Necessary Products for paint correction / enhancement

A

Astouffer512

Member
Being new to paint care, as in actually trying to make the paint look better rather than just washing and waxing...I decided to rea h out to the knowledge base here to ask this question...

What`s are the essential & needed types of products for paint correction / enhancement?
These products being not a polisher or pads or wash media...but rather what products, or rather those of products do you always have on hand in your shop / arsenal

Not necessarily looking for a specific brand or company, but what types of products

Clay or something of that matter

Fallout remover

Compounds (different levels?)

Polishes (different levels)

AIO?

Scratch and swirl removers?

Bug / Tar remover

Water spot remover

Cleaner waxes


Etc, etc, etc

.I want to build my arsenal, and I`m not afraid to buy product X to have because I may need it at some point


I`m. Ot going to go into the detailing business, but I do want to have products to help someone if needed as I learn more


Where do you get practice panels...or rather do most body shops charge ice you want a panel or 2 to practice on?

Thanks everyone

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You are going to get a boat load of different products so be ready for that.

This is what I use or have used that has stayed on the shelf and they are not all necessity. It is just what works for me.


Clay or something of that matter Griot`s Fast Clay Mitt, Clay Magic Clay Bar

Fallout remover: CarPro IronX. The new version does not stink. D1801 is another option but it smells the worst.

Compounds (different levels?) 3D ACA, Sonax Cut Max, Meguiar`s M110

Polishes (different levels?) Sonax Perfect Finish, Meguiar`s M205 & M210, Optimum Hyper Polish, CarPro Essence (for coatings)

Compounding Polishes 3D One, Sonax Cut & Finish

AIO? Don`t use them. I was sent Meguiar`s D166 by Autogeek for review so it is on the shelf

Scratch and swirl removers? These are polishes and compounds just a different term for the same thing.

Bug / Tar remover CarPro TarX. No bugs in So Cal so not a big worry here.

Water spot remover Haven`t found one that actually does a good job

Cleaner waxes Different term but same as an AIO



Astouffer512 said:
Where do you get practice panels...or rather do most body shops charge ice you want a panel or 2 to practice on?
Click to expand...

Hit up your local salvage yard or body shop.
 
I start with the wash. You can use wax or stripping soap but no proof they work. I personally feel they remove some but not all waxes

My choice: Mckees coating prep wash in foam cannon then Car Pros reset.

Follow up with a chemical decon for iron and tar.

My choice: Tar X and Iron X. Could also use Trix all from Car Pros.

Mechanical Decon with clay

My choice: Griots brilliant finish synthetic clay and nano skin auto scrubs

Compound

My choice: didn’t use much as didn’t want to go to aggressive but CP Clearcut (super aggressive) wasn’t comfortable for my 1st time Griots Fast correcting cream again didn’t need this aggressiveness so went to griots standard correcting cream. Just right.

Polish

My choice: went with CP essence because I was coating. Amazing stuff.

Polishers: get a good one best you can afford. I went with Boss 15 and Adam’s swirl killer mini.

I went with the long throw because it works faster and thought about the Flex because although not as smooth from what I read but also gets done quick.

If I knew what I know now and could redo I would go with The griots G9 (9mm?) and the flex pixie. 9mm would of done what I needed (2 cars per yr). Maybe a little slower but I’m only doing 2 cars. I would Choose the pixie base on it being a 1-3” polisher and size. If I couldn’t afford pixie griots G8.

Don’t cheap out on your abrasives. I believe Mike says this is as important as technique. You’ll do yourself a big favor by not doing it on machines.



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Astouffer512 said:
Tha is Guz....any type of product that I missed?
Click to expand...
Proper Inspection Lighting. It`s absolutely crucial and not as easy to square away as you might think.

FWIW, I`d be doing Chemical Decontaminations more often than Mechanical ones. I`d expect ABCing it to take care of all the Deco work.
 
Not much to add except get a good stool and forget a practice panel. Unless you are using a rotary put that time in productively by polishing a real car. You`d have to be `special` to screw up paint with a da.
 
Astouffer512 said:
Tha is Guz....any type of product that I missed?

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Click to expand...

As mentioned good lighting. The scangrip sunmatch hand held is a great light. There is a braun light at harbor freight that is a good alternative and worth the gamble with a 25% off coupon. Posted it in this thread https://www.autopia.org/forums/the-...0-post-unboxing-pictures-268.html#post2167785

I received your PM. I can`t really say which products to try. All I can say is anyone of the ones I mentioned will be fine. You also have the option of picking up Meguiar`s ultimate compound and M205 at most local stores.
 
I have some ultimate compound actually. Picked it up a couple years ago when I thought I could hand polish a car.....that didn`t go well. I also have some M105 that I don`t like because it dusted bad, and I felt like it flashed real quick. I`ve read somewhere that people have mixed the Ultimate and the M105. Maybe I`ll try that.


And about the practice panels and not needing them. I`d rather do some more practicing, and plus it gives me a reason to try something new if I want to

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And moving into polishers

I have a PC but have thought it would be nice to have a 2nd machine. Mainly for those tighter areas. I have both a 5" and 3" backing plate.

I`ve been looking at the GG G8 and the GG G9

What would be smarter, buying the G9 and putting the 3" BP on the PC....or would it be better to buy the G8 for the smaller areas?

As mentioned earlier I`ll only probably do 2-3 a year maybe....so I don`t need the long throw polishers necessarily

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Astouffer512 said:
I have some ultimate compound actually. Picked it up a couple years ago when I thought I could hand polish a car.....that didn`t go well. I also have some M105 that I don`t like because it dusted bad, and I felt like it flashed real quick. I`ve read somewhere that people have mixed the Ultimate and the M105. Maybe I`ll try that.


And about the practice panels and not needing them. I`d rather do some more practicing, and plus it gives me a reason to try something new if I want to

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Click to expand...

Hard to get real world experience with a loose fender or door imo. Don`t you have a family member, coworker or neighbor you can practice on?

Don`t give up so quickly on the 105. Probably still the best compound out there.
 
Astouffer512 said:
And moving into polishers

I have a PC but have thought it would be nice to have a 2nd machine. Mainly for those tighter areas. I have both a 5" and 3" backing plate.

I`ve been looking at the GG G8 and the GG G9

What would be smarter, buying the G9 and putting the 3" BP on the PC....or would it be better to buy the G8 for the smaller areas?

As mentioned earlier I`ll only probably do 2-3 a year maybe....so I don`t need the long throw polishers necessarily

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Click to expand...


If you already have a porter cable and are only going to be detailing 2 or 3 cars per year you don`t need another polisher. The ones you have mentioned won`t get you any farther then what you already have.
 
Astouffer512 said:
I have some ultimate compound actually. Picked it up a couple years ago when I thought I could hand polish a car.....that didn`t go well. I also have some M105 that I don`t like because it dusted bad, and I felt like it flashed real quick. I`ve read somewhere that people have mixed the Ultimate and the M105. Maybe I`ll try that.


And about the practice panels and not needing them. I`d rather do some more practicing, and plus it gives me a reason to try something new if I want to

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Click to expand...

Toss that M105 for one of the other compounds I mentioned. You will be much happier. Ultimate Compound is derived from M105 but is made to be user friendly with a little less cut. It does a good job and is a good compound to practice with.

Head over to the salvage yard for some panels.

bad penny said:
Don`t give up so quickly on the 105. Probably still the best compound out there.
Click to expand...

Was surpassed long ago by newer technology abrasives in my opinion. Even by some of the newer Meguiar`s compounds.
 
Sorta-random thoughts follow:

- With countless hours of *really* aggressive rotary work under my belt, the only time I`ve *EVER* damaged paint with a polisher was with a PC and a mild (although 4") pad/product combo, and that was after decades of experience too

- That said, unless using a 4" pad (or smaller), I consider the PC so underpowered as to be basically worthless due to the time-INefficiency; it will indeed do the work, but it takes a very long time. When I got my first PC I thought it was defective given how it compared to my Cyclos (let alone the rotaries)

- I never bothered with Test Panels, but that`s just me and I did spend *hours* thinking on the topic before I actually turned a polisher on; IMO 99% of the "oops!"-potential is related to something unexpected happening, and the less you know the less you might expect. Some do better practicing, others (like me) do better researching, so know what`s best for *you*

- IME when M105 dusts badly it`s because it was worked too long, which is admittedly easy to do given it`s *VERY* short work-time (I seem to be one of the few who liked that)

- Much as I still like M105 (especially the old v1.0), I reach for M101 more frequently

- Unless doing cars for others, Compounding oughta be a *VERY* infrequent experience as today`s compounds are very aggressive and today`s clearcoats are very thin. We`re not talking "something you do annually" or anything like that

- People generally underestimate both how many pads they`ll need and how quickly a pad needs cleaned/changed. AND how long this stuff takes even with the optimal stuff
 
The Guz said:
Was surpassed long ago by newer technology abrasives in my opinion. Even by some of the newer Meguiar`s compounds.
Click to expand...

It hasn`t surpassed for me.
My everyday compound is M100 (or 3D1) for its ease of use and ability to apply lsp right away, but when I`m in trouble I always reach for M105, a rotary w/wool and a squirt bottle.
 
I like:

Meguiar`s Professional Clay. Both fine and aggressive.

CarPro IronX - Fallout Remover

Abrasives:
Menzerna 400 compound
Menzerna 2400 medium polish
Menzerna 3500 fine polish

AIO/cleaner wax - Duragloss 501, or 101

Sealant - Duragloss 111, or Aquawax

Wax - Zymol Carbon

I use Optimum Power Clean to help remove bugs, and I consider the Menzerna 2500 a "swirl remover".
 
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