ONR, clay, Klasse AIO = seeking advice on my upcoming car cleaning

[Accumulator]

Hi all. I wanted to jump back into my old post here and ask a follow-up about swirling. Would something like Meguiar's Swirl X help to fix/hide minor swirling on my black audi? Or am I better off just trying the SRP to see what it can do?



Thanks!

I'd expectd the Swirl-X to be way too mild to do much of any correction on an Audi. Whether the SRP will conceal stuff to your satisfaction is hard to predict too. Sorry, I'm not being of much help..no way to talk you into a polisher, huh?



I guess I'd recommend that you try some Meguiar's Ultimate Compound and then use the SRP after that. You *might* need an intermediate step of Scratch-X v2.0. If you do a panel at a time (say, after each of a series of washes), this might not be an insurmountable task. I bet I'm rehashing stuff that's already on this thread, sorry but I forget what we've already covered.

 

[john1r]

Thanks for the further info. I'm just going to wait and take it to a professional if I decide that it needs serious correction.

 

[Alexshimshimhae]

if it's SERIOUS then yea, that'd be a safe call (provided you find an actual professional, and not a hack who self labels himself one) but i mean I wouldn't be too too intimidated either

 

[john1r]

Quick question: now that it's getting colder here in the Northeast (50s/60s in the morning), might I run into any issues with ONR/Clay/KAIO/845? Particularly with the 845, which I understand that I'm supposed to use a very small amount, shake it very well, and make sure it's warm(ish), I'm worried that the cooler temps might make it difficult to remove.

 

[Alexshimshimhae]

I'm actually curious as to what to do with all my products as well (can I just leave it in the garage during the winter? or will the freezing temps mess with it for when I use it in the spring?)

 

[Accumulator]

Quick question: now that it's getting colder here in the Northeast (50s/60s in the morning), might I run into any issues with ONR/Clay/KAIO/845? Particularly with the 845, which I understand that I'm supposed to use a very small amount, shake it very well, and make sure it's warm(ish), I'm worried that the cooler temps might make it difficult to remove.

I'd worry more about the clay being stiff than anything else, but I'm no authority on this one as I've had heated shops since forever :nixweiss

I'm actually curious as to what to do with all my products as well (can I just leave it in the garage during the winter? or will the freezing temps mess with it for when I use it in the spring?)

Don't let stuff freeze or it will quite likely not come back OK.

 

[Alexshimshimhae]

good to know.....I guess I'll have to hide all my stuff away in the basement or something

 

[john1r]

I'd expectd the Swirl-X to be way too mild to do much of any correction on an Audi. Whether the SRP will conceal stuff to your satisfaction is hard to predict too. Sorry, I'm not being of much help..no way to talk you into a polisher, huh?



I guess I'd recommend that you try some Meguiar's Ultimate Compound and then use the SRP after that. You *might* need an intermediate step of Scratch-X v2.0. If you do a panel at a time (say, after each of a series of washes), this might not be an insurmountable task. I bet I'm rehashing stuff that's already on this thread, sorry but I forget what we've already covered.

Wondering what your thoughts are on Optimum Poli-Seal instead of the KAIO, as it may remove a bit of swirling (as I've read on other posts)?



Or given that it has some abrasives and I'm a complete newbie I run the risk of causing more problems?



Thanks again for your advice!

 

[Dan]

Wondering what your thoughts are on Optimum Poli-Seal instead of the KAIO, as it may remove a bit of swirling (as I've read on other posts)?



Or given that it has some abrasives and I'm a complete newbie I run the risk of causing more problems?



Thanks again for your advice!

The abrasives in Poliseal are very mild, by hand, they will do nothing to the swirls in your Audi clear. (Even though most people say it doesn't) In my experience Poliseal does a great job of concealing minor swirls but only for a short while. Honestly, you are probably better off going with SRP if you want to conceal, but even then, you are wasting your time when you can grab a machine for $100.

 

[Alexshimshimhae]

by hand esp you wont get rid of much..and i don't know if ps gets rid of them ... i thought they just filled them somewhat...

 

[john1r]

Thanks everyone.

 

[john1r]

I finally did it! The weather cooperated yesterday so I did my first real wash. Thank you again to everyone for the advice! Part of the process went as expected (ONR), part went a little worse (clay), and a couple parts went better than expected (KAIO & 845...I almost feel that I may have done something wrong b/c they were TOO easy!)



I apologize for my lengthy follow-up/further questions (and I know some of the questions should probably be in their topics), but I greatly appreciate any further thoughts/suggestions:



1. ONR wash: went perfectly fine and about as expected. I used a Meguiar's Microfiber Wash Mitt & Viking Microfiber Waffle Weave Drying Towel. I was happy with both products and would use them again. I do have a Zwipes 757 Microfiber Hand Mop, but I didn't try it b/c I thought I read that ONR is better to use with a plain MF towel or mit, vs. a hand mop which doesn't provide as much coverage. There are a few remaining 'bug splats' on the hood/grille which I just could not get off. Any recommended products/techniques for doing so? Though they've been there for a while and might not come off by hand...



2. Claying: didn't work for me. I don't know what I did wrong (or I did nothing wrong and the clay isn't supposed to get out those remaining bug splats, possible white paint specs, etc...?). I used ONR in a ratio between clay and QD (to be safe), and found that the clay just didn't really get anything off (Pinnacle ultra poly clay). I did feel it drag occasionally and then free up, so I guess it did 'something', but it didn't remove anything 'major' (and it came up pretty clean, no big dirt particles trapped by the clay). I only used it a bit on the hood and one side panel, but gave up after it didn't really seem to be doing much (and I didn't want to risk doing something majorly wrong and messing up my paint...). Could it just be that my car is new/clean enough that it didn't need claying? Any further thoughts/recommendations would be appreciated.



3. KAIO: applied with a Viking Microfiber Applicator Pad and it went on/off quite easily. I applied to 1 or 2 panels at a time (depending on size of panel) and then wiped off with a clean MF towel (regular MF, not super plush or anything like that -- should I have used a super plush towel?). I had a little trouble in that the areas where I did my first pass, as they had a lot more product than the areas at the end of a panel. These areas were then much harder to buff off, and I found myself applying the product quicker and quicker so I could go back and start wiping those first areas. I was putting a small amount of KAIO in the middle of the applicator pad, and basically that drop went on really heavy when first applying, and then I guess it got distributed around the pad and the rest of the panel went better.



4. Collinite 845: applied with a Viking Microfiber Application Pad and it went on/off quite easily. I'm so glad I read this forum over and over regarding the 845. When I first opened it, it was nearly solid! I held it in my hands for a while but nothing really changed, so I ended up putting it in a cup of warm water for a few minutes, shaking, warm water, shaking, etc... Eventually it turned into a nice thin liquid. I slightly dampened the Viking pad with water and applied a small amount to 1 or 2 panels at a time (depending on size of panel) and then wiped off with a clean MF towel (again, would a super plush be better?). Also, after seeing how one drop in the middle of the pad didn't work that great for the KAIO, I instead did 3 smaller drops in a row across the diameter of the pad. This seemed to allow for easier application.



After reading a lot of posts where people had issues with 845, I have to say that I was surprised by how easy it was. The product did look quite oily when applied, but it wiped off no problem with a MF after just 1 or 2 panels, or even a few minutes later (on spots that I missed).



My concern with the 845 (and I guess this applies to the KAIO as well), is that maybe I should have used a foam applicator pad rather than MF applicator pads. Perhaps the MF absorbed too much product (especially in the case of 845), and that's why it was so easy to remove (b/c I didn't put enough on)? Perhaps a foam pad would have made the KAIO goes on more consistently? Or I am just that good (and you all give such good advice) that I just did a perfect job with the KAIO and 845?



I also have a question on cleaning my MF products but figured I'd make a new post for that: http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-de...2462-cleaning-mf-products-after-wash-wax.html



Again, thank you in advance for your further comments/suggestions!



Thanks again!!!

 

[Accumulator]

I finally did it! ..

Good to hear, and I'm glad it went well.

1. ... There are a few remaining 'bug splats' on the hood/grille which I just could not get off. Any recommended products/techniques for doing so? Though they've been there for a while and might not come off by hand...

If more aggressive claying/KAIO-ing won't get 'em, I'd probably just use one of the mildly abrasive polishes we've already discussed. For the grille, I really would expect the clay/KAIO (or some other type of cleaning product) to work, that's all I can ever recall using on Audi grilles and I've been doing 'em since the '80s!

2. Claying: didn't work for me. I don't know what I did wrong (or I did nothing wrong and the clay isn't supposed to get out those remaining bug splats, possible white paint specs, etc...?). I used ONR in a ratio between clay and QD (to be safe), and found that the clay just didn't really get anything off (Pinnacle ultra poly clay). I did feel it drag occasionally and then free up, so I guess it did 'something', but it didn't remove anything 'major' (and it came up pretty clean, no big dirt particles trapped by the clay). I only used it a bit on the hood and one side panel, but gave up after it didn't really seem to be doing much (and I didn't want to risk doing something majorly wrong and messing up my paint...). Could it just be that my car is new/clean enough that it didn't need claying? Any further thoughts/recommendations would be appreciated.

I bet it did more than you think, but (and note that I've never used the Pinnacle clay or liked using ONR as lube), I'd try a different clay system. Maybe ClayMagic (blue version). But yeah, your contamination might've been so minimal that there just wasn't much to clay off. Still...those problem spots do still sound like prime candidates for claying to me.



But I'm glad you decided to err on the side of caution rather than trying to force your claying approach to work more aggressively than it wanted to.

3. KAIO: applied with a Viking Microfiber Applicator Pad and it went on/off quite easily. I applied to 1 or 2 panels at a time (depending on size of panel) and then wiped off with a clean MF towel (regular MF, not super plush or anything like that -- should I have used a super plush towel?). I had a little trouble in that the areas where I did my first pass, as they had a lot more product than the areas at the end of a panel. These areas were then much harder to buff off, and I found myself applying the product quicker and quicker so I could go back and start wiping those first areas. I was putting a small amount of KAIO in the middle of the applicator pad, and basically that drop went on really heavy when first applying, and then I guess it got distributed around the pad and the rest of the panel went better.

I'd do smaller areas and wipe 'em off quicker. That should make for a more even product distribution (general rule: always use less product than you think you need to) and for an easier buff-off.



No need for plusher MFs unless the ones you have either mar the paint (doesn't sound like it) or load up with product so fast that you need a zillion of them. Often, people *prefer* less-plush MFs for buffing off some products because the really plush ones strike those folks as "too plush, as in too gentle" for that particular job.

4. Collinite 845:..applied a small amount to 1 or 2 panels at a time (depending on size of panel) and then wiped off with a clean MF towel (again, would a super plush be better?). Also, after seeing how one drop in the middle of the pad didn't work that great for the KAIO, I instead did 3 smaller drops in a row across the diameter of the pad. This seemed to allow for easier application.

Nah, I doubt you need plusher MFs for this either. And yeah, that application-media priming technique is generally much better than one bigger blob..for *any* product :xyxthumbs

My concern with the 845 (and I guess this applies to the KAIO as well), is that maybe I should have used a foam applicator pad rather than MF applicator pads. Perhaps the MF absorbed too much product (especially in the case of 845), and that's why it was so easy to remove (b/c I didn't put enough on)? Perhaps a foam pad would have made the KAIO goes on more consistently? Or I am just that good (and you all give such good advice) that I just did a perfect job with the KAIO and 845?

Heh heh, don't work too hard at fixing what isn't broken



But hey...try foam applicators next time and see which you prefer. I use foam for this sort of thing, but that's just me and IMO it's not a right/wrong kind of thing.

I also have a question on cleaning my MF products but figured I'd make a new post for that: http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-de...2462-cleaning-mf-products-after-wash-wax.html

Short answer: Dawn. Regular is OK, Power Dissolver is better. OR "MF detergent". Or even just All Purpose Cleaner ("APC").

 

[john1r]

Thank you so much for the detailed responses!!! I'll definitely try claying again, and perhaps get the blue ClayMagic instead of what I already have. I will also try the KAIO again on the grille. I assume if I use KAIO on the hood that I'd have to then reapply the 845? Does the same thing go for claying (if I re-clay a small area do I need to re-apply KAIO and/or 845?



Thank you again!

 

[Accumulator]

I'll definitely try claying again, and perhaps get the blue ClayMagic instead of what I already have. I will also try the KAIO again on the grille...

Just don't rub really hard and end up instilling marring



I'd work on the grille first so you can see how aggressive you need to get; it'll be a lot less sensitive/critical than the hood, don't you think?

I assume if I use KAIO on the hood that I'd have to then reapply the 845?

Right, the KAIO's cleaning action will clean off the 845. Plus, in this case you need to get the 845 off the paint/out of the way so you can get to the stains in question (which are currently under the 845).

Does the same thing go for claying (if I re-clay a small area do I need to re-apply KAIO and/or 845?

In this case yeah, for the reasons I mentioned above. Sometimes you can clay so gently that it just "cleans the wax" but that's a different ballgame.

Thank you again!

Glad to help.

 

[john1r]

Thanks again for all the help. I'll probably wait until my next big cleaning before I re-clay, etc...



In the meantime, I wanted to now ask what everyone recommends in between the big washes/waxes. About once a month (or more likely once every other month depending on how much time I have) I plan to do an ONR wash and spray wax.



Originally I was going to use Optimum Car Wax, but then someone recommended Prima Hydro, which can be applied directly to the wet panel before drying (is this not a good idea for any reason), making the wash/wax a one-step process (rather than washing whole car and then coming around again with the OCW, not that that's too big of a deal).



I also wanted to confirm that either of these products are ok to use on top of my existing 845, and if anyone has any experience with Hydro vs. OCW vs. anything else you recommend.



Thanks again!

 

[Accumulator]

john1r- That plan (with either of the spray waxes) oughta work fine, though I gotta say that I haven't tried those products (or that particular approach) myself.



FWIW, I just wash the car, use a leaves-stuff-behind QD on it while drying (I get most of the water off, spritz on the QD, finish drying) and reapply the 845 as needed (which is *NOT* very frequently).



Note that a few of us have had ONR seemingly "dewax" vehicles done with 845; the last time I used it it left the panels in question feeling really not-slick. See how it goes for you.

 

[hercar]

[

Note that a few of us have had ONR seemingly "dewax" vehicles done with 845; the last time I used it it left the panels in question feeling really not-slick. See how it goes for you.[/QUOTE]



I experienced the not slick when only adding ONR to my wash water

 

[john1r]

FWIW, I just wash the car, use a leaves-stuff-behind QD on it while drying (I get most of the water off, spritz on the QD, finish drying) and reapply the 845 as needed (which is *NOT* very frequently).

What QD do you use? And it's essentially the same process as what I would do with the Hydro, correct? Just instead of a spray wax you use a QD?

Note that a few of us have had ONR seemingly "dewax" vehicles done with 845; the last time I used it it left the panels in question feeling really not-slick. See how it goes for you.

I forgot that I had read that. I guess I'll have to test it to see what happens. If it is an issue, can you recommend something other than the 845 which lasts just as long (or longer) and is as easy to use? Something like the 476s maybe? Or perhaps I shouldn't really care if the ONR is taking off some of the 845 as long as I'm putting back the Hydro or OCW... Hmm....

 

[Accumulator]

What QD do you use? And it's essentially the same process as what I would do with the Hydro, correct? Just instead of a spray wax you use a QD?

On waxes (as opposed to sealants, and yeah, I know...845 is sorta a hybrid, but still..) I use Griot's SpeedShine. But I dunno if there's any reason to use that instead of a spray wax, it's just how *I* do it.

I forgot that I had read that. I guess I'll have to test it to see what happens. If it is an issue, can you recommend something other than the 845 which lasts just as long (or longer) and is as easy to use? Something like the 476s maybe? Or perhaps I shouldn't really care if the ONR is taking off some of the 845 as long as I'm putting back the Hydro or OCW... Hmm....

IMO it's not the 845 being fragile, but rather something about the ONR wash. Eh, it just doesn't seem to work as miraculously for me as it does for others and I generally wash conventionally, but that's just me. It might work great for you, you'll just have to see.



I myself wouldn't want to rely on a spray wax as opposed to a healthy (and uncompromised) coat of 845.