questions:

1. What kind of pad should I be using when polishing with my porter. Currently I am trying to restore two cars with heavy swirls. Can anyone tell me the technique for removing heavy swirls, and recommened products (and where I can get it) for removing heavy swirls.



2. can anyone recommend a good claybar to use? I ran out of the meguiars, and I felt as if it did not remove all the contaminents.



3. should i invest in a power washer?



4. I am thinking of switching from Meguiars prodcuts. I heard many great things about S100 wax. Where can I purchase S100 wax online? What wash, polish, etc. etc. should accompany s100 and where can I get it?



5. How often should I replace my MF towels? Where can I get MF wash mitts? should i be using MF or Sheepskin for wash mitts?



6. How do I know when wax hazes? I usually just wax the entire car then remove it, often the wax is very hard to take off. also, with polish, is it a apply and immediatley remove deal? or do I have to wait?



7. How often should I polish? I heard about once a year? how often should I wax? once a month?



8. should I be polishing/waxing all the parts of the car (lower front and back fascia?)



9. I think that some of my cars was not buffed right when it was repainted. In low/dim light I can see "waves" on the hood. I cannot really describe this but the light reflects off the hood in waves...Is there something wrong/can I fix this?





Thanks for the help

 

[digital]

here is a picture of one of the cars Im currently working with:

 

[Magellan498]

Well lemme try and tackle that first question of yours.



Now there are three basic pads for polishing with the PC. (in order of most abrasive to least) There's the Wool pad, the cutting pad, and the polishing Pad.



To go along with those are a slew of polishes and compounds. Now personally I would start out with Meguiars #1 and a cutting pad. That might get rid of the scratches, but if they are as heavy as you say, you might need Heavy-Cut Cleaner by Meguiars (i forget the #) or a compound. If the swirls look alot better with the #1 and the cutting pad but not quite there, you might want to just try the wool pad. This might induce a little hazing but don't freak out, go over it with lesser abrasive products untill you get that show car shine.



Hope this helped a bit. Good Luck to ya!

 

[switerajaya]

welcome digital :wavey

About your routine;

Steps 1-4 are fine, MF work great for removing residue. 100% cotton works well as long as it is truly 100%. Not all labels are truthful. Step 5, you can wait for the wax to haze before wiping off, as you found out though sometimes it can be a PITA to remove. Some products like P21s/S100 are wipe on a panel then wipe off. Although, there was a thread where folks were allowing Souveran to haze before removing. Step 6 is a good QD but since it doesn't contain wax it won't be prolonging your wax like some of the QD with wax.

[edit] forgot to say, nice car