Ready 4 my 1st detailing...need advice

[GusTTavoMX]

Hi, finally i got my stuff so i feel ready for my first detailing.

My car is an Audi TT 2007 black, with a lot of swirls, I have already read a lot on how to wash and use the porter cable DA, and these are the steps Im planning to use, so any advice is welcome...

1.Wash
2.prep surface with clay bar
3.Ultimate compound (starting with LC white pad) also have M105, yellow,orange, coarse green, white LC pads
4.Deep crystal polish (maybe try with the DA instead by hand with foam aplicator)
5.maintanance

What do you think of the products im planning to use? I have spent a lot of money on my stuff (Meguiars products in Mexico are at least twice expensive than USA) and i dont want to be disappointed with a bad procedure/product combination.

regards from Mexico!

[greg0303]

Re: Ready 4 my 1st detailing...need advice

Ultimate Compound seems like a good choice due to swirls on your black car paint.

M105 Ultra Cut Compound is much more aggressive (it's actually Meguiar's most aggressive compound).

Deep Crystal Polish is a pure polish for gloss and reflection restoration. In the future you could also add a cleaner polish to your collection, like SwirlX or 2011 product - Ultimate Polish.

I'm missing protection in your list. You need to wax your car.
You could use either natural (carnauba) wax, like Gold Class Carnauba Plus) or longer lasting synthetic wax (sealant), like Next Tech Wax 2.0 . Meguiar's newest synthetic wax Ultimate Wax offers the longest protection and high shine. Once it's available in your area get it. It comes in liquid and paste form.

This article by our Administrator, Mike Stoops, is a great introduction to machine polishing:

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45702&highlight=Introduction

[SVT Lightning]

Re: Ready 4 my 1st detailing...need advice

And make sure you do a test-spot first before you do the whole car. That way you will see what combo of pads/polish give you the best results.

[Murr1525]

Re: Ready 4 my 1st detailing...need advice

Be sure to do a test spot/area as well.

Dont do the entire car, and then find you didnt remove the swirls.

If you have a problem, need something different, better technique, etc, you can fix it in a small area and not waste too much.

[GusTTavoMX]

Re: Ready 4 my 1st detailing...need advice

.

I'm missing protection in your list. You need to wax your car.
You could use either natural (carnauba) wax, like Gold Class Carnauba Plus) or longer lasting synthetic wax (sealant), like Next Tech Wax 2.0 . Meguiar's newest synthetic wax Ultimate Wax offers the longest protection and high shine. Once it's available in your area get it. It comes in liquid and paste form.

Sorry i forgot to mention that I do have the Gold Class and NXT 2.0 (i`ll be using NXT) The test spot is also considered.

Do you think I need to use the cleaner polish before the deep crystal polish??

[Murr1525]

Re: Ready 4 my 1st detailing...need advice

You will certainly need a cleaner/polish of some sort like (#105, UC).

Using a pure polish after (DC2) is up to you.

[Pro01]

Re: Ready 4 my 1st detailing...need advice

be sure to post the pic when u'r done..i'd like to see some pics..b4 and after..

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Ready 4 my 1st detailing...need advice

The test spot mentioned by the others is critical. You want to dial in a process prior to doing the whole car, especially if you've never worked on this paint before since you don't know for sure how it will respond.

Ultimate Compound, regardless of pad, is going to give you a much longer buffing cycle on a D/A than M105 will. We'd suggest starting with the LC white pad and moving up from there only if need be. But if your test spot shows dramatic improvement with the white pad, do another spot next to it with just a longer buffing time than the first spot as that may then be enough. If, on the other hand, the first test spot shows virtually no improvement then you may need to step up to a more aggressive pad.

Just make sure to use sufficient pressure and slow arm speed - that can make all the difference in the world.