Good afternoon, and greetings from Miami.

New to the forum and am excited to learn some of the finer points of Mike's detailing philosphy. I was referred here by a trusted member on another auto forum I belong to. A long story short, I am a middle aged man who has been hand applying carnauba turtle wax, in the method handed down to him from his father, for the past 20 years. Only as of late, am I now realizing that waxing is really only the last step after correctly doing a series of others. Previously, I would just wash the car, dry, then apply wax.

I have collected some supplies and for the first time this weekend, I will be attempting a decomtamination-->clay bar-->polish-->then wax, technique.

I picked up:

Mother's Clay Bar with Mother's detailer spray as a lubricant (it all came in the same kit).
Adams Iron Remover (from Amazon)
Porter Cable 6 inch DA w/6 inch backplate
(3) 6.5 foam pads (light, medium, heavy cut)
3D Speed Polish/Wax

I think I will hand apply the carnauba at the end like I always do.

This mainly was spurred by the swirls that are visible in glary light (even though the car looks fabulous otherwise), and the fact that I have noticed that while the water on my hood beads, it does not RUN OFF as easily as it should. In fact, I gotta get going like 40mph to get it to run off the hood. Granted, my hood is fairly flat...but still.

I will probably post another thread here soon on my small project so as I am sure of what I am doing. This is the FIRST TIME I will ever be applying an 'abrasive' to my clear coat. That's technically what the 3D is, no?

Anyway, I have been trying to watch as many videos from Mike as I can. I really enjoy his approach.

-gatornek

Miami, FL