Newbie First Time Detailing Question

[bluevanken]

Ok, attached are the after pics!

I have to say, I am very happy with the results for my first time detailing! I will definitely be a Wolfgang and Pinnacle customer for life!

Here are the steps I did:

1) Wash
2) Clay using Pinnacle Ultra Clay with Pinnacle lubricant. First time claying so it was nice to feel how smooth it made the car's surface.
3) Wash to remove any leftover clay, etc.

Parked in Garage for the night. Began polishing the next morning. Taped areas and moldings I did not want polish to go on with blue painters tape.

4) Used an Orange 5.5" Lake Country CCS pad with Wolfgang's Total Swirl Remover 3.0 with a couple of squirts of Pinnacle's Foam Conditioner on the pad between each panel. The morning sun really revealed the swirls so I decided to go with the orange pad instead of starting with the white pad. Did the trunk, hood and passenger side of the car. Got a little bit of caking specks/dusting that I had to wipe off. I am thinking, being the first time, I may have just had too much product on the pad from re-applying causing the caking specks/dusting.
5) In the evening, I used a white 5.5" Lake Country CCS pad with Wolfgang's Finishing Glaze 3.0 with the Pinnacle Foam Conditioner. Did the same panels as in step 4 above. Got caking specks/dusting as well, probably from from re-applying the product with product still deep in the pad.

Applied paint sealant the next morning after wiping down the caking specks/dusting and windexing the windows.

6) Wiped down all the dust and specks left over from the polishing with a microfiber towel. Applied Wolfgang's Paint Sealant 3.0 with a Red 5.5" flat foam pad on PorterCable setting of 3. Once again, got a little bit of dusting along with tiny white wax dots. Fortunately, they wiped up when I buffed the sealant after letting dry for 45 minutes. I then let the sealant "cure" for about 16 hours in the garage before driving.

Overall, the process went very well for my first time! The only thing I would do different in the future is to work on maybe 1 or 2 panels at a time. This way, I can go over each panel multiple times and get it looking even better! Trying to do the whole car at once just takes too many hours! I still need to do the passenger side of the car along with the front and rear bumper another day.

Has anyone else had the caking specs/dusting from using these products? If so, what methods did you use to eliminate it? Between each panel when I re-applied product, I would do a ring around the outer edge of the 5.5" pad along with a few squirts of Pinnacle Foam Conditioner.

I also accidentaly got a little polish on the black vinyl moldings around the top and windows of the car from wiping with a microfiber towel with a little product still in the towel. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to clean these black moldings?

Thank you in advance to any other advice you may have.
Hope this post helps any other Newbies out there !

[CEE DOG]

Looking good blue! Some dusting is normal but caking with WG sounds suspect. You are probably using too much polish. If using the conditioner you definetly don't need any after the initial spritzing. It is for a completely dry pad. As soon as you start spreading product it will moisten your pad and when you do your next section you don't need to place as much polish on the pad anymore. Also every other section you can "clean the pad on the fly" with a cotton terry towel as Mike P describes.
Also important, please review thie thread at this link to learn how to post pictures on autogeek. It is much easier for people to see them this way. Glad to see you are getting right into it. Keep up the good work.

Oh yeah, griots rubber cleaner, a small brush, and dress with 303 AP afterwards got rid of a polish stain for me. Another time I had to use ARO on some trim that was near the bottom of a car.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...o-gallery.html

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...r-message.html

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...-polisher.html

More great articles: http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...-phillips.html

[CEE DOG]

Here are your images... Do you have a camera for future shots?

[Bunky]

I would suspect caking may be caused by not cleaning or changing the pad enough. It only takes a few panels especially if you use more than needed and it does not break down completely.

[kuhan]

Good info. I have the same WG kit. The last time I waxed with WG deep gloss sealant, I was having problem removing the dried sealant (after 45 min) with a microfiber towel. Is this normal for the WG sealant? Thanks.

[bluevanken]

Thanks for all the great advice! Thanks for posting my pictures CEE DOG!

When I begin working on the rest of the car I will definitely try cleaning the foam pads "on the fly" before I add more WG product. I have also invested in additional pads so I can use multiple pads between panels and see if this also helps to eliminate the caking specs/dusting. I will keep everyone posted on the results.

I have also taken some high definition pictures during the process with a quality digital camera under a 1000 watt halogen bulb work light which really show the differences of before and after. I will get these posted shortly.

I have already gotten the car wet and seem to have some water spots mostly on the hood that seem stubborn to get up during washing. It really takes some elbow grease with a microfiber waffle towel to get each one up. Does anyone know of a product I can use to get these up easier? I have the WG Sealant on the hood and don't want to use too strong of a product that will remove the sealant.

Kuhan, when I applied the WG Sealant, I made sure to apply it very thin. I was also in the garage where it was out of the sun. It seemed to come up rather easy after 45 minutes of drying using a microfiber towel. Some areas where it was thicker seemed to take a little more elbow grease with circular motions to get up. I do remember shaking the WG Sealant bottle quite a bit between applications to make sure it was mixed up good.

[Mike Phillips]

I would suspect caking may be caused by not cleaning or changing the pad enough. It only takes a few panels especially if you use more than needed and it does not break down completely.

Good point, it's very important to clean your pad often. Whenever I type this people then say, how often is often?

Clean your pad at least every other application of product, or every other section pass... If you really want to be thorough then clean your pad after each section pass, here's why...

Anytime you're abrading a painted surface you have two things building up on the face of your buffing pad,

1. Spent product
2. Removed paint

As the abrasives and any carrying agents are worked they become spent or used-up but they are still a residue that needs to be removed.

As you abrade the paint small particles of paint are coming off the surface and it's not easily visible because most people are working on clear coat paints and it's also mixed in with the spent residue. Both these substances build up and you want to remove them so they don't contaminate fresh product applied to the pad.

Cleaning your pad on the fly is a technique that's simple and effective and most important can be done quickly so you can get back to work. That's the meaning behind the term/words on the fly...

Small terry cloth towels work best for this...

Good info. I have the same WG kit. The last time I waxed with WG deep gloss sealant, I was having problem removing the dried sealant (after 45 min) with a microfiber towel. Is this normal for the WG sealant?

Thanks.

The most important factor for removing any wax or paint sealant is to apply a thin, uniform coating, this usually takes a little practice and in my opinion is best done using a DA Polisher.

Another important factor is how you wipe off a coating of wax or paint sealant...

In these two videos, I demonstrated,

"How to break open a coating of wax or paint sealant"

Then how to remove the wax or paint sealant by creeping out from the shiny spot you create taking little bites or making little swipes instead of trying to take off huge swaths of product at one time.

It truly does work and the reason it works is because when you only try to take a little portion of wax or paint sealant off at one time your wiping cloth has more leverage over the surface adhesion between the coating and the paint.

When you try to take off huge swaths of product, the surface tension between the layer of wax or paint sealant is greater by the shear surface area as compared to what your hand and a wiping cloth can convince to release and pull away.

If that makes sense...

Little bites... with little bites any wax or paint sealant is easy to remove and you reduce the potential for inflicting any toweling marks...

Here's the vids...

How to apply a Carnauba Wax by Hand using the Straightline Technique by Mike Phillips

Part 1 - How to apply a Carnauba Wax by Hand using the Straightline Technique

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4zXem8SxkI]YouTube - ‪Part 1 - How to apply a Carnauba Wax using the Straightline Technique‬‎[/video]

Part 2 - How to apply a Carnauba Wax by Hand using the Straightline Technique

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVE7lBFrGNY]YouTube - ‪Part 2 - How to apply a Carnauba Wax using the Straightline Technique‬‎[/video]

Part 1 - How to apply a synthetic paint sealant by hand without instilling swirls

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMI4jmsH87s]YouTube - ‪Part 1 - How to apply a synthetic paint sealant by hand without instilling swirls‬‎[/video]

Part 2 - How to apply a synthetic paint sealant by hand without instilling swirls

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbxddL93sUY]YouTube - ‪Part 2 - How to apply a synthetic paint sealant by hand without instilling swirls‬‎[/video]

Part 3 - How to apply a synthetic paint sealant by hand without instilling swirls

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faPaztk8uqI]YouTube - ‪Part 3 - How to apply a synthetic paint sealant by hand without instilling swirls‬‎[/video]

Visit Autogeek's YouTube Channel for more YouTube Videos

[bluevanken]

Ok, here are a couple of high quality before and after pictures:

[Y2KSVT]

Night and day difference! Great job!

Mark