Doing a Full Detail, Help, Tips, Advice Appreciated

[MustangLouver]

I was planning on doing a full detail, 3 step polishing, sealant and wax when I get out of school. The car is swirled pretty badly, but have no deep scratches. I have a rotary buffer and some supplies from the last time I done a full detail about a year ago. This time I want it done RIGHT. This is to get the car ready for mustang week, along with adding the new wheels, shifter, mufflers, and respraying the tail tint and clearing the tails. This all has to be done in the week before mustang week.

Here's what I have:

Rotary Buffer
Meguiar's Gold wash (Or should I just use dish soap to remove the wax first?)
Meguiar's Clay bar (ONR as lubricant)
Meguiar's cutting pad
Meguiar's polishing pad
Meguiar's finishing pad
Meguiar's M105 Cutting compound
Meguiar's M205 polishing compound
Meguiar's Professional machine glaze polishing compound (Lightest cutting compound available)
NXT 2.0 (Which is a sealant?)
What WAX should I buy? Prefer Meguiar's products, as you can tell.

Give me some advice on what I should use for this detail.

1. Wash Car
2. Clay Car
3. Quick pass Meguiar's M105 with cutting pad (Slow speed)
4. Meguiar's M205 with polishing pad?
5. Meguiar's finishing compound with finishing pad?
6. NXT 2.0 sealant?
7. Wax?

I appreciate you guys helping me learn more about detailing, It's the cheapest way to make your car look better, and I'm always looking for tips, and advice on products that are better. Basically, any advice you can give, just throw it out there.

[greg0303]

Re: Doing a Full Detail, Help, Tips, Advice Appreciated

Welcome to Meguiar's Online.

1. Wash Car
2. Clay Car
3. Quick pass Meguiar's M105 with cutting pad (Slow speed)
4. Meguiar's M205 with polishing pad?
5. Meguiar's finishing compound with finishing pad?
6. NXT 2.0 sealant?
7. Wax?

The process looks good.

Step 3 - watch the heat build up as cutting foam pads with rotary buffers tend to accumulate it. Just touch the surface from time to time and if you can't touch it (it's so hot) move to a different area. Expect serious paint correction with cutting pad/ M105/ rotary buffer combo. All below surface defects should be removed in this step (unless they're really deep and it's too risky to burn through).

Step 4 - M205/ polishing pad - it's gonna remove any defects left by M105.

Step 5 - Meg's Finishing Compound - it would rather go with M205/ finishing pad or M07/ finishing pad for maximum gloss.

Step 6 - synthetic wax (sealant) NxT Tech Wax 2.0

Step 7 - natural (carnauba) wax - can be applied on top of the sealant after at least 12-hour curing time.


I just want to make sure that your car has clear coat/ base coat paint as if it's a single stage paint I would recommend different products.

[Murr1525]

Re: Doing a Full Detail, Help, Tips, Advice Appreciated

What shape is the paint in? How good are you with the rotary buffer?

[MustangLouver]

Re: Doing a Full Detail, Help, Tips, Advice Appreciated

Welcome to Meguiar's Online.




The process looks good.

Step 3 - watch the heat build up as cutting foam pads with rotary buffers tend to accumulate it. Just touch the surface from time to time and if you can't touch it (it's so hot) move to a different area. Expect serious paint correction with cutting pad/ M105/ rotary buffer combo. All below surface defects should be removed in this step (unless they're really deep and it's too risky to burn through).

Step 4 - M205/ polishing pad - it's gonna remove any defects left by M105.

Step 5 - Meg's Finishing Compound - it would rather go with M205/ finishing pad or M07/ finishing pad for maximum gloss.

Step 6 - synthetic wax (sealant) NxT Tech Wax 2.0

Step 7 - natural (carnauba) wax - can be applied on top of the sealant after at least 12-hour curing time.


I just want to make sure that your car has clear coat/ base coat paint as if it's a single stage paint I would recommend different products.

I will use a light to check how bad the paint is, I done a full detail a year ago, so I may be able to skip the M105/cutting pad. I know the paint has a lot of swirls that can be seen in the sunlight, but I don't think it's too bad. There is a pretty bad scratch on the fender, but I am afraid to try to correct it and will probably make one light pass with the M105 on it, and let it be. I think for the sealant I'm going to try Blackfire Wet diamond (Even though it's not Meguiar's), I've head great things about it.

The paint is he original base coat/clear coat. The clear is pretty hard, and I'm use to working with Honda's clear which is very soft and easy to remove defects.

What shape is the paint in? How good are you with the rotary buffer?

I don't think the paint is in bad shape, and i'm comfortable with the rotary, as I have detailed a lot of cars with it in the past year. Just haven't found the perfect combination for the hard clear on my car.


Thanks for the help

[PhantomMagician]

Re: Doing a Full Detail, Help, Tips, Advice Appreciated

i think you don't need to use dish soap to remove the previous wax, as i asked the same question earlier

you only need to remove previous wax when you want to compare one wax and another...

and yet, claying and use of M150 will remove the wax anyway

[ClearlyCoated]

Re: Doing a Full Detail, Help, Tips, Advice Appreciated

M105 on a cutting pad is a fairly aggressive combination, especially since you're using a rotary. Head on over to WalMart and pick up a bottle of Ultimate Compound (less than $10). Apply that with a polishing pad.

[greg0303]

Re: Doing a Full Detail, Help, Tips, Advice Appreciated

I will use a light to check how bad the paint is, I done a full detail a year ago, so I may be able to skip the M105/cutting pad. I know the paint has a lot of swirls that can be seen in the sunlight, but I don't think it's too bad.

Try M205 with polishing pad on your rotary, it may be enough for mild swirls.

There is a pretty bad scratch on the fender, but I am afraid to try to correct it and will probably make one light pass with the M105 on it, and let it be.

If you feel it with your fingernail it's too deep to safely correct without risk of leaving thin layer of clear coat or burning through.

The paint is he original base coat/clear coat. The clear is pretty hard, and I'm use to working with Honda's clear which is very soft and easy to remove defects.

Certainly a rotary buffer can help in that situation.

I don't think the paint is in bad shape, and i'm comfortable with the rotary, as I have detailed a lot of cars with it in the past year. Just haven't found the perfect combination for the hard clear on my car.

You can go up to 1400 rpm with M205 if needed. Then do couple passes on slower speed 900-1200 rpm for extra polishing.

D/A polisher with Ultimate Compound, as mentioned above, it's a good way of dealing with below surface defects as well.