Would this be a good start?

J

JeremyGT

New member
I have done some reading on the forums tonight and have made up a list of products for Christmas. I would like to know an overall opinion on my list, and please tell me if I am missing anything.



The car is a 2003 black Mustang GT. Lots of swirl marks all over the car. ( for those who missed my first thread )



It was a toss up between the Natty's wax and the Pinnacle souveran, mainly because the Pinnacle is about $30 more.



Here is the list I compiled, hopefully will give my baby a nice deep, wet shine.



PC 7424

Poorboyâ€â„¢s Professional Polish

Poorboyâ€â„¢s Nattys paste wax

Cobra Waffle weave towel x2

NXT car wash

Pinnacle Back Onyx tire gel

Pinnacle Tire dressing pad

DA 5â€Â� backing plate

White polishing pads x2

Gray finishing pads x2

- and a nice new container to house all of it -





So what do you think? should I add more pads? another backing plate? maybe a claybar if I could read more on how to use/when to use one?



Sorry if this is the typical new guy thread, but I been doing a lot of reading, and would hate to waste money on something not needed.
 
:welcome to the board!



Everything looks great, but I would recommend the Sonus DAS Polisher Kit. It will come with everything you need, polisher, pads, backinplate, etc. and I find the Sonus pads to be better than the regular LC pads in your list. I have a big stack of LC pads that I will probably never use again.



You can get a clay bar if you want, but you can buy that locally at any time. It really doesn't matter which one you get, I happen to like the Clay Magic bars.



I would also add a bottle of PB's EX to go between your PB's polish and natty's. That will extend the life of your detail a pretty good bit.



And last, I would get a good mf ww drying towel.
 
you need to use a claybar, if you're on a budget then go with either mother's clay kit or clay magic, you can find both in local auto parts stores. recently i posted a thread also asking for opinions and on my list i had poorboy's professional polish and if i remember correctly someone said it was a chemical polish therefore it will not remove swirls (someone correct me if i'm wrong). you can go wit the ssr line from poorboy's for your swirls. if you're buying a pc you should consider getting the 7336 from lowes, i just ordered mine today and it came to about $107 after tax and shipping was free. that's all i can comment on since i'm pretty new to detailing myself hope i'm not wrong on too much stuff i said and good luck.
 
Thanks for the quick replies guys.



JDookie: The reason I didn't go with the Sonus DAS kit, was because I thought I only need a polisher pad and finishing pad since my paint isn't that old and all.



If I go with the Sonus pads. I should use the blue pad to apply polish and liquid wax from the description. And the Natty's is a paste wax, so which pad would I apply the Natty's with?



And would I use the buffing bonnets to remove the polish and the wax? This is the part I'm confused on. I dont know which pads to use for what because the descriptions don't make sense to me.
 
Jeremy, there was a time when I bought my car that I thought I didnt need the Orange Sonus Pad...Guess what I had to order by itself a month later??? Even if you do not need it now, it is a great pad to own because someday you WILL need it(maybe on a friend or relative's car).. The Sonus pads Are the Pads I prefer over the LC pads like Jason Said. I have never used the bonnets to remove anything. I feel that I am better satisfied to do the removing by hand. That just me and my massive collection of kick butt microfibers doing the talking :)
 
If your paint is in like new condition, you won't need a cutting pad for a while......but eventually, you will. If you ever try to remove swirls, scratches, or any other kind of paint defect you are going to need that cutting pad. Don't worry, it's not as aggressive as it sounds. It's actually very smooth, just stiffer than the other pads for a little more scrubbing action.



Orange pad - Cutting pad. Use this to remove most major paint defects like swirls, scratches, oxidation, etc.



Green pad - Workhorse polishing pad. You will use this with almost every detail to bring back that perfect shine and remove most of the minor to moderate paint defects.



Blue pad - Fine polishing pad used for glazes and/or paint cleaners like VM, AIO, SPC, etc.



Grey pad - Finishing pad used to apply sealants and/or paste waxes. I like to apply my sealants with this pad to ensure a nice even, thin coat whenever possible.



MF Bonnets - For removal of sealants and/or paste waxes. You won't use these much but if you ever get a product that just won't come off, they are a life saver.





To make a change to your list, I would actually add Poorboy's SSR1 to it for some light polishing duty (green pad) and instead of PB's PP, I'd go with Polish with Carnauba (blue pad) since you are going to use Natty's which is applied by hand.
 
Jeremy,



to start, you can never have enough good MF's! You will go through atleast 5 on one detail, even when you're stingy with them ;).

Next, clay is definitely important, whether you buy it online or locally.

As far as applying Natty's, I like to apply paste waxes by hand, even though I own the PC and Sonus finishing pad. If anything, use the black to remove the wax. But, you're free to do it however you please and find easier for you :)



I would reccomend getting the PC from lowes (7336 model #) for ~$100-$110. Then, order just the Sonus DAS pad kit for ~$60 including shipping. You save youself about $30 instead of buying the whole $200( +shipping) kit from Autopia. I'm not sure what the whole kit will cost with the discount though. I can't remember if the discount is good for 10% or 15%...:nixweiss



Other than that, good start.



BTW, where are you located?
 
Thanks again guys, your great. I'm starting to get there.



Since the Natty's is applied by hand, I think I will stick with the NXT wax I have so that I can apply it by the PC. ( grey pad? )



JDookie: Could you explain VM, AIO, SPC,?



MongooseGA: I live in Holden Beach, NC



So I think this is going to be my procedure. Wash car...Polish car...wax car...



Also, the Poorboys description says it minimizes swirls, so I'm thinking I need to choose another polish. Should I go with maybe the Pinnacle Swirl remover?
 
NXT will be fine too, it's completely up to you. The difference between NXT and Natty's is NXT has cleaners in it and Natty's is a pure carnauba paste wax, both are great LSP's. (Last Step Products)



If you ever get confused as to the acronyms, just go here to see what it means. http://www.autopia.org/display.php?file=acronyms.htm&s=&menu=8



VM = Clearkote's Vanilla Moose

AIO = Klasse All in One

SPC = Sonus Paintwork Cleanser



These are all intermediate polishes/cleaners/surface preps. You can use any of these three to go between your actual cutting polishes and your LSP (protectant).



As far as your polish goes, you can choose any product brand or line you want just make sure you understand the products you are about to use fully before going near your car, this will ensure you get the most out of your efforts. Pinnacle Swirl Remover didn't really go over to well with most of the members for some reason. You might be able to do a search and find out why, but I might be wrong.



I think you should stick with your original plan- PB's SSR's. Poorboy's makes different levels of polish for different levels of defects. Go here: http://www.poorboysworld.com/super-swirl-removers.htm to see the different ones available. Just remember, always try to use the least aggressive method possible and always work your way down the aggressiveness scale. Example: If you start with SSR 2.5, you would want to do SSR 2 or 1 next, then your intermediate cleaner like I mentioned earlier, and finally your LSP (NXT if that's what you choose).
 
After reading this post again, I realized we are concentrating on the products a little too much. It doesn't matter what product/s you use as long as you use them correctly. The process is what works, not any one single product and that's why we have so many steps.



First, you need to evaluate your car's finish. To do this, you should always wash and clay the surface to remove any contaminants or trash that may be sitting on there. Once this is done, you are looking at the bare bones of the project. If are seeing oxidation, swirls, scratches, etc. then you are dealing with a pretty poor surface and it will need some aggressive work. On the other hand, if you don't really see any problems other than some light spiderwebbing (not to be confused with swirls which can be much deeper and harder to get out) and other *normal* defects, then you really don't need anything all that aggressive.



Polishing your car's surface is just like polishing a shoe. You work the polish in until the finish is near perfect and then remove the excess. The only thing that changes is the aggressivenes of the polish, thus providing a finer and finer finish.



We have been talking about Poorboy's polishes but there are a host of other polishes out there like Einszett, 3M, Meguiar's, Mothers, etc. The biggest reason I would suggest Poorboy's to you is because they have everything you need and it will take the pressure of trying to decide what product to use and allow you to concentrate more on the technique.



Start with a *cutting* polish (polish with abrasives). This will remove the defects we were talking about earlier. PB's cutting polishes are called Super Swirl Removers and there are different levels ranging from 1 - 3, 3 being the most aggressive. Until you are familiar with the polishes you will never be able to know which one to start out with so I suggest taking some pictures of your car after it has been washed and clayed, and posting them so we can help you decide where to start.



After all of your defects are polished out, it's time to start perfecting the finish and bring up the depth and shine which is done with an intermediate polish *without* abrasives or *cut*. Examples of these were given above, but if you want to make it easy and stick with PB's, this would be Poorboy's Professional Polish or Polish with Carnauba. Use PB PP if you are going on top with a sealant like NXT or use PwC if you are going on top with a carnauba like Natty's.



Last step is protecting the surface. This can be done in one step or in layers, just depends on what you want to to. You mentioned NXT, so if that's what you choose, then that's what you put and you are done.



Hope this helps, and if anyone sees something I missed please feel free to add to it for him.
 
Jason, I think you've summed it up pretty well.



The only thing I would suggest is that it may not be necessary to go over the entire car with something as aggressive as SSR 2.5 and a cutting pad...particularly if you are new to using a PC. Now on my car I've gotten very comfortable with polishing and compounding, but I also figure that over time I can correct any damage I do with the PC.



When I do someone elses car I like to start with the problem areas with the least agressive product, like SSR 1, with a polishing pad in the problem areas and move up to a cutting pad if necessary. If that doesn't cut it, no pun intended, then I'll move onto a more aggressive polish like SSR 2.5...again I like to start with a polishing pad and move to a light cut & medium cut pad if needed. Once the defects are removed you can use a light polish like SSR1, PwC, PP, VM, Pinnacle PCL, etc.



Personally I like to use SSR1 then another polish on my car, but I'm a hobbyist rather than a professional so I can take my time; for a professional it may not be cost effective to take this approach due to the time involved. It is certainly easier to just go over the entire car with SSR 2.5 & a cutting pad and SSR 2.5 has been a safe product for me. Part of the fun is trying different things and seeing what works best for you. I've started on a friends hood or roof with SSR 1, moved to a cutting pad, then to SSR 2.5 & then a cutting pad and decided to go with SSR 2.5 & a cutting pad on the whole car because I could tell it was safe and generally the car needed that level of help in too many places.



I realize this is being overly anal to some but that's the process I learned here and it works for me. It all goes back to starting with the least aggressive product & pad & working your way up from there.
 
Wow, thanks a lot guys. I will look at the poorboy line to see what I need for my car. I don't think I need anything to agressive, the paint is fine as far as I can tell, just a lot of swirl marks everywhere when light hits the car. I might just ask santa for a lot of pads/towels/etc and by the polish,etc myself so I can try different brands.



I will also see if I can snap some pics to show you guys what my paint looks like. Again, thanks a bunch for the help, it means a lot.
 
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