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A little intro followed with a few questions helping me transition from hand products to a DA.
Intro: I maintain three different vehicles. "A daily driver", A low cost sports car grocery getter, and a "show car". The show car is garage kept, the other two endure the elements outside 365 days a year its entire life. How I maintain them is as follows, The daily and show car are professionally detailed a few times a year and I follow up when needed by hand with Meguiars UQD followed by UQW in between. I also have the "New car kit". - The Grocery getter is the worst off, it is experiencing clear coat failure on the hood roof trunk and upper fenders. When i say clear coat failure i mean ZERO clear coat left. Thankfully no oxidation discoloration. Actually when it rains the paint looks uniform. So anyway, I have decided to buy a DA buffer, I really enjoy detailing using the hand products and have always been interested in using a buffer but have always been afraid of harming the paint. After doing much research (great information here) I learned about the DA and was excited to find its properties are different than a rotary. Great information here on how to use the machine.
Considering the paint is roughest on the Grocery getter, Id like to practice on the grocery getter first, then the daily, then the show car.
Here are some pics
"Grocery getter":
Was hard to capture the swirls on the daily but i managed to get it, Hood is the worst, doors seem fine.
Hood:
Trunk (Pink dot is camera reflection) :
It has not been detailed with a DA during this last rough winter duty. The car wash has been used to remove salts.
Questions:
Now that i have introduced myself, i'd like to ask a few questions,
I feel confident in most of what needs to be done in the requirements of five steps. However, compounding is "worrying" me. I do not want to harm the paint. Lets say all the steps are followed on my daily leading me to compounding, As long as I focus on small areas and keep the buffer in motion, passing smoothly side to side not stopping in one single area will I not have to worry about permanent damage? When it wipes off will the paint look "ugly/off" until the polish is added? Or will i see progress upon wipeoff? Should i be using a Polish cleaner first and not a compound ?
#2: Clear coat failure: When it seems their is zero clear coat left and you 5 step it are you just temporarily giving it a shine and it will revert? Protecting the base-coat essentially? or has oxidation formed OVER the clear coat? Also, sometimes in videos, when i see a person compounding oxidation the paint seems to stain the pad? Whats the deal with that? Is this more "dangerous" for a new Da user to mess with.
___
- Any tips for detailing the roofs?
- Which products should I focus on for 5 stepping these particular vehicles ?
- Any tips or links etc is appreciated. I will continue to do some more research on my own while the Da and pads are shipping. Thanks!
Intro: I maintain three different vehicles. "A daily driver", A low cost sports car grocery getter, and a "show car". The show car is garage kept, the other two endure the elements outside 365 days a year its entire life. How I maintain them is as follows, The daily and show car are professionally detailed a few times a year and I follow up when needed by hand with Meguiars UQD followed by UQW in between. I also have the "New car kit". - The Grocery getter is the worst off, it is experiencing clear coat failure on the hood roof trunk and upper fenders. When i say clear coat failure i mean ZERO clear coat left. Thankfully no oxidation discoloration. Actually when it rains the paint looks uniform. So anyway, I have decided to buy a DA buffer, I really enjoy detailing using the hand products and have always been interested in using a buffer but have always been afraid of harming the paint. After doing much research (great information here) I learned about the DA and was excited to find its properties are different than a rotary. Great information here on how to use the machine.
Considering the paint is roughest on the Grocery getter, Id like to practice on the grocery getter first, then the daily, then the show car.
Here are some pics
"Grocery getter":
Was hard to capture the swirls on the daily but i managed to get it, Hood is the worst, doors seem fine.
Hood:
Trunk (Pink dot is camera reflection) :
It has not been detailed with a DA during this last rough winter duty. The car wash has been used to remove salts.
Questions:
Now that i have introduced myself, i'd like to ask a few questions,
I feel confident in most of what needs to be done in the requirements of five steps. However, compounding is "worrying" me. I do not want to harm the paint. Lets say all the steps are followed on my daily leading me to compounding, As long as I focus on small areas and keep the buffer in motion, passing smoothly side to side not stopping in one single area will I not have to worry about permanent damage? When it wipes off will the paint look "ugly/off" until the polish is added? Or will i see progress upon wipeoff? Should i be using a Polish cleaner first and not a compound ?
#2: Clear coat failure: When it seems their is zero clear coat left and you 5 step it are you just temporarily giving it a shine and it will revert? Protecting the base-coat essentially? or has oxidation formed OVER the clear coat? Also, sometimes in videos, when i see a person compounding oxidation the paint seems to stain the pad? Whats the deal with that? Is this more "dangerous" for a new Da user to mess with.
___
- Any tips for detailing the roofs?
- Which products should I focus on for 5 stepping these particular vehicles ?
- Any tips or links etc is appreciated. I will continue to do some more research on my own while the Da and pads are shipping. Thanks!
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