Noob feeling overwhelmed...

[Reaper]

A member in another car forum that I post at regularly posted a link to information and the instructional videos here. I have spent much of the day reading and watching very informative videos. WOW! This has opened a whole new world for me! Before I hold out my hand, I first need to say THANKS! So many people here have done so much to help others with this very tricky topic.

Years ago, a guy I worked with came in with the hood of his black Mustang totally trashed! He got an orbital buffer (I now know is a no-no for the noob) and who knows what he put on it but when he buffed it off, he had some extremely nasty swirls all over his hood. He did do a very neat job with the swirls though. Since then, I've been scared to death to try this until today.

I just recently completed my build of Eleanor's daughter, a 2006 Mustang GT that I put the Cervini's Eleanor kit on. If you saw the movie Gone in 60 secs, it was the grey Mustang at the end. After the paint had time to cure, I started with Zaino products from was/clay to polish/seal. Never even realized I was supposed to wax afterwards. I only used the detail spray afterwards. I love the car, it is my hobby car that sits in a garage under a California Car Covers' NOAH cover until it's time for fun. The car never sees rain or any bad weather, the worst thing it sees is bugs. This part may scare you a little, I also occasionally drag race the car to exercise its ~450rwhp so it gets some rubber on the paint.

This is where I stick out my hand and ask.... HELP? I've read SO much I'm feeling lost. First I watched the videos and was writing down details. Then I went to the order page from the end of the video and saw SO many things including the discount for joining the forum. I came to the forum and have been reading ever since. I'm feeling very overwhelmed still. There are so many new things to me, I'm not sure where to start. It seems there are MANY people here that know this stuff very well. I'd like to ask if you didn't own any of it and had the money, what would you buy? I definitely want to buy the PC 7424 and whatever pads and such I need. I looked at several kits but all of them seemed to be missing some pads. I also think I'm leaning towards the Pinnacle line. I know you must get tired of noobs coming here and asking this same type of question over and over. I did actually look and didn't find 1 with that same information although it could be here somewhere. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks -Joe

PS. If you're curious, here's a link to my CarDomain page with my car. http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2396824

[wytstang]

Nice 60ft times o.k let us begin fist you will be surprised at how easy it is to scracth/marr the clearcoat. Since the car is garaged I would remove the car cover as the paint is not being subjected to the outside elements as much. A great kit for PC7424 is the edge 2000 kit (onsale for under $100) http://www.autogeek.net/foam-polishing-kit.html *note the edge pads are double side so you're getting 2 pads in 1* this is a kit I would go for hand down and as a matter of fact I am ordering this kit cause the sell ends soon. From there just peice together your scratch removers/polish/paint cleaner/wax or sealant of your choice.

[supercharged]

It's so easy to help when money is not an issue. Here is a few recommendations.
Porter cable XMT kit - http://autogeek.net/xmtpocaswrek.html
I would add XMT #2 to that kit also.

Or go with Pinnacle Porter Cable kit - http://autogeek.net/pinnacle-porter-cable.html

I would also get a foam gun, and DP Xtreme Foam formula shampoo. Guzzler waffle weave microfiber towel for drying. This+being very careful should prevent swirls from happening.

Also get a sealant or a wax of your choice. Pinnacle Liquid Souveran is gold in a bottle, paste Souveran is platinum.

Hope this helps.

[NickP]

All good things mentioned above....

You do not have to wax over zaino, Your method was correct, Wash/Clay and I'm guessing you used either Z5 or Z2 to seal. That would be correct, Using the Quick Detail is great when the car has a little bit of dust you want to remove or just after you've washed for a "fresh" look. You were on the right path. However it looks like you skipped one area, That would be the Polishing Phaze. Zaino is basically a paint sealant with decent abilities to hide imperfections and good optical clarity properties to produce a good looking result on paint that is in fairly good shape. The real key to making any wax or sealant (again what Zaino is) Is how you prepare the surface for the Sealant. Your Wax/Sealant is just the last phaze. You need to evaluate the surface and determine how aggressive of a Polish it needs to correct your flaws.

Here is a basic example of a good process for a vehicle that is in good shape (Your eleanor looks like it is great shape but some closeups would help us more)

Wash- I'd recommend a good sheepskin washmit and a bucket such as the autogeek bucket with the grit guard at the bottom. The best way IMO would be do half the roof with one side of the mitt, Flip it and do the other half of the roof using no pressure then taking the mitt back to the bucket and wiping it across the grit guard on both sides. Then Continue this for the rest of the panels. Washing is *Key* to achieving maintaing a great finish

Clay- A good clay like the Meguiars or Wolfgang Clay, Zaino etc will remove anything road debris that is stuck to the paint. I recommend not skipping this step, I have seen people do it and it is something that polishing will not remove. You will still have gritty non-smooth paint. Probably good to do a couple times a year. While it may not be neccessary to do it everytime you polish for the cost of the claybar it is worth it to me.

Polish-Now here's where things get tricky and I *highly* recommend a PC 7424 or a Cyclo for this procedure. It will cut the amount of time greatly and leave a nicer finish then achieveable by hand. You will need to figure out the right product, pad and speed, Technique to use to achieve your results. I'd personally recommend starting with the XMT line, They are very easy to use in my experience and provide great results, I'd pick up a Orange Light Cutting, A Polishing Pad and a Finishing Pad so you can determine what your vehicle needs to achieve the results you desire. Always start with the least aggressive method first then step up as needed. For Example start with let's say XMT #1 on a Polishing Pad, If it doesn't produce what your looking for then bump up the product to XMT #2... If that doesn't produce the results then try XMT #2 on an Orange Pad, If your still not satisfied then move it up to the Orange Pad and XMT#3 etc.. etc... I can't stress how important your technique will be to achieve the results you desire. Your arm speed and pressure plays a huge key here, One common mistake I see is people moving the PC to fast accross the surface, Because of the random orbit motion the PC does not generate much heat unlike a rotary polisher. You need to move nice and slow accross the surface to allow the PC to really do it's job. Also you must break the products down fully before wiping down the panel or else you can potentially mar the surface. Reason for this is if the abrasives are not broken down essentially you are just rubbing abrasive material in your paint. Use good Quality Microfibers to remove them as well. The Blue Cobra Polishing Cloths are killer, Using them a little damp will help as polish can be a pain to remove sometimes.

Wax/Sealant- There are alot of debates and I may add heated debates about waxes and sealants. My best advice is to find something you like and use it often. Carnuba's proved an amazing look but yet are not exactly the most durable. Some people dislike the look of sealant's but they do last longer in most cases. Personally with Today's technology I find in most cases I prefer the look of the modern day sealant's on most colors. If your Eleanor is a show car and you enjoy waxing. I'd probably recommend a good carnuba based paste wax. The Pinnacle paste waxes are amazing to say the least. Poorboy's Natty and DP Max Wax work great and are pretty inexpensive. Like always use good towels and applicators. Everytime you touch the paint you have the potential to install micro scratches so it is key to do everything you can to prevent these.

There is some more to add, But It's getting late and i'm tired. Hope that helps

[Totoland Mach]

Reaper: Believe me, a ton of folks felt the same way starting out with detail products....there's tons. I'd talk to the Autogeek folks for some sound advice on a starter kit.

My Mach sits in the garage with a Noah cover too....

You can't go wrong with a pc + XMT product line + Souveran (liquid or paste). That will give you a show car shine and hold up very well with the limited weather you subject it to.

Above all, enjoy the process. It's fun, requires patience, and gives tremendous rewards. For me, it's getting away from computers and relaxing with 6+ hours of detailing cars. Some folks play golf but I like the rewards of having done someone's car and they can't stop looking at it.

See Ya Around....Toto

[NickP]

One more thing, Being a Long Time Mustang owner myself (Had an 03 Cobra and 03 Mach 1) The clearcoat is very soft, It will water spot etch VERY easily... Also tends to swirl pretty easily as well. Just want to restate, Use very soft microfiber towels and make sure you have a good layer of protection. You would not believe how easily the Mustang clear coat etches.

[ASPHALT ROCKET]

Using a car cover in the garage is to keep the dust off the car. My c6 is black
and this helps tremendously.

[paradog]

ever try applying painters tape to the rear quarter panels before dragging.

[sparkie]

Reaper, welcome to autogeek, you will learn a lot here. You have a very sweet ride! For the above posts, all I got to says is Ditto. I have been detailing car for years on the side, but I was way off in my process, now I'm using the right products, chemical and equipment. My work has gone above what I did in the past. Thanks to autogeek and order car care sites. Stick around and post question, concerns or what ever. You will love it here, I do.

[Reaper]

All, I'll follow this reply with a couple pics and more explanation.

wytstang, thanks, she''ll be going faster too. As for the car cover, like others mentioned, it is just a dust cover. I live in a windy location and get lots of dust. In just 1 day, my car would be covered with dust and some junk (bugs?). I hadn't seen those types of pads you recommended and will need to consider that. It looks like a very complete set of pads, the only thing I'm not crazy about is the whole in the middle. I'd be worried about the waste from polish going up into the whole in the middle.

supercharged, LOL isn't that the truth! It's always easier to spend someone else's money! I really don't mind and understand the the initial investment will be fairly substantial and from there recurring charges with towels and polishes etc. will be significant. I'm ready to do it to take care of the car. I asked for advice because I don't want to buy something I don't need at the expense of missing something I do need. The Pinnacle Porter Cable kit you mentioned is 1 I was leaning towards but it seems like I need to add quite a bit to it. I was hoping to find a more complete kit. Reading about the XMT sonds even better. Yesterday I read quite a number of comments about the Souveran and am completely sold on that. Now the choice is simply liquid or paste and hand applied or PC. It sounded like the best for that would be paste, hand applied?

NickP, that's very good to hear that I was going in the right direction. I completely understand what you mean about the missing steps. I was amazed at how desperately the brand new car needed to be clayed. Even the areas that had been repainted. I went slow and carefull and spent quite a bit of time in the clay process, probably 6 hrs. Then washed it again and used the Z5-Pro with ZFX additive with the quick detailer between coats followed by the Z6 Gloss Enhancer after the final coat. It does look good but as you mentioned skipping that step to prepare the paint is where I messed up. I think the Zaino products are extremely good and will keep that for my other vehicles that are more subjected to the elements. After all the reading I've done here, I feel there are better products for my particular application that may be less durable but will provide a higher shine. My car only comes out about 1/week and only sees optimal conditions except for race day. Thank you again for detailing the procedure. Thanks too for the clear coat warning on the Mustang too. I have had the entire top, front and back of the car repainted because of the body kit + painted racing stripes so hopefully the clear coat on it now is a bit better.

Totoland Mach, that sounds like the direction I'm leaning - Thanks!

paradog, I recently heard about putting tape on the rear quarter to protect from rubber getting on there. I'm considering that and also there's some stuff that Summit Racing sells, Geddex Burnout Guard. It is supposed to dry clear and not harm the paint, providing a water-soluble layer of protection.