Steps in-between

[SilverBullet_01]

Hi, I am a new member and need some advice in order to successfully start my detailing career haha - my friend always sends me links to this forum, and I loved what I saw.
I take care of my cars (always clean and waxed), but never had a PC polisher, so I am about to get a little bit more serious since I bought mine.

The car is a 01 Honda Prelude, Pearl White - the car is good condition, except lighter to medium swirls

I have the following steps in my mind:
1. wash/clay/wash
2. Menzerna Super Intensive Polish
3.
4. Menzerna Power Lock Polymer Paint Sealant
5. P21S Concours Carnauba Paste Wax

I left number 3 empty for now, considered Klasse AIO, Poorboy's Polish and Sealant. Any other suggestions? Or could I go directly from SIP to PLPPS?
Am I using the right products? I want to keep STEPS 1,2, and 5, I am willing to listen for 3, and maybe change 4 (depending on 3).

Thank you very much.

[TheGLL]

Menzerna PO85RD could be a good step 3.

[SilverBullet_01]

Menzerna has many of those:
final finish/micro finish/nano ... so much terminology, hard to differentiate

this also makes me think:
"On most paints, you can go straight from Menzerna Super Intensive Polish PO83Q to finishing with a wax or sealant without any steps in between. It leaves such a deep gloss, there’s no need for a finishing polish in many cases.

[Brennan Beasley]

Nano or 85rd depending on results from SIP

[Mike Phillips]

"On most paints, you can go straight from Menzerna Super Intensive Polish PO83Q to finishing with a wax or sealant without any steps in between. It leaves such a deep gloss, there’s no need for a finishing polish in many cases.



The above is taken from here just for correct reference,

Menzerna Super Intensive Polish PO 83 32 oz (http://www.autogeek.net/menzerna-super-intensive-polish.html)


And this product when used correctly will finish out to a nice, high gloss finish so if the results you see look good to your eyes and you're happy then you could go straight to wax or sealant.


One thing you'll find on detailing forums is a very hardcore group of people that have very high expectations for what they deem as acceptable and for this group you'll need to chemically strip the paint and inspect with a special light or the sun to make sure the paint is 100% absolute flawless before applying a wax or sealant.

But that's them, it doesn't have to apply to everyone, that's up to you to decide how extreme you want to take the craft or art of paint polishing.

Here's what I've been recommending for over 15 years, and that's to do a Test Spot, that is test out the pads, products and process to small area and make sure you can make one small area look GREAT and if you can, then simply duplicate this over the car.

If you run into problems, then come back here and tell us what you're seeing and we'll help you.


:)

[TheGLL]

I'm not an expert, but I know that the best way to do it, it's to use something like PO85RD after SIP ( PO83Q ).

Why? christian900se says: "PO85rd has much finer abrasives which allows you to remove any marring that previous steps have left behind. It also jewels the paint but this is done via mechanical abrasives so it doesn't 'clean' the paint in the strict sense of the word; it focuses if you will."

Taken from: http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/21620-how-many-times-can-you-buff.html

[Lasthope05]

On a white car there is no need to use PO 85rd. SIP will finish extremely well. Finishing polishes are only necessary on darker color cars where the effects are more noticeable. You will barely be able to tell a difference with using PO 85rd on a light colored car, especially white.

You should be able to go straight to LSP after SIP. No middle step needed.

[Mike Phillips]

Finishing polishes are only necessary on darker color cars where the effects are more noticeable. You will barely be able to tell a difference with using PO 85rd on a light colored car, especially white.




That's correct. It's not that they might not be defects on white paint, it's just going to be harder to see them.

This is why I posted that everyone has to decide for themselves how far they want to take the craft or how far they want to take their detailing project.

A person with a black car might not care about fine swirls if the wax they're using masks them while for others it would drive them up the wall not to remove them and make the paint 100% perfect after a MS wipe-down and inspected using a Sun Gun.

A person with a white car might not care about fine swirls and after waxing or paint sealanting if you can see them then they might not care about removing them 100% either.


Each person has to decide how deep they want to go...


Just to note, if you car has a clear coat no matter what the color, you're not working on the color but the clear layer.


:)

[Mike Phillips]

A person with a white car might not care about fine swirls and after waxing or paint sealanting if you can see them then they might not care about removing them 100% either.




Is sealanting a word yet?



Sealanting - The act of applying a sealant


Otherwise I have type out applying a paint sealant


:D

[SilverBullet_01]

you guys are awesome ... i see i have to decide for myself how far i wanna go and how picky i wanna be, cause there could be dozen of steps :)

just looked at the following chart (Autogeek Menzerna Compounds Comparison Chart (http://www.auto-geek.net/charts/wax-cut-chart-menzerna.htm)) and Final Polish PO85RD has a cut of 1, and gloss 5. (Thanks TheGLL)

the way i see it, whatever is removed by SIP, that is pretty much it ... PO85RD will not remove much more, would only give it gloss ... but since I will be using Menzerna's sealant for shine and protection - I have a feeling that might be all I need - SIP + Menzerna Sealant + wax

Any more experts? :)

[SilverBullet_01]

would anyone recommend a different sealant than the Menzerna Power Lock Polymer Paint Sealant?

Is Wolfgang that much better? After a considerable research it seems to be the number 1

[Lasthope05]

I dont think wolfgang DGPS 3.0 is all that it is cracked up to be. I have a practically brand new bottle I've only used once and never touched again. I think 4* UPP is much better in terms of looks and application. UPGP is another good one along with DG 601/105.

[tempter927]

you guys are awesome ... i see i have to decide for myself how far i wanna go and how picky i wanna be, cause there could be dozen of steps :)

just looked at the following chart (Autogeek Menzerna Compounds Comparison Chart (http://www.auto-geek.net/charts/wax-cut-chart-menzerna.htm)) and Final Polish PO85RD has a cut of 1, and gloss 5. (Thanks TheGLL)

the way i see it, whatever is removed by SIP, that is pretty much it ... PO85RD will not remove much more, would only give it gloss ... but since I will be using Menzerna's sealant for shine and protection - I have a feeling that might be all I need - SIP + Menzerna Sealant + wax

Any more experts? :)

In my opinion the sealant will be not be a substitute for using a finishing polish like PO85RD, if SIP doesnt provide the finish you were looking for then I would do another step with a polish that has less cut.

Applying the sealant/wax will add protection and some shine but the paint underneath has to be polished correctly (either with just SIP or followed by another polish/pad combo)

BTW very informative thread in my opinion.

[SilverBullet_01]

logically I am beginning to think the same

I will use a finishing polisher ... now I am deciding between the Super Finish (PO106FA) and Final Polish (PO85RD) ... 106 has more cutting ability, so maybe I should get that one, in case I need to get rid of minor swirls, 85 might not be strong enough - and I do not always wanna use the SIP

I guess there is no right and wrong here, I just wanna hear what 'pros' think
I am a beginner, and this much info is just too much, but I wanna learn

final opinions, and I will let you guys go, and I will start ordering the supplies :D

1. wash/clay/wash
2. Menzerna Super Intensive Polish
3. Menzerna Super Finish (PO106FA) or Final Polish (PO85RD)
4. Menzerna Power Lock Polymer Paint Sealant
5. P21S Concours Carnauba Paste Wax

[SilverBullet_01]

going once ... twice ...