Professional vs consumer

[Blackjku]

Re: Professional vs consumer

Bought a ton of stuff today at the detail supply Co where I live. Guy was very helpful and helped me get what would be perfect for my specific needs. Got all the way home (45min drive) realized I forgot microbes towels and quick detailer/quick wax. What towels should I get? Quick detailer or quick wax or????

[Top Gear]

Re: Professional vs consumer

Sounds great. At this point, I would just get out there and learn it your way on your car. There are dozens of combinations and variations, and none of us is working on YOUR car.

[Nick Winn]

Re: Professional vs consumer

I think I am going to go with:
Gold class wash
Clay bar
Ultimate compound
Ultimate Polish
Ultimate wax
Ultimate quick wax
All on foam pads

What do you think? Am I missing anything or calling it something wrong? What foam pads do I need?

This sounds like a great combination to get started with. To give you an idea, based on the products you have, the below combinations are in order from least to most aggressive:

Ultimate Polish w/5 Inch Foam Polishing Disc(DFP5) - Ultimate Polish does have mild cleaning ability & if the defects at hand are very light, this combination works great to remove them & increase gloss & clarity, preparing the paint for a coat of wax. We have seen & used this combination many times on usually new or like new vehicles, or vehicles that are maintained well with just very light swirls. This combination applied on a d/a is extremely mild & non invasive.

Ultimate Compound w/5 Inch Foam Polishing Disc(DFP5) - Ultimate Compound does not always need to be used on our Foam Cutting Disc. We used to use 7 inch foam polishing pads on our older G110v2 with our Ultimate Compound all the time with great defect removal ability. Perform a test spot by starting with a more mild approach, and if needed, work your way up in aggressiveness from there.

Ultimate Compound w/5 Inch Foam Cutting Disc (DFC5) - If the above combination of Ultimate Compound applied with one of our Foam Polishing Discs does not work to remove the defects, our 5 Inch Foam Cutting Disc will increase your defect removal capability. If this combination does not work to remove the defects at hand, then we would suggest thinking about getting one of our Professional Mirror Glaze Compounds or using our D/A Microfiber Correction System.

Bought a ton of stuff today at the detail supply Co where I live. Guy was very helpful and helped me get what would be perfect for my specific needs. Got all the way home (45min drive) realized I forgot microbes towels and quick detailer/quick wax. What towels should I get? Quick detailer or quick wax or????

Quik Detailer sprays are primarily for light exterior cleaning like removing light dust or fingerprints. They also work to add gloss.

Our Quik Waxes are actual spray waxes, and are recommended to be used on a clean surface. They are usually used after weekly washing. The use of a spray wax will extend the life of your original wax coating. It is best to use one of our liquid or paste waxes as your main source of protection and use a spray wax in-between to assist the life of that original coating.

[Blackjku]

Re: Professional vs consumer

Sounds good today I got: dfp5 cutting, polishing, and finishing disc. Ultimate compound, ultimate Polish. Dbp5 backing plate, clay bar smooth finish, ultimate liquid wax. Gold class wash microfiber wash mit. I was gonna start there and see what I thought.... any thoughts Nicholas????

Also a good recommendation on some microfiber towels for drying, cleaning offee waxes and microfiber for little in between washes??

[Nick Winn]

Re: Professional vs consumer

Our X2020 Supreme Shine Microfiber Towel is sort of our all purpose towel used for wiping off compound, polish, or wax residue, it is used with quik detailer & quik waxes, etc. Our X2000 Water Magnet Microfiber Drying Towel is made specific for drying the vehicle after washing.

Meguiar's X2020 Supreme Shine Microfiber Towel

Meguiar's X2000 Water Magnet Microfiber Drying Towel

[drumdan]

Re: Professional vs consumer

You can get all of that at Walmart. Doesn't mean you'll get professional results, though. The Ultimate line is ubiquitous (and seems to be the answer to every thread on this forum by some regulars no matter what the OP's problem is), but many of the products with the "Ultimate" brand on them are quite neutral or generic in terms of "lines", such as UC and UP (you can use any wax after them). They are near enough the same as M105 and M205, so the "audience" question is just a change of logo and a bottle (I'm exaggerating but you get the point). For most purposes, UC/M105 and UP/M205 will be awesome, except when defects are well beyond UC/M105. "Ultimate" is a marketing trademark more than a completely separate brand. I use some Ultimate products regularly, such as Ultimate Black, Ultimate Interior Detailer, and Ultimate Wash & Wax Anywhere, which have almost nothing in common with UC/UP/UW/UQW, nor does Gold Class Leather Conditioner have with Gold Class/M26 wax. You can see how confusing it gets!

On some very hard black paint, I spent a LOT of time trying to get a decent correction with the "beginner" methods. UC would just not cut the defects, let alone UP, but UP is a great polish on its own. I used Gold Class/M26 and not UW/M21, but all of that was on foam pads. Foam is a great waste of time, but great to learn on, because you can't possibly do any damage (or true correction) with foam - it will "protect" you and the paint with the illusion of correction by spreading polishing oils and waxes (but clear those off and you'll see the defects are still there). That might be fine for the beginner or someone with very soft paint. For medium to hard paint, you can't get any true correction with foam (search for pro-level threads here to see what real correction means). If you want to be sure you're getting your money's worth in true correction and high-quality protection, it means using at least microfiber pads, with professional liquids such as the Detailer or Mirror Glaze lines. Some Mirror Glaze products are updated for the Ultimate and Gold Class lines, though, so it begs the same question, while others are very unique and neutral, such as M100 and M101. MF pads will far outlast foam and will be easier to clean. Don't be fooled by the "thin" foam, either. They will be more aggressive than thick foam, and thus will do more work, but they are still foam, and will chew up over time and soak up too much product, etc. MF puts more far more rubber on the road, so to speak.

Just curious how many years you've been doing this, how many cars you do annually (if you're a pro), and where you were trained.

[drumdan]

Re: Professional vs consumer

I think I am going to go with:
Gold class wash
Clay bar
Ultimate compound
Ultimate Polish
Ultimate wax
Ultimate quick wax
All on foam pads

What do you think? Am I missing anything or calling it something wrong? What foam pads do I need?

Like Nicholas said, you'll be fine with this. I often used these products to great effect.... With foam pads too..

That being said, I do keep microfiber pads with me, and they work great with Ultimate Compound.

If you think you might want to use the rotary, I like M100/M205.

I only usually use my rotary for super heavy cutting with the old Meguiar's W4000 wool pad.

[Blackjku]

Re: Professional vs consumer

How many foam pads do I need guys? (To do a 4 door jeep, remember the top isn't waxable as it is a rough fiberglass)

[The Guz]

Re: Professional vs consumer

This might help

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-mike-phillips-your-detailing-questions/88109-how-many-pads-do-i-need-buff-out-my-car.html

[Blackjku]

Re: Professional vs consumer

Ok I will be picking some more up tomorrow. Also what is the priming method with the foam pads (I know how to with mf pads is it the same?) Also how can I clean them after I am done using them?

[The Guz]

Re: Professional vs consumer

Check out Kevin Brown discussing priming the pad in this video. It's a good video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUdnj4CVFmQ

To clean the pads, APC works great. If you decide to use dish soap be sure to rinse it all out. I would recommend APC to make life easier on you.