Detailing Newbie - Help with Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner

[SergioRZ]

Hi!

Today was my first serious atempt at car detailing

I bought a lot of meguiars products, and I hope it was worth it.

Today I only washed the car. I used Ultimate Wash Mitt (two, one for each hand), and Gold Class Shampoo.

I must say the result was GREAT! Really very good. I'm impressed!

My next step, before applying Gold Class Liquid Wax, is to clean and restore the paint swirls and oxidation. I'm going to use Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner for this.

Now I have some doubts about the Paint Cleaner.

- As I understand, I should apply to only one body panel at a time. This means the product is not supposed to be on the paint very long before I wipe it off, right? So, how long do I wait?

- And how do I wipe? Circular movements, or straight movements?

- I'm going to use foam applicator pads to spread the Cleaner. To wipe it I have a choice of Terry Towel, or the Ultimate Wipe cloth. Which do you recomend? The Ultimate Wipe should be better, but this is not waxing, it's a Cleaner...

- After I clean the paint I'm going to use Gold Class Wax because, I think, it is both polish and wax in the same product. Should be fine, right?


Thank you very much for your help!

I can't wait to see the results after I apply the Cleaner and then the Gold Class Wax. I also have some Trim Detailer for rubbers, PlasX for plastic covers, Endurance Gel for the tires... and much more.

By the way, my car is a brilliant black 1999 Mazda Miata (MX-5), and I'll post some pictures here when I finish the detailing work (should take 3 or 4 days because I'm very busy, but I'll get to the end of the process).

Thank you Meguiars!

Pictures:

The car, before detailing:


Here you can see the swirls and light scratches I want to get rid of:

[4.6GT]

I use the deep crystal cleaner on my car and the results are very good. I apply it like i would wax and use cotton cloth to remove it. Use thin coats and redo a section if you need to. Even though the gold class has polish in it the pure polish step is well worth the time, use deep crystal polish [step 2] or #7 show glaze polish then apply the wax of your choice. I use a different pad and cloth for each step. Good luck and i think you'll like the results.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Detailing Newbie - Help with Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner

Hi SergioRZ,

Welcome to Meguiar’s Online!

Originally posted by SergioRZ
My next step, before applying Gold Class Liquid Wax, is to clean and restore the paint swirls and oxidation. I'm going to use Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner for this.

Now I have some doubts about the Paint Cleaner.

- As I understand, I should apply to only one body panel at a time. This means the product is not supposed to be on the paint very long before I wipe it off, right? So, how long do I wait?

Paint cleaners and polishes, (at least in the Meguiar’s line), do not have to dry before you remove them. On of the reasons it is recommended to remove after applying is to keep it easy to remove for all skill levels. Plus, different temperatures and climatic conditions can affect how a product dries and in some cases make removal more difficult. So to keep it simple and easy, the instruction state to apply to one panel at a time and then remove. After you build up your skill level, if you feel you can apply a paint cleaner or a polish to the entire car and then remove without difficulty, then by all means do so. I know a lot of professional detailers do it this way to save time. The product will not harm your paint in any way if it is on to long, do not be worried over this.

- And how do I wipe? Circular movements, or straight movements?

There are two schools of though on this, Meguiar’s believes if the products you are using are non-abrasive, and your application material is also non-abrasive, then it shouldn’t matter which direction you apply and remove your products because nothing you are using is instilling scratches.

If you are instilling scratches, instead of looking at the direction you are moving you hand, re-evaluate your choice of product and application material.

- I'm going to use foam applicator pads to spread the Cleaner. To wipe it I have a choice of Terry Towel, or the Ultimate Wipe cloth. Which do you recommend? The Ultimate Wipe should be better, but this is not waxing, it's a Cleaner...

As long as your terry cloth towel is 100% cotton, clean and soft, you can use this for removing the paint cleaner and save your microfibers for removing your wax.

- After I clean the paint I'm going to use Gold Class Wax because, I think, it is both polish and wax in the same product. Should be fine, right?

Yes. Gold Class creates very deep dark reflections, super high gloss and adds richness to color.

One more note: The Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner is a chemical cleaner only. It is very gentle as far as paint cleaners go. Do some reading in the Detailing 101 forum because of late, there have been a plethora of posts about cleaning paint by hand and by machine using all of the available Meguiar’s paint cleaners. Also, the below links will take you to a boat load of information.


Meguiar's *NEW* FAQ

7. What's the difference between polish and wax? (Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle)

Forum Technical Help Desk

How-to Crop and Resize your photos before uploading them to your gallery


Mike

[SergioRZ]

Thank you for your help!

Today I did the cleaning job.

Applied DC Paint Cleaner with a foam pad, and then wiped it with Terry Towel.

Conclusions:

- Hard work. My car is very low... I'm on my knees a lot of time I think I should consider using some machine to do the work

- DC Cleaner is good. It's very very good indeed. My paint never looked better! Most of the swirls are gone, and most of the phantom stains on the paint are gone.

- ... but... not all. Some stains are still there. Maybe it needs another clean job, but I was too tired for that.

I'm very satisfied. It's not perfect, but it's near perfect

Tomorrow I'll try to do the wax job. I'm very curious about the results of the GC Wax.

I'll post pictures when I'm done with the whole program

Thank you!

[SergioRZ]

By the way... can Gold Class Wax be layered? Since it has some polish in it, maybe not...

What if I use Quik Wax Spray? Will it layer up on the Gold Class Wax job?

Is it worth it?

Thank you!

[rusty bumper]

Hard work. My car is very low... I'm on my knees a lot of time I think I should consider using some machine to do the work

Hi Sergio!

If you can't find a PC, then an inexpensive orbital buffer would be of help to apply the DC #1 with...As well as the other products too.

[SergioRZ]

What about the Makita 9227C? Is it good? I think I can source one for a good price

[rusty bumper]

Originally posted by SergioRZ
What about the Makita 9227C? Is it good? I think I can source one for a good price

I think you would be better off with an orbital or a DA polisher for now...The Makita is a fine tool, but it takes a lot of skill to operate it without damaging your paint.