Advice on achieving new car gloss and my detailing routine

[biggest_kid]

Hey guys,

I'm what you would call a consumer-level/hobbyist detailer and I'm chasing a bit of advice on how to achieve that new car glossy look, as If you had just driven your car straight off the showroom floor. I have a second-hand, dark grey, dual-cab pick up truck and the paint work is in pretty good condition. It is my daily driver (and only car) but I like to and want to keep it looking very nice.

In saying this I don't really like spending hours and hours on my car, but still want to be proud of my detailing work. The last time I washed, clay barred and waxed the car (it was my first time ever waxing a car) it took me nearly the whole day, starting from 5am in the morning. It is a large truck but I know it shouldn't take me this long, and I think I have already identified some areas where I can speed the process up.

Currently my detailing routine consists of fortnightly washing, and every 4 months or so I will clay bar and wax. So every 4 months I will:

Wash (Gold Class wash)
Dry
Clay bar (Meguiars quick clay kit)
Sealant (Ultimate liquid wax)

I am going to start clay barring before I dry the vehicle, to save time by eliminating a step. After reading some threads on this forum I also now realize I went way too overboard with the clay-barring so I can also save some time there, especially seeing as I never let the car get super filthy.

So this routine currently hasn't been delivering the showroom gloss look that I am after, so I was thinking of changing it to this:

Wash
Clay bar
Dry
Polish (with Deep Crystal Pure Polish)
Sealant

Do you guys think the extra step will help me achieve the show car shine I am looking for? I will use the pure polish as there is no scratches or swirls that I want to remove, and have heard this is a great polish for darker coloured cars.

Thanks in advance for any and all help.

[twisty roads]

Re: Advice on achieving new car gloss and my detailing routine

for time savings sake, you may want to look into a product like Megs' Mirror Bright polishing wax as it does both polish and wax in one step. I am also assuming you are working by hand which is why it took so long too. Since I now own a DA polisher, I will never do anything other then wash, clay, wax by hand. I leave all the correction/polishing to the machine. Typical polishing should take 2x as long as the compounding stage

[roushstage2]

Re: Advice on achieving new car gloss and my detailing routine

The first question I have is do you actually need to clay that much? If so, it is what it is. If not, you're spending a lot of time for nothing. Do you do the sandwich bag test or a test spot with clay to see if it needs it? As for the gloss, polish will certainly help there. The Deep Crystal system is what got me into detailing. It may be an entry level option, but still a great option. I'd say wash, polish and wax and see how it looks. If you need more gloss, there are other polishes you can step up to, but I think you'll be pleased with the DC addition.

[Old Bear]

Re: Advice on achieving new car gloss and my detailing routine

I looked at getting a new pickup, yet passed. If I cannot reach the center of the hood, it is not going to get cleaned enough. If I can't reach all of the top from the bed, it's time to pass.

Now, you down-under folks have those right sized "utes".

Do you use a ladder or 20 inch high platform to clan your truck?
Would that make it easier for you?

[biggest_kid]

Re: Advice on achieving new car gloss and my detailing routine

Twisty roads: I do not have nor intend to buy a polisher. I cannot justify the price to the other half unfortunately, and I don't mind working by hand, even though it is slower.

Roughstage2: Yeah not too sure if I need to be claying, just automatically assumed you should clay before every wax application? No I don't do a sandwhich bag test, what does that consist of if you dont mind me asking?

Old bear: Not sure where your question stems from exactly, but I have no trouble cleaning my ute/truck. I have side steps that I stand on so I can reach the middle of the roof, and I can reach everywhere else on the vehicle without any problems.

Also will polishing with the DC Pure Polish before sealing affect the sealants ability to bond to the paint? I know some people do an IPA wipe down between claying and waxing to remove any last residue, yet it would seem as though polishing is going to be putting oils between the sealant and paint?

[ffboy]

Re: Advice on achieving new car gloss and my detailing routine

Applying DC Pure Polish, will not negatively affect a sealant or wax's (applies to meguiar's products) ability to bond to paint, in fact, meguiar's recommends applying pure polish before waxing. It will add depth and more "wet look" to paint, especially dark colored paint. However, it is still an optional step, especially on lighter colored cars. You may also want to consider Ultimate Polish, a polish with very mild cleaners in it, maybe your vehicle's paint will benefit from the mild cleaners in it. The cleaners in it aren't as aggressive as the ones in Ultimate Compound or even SwirlX.

My personal experience (with M07) is that it does not have any negative effect on wax's ability to bond to paint, I used M07 before applying NXT 2.0, looked real nice.

I have zero experience with Mirror Bright polishing wax, basically the same principle as Cleaner wax+Finishing Wax. It is a time saver, I only went as far as Black Wax+Finishing Wax. And you can seal your results further with Meguiar's Ultimate Fast Finish, for added protection.

[roushstage2]

Re: Advice on achieving new car gloss and my detailing routine

From Mike Phillips' article:

The Baggie Test
If you really want to feel what's going on at the surface level of your car's paint or your customer's car's paint, then use "The Baggie Test" when inspecting the paint for above surface bonded contaminants.

Better yet, if you want to share with your customer one of the problems with their car's paint that you're going to correct, let them also do "The Baggie Test" with you. The average car owner doesn't know what detailing clay is, how to use it or the benefits of using detailing clay to clay automotive paint, let alone how to test for above surface bonded contaminants.

Sharing this little tidbit of knowledge with your customer will demonstrate to them that you really know your business and later, after you've finished the job, letting them feel the now smooth and slippery paint will solidify their trust in your expertise. This can help you to retain their business and potentially led to referrals via word-of-mouth advertising.

To do "The Baggie Test", simply use a clean sandwich baggie by placing your hand inside the baggie and then feeling the horizontal surfaces like the hood, roof and trunk lid. The film of plastic acts to intensify the surface texture created by contaminants bonded to the paint making it more dramatic to your sense of touch when you feel the paint through the baggie.

You only need to clay if you have bonded contaminants. The baggie enhances your ability to feel such contamination. If it's smooth, you don't need to clay. That should save you quite a bit of time and effort in the long run as it's unlikely you'd need to clay every few months. Then again, you might have to depending on your environment.

Meguiar's product are designed to be used together as a system, and as such, require no special steps in between products. You can simply apply and remove the polish and go straight to wax. As ffboy points out, Ultimate Polish would be a good step up from DC polish. It'll gently clean the paint while polishing. A win win.