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Tips needed for first time detailing

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  • #1

    Tips needed for first time detailing

    Hi there

    I'm a proud owner of a Opel (Vauxhal) astra GTC OPC(VXR) 2007.
    It's candy gloss red... but it has a few defects on the paint. So.. I want to get it nice and shiny.

    The thing is that I got a rotary buffer which doesn't have any speed settings on it, it only goes up to 3000RPM and thats it. I got 3 different pads with it, some kind of a soft cotton to apply with, soft wool pad and a very fine wool pad.

    The car has got a few stone chips where I can see a small portion of white underneath and also it has got a few fine scratches and swirl marks.

    Would it be best to use Speed Glaze with the machine as guided in many of the rotary buffer tutorials and then wax afterwards? Or is it better to use hand and Ultimate Compound?

    Or would it be better if I would use some other substances without the buffer like swirlx or scratch 2.0?

    I'm not familiar to how thick the paint is on the OPC but I've seen on couple of pages that its not that thick, between 80-100 micro.... and wrong substances might give terrable results.

    Is it ok to use these substances also on the plastic parts of the car, the front bumber, back and side kits?

    Thanks

    Jon Ingi Denmark
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Tips needed for first time detailing

    If you have not used an actual rotary before, this probably is not the car to learn on. Do you have any link to a webpage for the buffer, maybe we can make sure of what it is?

    And obviously the stone chips would need touch-up paint.

    Some pics would help most to see what you are working with.

    Generally, the detail would look like this:

    1. Wash - Gold Class, 2 buckets, quality towels, sponnges.
    2. Clay - Smooth Surface Clay kit
    3. Clean - This is where you would have the choices. If you have SwirlX and Ultimate Compound available, those could be used by hand or with some buffers. So that would give you a good set of options.
    4. Polish - Optional - Deep Crystal Polish
    5. Wax - Nxt 2.0
    6. Wax - Nxt 2.0
    2017 Subaru WRX Premium - WR Blue

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    • #3
      Re: Tips needed for first time detailing

      Jon, please do not use your rotary on your car. It takes lots of practice to gain sufficient competence to rotary polish one's car without damaging it. Plus, I'm pretty sure that most experienced detailers will tell you that you need a rotary polisher that can be run at various speeds. It sounds to me that you purchased the wrong tool for the job. Hopefully the experienced rotary polishers will chime in and give you appropriate guidance.
      Swirls hide in the black molecular depths, only waiting for the right time to emerge and destroy your sanity.
      --Al Kimel

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: Tips needed for first time detailing

        Originally posted by akimel View Post
        Jon, please do not use your rotary on your car. It takes lots of practice to gain sufficient competence to rotary polish one's car without damaging it. Plus, I'm pretty sure that most experienced detailers will tell you that you need a rotary polisher that can be run at various speeds. It sounds to me that you purchased the wrong tool for the job. Hopefully the experienced rotary polishers will chime in and give you appropriate guidance.
        Hehe ok, well I actually got it as a gift and I know it's not a good one either. So I'm probably just going to use it as a wax machine. On the other hand, if I'm not going to use that, I'll think I'll go with the Ultimate compound by hand.

        But there was one question that I still needed an answer for. Can I use the UC on the plastic part of the car, where it is painted with the same colour as the rest of the car?
        Here's the car


        As the gloss on the car is actually still ok, I think I might skip the polishing part, or what do you think?

        As for the scratches and swirl marks I'm going with the UC...

        Comment

        • #5
          Re: Tips needed for first time detailing

          Originally posted by joningi View Post

          The thing is that I got a rotary buffer which doesn't have any speed settings on it, it only goes up to 3000RPM and thats it. I got 3 different pads with it, some kind of a soft cotton to apply with, soft wool pad and a very fine wool pad.
          Sounds like you have an angle grinder and not a rotary buffer. In either case, I would not use it on your vehicle. 3000RPM is way too fast.

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: Tips needed for first time detailing

            Jon, please don't use that rotary on your car for any purpose, including waxing. Most waxes and sealants are not formulated to be applied by rotary polishers and even with those that are, you don't want to apply them at such a high speed.

            Yes, you can apply the Ultimate Compound to the plastic painted parts of your car. But be sure to do a TEST SPOT first. I have found that foam applicators work best with Ultimate Compound.

            Have you considered investing in a dual action polisher?
            Swirls hide in the black molecular depths, only waiting for the right time to emerge and destroy your sanity.
            --Al Kimel

            Comment

            • #7
              Re: Tips needed for first time detailing

              You would use UC or SwirlX on the red painted parts. The black textured trim kind of plastic would just want a dressing.

              Using a pure polish is certainly optional, can always save it for later.
              2017 Subaru WRX Premium - WR Blue

              Comment

              • #8
                Re: Tips needed for first time detailing

                Originally posted by akimel View Post
                Jon, please don't use that rotary on your car for any purpose, including waxing. Most waxes and sealants are not formulated to be applied by rotary polishers and even with those that are, you don't want to apply them at such a high speed.

                Yes, you can apply the Ultimate Compound to the plastic painted parts of your car. But be sure to do a TEST SPOT first. I have found that foam applicators work best with Ultimate Compound.

                Have you considered investing in a dual action polisher?
                Hehe ok I hear you, just hands for this occation. But I'm not planning on buying the Dual action polisher for the moment. But I will consider it...

                But yes ofcourse I'm going to do a TEST SPOT on every product I'll try out. Have seen the horrible pictures from the forum...

                Thanx for the info!

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