Newbie, ready to tackle my swirls...

F

Firewalker

New member
Hi all, great site! I am a newbie, I have a 2002 Lexus ES300 (Black) which prompted my interest in detailing. I am a bit anal, I like my cars clean, and this black beauty was mistreated by its PO. So, I purchased the following:
PC 7424
Menzerna Intensive Polish
Menzerna Final Polish II
Menzerna Finishing touch glaze
flexible 6" hook and loop backing plate
counter weight for the 6" plate
pad kit, which includes several pads made by west lake.
lots of MF towels
Mean Green cleaner
misc brushes, etc.

I have spent alot of time online, reading, learning from all of you, and watching
many videos of the "how to" variety. My hope is that if I ever get good enough at detailing, to do a car or so a week on my days off (firefighter).

Based on what I purchased, any suggestions on what I should purchase to assist me in cleaning up my swirls and assisting me with my detailing fantasy?

TIA....Jeff:2santa
 
Welcome to the site Jeff. You'll find lots of great information here. Your list looks really good, but I noticed that you didn't list what car wash soap you are using or what clay. Especially with black washing techniques are vital to helping maintain a swirl free finish. what will you be using for your LSP??
Firewalker said:
Hi all, great site! I am a newbie, I have a 2002 Lexus ES300 (Black) which prompted my interest in detailing. I am a bit anal, I like my cars clean, and this black beauty was mistreated by its PO. So, I purchased the following:
PC 7424
Menzerna Intensive Polish
Menzerna Final Polish II
Menzerna Finishing touch glaze
flexible 6" hook and loop backing plate
counter weight for the 6" plate
pad kit, which includes several pads made by west lake.
lots of MF towels
Mean Green cleaner
misc brushes, etc.

I have spent alot of time online, reading, learning from all of you, and watching
many videos of the "how to" variety. My hope is that if I ever get good enough at detailing, to do a car or so a week on my days off (firefighter).

Based on what I purchased, any suggestions on what I should purchase to assist me in cleaning up my swirls and assisting me with my detailing fantasy?

TIA....Jeff:2santa
Click to expand...
 
To be honest, I didn't realize I need a final product after the glaze, I thought that WAS the final product. Sheesh, I am totally a newb. So after reading some more...

I think I will go with Nattys Blue, I like the look of a wax, over that of a sealer, as for washing, I use the Mr. Clean Auto wash unit, but with a mf mitt, not the fake wool one.

thanks for setting me straight! U rock
 
Welcome to the board. I think you will find there are several members or this board who are also first responders. YOu might want to rethink the Mr Clean system. I beleive thier soap may strip away the wax you are working hard to put on. You may want to try some car wash soap and the two bucket method. I really like the NXT carwash right now and you can get it locally for aboout 7 or 8 bucks a gallon. I would rally look into a soap/foam gun for washing. A couple of real lamb mits would also be a welcome addition. I generally focus on washing. I have a black 2006 Acura TL. That soft honda paint scratches if you look at it wrong. My thought is I wash more often than I do anything else so I try to prevent swirls more than polishing. Just my 2 cents. Best of luck in your quest.
 
great advice, I will definitely take it. Lexus paint is well known for being ultra soft and once I remove all the swirls, it is my plan to "learn" how to properly wash a car to avoid such swirls in the future. I love a black car, I think it is the prettiest color for cars during the 15 minutes that they stay looking clean! Thanks again, I really do appreciate the advice. I am learning so much from this site!:dcrules
 
I have a general question, that relates to the weather:

Ohio weather stinks....and lately it has been raining on every day off. So, I can do the work on my car in the garage or wait until another sunny, mildly warm day. My question is, if its raining out, does the excess moisture in the air make buffing more difficult or is it largely irrelevant? How does weather affect the polishing process? I mean, when it gets ohio cold, will I need a heater in my garage or is polishing and waxing indifferent? Sorry, newbie question but I couldnt find it talked about in the search.
 
Firewalker said:
Hi all, great site! I am a newbie, I have a 2002 Lexus ES300 (Black) which prompted my interest in detailing. I am a bit anal, I like my cars clean, and this black beauty was mistreated by its PO. So, I purchased the following:
PC 7424
Menzerna Intensive Polish
Menzerna Final Polish II
Menzerna Finishing touch glaze
flexible 6" hook and loop backing plate
counter weight for the 6" plate
pad kit, which includes several pads made by west lake.
lots of MF towels
Mean Green cleaner
misc brushes, etc.

I have spent alot of time online, reading, learning from all of you, and watching
many videos of the "how to" variety. My hope is that if I ever get good enough at detailing, to do a car or so a week on my days off (firefighter).

Based on what I purchased, any suggestions on what I should purchase to assist me in cleaning up my swirls and assisting me with my detailing fantasy?

TIA....Jeff:2santa
Click to expand...


The menzerna line is a great product so you should be fine with that. In the future, you might want to try po106ff which is also from Menzerna but costly. It almost works like a compound in its effectiveness at removing swirls and such but leaves the finish of a superior polish. Some people go straight to their LSP after po106ff. Another Menzerna product is po85rd which supposedly has the same gloss rating as po106ff but many people say it leaves a much glossier effect. The po85rd you can only get overseas however. Last thing, you might also want to try RMG, many mix RMG into their Menzerna polish to give it better working time and more depth. These are just some things you might want to try down the road. But what you have now should be excellent. Do you not plan on using a wax as your LSP? Souveran looks really good on black but its pricey. Natty's blue is a good choice in my opinion, especially for the price.
 
Firewalker said:
I have a general question, that relates to the weather:

Ohio weather stinks....and lately it has been raining on every day off. So, I can do the work on my car in the garage or wait until another sunny, mildly warm day. My question is, if its raining out, does the excess moisture in the air make buffing more difficult or is it largely irrelevant? How does weather affect the polishing process? I mean, when it gets ohio cold, will I need a heater in my garage or is polishing and waxing indifferent? Sorry, newbie question but I couldnt find it talked about in the search.
Click to expand...
Ohio weather isn't a lot different tha Iowa weather so here's my thoughts.
1. Use of a swirl remover or polish has never been a problem due to humidity.
That's with Poorboy's SSR2.5 SSR2, Meguiar's #83, #80, #82, #9. Klasse AIO, 4 Star UPC.
2. When I work in the garage during the winter, I have much better results when I have a temperature of 50 degrees or more. I think you could do it as long as it is above freezing, but not only am I more comfortable at 50+, I think products apply more evenly and remove with less effort. That could be all in my head, but....
3. Sealants/waxes definitely seem to require more time to set/haze, what ever you want to call it, before removal.
4. I have a 100,000 BTU torpedo style kerosene construction heater that I run long enough to get the garage to the temperature I am comfortable with and then shut it off. It is too noisy and burns up too much oxygen to leave on while I am working. In a 23' x 32' garage, 20 minutes will usually raise the temperature from 30 degrees to 50+.

That's also how I wash the vehicles during the winter. DIY spray wash to knock off the salt and thick crud, then heat the garage and finish up with Poorboy's S&W in the 50 degree temperature.

I'm not much for pimping products, but Poorboy's S&W is one that I would hate to be without.

Charles
 
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