Noob sighting: First time clay/wax and machine use :O

[peternorth]

Been lurking for a bit now... In short social services should have taken my cars away from me by now.

In my defense since owning them I've been working pretty ridiculous hours, I have not had access to a water source or electrical outlet, been in the brutal northeast, and have been in apartment/condo garages where you can't even get away with a rinseless wash. The time I have devoted to maintaining the car is generally well just that.. maintenance/mods.

I rarely had my car hand washed/waxed sometimes even steamed, but by and far my cars have seen automatic washes. I finally moved down south and have started with rinseless washing. Haven't had the time to clay/wax so I just went ahead and paid someone to hand wax.

I'm moving to a location where I will be able to hook up a DA. I went ahead and bought a Porter Cable tonight. I still need to buy a hook & loop plate and pads, but at least I took the first step lol. Any recommendations there would be appreciated. Please don't flame.. I've read many threads and there are many answers. Just looking for a few basic must have pads and perhaps a cheap backing plate. Looks like chemical guys has one of the cheaper plates available.

The short.. but not really
So with my drawn out introduction out of the way (yes I know it belongs in a separate intro thread) I am looking for advice on any must have pads/plates as mentioned above and some clarification/advice on my first claybar/wax. Eventually I will need to dedicate time into paint correction, but it won't be my first job.. I haven't hand waxed a car let alone picked up a DA.

I plan to:

1. wash the car
2. clay
3. wash again (or go straight to polishing?)
4. wax

What I am curious about is whether or not I need to use a compound or not. Currently I do not have one.. So if necessary again a recommendation would be nice. Also is a paint cleaner necessary?

Right now other than wash/towel supplies I have collinite 845 and ultimate quick detailer for the clay lube (also have onrww, but figured its not as good as onr for lube). I plan on picking up either a medium/fine clay bar (not decided yet) and if necessary or highly recommended a compound (could i use klass aio/sg alternatively?)

I have some swirl X laying around as well, but have seen very mixed reviews on it. Might just leave it be.

/rant

thanks in advance!
:cruisin:

[Eandras]

Compounding would be determined by the paint correction needed. I would get a polish first and do a test spot. The size of the test spot would be a 24" x 24" spot masked off with blue painters tape. You are going to need pads so witht e 51/2" pad select a white polishing pad. To the tape mark off 1" lines on to perpendicular sides. Add polish after priming the pad. Priming is adding product to the pad and then add 3 to 4 pea sized drops of product. Take the da and put it in the box you tested and slid th da pad side down in that box. This is the initial. Spreading of the product. Start up the da on low speed and spread the product in the box. Boost your speed up to 5 and do across motions moving the da 1" or 1mark per second to get your arm speed. Put enough pressure to keep the backing plate moving. Do a section horizontal and one verticle this is a section pass. Do that 4 to 6 times until polish becomes clear. Wipe down with a soft cloth and see if the marks are still there. If so try another pass to see if you can remove if not compounding might be the choice with an orange pad.

Post pictures of the car so,others can chime in

Ed

[peternorth]

thanks! "knew" most of it, but its nice to have it all so detailed and in order. makes me a bit more confident in what i believe to be correct.

i'll post some close up pictures in the next few days. the paint isn't horrid as in hazy or but has its share of swirls, light scratches, deep scratches, and a few knicks that simply can't be revived without repainting. one of the cars has a few spots i fear are early clear coat failure.. im hoping not.. again really need to post pics

[Don M]

Ultimate Quik Detailer won't work for clay lube, it's too "slippery" per Meguiars. You'll need to use the Opt. No Rinse or get a basic quik detailer or bottle of clay lube.

Other than that, wash, clay, polish (check results) polish again if needed or go to compound, polish if needed to remove compounding marks, wax.

[peternorth]

thanks don. i wasn't sure but noticed the uqd layin around the apartment so i mentioned it. it seems some people use onrww just fine as a clay lube.. i might pick up a basic qd or onr just to be safe.

ok so i am missing a few critical steps.. this is where just reading and watching videos does not always pay off. so you are saying that i indeed do need to go ahead and polish and compound before waxing? and a compound is essentially a more abrasive polish yes? if i needed a polish i was going to go ahead and pick up klasse aio.. and then wax after.. i'll have to look into compounds as well.

[peternorth]

the more i read the more i realize how little i know about each product.

[duffthebluff]

Nice name :))

You're right, compounds are more abrasive. If it helps, here's what I do:

1. Wash, dry & clay (I use Mother's clay bar kit with Mother's QD)
2. Compound (Meguiar's Ultimate Compound)
3. Polish (Meguiar's Deep Crystal Polish)
4. Seal (DP Poli coat)
5. Wax (Collinite 845)

For me, this method removes swirls that you see under direct light (e.g. sunlight). Different detailers have different taste, and for me the steps I listed gives me the satisfaction I want.

But if you're going to use AIO, you just need to do the following:

1. Wash, dry & clay
2. AIO
3. Wax

Haven't really tried AIO, but soon will. This is my approach for other cars. I'm just sure that AIO doesn't remove all swirls that I want (a completely different topic)

[Don M]

There are going to be as many methods of achieving the 'perfect finish' as there are detailers on this forum BUT they are all going to go about it in basically the same way and it involves starting with a test spot ... usually on the hood... this is where you find out if a compound is needed or just a polish.

Pick an area about 1.5' x 1.5' and work that area with a polish is a criss-cross fashion for 3-6 passes. Wipe off the residue and check the finish. If the swirls are gone, then a polish should be all you need for the whole car. If they are still there, you can either try a second pass with the polish or go to a compound. Just to add, there are many compounds in use that finish out ready for wax, which lets you skip the polishing step.

There are many variables that I could add for going more aggressive, but why muddy the water for you at this point?

[peternorth]

small update. finally got around to snapping a few pics.. i'll separate this into two posts to separate the cars to avoid any confusion. both are black e90 chassis bmws. the first being jet black and the second being black sapphire metallic. my understanding is the paint is considered "soft."

the first car was hand waxed probably a week and a half ago, but since then we have had a few days with torrential downpours.. heavy enough that the rain pulled the undertray right off the car.

the second car just had the rear bumper repainted last week so more than likely i will only detail the hood and front fenders for the time being as that is where the vast majority of correction is necessary. if this is a bad idea do let me know.

i haven't washed the cars in a week and a half or so.

Cars are quite dirty so if you have any questions on whether something is a scratch or just dirty feel free to ask. water spots are all essentially all new type I at this point (thanks FL rain). Even if a few type IIs are in there I'm sure I won't have any trouble removing them with whatever compound I end up using.

I think I will skip the Klasse products this time around and will use them later this year once I have the paint in better shape.

This time around I will clay compound/polish wax. I have Griot's clay and will be using Collinite 845 for wax. I really would like a suggestion for the compound/polish and the necessary 6.5 inch pads for my PC.. Ideally a single product if possible.

Thanks!

[peternorth]

second car.. really not sure if that is overspray or clearcoat failure on the hood and fender panel.. we never noticed this prior to an accident that required paintwork so I am really hoping its overspray or some sort of industrial contamination. It feels rough when I drag my finger across the area. both cars are garaged at work and home if it makes a difference..

again any input on products to use between clay and wax would be greatly appreciated. as well as all the necessary pads for the job! thanks again!

[peternorth]

duff - thanks.. i'll be sure not to unleash the compounds/plish/wax the way the legend himself does ;)

thanks for the suggestion and meg products are easy and cheap to pick up so those are easy to go to.. i'm aiming for a one step? product (i hope i'm using that term right) this time around.. i'm working full time and studying for a brutal exam.. A few months down the road I'll spend more time doing a proper compound/polish/seal. To me this is more of a first stab at detailing.

Don - agreed the number of opinions on products are overwhelming and its all opinion and pref.. i am definitely aiming to use a compound that finishes out nice enough to go straight to wax.. i will research these products a bit more.. any personal suggestions would be appreciated.

[Don M]

I just compounded my nephew's car with Meguiar's Ultimate Compound using a finishing pad. The finish came out really nice with just the compound and was wax ready ... I used Ultimate Paste Wax

[peternorth]

I just compounded my nephew's car with Meguiar's Ultimate Compound using a finishing pad. The finish came out really nice with just the compound and was wax ready ... I used Ultimate Paste Wax

Thanks Don.. I think I'll give the ultimate compound a shot this time around.. You mentioned you only used a finishing pad.. Would you suggest that I use a light cutting pad? Or just a finishing pad?

[peternorth]

To clarify.. I'm trying to figure out if I will see any beneficial correction by just using a finishing pad or if I really need both a cutting and finishing pad per the pics i posted.

[Don M]

To clarify.. I'm trying to figure out if I will see any beneficial correction by just using a finishing pad or if I really need both a cutting and finishing pad per the pics i posted.


Oops, I was typing too fast ... I meant to say I used a POLISHING pad with the Ult Compound. I used a finishing pad to apply the Ult Paste Wax. Polishing pads are kind of a happy medium. You can use them with both compounds for greater cut or polishes and get lesser cut, they are very versatile.