Upcoming Winter Detail

[HOPTOAD]

Hi All,

Thanks for the great forum, wanted to get some advice from members regarding an upcoming detail on my 2003 VW Passat, black.

I have some detailing experiance but this will be my first go round w a DA.

I purchased the Harbor Freight DA and a Lake Country CCS 5.5 inch kit w backing plate.

The plan of attack.

1 Wash - Gold Class

2 Clay- Meguiars clay bar kit

3 Compounding- Meguiars Utlimate Compund , Lake Country Orange

4 Finishing Polish- M205, Lake Country White

5 LSP- Collinite 845 Lake Country Green

Paint condition is just OK. Lots of Orange Peel, some water spots, swirls.

I will be doing a test spot to determine the least aggressive approach. The above products are a mix of what I have at home (wash, clay, ultimate compound) and what I plan on ordering (M205 and the collinite 845) trying to keep the cost relativly low.

Opinions, tips, concerns on this combination of products would be greatly appreciated. If you have any suggestions for a good (cheap) trim restorer please let me know. I have been using back to black but it fades after 2 or 3 storms, thinking of trying some PERL.


Thanks
HOPTOAD

[davey g-force]

Sounds like a good plan to me!

[DetailedTaco]

+1 for PERL

Seems as though you have a good idea of what you are doing with some great low cost products.

[swanicyouth]

Forget PERL. Get Tuff Shine. Apply it right once and it will last through the snow and sludge of winter.

[KillaCam]

Forget PERL. Get Tuff Shine. Apply it right once and it will last through the snow and sludge of winter.

You use tuff shine as a trim restorer?

[primo spaghetti]

You use tuff shine as a trim restorer?

tuf shine has a trim product...
TUF SHINE Black Restore Kit, trim restorer (http://www.autogeek.net/tuf-shine-black-restore-kit.html)

[HOPTOAD]

Thanks for the advice!

I uploaded a couple pics to show the condition of the paint. Once the sun comes up a little more Ill get better pics of the hood.

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk19/HOPTOAD78/1384348511_zps7aaf0cfb.jpg (http://s276.photobucket.com/user/HOPTOAD78/media/1384348511_zps7aaf0cfb.jpg.html)

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk19/HOPTOAD78/1384348516_zps7e23f6c2.jpg (http://s276.photobucket.com/user/HOPTOAD78/media/1384348516_zps7e23f6c2.jpg.html)

[Audios S6]

I'm not sure about 2003 black VW paint, but the black VW paint on my parents 2000 passat is pretty hard. A DA with Megs UC and an Orange LC might not be enough to remove all the swirls. You may want to do your test spot a few days prior, in the event you find it's not doing the job and you need some feedback from folks here or another product.

[swanicyouth]

You use tuff shine as a trim restorer?

No my mistake. I thought he was using it for tires. The Tuff Shine trim stuff worked poorly for me, it flakes off. I would recommend DLux, as that will get you through the winter with one application.

[wdmaccord]

To be honest, you may not even need the M205. If you get a good result with the UC, you can do an IPA wipedown to remove some of the oils from the UC and go straight to 845. Then in the spring, you may only need to do a quick polish with the M205 before you do your summer LSP. Just sayin, don't do more work than you have to for your winter detail, then really make it pop in the spring. My 2 cents.

[HOPTOAD]

I'm not sure about 2003 black VW paint, but the black VW paint on my parents 2000 passat is pretty hard. A DA with Megs UC and an Orange LC might not be enough to remove all the swirls. You may want to do your test spot a few days prior, in the event you find it's not doing the job and you need some feedback from folks here or another product.


The Lake Country kit I recieved also came w a wool pad.

Do you think that the wool pad w Ultimate Compound would be more aggressive than the Orange Pad w Ultimate?


Swanicyouth, thanks for the suggestion of DLux but at $40 ill have to hold off for a bit. Seems like all the trim products that actually have some durability start around that price point.

[davey g-force]

Do you think that the wool pad w Ultimate Compound would be more aggressive than the Orange Pad w Ultimate?

Definitely. That's another option for you if your VW paint does indeed turn out to be hard as suspected.

Although, if you do use a wool pad, chances are you'll have to follow up with M205 on foam.

As always, test spots are your friend! :)

[Audios S6]

The Lake Country kit I recieved also came w a wool pad.

Do you think that the wool pad w Ultimate Compound would be more aggressive than the Orange Pad w Ultimate?



As Davey said, the wool will deifnitely be more aggressive than the orange foam, but you will have to follow it with the M205 to get rid of any haze left by the wool.

As you already seem to know, start with the least aggresive and work your way up.

Based on what you mentioned it sounds like least to most aggressive for you would be:

White+M205
Orange+M205
Orange+Ultimate Compound
Wool+Ultimate Compound

Note: Orange+M205 is borderline goofy combination IMHO. For hard paint it may work well. On soft paint, the orange pad could be counter productive to finishing down well. White+Ultimate compound was not listed above because it would just be silly on any paint, IMHO.