Critiques wanted

[The D]

Hello, everyone. Hope all is well. I’m about to fall into detailing for real. I’ve tried a few times in the past(when I was single) and just couldn’t get into it. I was a flat-rate auto mechanic at the time and didn’t want to bring any work home with me if I didn’t have to. We’ll, now I don’t really have a choice. I have a camper that needs some tree branch scratches fixed and a gel coat to re-apply, correct, & maintain properly. I’ve also got 4 other vehicles that need some attention. I’ve been reading up on what’s changed over the years and evaluating some dust covered products I still have in the garage. I’d like some critiques on my plans so far. Don’t laugh too hard, I don’t want to get my feeling hurt

What I have so far that’s been in my garage for a long time:

Quite a bit of Meguiar’s stuff. Lots of waxes, 4 different kinds. Not sure what I was thinking buying so much wax. I have some show car glaze left that I’m not sure I’ll keep, I don’t think it’s the same consistency still. Some interior cleaner and trim restorer. An unopened clay bar that is pretty hard(may just scrap that anyway). About half a bottle of

Mother’s Back to Black. This seems ok, I’ll definitely test on an inconspicuous spot before I slather it over an entire car

Zymol leather cleaner and conditioner

What I’ve ordered already as a starting point:

Menzerna 3-in-1. This is part of the plan that I’ll explain below. Trust me, I’m a professional

A cheap SPTA da kit from Amazon. Don’t laugh too hard. I intend to figure out which end is which and work over a few cars before I commit to something real. I’m already eyeballing a 3401 though

My plan:

Being somewhat of a Germanophile(I spent over 10yrs as a Mercedes mechanic) I appreciate the over-engineered stuff. I plan to use a lot of Sonax and Menzerna products. I’m not saying these are the only products I’ll use, I’ll definitely use something else if it’s head-and-shoulders better.

I’m also eyeballing some Collinite and Zymol waxes. No particular reason, they are just where my gaze came to rest

If our camper and/or tow vehicle(‘13 Ford Explorer) don’t get some sort of ppf, I’ll be asking advice on a ceramic coating

I know I have a long way to go and that this list is lacking a ton of stuff. Any advice and/or criticism is appreciated

[Eldorado2k]

An unopened claybar shouldn’t go bad.

[Bill D]

I found some clay bars in my garage that have got to be 20 years old. I wish I had some kind of beater to try them on because I’m too scared to put them to anything I care about. I don’t know if it was a good idea to buy clay in bulk and then forget where I put them

[dlc95]

Can't go wrong with Sonax and Menzerna.

[The D]

An unopened claybar shouldn’t go bad.

I’ll try it on a section to see for sure

I found some clay bars in my garage that have got to be 20 years old. I wish I had some kind of beater to try them on because I’m too scared to put them to anything I care about. I don’t know if it was a good idea to buy clay in bulk and then forget where I put them

Send me some and I’ll be your guinea pig

Can't go wrong with Sonax and Menzerna.

Thanks. This is what I gathered during my interneting, it’s good to hear it reinforced

[The D]

I’ve seen Wurth is getting into the detailing game. I used some of their products in the dealerships years ago. Has anyone used their detailing stuff? Anything to report, good or bad?

[Paul A.]

Plan to be a little more aggressive with gelcoat. It's more tolerant than basecoat/clearcoat paints. You still do some least aggressive tests spots but don't be surprised if you settle on wool pads and Sonax Cutmax or Mnz 3-400. Then refine.

I'm also a huge Sonax/Menzerna fan.

[The D]

Plan to be a little more aggressive with gelcoat. It's more tolerant than basecoat/clearcoat paints. You still do some least aggressive tests spots but don't be surprised if you settle on wool pads and Sonax Cutmax or Mnz 3-400. Then refine.

I'm also a huge Sonax/Menzerna fan.

Yeah, I’ve read that in a few threads here. I’ll probably try Cutmax but may just end up buying some of the Menzerna gel coat specific products. Hopefully they sell small amounts so I don’t have to detail some boats to use them up…

[Bill D]

I’ll try it on a section to see for sure


Send me some and I’ll be your guinea pig

Darn, I threw it out already.

[The D]

And…here…

We…

Go…

Got my da and my shiny new Menzerna 3-in-1