New to detailing, need help

[Murr1525]

Re: New to detailing, need help

Ok so instead of buying swirl x, scratch x and UC I should just buy UC and depending on how hard I rub it, it will equals to swirl x and scratch x without having to buy those 3 products.

Dont necessarily want to think 'hard'... the speed and pressure are what you want to think of adjusting.

But yeah, that basic theory with UC covers 95% of cases, esp working by hand.

[JoeDemers]

Re: New to detailing, need help

Dont necessarily want to think 'hard'... the speed and pressure are what you want to think of adjusting.

But yeah, that basic theory with UC covers 95% of cases, esp working by hand.

You said esp working by hand. I'm planning to buy the porter cable DA (the one who stops if you apply too much pressure). So should I use something else if I use a DA?

[Murr1525]

Re: New to detailing, need help

That would be a case where the Ult. Polish/#205, that you might pick as your mild cleaner/polish for regular use, would get some extra 'strength' from being used by the machine, and may be enough. Esp with an extra pass or application on that area.. Then UC if not...

[The Guz]

Re: New to detailing, need help

UC and UP work great with a DA.

[Jarhead0754]

.[/QUOTE
So right now I have a soap and a wax. next thing I should buy is ultimate polish and UC and I'm good to go...[/QUOTE]

U need to buy the clay bar kit as well. That is a crucial step before doing any kind of paint work.

[JoeDemers]

Re: New to detailing, need help

That would be a case where the Ult. Polish/#205, that you might pick as your mild cleaner/polish for regular use, would get some extra 'strength' from being used by the machine, and may be enough. Esp with an extra pass or application on that area.. Then UC if not...

By regular use, do you mean each time I wax my car (every 4-6 weeks?)

[JoeDemers]

Re: New to detailing, need help

.[/QUOTE
So right now I have a soap and a wax. next thing I should buy is ultimate polish and UC and I'm good to go...

U need to buy the clay bar kit as well. That is a crucial step before doing any kind of paint work.[/QUOTE]

lol I thought I will be good to go with a soap and wax. Starting to cost a lot more than expected. Are all these products necessary?

[Murr1525]

Re: New to detailing, need help

If I was going to wax every couple months, I'd like to use a mild cleaner/polish first. Some people wax every week, and probably isnt enough dirt built up to worry about, but after a few months, could be starting to stick a bit.

The spray wax after while drying would be fine on its own of course.

If you've never clayed, it can be really good. Definately one of the big improvements on my car. But that can wait till you are ready to do the more 'complete' detail we were talking about.

As far as whats needed... just a matter of what you want, how complete you want to be, etc.

Soap
Clay
Ult. Polish or a cleaner/wax for regular use
Wax
Ult Quick Wax for after drying

UC if needed for defects

Of course we havent gotten to interiors, glass, trim, wheels, metal.....

[JoeDemers]

Re: New to detailing, need help

If I was going to wax every couple months, I'd like to use a mild cleaner/polish first. Some people wax every week, and probably isnt enough dirt built up to worry about, but after a few months, could be starting to stick a bit.

The spray wax after while drying would be fine on its own of course.

If you've never clayed, it can be really good. Definately one of the big improvements on my car. But that can wait till you are ready to do the more 'complete' detail we were talking about.

As far as whats needed... just a matter of what you want, how complete you want to be, etc.

Soap
Clay
Ult. Polish or a cleaner/wax for regular use
Wax
Ult Quick Wax for after drying

UC if needed for defects

Of course we havent gotten to interiors, glass, trim, wheels, metal.....

Do I really need Ult Quick Wax? Why 2 kind of wax? I already have Ultimate wax. Can I just use this?

[The Guz]

Re: New to detailing, need help

lol I thought I will be good to go with a soap and wax. Starting to cost a lot more than expected. Are all these products necessary?

Ha You have to pay to play as they say. All kidding aside, claying is the most important step next to washing the car. Claying removes all the surface contaminants from the paint. You want a smooth surface to work with.

I would also invest in some quality microfiber towels such as the supreme shine MF towels.

For the paint, I'd just stay simple and look at something like:

1. Wash - Gold Class soap is good.
2. Clay - Smooth Surface Clay kit
3. ColorX or White Wax
4. Wax - Gold Class Wax would be fine

If you don't want to invest in the ultimate line up then stick with the steps that Murr provided. I modified step 3 to include white wax which has more correcting ability than colorx. Either way this is simple and effective. You will just have to wax more often when using gold class wax. That is why I prefer a synthetic like ultimate wax or NXT on a daily driver.

If you want to get more involved then you can do the following. A test spot with UP would tell you if you need to use UC.

1. Wash - Gold Class soap is good.
2. Clay - Smooth Surface Clay kit
3. Ultimate Compound (if needed)
4. Ultimate Polish
5. Wax - Ultimate wax or NXT 2.0 to wax less often
6. Maintainenance - Ultimate quik wax & ultimate quik detailer

Agian just because the car is new doesn't mean there is no surface contmainants or paint defects. You can tell when it is in the sun. Post pics so it would make it easier for us to help you out.

These are some good videos on how to wash and just general information to get you informed. Feel free to ask any questions if you are overwhelmed.

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?41790-Meguiar-s-Quik-Tips-Video-Series-Washing

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?42524-Meguiar-s-Quik-Tips-Video-Series-Claying

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?36525-Meguiar-s-Video-Training-Series-Maintain-Your-Finish

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?41373-Meguiar-s-Quik-Tips-Video-The-5-Step-Paint-Care-Cycle

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?43209-Meguiar-s-Quik-Tips-Video-Series-Removing-Swirls

DA polisher versus the DA power system

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?56799-Meguiar-s-Quik-Tips-Video-Series-The-DA-Power-System

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?42806-Meguiar-s-Quik-Tips-Video-Series-Using-the-G110v2-Dual-Action-Polisher

Again these are some great vidoes to watch so you get the idea of what we are talking about.

[JoeDemers]

Re: New to detailing, need help

Ha You have to pay to play as they say. All kidding aside, claying is the most important step next to washing the car. Claying removes all the surface contaminants from the paint. You want a smooth surface to work with.

I would also invest in some quality microfiber towels such as the supreme shine MF towels.



If you don't want to invest in the ultimate line up then stick with the steps that Murr provided. I modified step 3 to include white wax which has more correcting ability than colorx. Either way this is simple and effective. You will just have to wax more often when using gold class wax. That is why I prefer a synthetic like ultimate wax or NXT on a daily driver.

If you want to get more involved then you can do the following. A test spot with UP would tell you if you need to use UC.



Agian just because the car is new doesn't mean there is no surface contmainants or paint defects. You can tell when it is in the sun. Post pics so it would make it easier for us to help you out.



Again these are some great vidoes to watch so you get the idea of what we are talking about.

Thanks a lot. I just bought simoniz MF towel, are they ok? I also saw MF applicator, do I need some or MF towels will do the same thing? As for the washing mitt, I saw different kind like MF, sheepskin. Which one is better?

Thanks again

[The Guz]

Re: New to detailing, need help

I have no iea about those towels. I use the supreme shine towels. With any of those products a foam applicator is all you need. A MF applicator will give a compound a little more bite. In your case I would stick with foam applicators. I use a meguiar's micorfiber washing mit that works great. I have no experience with a sheepskin wash mit.

Just to be clear what have you already bought?

[JoeDemers]

Re: New to detailing, need help

I have no iea about those towels. I use the supreme shine towels. With any of those products a foam applicator is all you need. A MF applicator will give a compound a little more bite. In your case I would stick with foam applicators. I use a meguiar's micorfiber washing mit that works great. I have no experience with a sheepskin wash mit.

Just to be clear what have you already bought?

I bought MF towels (I guess any kind of MF towel will do the job?), UP, Gold Class Soap, Gold Class Ultimate Wax. I'm in canada and my Canadian Tire store doesn't have foam applicator the only one I've found are for DA. Still have to buy a wash mitt and applicator. Also a bucket with a grith guard, which I can't find at walmart or canadian tire.

[JoeDemers]

Re: New to detailing, need help

I also saw a soap called "Ultimate wash & wax". I didn't buy it because I thought it was an all in one product but I saw videos using this soap. Should I buy this one after gold class soap?

[Murr1525]

Re: New to detailing, need help

Some stuff just ends up being an online order sometimes....

The Grit Guard and bucket are seperate items though.

There is couple reasons for the different waxes. For instance, if you use the liquid wax alone, you might get 2-3 months, then starts too look like it needs redone. If you use a real light mist of the Ult. Quick Wax after washing, you might get 3-4-5... The UQW is really good.

Also, it gives a fresh waxed look with no effort, and helps with picking up the last little water on the surface.

I would prefer Gold Class soap and the spray wax while drying for best results.