definately becoming CAR CRAZY

[onawrxhigh]

I have always been into making my cars look thier best all the time. This was instilled in my by my father at a young age. In the past 10 months I have been getting more involved with detailing. I do some cars here and their for money, and am debating on starting up my own business. Here is a picture of what I have bought in the last 6 months. The only things missing are my PC and my makita rotary.

Andrew

[RamAirV1]

How long have you been color sanding? I noticed the unigrit sanding paper.

The thought of me doing color sanding is .

Looks like you're well supplied for detailing!


Ram AirV1

[onawrxhigh]

Hey RamAirV1,

I haven't been doing any color sanding yet. I bought it to try out on some old body panels to get the feel for it.

[RamAirV1]

That's a good idea, you will then have another service that other detailers may not be able to offer. I wonder what percentage of detailers can color sand?

RamAirV1

[Tim Lingor]

Hey onawrxhigh


You have some really great products there!

RamAirV1,

As to the color sanding, I think most people shy away from it as it is not easy, and the risk is high.

Tim

[RamAirV1]

Originally posted by 2hotford
Hey onawrxhigh


You have some really great products there!

RamAirV1,

As to the color sanding, I think most people shy away from it as it is not easy, and the risk is high.

Tim

I agree, I have definitely shied away from that. It'a amazing what clorsanding can do, as shown by your washing machine!

RamAirV1

[Tim Lingor]

Hey RamAirV1,

I knew that post would come back to haunt me!

In all seriousness, I do not mind wet sanding paint finishes, but the risk is really high. One mistake means a new paint job! And wet sanding OEM paint is even more scary as the film build is usually thin. Plus, some factory paint is as hard as nails! Hard paint makes it difficult to remove the wet sanding scratches. It is a very fine line between buffing too much and not enough.

Tim

[onawrxhigh]

hey 2hotford and ramairv1,

i only got the unigrit paper to become totally comfortable with doing it on practice panels so that i can better judge how much paint or clear is coming off both from sanding and then from buffing with diamond cut or compound power cleaner. I will practice a good bit before i even try to do it on someone's car . better to be safe than sorry just like 2hotford said,i would rather leave a defect that buffing could not get out that to have to pay for a new paint job

[RamAirV1]

Maybe you can find a beater or some surplus body panels to practice on.

RamAirV1

[waxman]

how much wax is too much

guys i really need help here, my bf usually helps with this stuff but he is currently serving in Iraq. i could really use some help with exactly how to wax my car.

[waxman]

also i live at the new jersey shore, is there anyway too help with the salt build up on my car etc.

[onawrxhigh]

hey susan,

I have found that a good high quality wax (M#16, M#26, or NXT Tech Wax) will help make the salt not adhere to the paint as easily. Also washing with the 2 bucket method on a regular basis will also help the build up of salt.

Andrew Parshall

[Murr1525]

Glad to help anyone with family/close to it in the military.. who knows, you may be teaching him when he gets back.

You didnt mention what products you have there, so let me give a general idea, and we can follow up with more specifics.

First, be sure to read this:

Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle

Step 1 Wash

Step 2 Clean

Step 3 Polish

Step 4 Protect

Step 5 Maintain


As it says, you will either want to have a product for each step, or something like a good cleaner/wax that can cover a couple steps.

This is what I use most often on my daily driver:

1. Wash - I use Gold CLass or Nxt Wash

2. CLay - CLay with Meguiars Quick Clay as needed, or the new Smooth Surface CLay.

3. Clean/Polish/wax - I use ColorX, which is a very good cleaner/wax.

4. Wax - One coat of Nxt is a good topper over the COlorX.

I hope this is a start, and if you can mention anything you already have, we can always help a bit more.

Tanks for joining us