New to Detailing

[flb18r]

hello forum, im new to detailing. I just love taking care of my cars, so I decide to do it as a hobby and side jobs ( when im good ) here is the list of stuff I just brought.


Qty Product Code - Product Name Price
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1 MK-8500 - Makita 9227C Circular Polisher 8.5 inch Pad 269.99
4 BTL-32OZW-200W - White 32 oz. Bottle with Screw Cap 14.64
1 MF-530-3 - 3 QTY Supreme Buff Microfiber Towel 19.99
1 COBRA-2400G - Cobra Gold Plush Microfiber Combo 34.99
1 COBRA-921 - Cobra Total Microfiber Tool Kit 49.99
1 PIN-75Q - Pinnacle Quart Foamaster Foam Gun Free w/Bon 59.99
1 M-UNIGRIT-6 - Meguiars Unigrit Sand Papers 6 Pack Kit 10.99
1 G-81-207 - Fire Hose Nozzle 19.99
1 WG-DISC - Clay Disc for the Polishin Pal (Disc Only) 9.99
1 SPUR-89-104 - Duo-spur Wool & Foam Pad Cleaning Tool 14.99

and also grid gruads for my buckets.


im a mechanic and my detailing shop will be providing me some compound, polish, and sealant to pratice with. I also have access to a lot of panels from my body shop.

my 1st task is to remove light swirls on this 09 audi a5 door. I will post pictures soon. I know the paint is pretty new too and any tips will be great. should I wet sand or compond? or jus polish to see if the swirls goes away? I also have clay, should I waste my clay or do it to have a smooth surface to work with.

[loudog2]

Welcome!!

[teamerickson]

Nice avatar!

[flb18r]

[flb18r]

1 WG-DISC - Clay Disc for the Polishin Pal (Disc Only) 9.99?????? why the hell I order this? I don't even have the polishing pal. hmmmm I guess I need the Wolfgang Polishin’ Pal Combo FREE BONUS for $30. but meanwhile my budget is at the max. so i will wait another month to get other things I may need. I will also post pictures of the products I brought to give everyone some clues what im working with. words with pictures is better than just words.

[flb18r]

Nice avatar!

thanks

[flb18r]

by the way I never have experiecne with maching polishing or any kind of polishing before( hand). I never even wax a car. I like the average person who cleans their car regularly. chicks love clean cars. I have done a lot of reading and now i will put my knowledge to use. my stuff will arrive next monday, please stay tune. any tips or correction will be great.

[LincolnZephyr2006]

Not many people who haven't machine polished go right to a rotary, and I see that you did. All I have to say is be EXTREMELY cautious on edges and what not.... and PRACTICE first on scrap. Rotaries can either be your best friend if you are experienced, but also can be your enemy if you have no clue what you are doing. Keep it moving at all times (not so fast where you won't get any correction done), but at a steady speed. Remember, especially with a rotary, TAPE is your best friend also. Just do your homework first and go on YouTube or this site and research on how to work a rotary.

[Mike Phillips]

by the way I never have experience with machine polishing or any kind of polishing before( hand). I never even wax a car.

Wow!

Going from never having waxed a car to a rotary buffer!

In my honest opinion you would be much better off starting out with a dual action polisher like the PC 7424XP or the Griot's Garage Random Orbital Polisher.

Here's why,

If you're detailing daily drivers then there's no reason to be trying to put a show car finish on these types of cars. Besides the fact that it's not what your customer needs, they usually don't want to pay for it as you should be charging $300.00+ for just the paint polishing.

So if you're not creating show car finishes and you're working on daily drivers you want to keep it simple and fast so it will be PROFITABLE.

Wash
Clay
Cleaner/Wax using a DA style polisher
Wheels and Tires
Glass
Interior

The paint care steps are kept to the basics to do a good job. Washing is a must no matter what you do, claying insures a smooth surface that will restore gloss and enable the wax to bond to the paint so it will last as long as possible and using a cleaner/wax will clean, polish and seal the paint in one step. This step along will take you 4-6 hours and you need to make a profit.

Using a rotary buffer means doing at least one compounding or polishing step and then waxing, this is the normal minimum. Some detailers use the rotary and do only one step using a cleaner/wax but in all honesty this is going to leave the paint filled with swirls and you'll be what's called a Hack Detailer.

What kind of detailing are you planning on doing?

• Production?
• Show Car?

You usually can't do show car quality work until you have some years under your belt doing production work to become proficient with the pads, products tools and procedures.

???????

[flb18r]

thanks for the input guys, I know im skipping steps into this the field. I know about the rotary polisher is for PROs and DA is for beginners. what I want to achieve is show car detail and also production detail. I figure I have access to a lot of panels from the my bodyshop and free supplies from my detailing shop, I have nothing to loose. im very excited. I will post everything I do on here, on which product I used, how I use the polisher and the time I spend. I know I will be making mistakes but thats ok its not on anybody's car. and I see many nice people here on autogeek, so if you have something to share, I willing to take advices. I wish i can join Mike's classes!!!!!