Please Critique My Setup

[aztec1987]

Here is what I came to find out on some research I did in the past, I posted this on another topic:

Also to be honest the 7424XP has higher speed settings 1-6 in higher revolutions as for 10FX only has 4 speeds. The Torq 10FX is a 700 watt motor with OPM of 1500-4200 vs PC 7424 XP has a 500 watt motor 2500-6800 OPM both have a 8mm throw.

[Toolhead]

Decon the new car. It needs it..iron x...clay ..use nanoskin..easier and faster than clay bar..then polish with da and sealant to protect.

I just decon'd 2016 4runner which is garaged when not driven and it bled more purple during ironx bath than 2012 camry...and needed a nanoskin clay session...im currently polishing and sealing sections

[Calendyr]

Didn't read the whole thread, kinda tired right now, so I might repeat some stuff others have said.

So, for the wheels. You don't really need a bucket. The easies way to do wheels is to have 2 sprayer bottles, one with a degreaser/APC to clean the tire and Wheel well and one with an acid based cleaner to clean the rim. You start with the acid cleaner (I like to use Meguiar's Wheel Brightener at 5:1 dilution). Make sure to wear gloves and don't breathe the fumes, I inhale a lungfull then spray and walk away before releasing my breath. This stuff is bad for your health but amazing on rims. So you let it work for about a minute during which you can spray your Wheel brushes with water. Then you agitate the product on the barrel and the face of the rim. Then you rinse with your hose and clean the brushes before spraying the degreaser on the tires and the Wheel well. Again let work for a few seconds then agitate with a stiff brush on the tire and a soft one on the Wheel well. Rinse and repeat on tire, it often takes 2 cleaning. You will know the tire is clean when the foam stays white instead of turning Brown or gray or what ever color other than white.

When all 4 wheels are done you can do the paint. As for when to clay, my suggestion is to only do it before polishing. Claying marrs the paint. So in my mind it should not be done if you are not gonna polish afterwards. As to how often to do it, it dépends on your LSP. If you use a paint sealant, applying it twice a year is best. If you really take care of the car and use a spray wax every time you wash the car, then applying a sealant once a year is usually perfectly all right. If you use a coating, then that would be every 2-5 years depending on the coating.

Polishing is not that hard, get a polisher and a few polishing pads, get some quality polish like M205 or Ulimate Polish and simply do it when you see swirls. Paint correction with a compound is more complicated, but polishing is rather easy, just search youtube to tutorials.

Hope you enjoy your new car, and find a love for detailing in the process.

[Emt1581]

Didn't read the whole thread, kinda tired right now, so I might repeat some stuff others have said.

So, for the wheels. You don't really need a bucket. The easies way to do wheels is to have 2 sprayer bottles, one with a degreaser/APC to clean the tire and Wheel well and one with an acid based cleaner to clean the rim. You start with the acid cleaner (I like to use Meguiar's Wheel Brightener at 5:1 dilution). Make sure to wear gloves and don't breathe the fumes, I inhale a lungfull then spray and walk away before releasing my breath. This stuff is bad for your health but amazing on rims. So you let it work for about a minute during which you can spray your Wheel brushes with water. Then you agitate the product on the barrel and the face of the rim. Then you rinse with your hose and clean the brushes before spraying the degreaser on the tires and the Wheel well. Again let work for a few seconds then agitate with a stiff brush on the tire and a soft one on the Wheel well. Rinse and repeat on tire, it often takes 2 cleaning. You will know the tire is clean when the foam stays white instead of turning Brown or gray or what ever color other than white.

Kinda like cleaning a gun barrel...keep going until the wipes are clean.


When all 4 wheels are done you can do the paint. As for when to clay, my suggestion is to only do it before polishing. Claying marrs the paint. So in my mind it should not be done if you are not gonna polish afterwards. As to how often to do it, it dépends on your LSP. If you use a paint sealant, applying it twice a year is best. If you really take care of the car and use a spray wax every time you wash the car, then applying a sealant once a year is usually perfectly all right. If you use a coating, then that would be every 2-5 years depending on the coating.

What does LSP stand for? And does polish mean the same thing as wax? Seems like it but I've seen them used to mean different things. Then again,
I've always thought polishers were used for waxing.

Polishing is not that hard, get a polisher and a few polishing pads, get some quality polish like M205 or Ulimate Polish and simply do it when you see swirls. Paint correction with a compound is more complicated, but polishing is rather easy, just search youtube to tutorials.

I'm leaning toward pulling the trigger on a Porter Cable to get started....as soon as I find a discount code for Chemical Guys or someone that sells them.

Hope you enjoy your new car, and find a love for detailing in the process.

Thanks a lot for the info! Please see my responses and questions in bold above.

Thanks again!

-Emt1581

[Calendyr]

Sorry about acronyms, I sometimes forget myself. LSP stands for last step product. Basicly it's the product you choose to protect the paint and glass, it can be either a wax, a paint sealant or a coating (for now)

Polishes are products designed to get the paint to shine. There are 2 types, abrasive and chemical. Both are designed to give the paint gloss and make it pop. The world of polishes is a little complicated because companies sometimes mislabel products. But when you see polish, you should think about making the car look nice. What you want is a finishing polish, those are the least abrasive and give the best clarity to the paint. They won't remove as much defects like swirls but later on you can learn about paint correction and how to do a compound on the paint before polishing. Right now if your paint is in good condition, your goal should be to learn how to wash without damaging the paint, find a last step product you like and use it as recommended to protect the paint. Polishing is only done when needed (for exemple if you start to see swirls in the paint or if the paint is becoming dull).

As for a starter polisher, if you live in the US Harbour Freight (sp?) sells a Dual Action Polisher for about 50$. From every detailer I have seen using it, it looks like a great machine and it's very affordable. One thing you will need to do if you get this polisher is to replace the backplate. theirs is very bad. Autogeek sells all the backplates, you will want a 5 inch one for (probably listed as 4 3/4 or a tad Under 5'') to use 5 inch pads. You can also get a smaller one if you want to be able to do detail work. 3 inch pads are very useful for that. Otherwise, the Porter Cable seems like a good DA Polisher, but I have never used one so I am only quoting other people. Make sure to get a good amount of pads. To start with you should get about 3 of each of the following:
- 5 inch finishing pads (used to apply wax and sealant)
- 5 inch light polishing pads (used to do the last step of polishing to get the best shine out of the paint)
- 5 inch heavy polishing pads (used to remove some defects in the paint like light swirls)

Pads come in 3 variety: Foam, microfiber and wool. I would strongly advise to get foam pads. Microfiber pads are more difficult to use, and harder to clean unless you have a compressor handy. Wood pads a designed mostly for an other type of polisher called Rotary and should be left for heavy paint correcting in the hands of a Professional, there is a risk using them so you should definatelly not go that way as a novice.

You can also get the same pads in 3 inch format if you decide to get a second backplate for your polisher.

If later on you decide you like all of this, you can get a high quality polisher from either Flex or Rupes to get more work done faster. But a simple DA polisher can go a long way if you are using it only for yourself and don't mind taking a little more time to get the job done.

[Emt1581]

Sorry about acronyms, I sometimes forget myself. LSP stands for last step product. Basicly it's the product you choose to protect the paint and glass, it can be either a wax, a paint sealant or a coating (for now)

Polishes are products designed to get the paint to shine. There are 2 types, abrasive and chemical. Both are designed to give the paint gloss and make it pop. The world of polishes is a little complicated because companies sometimes mislabel products. But when you see polish, you should think about making the car look nice. What you want is a finishing polish, those are the least abrasive and give the best clarity to the paint. They won't remove as much defects like swirls but later on you can learn about paint correction and how to do a compound on the paint before polishing. Right now if your paint is in good condition, your goal should be to learn how to wash without damaging the paint, find a last step product you like and use it as recommended to protect the paint. Polishing is only done when needed (for exemple if you start to see swirls in the paint or if the paint is becoming dull).

As for a starter polisher, if you live in the US Harbour Freight (sp?) sells a Dual Action Polisher for about 50$. From every detailer I have seen using it, it looks like a great machine and it's very affordable. One thing you will need to do if you get this polisher is to replace the backplate. theirs is very bad. Autogeek sells all the backplates, you will want a 5 inch one for (probably listed as 4 3/4 or a tad Under 5'') to use 5 inch pads. You can also get a smaller one if you want to be able to do detail work. 3 inch pads are very useful for that. Otherwise, the Porter Cable seems like a good DA Polisher, but I have never used one so I am only quoting other people. Make sure to get a good amount of pads. To start with you should get about 3 of each of the following:
- 5 inch finishing pads (used to apply wax and sealant)
- 5 inch light polishing pads (used to do the last step of polishing to get the best shine out of the paint)
- 5 inch heavy polishing pads (used to remove some defects in the paint like light swirls)

Pads come in 3 variety: Foam, microfiber and wool. I would strongly advise to get foam pads. Microfiber pads are more difficult to use, and harder to clean unless you have a compressor handy. Wood pads a designed mostly for an other type of polisher called Rotary and should be left for heavy paint correcting in the hands of a Professional, there is a risk using them so you should definatelly not go that way as a novice.

You can also get the same pads in 3 inch format if you decide to get a second backplate for your polisher.

If later on you decide you like all of this, you can get a high quality polisher from either Flex or Rupes to get more work done faster. But a simple DA polisher can go a long way if you are using it only for yourself and don't mind taking a little more time to get the job done.

I'll have to do more research on the HF polisher. I've seen mixed reviews of it but I've also heard the backplate issue before. Again, need to research what all would be involved in swapping it out.

I'll look into pads as well. Does brand matter? And are there any other terms I should look for besides "finishing", "light polishing" and "heavy polishing" foam pads?

Thanks

-Emt1581

[Emt1581]

Going to be placing an order with Chemical Guys tomorrow (Friday) to take advantage of their 30% off Memorial Day sale site-wide. I spoke to one of their tech guys on the phone and here is the list of things I'll be ordering.

Please share any thoughts/suggestions/concerns!!

For wax I'm going to give Collinite 845 (which I already have) a try. And as mentioned earlier I use Meguiar's Gold Class Shampoo/Conditioner.

From Chemical Guys...

1. Stripper Scent Air Freshener- I won't be using this in my Mustang but for my beater I gotta give it a try.

2. Inner Clean- I plan on using this for my vinyl wrapped dash/arm-rest, leather steering wheel, interior plastic trim as everything is starting to get dusty and dirty.

3. Long Handle Body and Wheel Brush- This will let me clean the entire wheel/rim without taking the wheels off the car.

4. Extreme Slick Synthetic Quick Detailer- I need something for day to day bugs/bird crap/etc. and this seems like it'd be a good all-purpose solution.

5. Jetseal- The guy on the phone said it will last...up to...a year. But the Blitz they make only is up to 3 months. This seems like a well-liked option.

6. Citrus Wash and Gloss- I'll use this to get the Meguiar's wax off and then to re-apply seal/wax a few times a year.

A couple of final questions...

1. I still have nothing specific to clean/coat the wheels. The guy at CG gave some suggestions but the best one was out of stock. In my research it seems people debate whether wheel protectants even work, which to use, etc. Thoughts?

2. Exterior plastics- CG's suggested Blue Guard or Clear Extreme Shine but I'm not sure I want shine vs. factory look. Still want my plastic trim protected outside. What do you use/suggest?

3. Clay- I'm completely new to clay. Does it matter which brand/type I go with or will the boxed kit at walmart, CG, etc. all do the same thing?


I'm going to be looking into the HF and PC polishers today and I'll pick one.

Anything else I'm not covering/forgetting as far as getting started with cleaning/protecting my car?

Thanks so much for the responses! It's been incredibly helpful!

-Emt1581

[aztec1987]

Going to be placing an order with Chemical Guys tomorrow (Friday) to take advantage of their 30% off Memorial Day sale site-wide. I spoke to one of their tech guys on the phone and here is the list of things I'll be ordering.

Please share any thoughts/suggestions/concerns!!

For wax I'm going to give Collinite 845 (which I already have) a try. And as mentioned earlier I use Meguiar's Gold Class Shampoo/Conditioner.

From Chemical Guys...

1. Stripper Scent Air Freshener- I won't be using this in my Mustang but for my beater I gotta give it a try.

2. Inner Clean- I plan on using this for my vinyl wrapped dash/arm-rest, leather steering wheel, interior plastic trim as everything is starting to get dusty and dirty.

3. Long Handle Body and Wheel Brush- This will let me clean the entire wheel/rim without taking the wheels off the car.

4. Extreme Slick Synthetic Quick Detailer- I need something for day to day bugs/bird crap/etc. and this seems like it'd be a good all-purpose solution.

5. Jetseal- The guy on the phone said it will last...up to...a year. But the Blitz they make only is up to 3 months. This seems like a well-liked option.

6. Citrus Wash and Gloss- I'll use this to get the Meguiar's wax off and then to re-apply seal/wax a few times a year.

A couple of final questions...

1. I still have nothing specific to clean/coat the wheels. The guy at CG gave some suggestions but the best one was out of stock. In my research it seems people debate whether wheel protectants even work, which to use, etc. Thoughts?

2. Exterior plastics- CG's suggested Blue Guard or Clear Extreme Shine but I'm not sure I want shine vs. factory look. Still want my plastic trim protected outside. What do you use/suggest?

3. Clay- I'm completely new to clay. Does it matter which brand/type I go with or will the boxed kit at walmart, CG, etc. all do the same thing?


I'm going to be looking into the HF and PC polishers today and I'll pick one.

Anything else I'm not covering/forgetting as far as getting started with cleaning/protecting my car?

Thanks so much for the responses! It's been incredibly helpful!

-Emt1581

For the exterior plastic I tend to use either Hyper Coat G6 or VRP which both are water based and will not fade them away like oil based products. To coat the wheels I just use the CG Wheel Wax. Clay it all depends I have used the CG clay and luber (or you can get the pad conditioning which they are similar) and I gotten good results, before CG Clay I use to get it from my uncle that works in a body shop here in LA. If it is your first time ever using a polishing machine I would suggest to go with the PC 7424 XP, I have inner clean and it is a good product I use it on my cars on a weekly basis to keep up with the maintenance. I am unsure but also a Glass Cleaner would be good with some Microfiber towels.

[takr]

1. Wheels - I'm a fan of silica spray type coating (carpro hydro2 etc). Easy application, a lot less dirt, easier to clean. Last for 2-3 months, but not an issue since reapplication is super easy.
2. Plastic - I just put a sealant, and wax on top.
3. Clay - In my opinion, brands don't matter as much as abrasiveness. For maintenance type jobs, make sure you get the fine grade ones.

Probably get more towels, and a few extra wheel/brushes? Some advocate getting separate detailing brushes for wheels, jamb, interior (seats etc)




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[Emt1581]

Thanks for chiming in!

The sale at CG only applies to their chemical products....so clay, brushes, polishers, etc. isn't included. I'll order cheaper elsewhere.

Thanks again!

-Emt1581