Newbie to detailing...

[davey g-force]

Re: Newbie to detailing...

WOW, i used UC on my car and it did great i didnt get all the water spots out but i did get out alot of them, does any one know how to get deeply etch water spot out of the windows???

You could use the UC on your windows too.

...Or did you already try that?

[Murr1525]

Re: Newbie to detailing...

If the glass is actually etched (which is hard to do), you would be in some trouble.

Otherwise, you can see the above post, for the basic things to try, if you didnt yet.

[StayinClean]

Re: Newbie to detailing...

WOW, i used UC on my car and it did great i didnt get all the water spots out but i did get out alot of them, does any one know how to get deeply etch water spot out of the windows???

[Murr1525]

Re: Newbie to detailing...

UC is pretty strong on its own, best to start with a foam pad.

[StayinClean]

Re: Newbie to detailing...

when appling ulimate compound. do you use a foam pad or a wool pad?

[Murr1525]

Re: Newbie to detailing...

For the glass, you can of course use a good glass cleaner and clay. I have had success with RainX removing mild water spots. You could look at UC, #105, or #4 for stronger cleaning ability.

The paint is of course more exciting...

While you will want SwirlX on your shelf, UC would certainly be the place to start, esp by hand.

[StayinClean]

Re: Newbie to detailing...

Etched water spots can be tricky to remove - it all really depends on how workable the paint is, how deeply etched they really are, what tools you're using, and your skill level.

Working by hand on something like this is tedious at best. A quality D/A with a W8207 polishing pad and Ultimate Compound should be an excellent starting point. You'll know pretty quickly if it's going to take several passes to correct or if you can knock it out quickly. But there really is no way of knowing for certain until you get started.

Unfortunately that's one of the challenges of detailing and paint polishing. It isn't like baking a cake. We can give the identical recipe to 500 people around the country and they will all end up with the exact same cake when done. But if you do that with paint polishing - ie lay out a specific list of this pad, that liquid, speed X, etc - you'll get dramatically different results due to the wide variety of paint systems on various cars.

is there anything professional grade i should look into?

[StayinClean]

Re: Newbie to detailing...

Did you figure out if you would be working by hand, machine, etc?

You can always try by hand first, say a panel a day, and go to machine if needed. The same products work.

i tried using some swirl x by hand... i noticed almost no difference.... and i am trying to decide of getting a DA or a Rotory.. i know the orbital wont work.... but i dont want speand 250 on a DA and it not work.... i am almost thinking about getting trying to repaint the car my self ( i bought the car as a project car)

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Newbie to detailing...

Etched water spots can be tricky to remove - it all really depends on how workable the paint is, how deeply etched they really are, what tools you're using, and your skill level.

Working by hand on something like this is tedious at best. A quality D/A with a W8207 polishing pad and Ultimate Compound should be an excellent starting point. You'll know pretty quickly if it's going to take several passes to correct or if you can knock it out quickly. But there really is no way of knowing for certain until you get started.

Unfortunately that's one of the challenges of detailing and paint polishing. It isn't like baking a cake. We can give the identical recipe to 500 people around the country and they will all end up with the exact same cake when done. But if you do that with paint polishing - ie lay out a specific list of this pad, that liquid, speed X, etc - you'll get dramatically different results due to the wide variety of paint systems on various cars.

[Murr1525]

Re: Newbie to detailing...

Did you figure out if you would be working by hand, machine, etc?

You can always try by hand first, say a panel a day, and go to machine if needed. The same products work.

[StayinClean]

Re: Newbie to detailing...

ok... i picked up the car this weekend... the car pretty much looks like the above pic, the water spots are etched in both the paint and the glass... the spot are in deep... so what is the best advice for this?

[davey g-force]

Re: Newbie to detailing...

I agree with Bill. Get yourself a DA - if you plan on owning and maintaining a black car, you'll need it!!

[Murr1525]

Re: Newbie to detailing...

That looks ok.

[StayinClean]

Re: Newbie to detailing...

this is not the car... i have not bought the car yet, so i dont have pics, but i am not be expecting it to look worse than this. My aunt told me about the car i havent seen it in person yet, she told me it had water spot ( she is somewhat over critical at time) so im not sure, but the car is only 8yrs old.. So without seeing it yet this is me imagineing the worse case scenario..

bump

[StayinClean]

Re: Newbie to detailing...

This is not the car... i have not bought the car yet, so i dont have pics, but i am not be expecting it to look worse than this. my aunt told me about the car i havent seen it in person yet, she told me it had water spot ( she is somewhat over critical at time) so im not sure, but the car is only 8yrs old.. so without seeing it yet this is me imagineing the worse case scenario..