New to detailing

[Mike.Phillips@Autogeek]

Originally Posted by jiwaus

Question about Grit Guard: Can I only use one for washing bucket? or I have to use two guards for better result.

You can use one in one bucket.
You can use two in one bucket
You can use one in in one bucket of a two bucket system
You can use one in each bucket of a two bucket system
You can use two in each bucket of a two bucket system

Kind of depends on how many you have. I have the single bucket/dolly system and I have the dual-bucket dolly system and I mostly use the single bucket system with only one grit guard in it and good technique.

This is a few years old and kind of choppy but it was fun to make and gets goes over a couple of important points.

How to Wash Your Car (ShowCar Style!)

Originally Posted by jiwaus

I planing to remove swirl marks and scratches on 2009 Black Subaru Forester

But I also read lots of posts about Subaru's soft paint, I am kind of afraid to use Porter Cable on my car

I never go by what I read or hear about a certain brand of car's paint as to whether or not it's hard or soft because you never know until you actually start working on the paint if it's hard or soft or easy to work on or difficult to work on.

Best thing to do is to go out into the garage and find out first hand by applying a paint cleaner and then inspect your results.

I used the new PC 7424XP last Friday on a 2008 black Lexus IS 250 and really like this tool for it's power and the shape of the tool. It's easy to hold on to with one hand,

For components like the mirrors, brace them with one hand while polishing them with the other hand. The new smaller, ergonomic shape of the PC 7424XP makes doing this kind of work easy.

And plenty of power for removing defects even with pads on the large end of the spectrum.






The Subaru Forester has a lot of small thin, narrow panels as well as lots of hard body lines, so you'll definitely want some smaller pads like the 4" pads.

[jiwaus]

Mike,

I planing to remove swirl marks and scratchs on 2009 Black Subaru Forester

Hopefully, I can get a 90% swirl marks free

BTW, Can I use 4" pad for large area?

[Mike.Phillips@Autogeek]

Originally Posted by jiwaus

If I use the starter kit, am I doing the following steps correct?

1.Least aggressive combo
CCS White 6.5 inch Polishing Foam Pad with Swirl X or Ultimate Compound (If this doesn't work, I will move to step 2. If it works, move to step 3)

Yes you are starting out right as you always want to use the least aggressive product to get the job done and if the above doesn't work you can try something more aggressive.

Originally Posted by jiwaus

2.Most aggressive combo
Lake Country 4 inch Orange Light Cutting Pads with Swirl X or Ultimate Compound (I will use Swirl X first. If it doesn't work, go up to Ultimate Compound)

Yes again. The 4" pad is a little small to try to buff out large panels and the PC 7424XP has enough power to rotate larger pads with good technique so maybe try a polishing pad with the UC and then if that still doesn't work you could try a cutting pad.

Originally Posted by jiwaus

3.
CCS Gray 6.5 Inch Finishing Foam Pad with Deep Crystal Polish (put on, wipe off) or ColorX(put on, let it dry)

In my honest opinion pure polishes like the DCP apply better with polishing pads versus finishing pads. Also, ColorX and DCP are completely different products, you probably know some people reading this might not.

Originally Posted by jiwaus

4.
CCS Blue 6.5 Inch Finessing Foam Pad with NXT 2.0

That would work great, or even a smaller pad like a 5.5 as the Forester has a lot of thin, narrow panels.

Originally Posted by jiwaus

What is the difference between small pad (4 in) and large pad(6.5 in)?

2.5"

Seriously, if you're comparing the same foam formulas then it's just a math thing, (surface area)

Originally Posted by jiwaus

Mike,

I planing to remove swirl marks and scratches on 2009 Black Subaru Forester

Hopefully, I can get a 90% swirl marks free

You can, shouldn't be to hard either. I just wrote two articles that cover most of every question you've asked here and hopefully they'll get posted this Friday so hang tight...

Most important thing to do when working on something you've never worked on before is to do a Test Spot and the articles referenced will cover this in detail. (no pun intended)

Originally Posted by jiwaus

BTW, Can I use 4" pad for large area?

You can but after about a one foot section you'll be wanting a little larger pad.

[jiwaus]

Thanks Mike...

[jiwaus]

Here is what I come up with...

What do you think?

Thank You

The Grit Guard Insert - 2 Pack

Meguiars Gold Class Trim Detailer
Dual Action 6.5" CCS Foam Pad Kit
Porter Cable 7424XP Polisher Combo Free Bonus! 3 5.5" Orange CCS Foam Pad

[Mike.Phillips@Autogeek]

That kit will tackle just about anything including the Forester.

You're going to need some good quality microfiber polishing cloths too for wiping all the paint care products off especially since black paint shows everything.

[jiwaus]

Originally Posted by Mike.Phillips@Autogeek

That kit will tackle just about anything including the Forester.

You're going to need some good quality microfiber polishing cloths too for wiping all the paint care products off especially since black paint shows everything.

Mike,

I really appreciate your help

So far, I do have about 10 Meguiar's microfiber towels and 10 cheap walmart microfiber towels.

I also wash my car with NXT car wash and microfiber mitt(sometimes I do use meguiar's microfiber towel as mitt)

I will also get 750W power inverter to do all the detailing work at my apartment complex(no garage, but under covered parking)

Because I don't have a garage, how lighting problem can be solved during the detailing ? Will flash light work?

Thank You

[Mike.Phillips@Autogeek]

Originally Posted by jiwaus

Because I don't have a garage, how lighting problem can be solved during the detailing ? Will flash light work?

Locate and purchase a Brinkman Dual Xenon Flashlight also known as a Cruel Master.



For $30.00 this light will highlight and reveal the swirls in the paint and let you know if you're efforts are getting you closer to the goal or further away.


Lighting is very important and do everything you can to work where you have good and even GREAT lighting so you can see what the heck you're doing.

A number of years ago Terry Cook, former Editor of Hot Rod Magazine had me wet-sand, cut and buff The Titanic about 2 months after it was painted Liberace Lavender with a clear coat finish. I traveled from Albany, Oregon to Monterey, California assuming the car would in some kind of shop. Boy was I wrong! My shop was the 3rd level of a 4 level parking garage and my lighting was some sporadically placed 8' florescent tube lights.

Needless to say, not what you would call optimum conditions to sand down a 20+ foot car with case-hardened paint. LOL

I think these were all taken in 2000, if you look at the wheel cover you can see the Titanic going down. Terry Cook has a great sense of humor.













I started at 5:00pm in the evening and worked non-stop through the night and finished at noon the next day. It was truly a Go or No-Go decision and I decided to just do it.

Immediately after I finished wiping off a coat of M16 Professional Paste Wax the car was moved into the middle of a car show as one of the featured attractions in full-on summer SoCal sun. No DA Polisher, all the buffing was done using only a Makita Rotary buffer and the most aggressive products I had with me were M84 and M85.



When it came to doing the sanding and buffing, the work was done as much by instinct as it was by vision as it was hard to see what was going on at the surface level. We didn't have the Brinkman back then either.

The paint was so hard that I broke my leg from pushing so hard on my trusty, dusty Makita against the sides of the car and the next day out of fear it was going to come apart while I was walking around I somehow got a hose clamp and put it on my leg and tightened it down as tight as I could get it without stripping it out. It's still there today.

Later on that day I waxed Scrape with M98 Medallion Premium Paint Care and applied M40 to the tires of Chip Foose's 0032 a 1932 Ford Roadster and hung out at the car show with Chip and Christopher Titus until the R&M auction where Scrape sold for $250.000.00, The Titanic sold for I forget how much and I think Chip's car went for $125,000.00



Afterwards we all went out to dinner and Terry picked up the entire bill. While I was in Monterey, Terry let me drive the Titanic around instead of getting a rental car, suffice to say it was a pretty fun weekend for a small town detailer from a Podunk town in Oregon. Barry Meguiar's invited me to the Cars & Cigars party where again, Scrape and the Titanic were on display and that may have been the first time I met Mike Pennington in person, at least I think... I was at the "Train the Trainer's" meeting in Newport Beach in 1988 and don't remember meeting him at that meeting but I did sit and have a great talk with Malcolm Meguiar, the head chemist for Meguiar's for over 70 years.

So while lighting is very important, sometimes you just have to use what you have and as Larry the Cable Guy would say...

Get her done!

[DLB]

Great story Mike.
I speak for the rest of the forum members when I say...hanging with Chip and Titus is just a casual day for us too.

DLB

[Mike.Phillips@Autogeek]

Originally Posted by Dalton Blevins

Great story Mike.
I speak for the rest of the forum members when I say...hanging with Chip and Titus is just a casual day for us too.

DLB

I wish I could hang out with guys like Chip and Titus as they're both really cool car guys but fact is I've only seen and talked to them a few times since that event.

I've met with Chip a few times over the last couple of years and volunteered myself to do all his wet-sanding, cutting and buffing but nothing ever materialized from our meetings. I know Sid and Cathy, (can't think of their last name at the moment), and this husband and wife detailing team used to do a lot of detailing for Chip. Now there's a guy in SoCal doing it for him, can't think of his name off hand but he attended our Detailing 101 Class and Detailing 201 class at Meguiar's in the last year and is a heck of a nice guy and I'm guessing a great detailer.

It's really hard to get this kind of work as you really need someone they already know and trust to open the door for you. Of course since I worked for Meguiar's there was the Mother's/Meguiar's issue also. I never wanted to cause any problems for anyone, I just wanted to sand and buff out his cars. It would be easier to not do that kind of work but once it's in your blood you can't really get it out.

I also tried to work for Jay Leno and buff out all his cars and that never went anywhere either, I had two people that know him hand deliver him copies of the DVD How To Get Show Car Results using a PC , not that it's the best DVD ever made or on the market but again, never heard from him.




I had a guy attend one of the last classes I taught at Meguiar's tell me he had been given the job to buff out some of Jay's cars, he said they gave him a collection of Meguiar's products and the reason he was at our Detailing 101 class was to learn how to use them. (Sigh).

He was let down when he found out our classes start in the classroom where you get "Head Knowledge" first and then hands-on training and left after the classroom portion was over because he had to be somewhere else, not sure whatever happened to him. I tried to contact him 2-3 times and offer to drive to his house wherever he lived and show him how to buff out a car but no one ever replied to my e-mails or returned my calls.

After teaching hundreds of classes on Saturday at Meguiar's here's how it goes,

All the guys show up wanting to grab a buffer and start buffing out a car. I understand this but you would never go to a Brain Surgeon that hadn't been to Medical School and you need to learn the basics of a bunch of different things so that when you do pick up a buffer you not only know what to do but more important why you're doing it.

Anyway, I'm still waiting for a phone call from Chip or Jay and I'm sure Max will let me have a few days off if they ever call with a job, but there's no breath-holding taking place on my part. I figure Chip still owes me for dressing his tires right before his 32 Ford went over the auction block so you never know...




So don't get the impression I had the opportunity to hang with these guys as it was just a one-time thing...

There was a time when we were all going to meet at a GoodGuys show and I drove my 1966 Chevy 1 Ton Dually Milk Truck all the way from Oregon to the the Pleasanton Goodguy's show which was a long drive without air-conditioning but that ended up being the weekend Titus's wife went into the hospital to have a baby and both Chip and Titus were of course at the hospital.

Try buffing this out!


Still had a great time and hung out with Kevin Brown in his booth and helped answer questions during the show, so it's all good.