Enthusiast Posibble Pro !

**ACCLAY** · 03-26-2017, 02:54 PM

Hello all! I am new to this Forum/Group.
I have been a detailing Fanboy for years, only really escalating in the past 3 or 4 to try make a go at being professional

!
My first real paying gig will be a 2006 Black CTS Cadillac. This car has not been detailed at ALL for the past 3 years, AND.....the owner is the 2nd owner. So there is no telling what has not been done to this Car. I have seen the car after it has been washed and the swirls and scratches are very visible. I was around the car last nite and also noticed the sand paper sound when I ran my hand over a certain spots.
I am also a Chemical Guys Fanboy as well! This is how I am going to attack this project:

2 Bucket Hand Wash w/HoneyDew & Foam Cannon
Heavy Duty Clay Bar
V36& V38 Polishing Compound w/DA Polisher to remove swirls and scratches . I am not comfortable enough to use V34 yet.
For a protective coating I will be using EZ CREME GLAZE
Then I will follow that with Black Light Hybrid Radiant Finish Gloss
Then as my Carnauba Wax, I will be using Black Luminous Glow Infusion.
My Detail Spray of choice is V7. I love this stuff because it removes water spots as well, which is a plus for me because our water system here is Hard as Hell!
For the Wheels and Tires, I will be using Pro Iron(think I might have to buy a floor jack to take them tires off. quite sure the brake dust has grown children) Then wash with
Diablo Wheel Cleaner. For Wax on the Rims I use Max Guard. My wife drives a CLA 250 sport with the big Disc Brakes, I do or did catch hell with the Brake Dust Build Up but since I started using Wheel Guard, It's not much of a hassle anymore!
Last but not least, to shine the shoes up...I use Slik Shine. It's waterbased so when someone rubs up against the tires they will not have marks from my tires on them.
Now...I can not say what the inside of this Caddy looks like. I hope The Owner has taken good care of it. I am taking one for the Team on this, The owner of the car works with my wife and I need the Advertisement so I could not charge her what I would of charged anyone else!
Hopefully this Intro was not to winded! I love talking about Detailing vehicles and the process that I go thru!
CHOW!

**mwoolfso** · 03-26-2017, 04:08 PM

I did a 2006 CTS a few years ago.... silver.... same situation... not touched in years. Here is what I found w/ recommendations inserted in between

1- Somewhat medium paint hardness so compound would be needed
2- Decontaminate the paint with IronX or something similar before you clay
3- I did the car for a family member; the agreement was they would reimburse me for my costs

https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...-2006-cts.html

**ACCLAY** · 03-26-2017, 05:18 PM

How did you apply the IronX?

**Billy Baldone** · 03-26-2017, 07:58 PM

Cadillac black clear coat is typically super hard. I have done 2 recently. Boss 21 with microfiber pads and Flat Top did the trick. On certain panels I cracked out the Flex/lambs wool. Now I have Chop Top, wish I had it for those 2.

**Sharply Dressed** · 03-26-2017, 08:40 PM

Originally Posted by ACCLAY

How did you apply the IronX?

Spray it on after washing the car usually in shaded area. If inside it will smell up the place so make sure it's ventilated if done inside a garage. Let it dwell until you see it dissolving particles (turns purple). Rinse well.

**Eric@CherryOnTop** · 03-27-2017, 07:46 PM

Black Cadillac and Chemical Guys polishes are going to be a complete waste of your time. Chemical Guys polishes are not all that good (in my experience) and on hard GM clear coat with black paint underneath, it's probably going to look like you did nothing at all to it.

If I were you I would invest in some better quality abrasive products like Menzerna. I also think you are going way redundant with what you are planning after with the glaze, blacklight and then wax. You would be much better off just using a quality paint sealant like Blackfire. I dunno what you're charging, but each time you go around the car with a machine to apply one of those products on your list, that's your time and time = money.

**ACCLAY** · 03-27-2017, 10:08 PM

Originally Posted by ekennett

Black Cadillac and Chemical Guys polishes are going to be a complete waste of your time. Chemical Guys polishes are not all that good (in my experience) and on hard GM clear coat with black paint underneath, it's probably going to look like you did nothing at all to it.

If I were you I would invest in some better quality abrasive products like Menzerna. I also think you are going way redundant with what you are planning after with the glaze, blacklight and then wax. You would be much better off just using a quality paint sealant like Blackfire. I dunno what you're charging, but each time you go around the car with a machine to apply one of those products on your list, that's your time and time = money.

I appreciate your opinion ekennett. I see that you are a pro detailed and I would like to pick your brain for advice and techniques. But I am just an Amateur and to me Chemicals is better than what I was using. My opinion.

**Eldorado2k** · 03-27-2017, 10:30 PM

Originally Posted by ACCLAY

V36& V38 Polishing Compound w/DA Polisher to remove swirls and scratches . I am not comfortable enough to use V34 yet.

I'm not sure what V34 is capable of, but if you're not comfortable enough to use it you might want to start doing so with this job, because a good majority of Cadillacs have some of the hardest factory paint known to man.

**ACCLAY** · 03-28-2017, 05:55 AM

Originally Posted by Eldorado2k

I'm not sure what V34 is capable of, but if you're not comfortable enough to use it you might want to start doing so with this job, because a good majority of Cadillacs have some of the hardest factory paint known to man.

Thank You! How did/do you determine the hardness of the paint? I looked every where....maybe I did not look in the right place!

**Eric@CherryOnTop** · 03-28-2017, 08:24 AM

Originally Posted by ACCLAY

I appreciate your opinion ekennett. I see that you are a pro detailed and I would like to pick your brain for advice and techniques. But I am just an Amateur and to me Chemicals is better than what I was using. My opinion.

Sure, the only reason I know this is because way back when I started doing this I tried these products on hard GM paint and got nowhere.

Nothing wrong with liking any particular brand of product but you do have to be careful with Chemical Guys. They are almost more of a marketing machine than a product company and there is a ton of redundancy in their product line. Some of their products are quite good, and others aren't worth the bottle they come in (IMHO). Their polishes and compounds I have found to be way subpar compared to what is on the market. Some of their soaps and paste waxes are excellent.

If you do the compounding and polishing properly, there should be no need to use a glaze or Blacklight. Those are for cars that don't get polished, in order to "fill in" the defects instead of removing them.

To know the hardness of a paint, you have to do a test spot with a chosen pad and compound / polish. If you're using an aggressive combo and you aren't getting results, you have hard paint. If you're using a tame combo and you see leftover hazing, you have soft paint. One of the "givens" is that late model GM cars have hard clear coat. Jet black BMWs have very soft clear coat. These are more or less guidelines on where to start when selecting pads and polishes. I would think you need an aggressive compound and a higher cut pad on this Cadillac if the swirling is as prominent as you describe. Since it's black, you will probably be able to see leftover marring from the compound pretty easily. This will need to be cleaned up and refined with a finer polish and softer pad. It's the nature of black paint, it shows all defects.

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