Home detailer with some questions ...

[iflyjetzzz]

Long time reader/lurker, first time poster. I want to apologize in advance if these subjects have been covered but I used the search function and am looking for clarification.

Background: I asked my wife for a detailing kit and she got me the Menzerna/Porter Maximum Shine kit for Christmas 2010 (still the same kit; even the same price!). I've since ordered some Lake Country Kompressor Pads and Wolfgang Deep Gloss Pain Sealant 3.0.

My process is:
Wash car
Clay car
Tape car
Menzerna Intensive Polish with purple Kompressor pad (44-8600KR)
Menzerna Final Polish with green Kompressor pad (44-3600KR)
Menzerna Finishing Glaze with red Kompressor pad (44-1600KR)
Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant 3.0 with gold Kompressor pad (44-4600KR)

The resuts have been fantastic, although I know that there are some things that I do incorrectly. Now for my questions:

1) I had a couple of pad adhesive failures ... the green Kompressor Pad had the backing separate and it also tore so I threw it away. I then used the white polishing pad that came with my detailing kit (I don't like those pads nearly as much as Kompressor pads) and the backing almost immediately separated but can be glued back on. I ended up using an orange Kompressor pad (44-2600KR) to complete the car using Final Polish. No other pad adhesive failures; it only occurred when I was using Final Polish.
Are my pad adhesive failures coincidence or technique? I've read that pad failures are usually due to heat buildup ... it's been >105 degrees here but I've done all of my detailing inside my garage, which heats up to close to 100 degrees in the afternoon.
Note: I wash my pads after a couple of panels and then reuse them (although I don't wash the pad I apply Wolfgang Deep Gloss with; I wash it after completing a car) - they are not totally dry when I use them.

2) How long is the shelf life of detailing products? Pads, polishes? They seem to work fine and the 32 oz bottles of Intensive Polish, Final Polish, and Finishing Glaze are more than half full ... purchased for Christmas 2010. The Polishes/Glaze should last until 2017 or so. I store my detailing equipment and polishes indoors so they're not exposed to the high temperatures here in Tucson.

3) Is it important to do the Final Polish step? I'm thinking of going straight from Intensive Polish to Finishing Glaze and then Paint Sealant.

4) I had some issues with tape glue. It took a couple of days to do each car and near the end, I got quite a bit of small balls of tape glue on the paint surface. I cleaned them up and changed microfiber towels often but it was a real pain. Due to the high temperature here? Any tape recommendations where I won't have glue issues?

5) I realize that the purple foam Kompressor pad is the most aggressive pad. On my wife's silver 2005 Acura TL, I didn't need/use as much pressure as I needed to use on my gray 2000 Honda Accord (the car has been through my two now adult children in the last 7 years and the car was in multiple small accidents - repaired - and the exterior was probably only washed twice a year while they drove it; I'm willing to bet that this was the first wax to touch the paint since 2005). The 2000 Accord's paint now looks as good as a brand new car - it's got a few deep scratches that aren't going to come out but overall, the paint . The purple pad is pretty beaten up and I'm thinking about using the yellow Kompressor (44-5600KR) pad with Intensive Polish the next time I detail the cars. Opinions?

6) I REALLY like the Kompressor pads because they seem to do a great job of getting to all of the nooks and crannies where the pads which came with my kit are much more rigid. Are there any pads that you'd recommend above the Kompressor pads?

7) I detail the cars about once a year; when my wife's out of town. I don't want her to see the mess I make in the garage and house while I'm detailing, along with using the washer to clean everything. That's marriage 101 - if your wife's a clean freak, don't let her see the house trashed while you're detailing. Between detailings, I wax the cars once. Are these acceptable frequencies?

Thanks in advance; my apologies for tossing out so many questions.

[Mike Phillips]

Long time reader/lurker, first time poster. I want to apologize in advance if these subjects have been covered but I used the search function and am looking for clarification.


Since this is your first post, welcome to AutogeekOnline! :welcome:

I'll take a stab at your questions...




1) I had a couple of pad adhesive failures ...

Are my pad adhesive failures coincidence or technique? I've read that pad failures are usually due to heat buildup ... it's been >105 degrees here but I've done all of my detailing inside my garage, which heats up to close to 100 degrees in the afternoon.
Note: I wash my pads after a couple of panels and then reuse them

[/quote]

Usually pad failure are technique related. Heat causes the adhesives to give up that hold the loop part of hook-n-loop to the foam.

Keep in mind, the oscillation action at high speeds is also a violent action that wears every part of a bad and the backing plate, even the bearings and the spindle of the polisher.

The best remedy is to have more cutting and polishing pads on hand and switch out to a fresh pad after a panel or two...

I can't remember the last time I had any pad fail on me from normal use, so there must be some element of technique in the equation.





(although I don't wash the pad I apply Wolfgang Deep Gloss with; I wash it after completing a car) - they are not totally dry when I use them.



It's hard to wash the pads you use for waxes and sealants because the nature of a wax or sealant is to NOT break down in water. See lots of people over time bring up this issue and once myself of someone else points this out then it makes sense to them. Most pro grade compounds and polishes are water soluble and thus wash out fairly easy.

Putting a wet pad back to work increases heat issues as moist or wet foam and related materials hold and spread heat better than dry pads, see note above about having more cutting and polishing pads on hand.






2) How long is the shelf life of detailing products? Pads, polishes? They seem to work fine and the 32 oz bottles of Intensive Polish, Final Polish, and Finishing Glaze are more than half full ... purchased for Christmas 2010. The Polishes/Glaze should last until 2017 or so. I store my detailing equipment and polishes indoors so they're not exposed to the high temperatures here in Tucson.



Usually a quality brand will have a shelf life of up to 5 years if not exposed to extreme cold or extreme heat.





3) Is it important to do the Final Polish step? I'm thinking of going straight from Intensive Polish to Finishing Glaze and then Paint Sealant.



Totally subjective. Black shows everything and lighter colors don't show everything, that doesn't mean haze isn't present a light color it just means you might not see it.

Some people aren't as picky about the finish on their daily driver as say a guy might be about the finish on his black Corvette, so totally up to you as to how far you go. If the paint looks good to you the seal it up.






4) I had some issues with tape glue. It took a couple of days to do each car and near the end, I got quite a bit of small balls of tape glue on the paint surface. I cleaned them up and changed microfiber towels often but it was a real pain. Due to the high temperature here? Any tape recommendations where I won't have glue issues?



It's a problem for everyone... I try to take the tape ff before waxing and then use the machine applied wax plus the wipe off of it to remove any tape-lines or adhesive residues. Working in a high temp area is going to make things more difficult in lots of ways. I live in Apply Valley, California for 7 years, that's part of the same desert you live in...






5)
The purple pad is pretty beaten up and I'm thinking about using the yellow Kompressor (44-5600KR) pad with Intensive Polish the next time I detail the cars. Opinions?



Good plan, neglected cars need more aggressive approaches, cars in good to great shape clean up faster and easier with less aggressive approaches.

Frequent car care is easy car care...





6) I REALLY like the Kompressor pads because they seem to do a great job of getting to all of the nooks and crannies where the pads which came with my kit are much more rigid. Are there any pads that you'd recommend above the Kompressor pads?



Personal preference. I like Compressor pads on rotary buffers but find they sling splatter dots more readily on dual action polishers. I'm a flat pad fan, sometimes the simple approach is the best approach.







7) I detail the cars about once a year; when my wife's out of town. I don't want her to see the mess I make in the garage and house while I'm detailing, along with using the washer to clean everything. That's marriage 101 - if your wife's a clean freak, don't let her see the house trashed while you're detailing. Between detailings, I wax the cars once. Are these acceptable frequencies?

Thanks in advance; my apologies for tossing out so many questions.




Putting your cars through some sort of regular maintenance program will make keeping them looking good faster and easier, look to do "something" 2-3 times a year. My guess is the average car owner that does their own detailing doe something twice a year, once in the spring, and once at the end of summer before the winter hits.


Another options is RIGHT NOW while both rigs are in great condition, machine apply a one-step cleaner/wax like XMT 360 or Optimum GPS frequently. Both products apply fast and easy and wipe-off is a breeze.

We recently buffed out my truck as it was filled with swirls and stains at the time I bought it. Since buffing it out I'm pretty good about wiping the paint down with a spray detailer ever other day and it always looks like I just waxed it.


Here's an article I wrote years ago, you make it easier for people to reply to your questions if you start by asking just a few.

Huge blocks of text and lots of questions will make most people click away to another thread that's easier to reply to. We have great people on this forum but that's human nature.

Replying like I did above requires knowledge of how to use the multi-quote option and being able to do simple things like copy and paste the opening quote tag at the beginning of each of your questions and then typing the closing quote tag at the end of of a question to make the questions and answers show up on the page in a way that' easy to read. Not everyone knows how to do this or use the Editor Mode in vBulletin instead of the WYSIWYG mode.


Just some friendly tips...


:xyxthumbs:



A tip to help yourself get great answers when you start a thread (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/tips-techniques-how-articles-interacting-discussion-forums/29344-tip-help-yourself-get-great-answers-when-you-start-thread.html)

How to write a good title for your thread (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/introduce-yourself/20306-how-write-good-title-your-post.html)









:)

[vet]

Welcome!

Mike answered your questions.

[iflyjetzzz]

Mike, thanks much for taking the time to answer my questions.

Just for clarification, I assume you're suggesting that I take off the tape after Final Polish, prior to the Deep Gloss Pain Sealant, right?

My apologies for asking so many questions in one post.

[Mike Phillips]

Mike, thanks much for taking the time to answer my questions.

Just for clarification, I assume you're suggesting that I take off the tape after Final Polish, prior to the Deep Gloss Pain Sealant, right?




Yes. That's how I do it.







My apologies for asking so many questions in one post.




There's no need to apologize, I write for a very wide spectrum of people and a lot of people will see this into the future, so I used it as a teaching moment.

If you read the article I linked to above, the point it makes is that while our forum is made up of a lot of very talented and kind people, you want to make it easy for them to reply and a few questions is a lot more inviting then a lot of questions.

Then, after getting answers to the first questions, tag on with the rest of the questions... the whole idea is about helping yourself to help yourself and in part because posts on forums can get kind of clumsy, no ones fault, just how it goes...


Now how about a picture or two?


:Picture:

[RZJZA80]

Get a compressor and use it to clean your pads (of any type) between passes, this also cools down the pad and avoids or eliminates pad failures due to heat.

[WantcarPerfect]

Mike this was a great post. People like you, who take the time to help people is the reason I will only buy from PBMG. I always enjoy reading your answers, suggestions and posts. Just never took the time to tell you so.

[iflyjetzzz]

Now how about a picture or two?


:Picture:

My wife took the good camera on vacation with her. These are from my cell phone. I didn't take any 'before' pictures; the paint was in pretty rough shape.

I'm only posting pictures of the 2000 Honda Accord; my wife's 2005 Acura TL was already in great shape.
First shot is a general picture of the car.
Second shot is the trunk; I'm especially proud of that. It had a lot of deep scratches that I was able to buff out. Note the reflection of the water heater; the paint shines great and there are no noticeable scratches.
Third shot is the hood.
... looks great for a 13 year old car with 160K miles on it that survived two teen drivers.

Now that the Deep Gloss Paint Sealant is fully cured, I will probably put one coat of carnauba on each car tonight.