Products and Processes for a New, Used Car

Hey guys, I'm new and have just spent the past couple of hours soaking up some of the knowledge on this fantastic forum. So glad to have found it!

I just bought a used 2005 Chrysler Town & Country Limited in Miami and drove it up here to Birmingham. It's got 92,000 miles and its overall condition is improving every week. It was just in the body shop a few days ago getting some areas of the paint re-worked. I'm also installing new parts and accessories that were either missing or worn.

I'm looking to bring the paint up to its full potential. The paint looks good to the eye, but is very rough to the touch. It's been baked in the Florida sun for years and I seriously doubt that it has ever been waxed. The manager of the body shop strongly recommended buffing it with a compound. (BTW, these folks at the body shop are top-notch and expensive, I'd trust them with an exotic sports car.) I asked him what compound he uses and he recommended a 3M product... Which leads me to start researching high-end detailing products and is how I stumbled upon this forum.


My understanding is that I should wash, compound, polish, seal, and finally wax the paint on this minivan.

Is this the recommended process? Should I wash in-between certain stages?


The products I'm looking at ordering are Optimum No-Rinse for the wash, 3M Perfect-It Rubbing Compound Fine-Cut for the compound, Menzerna Intensive Polish for the polish, Klasse High-Gloss Sealant for the, uh, sealant, and finally the BlackFire Midnight Sun Ivory Carnauba Paste Wax, for the you know, wax.

Are these good products to use? What would you recommend using for this vehicle?


I'm also looking at the PC 7424XP. I've used plenty of cheap buffers over the years, and I'm ready to finally upgrade to a real buffer.

The car is currently not garage-kept, but as soon as we finish building the workshop in the back, it will be!

Here's the patient: http://cl.ly/3t3C382a1E332T280A1c (and for you photogs out there, I used a Canon 5D Mark II with a 70-200mm f/2.8 IS for the photo)
 
All sounds good. Dont forget to add claybar to the list and claybar lube to go with. I like blackfire clay myself .If it still feels rough after the claying you may need a more aggressive claybar .

I would use the klasse AIO , not the glaze ......much easier to apply esp for starting out

You will probably want to wash after the compounding stage as it gets dusty or any spitting of compound you want to clean up right away.

Good luck, have fun! :smile:
 
First, let me welcome you to Truth In Detailing. It's always nice to have a new member join our family.

I agree with DC. Claying is a very important step in the process to make sure all of the bonded contaminants are removed before polishing.

IMHO, you might be better off using the new Meguiar's DA Microfiber System rather then the 3M compound. It is much easier to get the desired results, especially from a beginner. Here is a link.
http://properautocare.com/meguiars-5inch-da-microfiber-correction-system-starter-kit.html

Also, seal it with BFWD. You will love the look and the feel of this.
http://properautocare.com/blacallfinpa.html

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out.
 
Doesn't compounding negate the need to use clay? Clay removes stuff embedded in the clearcoat, right? And compounding removes part of the clearcoat, which removes anything that might be embedded. A car's paint can only take so much compounding before permanent damage takes place. My car needs a compounding job to get it back to a clean slate so that I can properly begin to take care of the paint. Hopefully, it won't need another compounding job for years, and that's when the clay comes in. When junk is embedded into the clearcoat, and it doesn't need compounding, then clay is perfect for the job. That's my understanding. Please direct me.

I really don't want to spend an excessive amount on car care products. So the Meguiar's DA Microfiber System is too much, just for the compound.
 
wire.nut said:
Doesn't compounding negate the need to use clay? Clay removes stuff embedded in the clearcoat, right? And compounding removes part of the clearcoat, which removes anything that might be embedded.
Click to expand...

Will compounding a section remove some contaminants? Yes, it will remove some, but not all of them. Also, clay is not removing any paint. Compounding to remove bonded contaminants will remove paint and a small amount of the contaminants.

Just clay the car...
 
Wirenut - ( I know what those are :) )

The process should read ---

Wash, Claybar, Compound, Polish (to remove any Compound induced swirls, etc.,as needed), Seal, Wax (optional)

Claybars remove a lot of particles that will enable the compound stage to be less "agressive", which is what you always want to achieve. The less amount of clearcoat removed from the paintwork, the better for the longevity of the paint.

The first time you Claybar a vehicle, after washing it thoroughly, you will be amazed at the amount of dirt, etc., that comes off on the Claybar - this is the embedded particulates we are referring to.

In the olden days before Claybars were invented, yes, we did compound heavily with a lot of 3M products, which were great in their day on these applications, but today's paintwork technology requires other more paint-friendly products to achieve better results with less clearcoat removal.

Yes, your Autobody Shop guy is right, 3M makes great products, but in his world, where he knows he is applying X amount of new paint, he has enough of a safety margin to use compounds more agressively and still leave enough clearcoat on the vehicle for future cleanings.

The Factories have more requirements to follow, and normally on most vehicles, apply less paint than the Autobody Shops do.

That is a very nice vehicle you purchased - a great picture !

Good luck with your project !
Dan F
 
Just placed an order for the supplies. Hopefully they'll be here early next week so the process can begin quickly. I'll post a photo or two when it's complete.

Ended up getting Opti Clean, PolyClay II Kit, Menzerna PO91E, BF Gloss Enhancing Polish, and BFWD. I decided not to buy the wax, yet, as well as the PC buffer. So everything will be applied by hand.

Thanks guys for all your marvelous insight and advice on this. I'm really looking forward to seeing the results!
 
wire.nut said:
Just placed an order for the supplies. Hopefully they'll be here early next week so the process can begin quickly. I'll post a photo or two when it's complete.

Ended up getting Opti Clean, PolyClay II Kit, Menzerna PO91E, BF Gloss Enhancing Polish, and BFWD. I decided not to buy the wax, yet, as well as the PC buffer. So everything will be applied by hand.

Thanks guys for all your marvelous insight and advice on this. I'm really looking forward to seeing the results!
Click to expand...

Good luck Wire.nut! You are in for a good workout! Please dont try to do it all in one day , you could really risk messing up your wrists and hands doing it all by hand in one day . Its doable though, just much harder on your body !

Even though I have polishing machines it made more sense to do this one particular race car I had a couple weeks ago (because of all the angles , vinyle pinstriping and hard to reach areas ) all by hand > Both the wax and the polish! It was quite the workout!!Weightlifter trust me!
 
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