need some help on where to start

[ericjackson]

ok, im sort of a new detailer, well i mean i wash my car about 2 times a week at least, i try to add some cleaner and tech wax when i get the chance, but sometimes i dont.

right now my inventory consists of: meguiar's cleaner wax, deep crystal polish, tech wax paste and qd spray, another nxt speed detail spray, i also have the mothers california gold claybar i got today(no where around here that i know of has the meguiar's clay bar), and it also has the carnauba cleaner wax with it, and some meguiar's microfiber cloths. and a porter cable 7336 i believe.

my car has some minor(but stubborn) scratches and some oxidation and spots where the painter left a haze over. its black so they show up pretty well

i was hoping someone can give me a good(fairly detailed) step by step procedure to get the best results that i can get given the products i have at hand. i know wash it first, but to be honest, im not sure whats next, clay or cleaner? and then so on, ive searched around and didnt find much, guess i looked in the wrong threads

thanks everyone ahead of time

[Mike Phillips]

Re: need some help on where to start

Originally posted by ericjackson


i was hoping someone can give me a good(fairly detailed) step by step procedure to get the best results that i can get given the products i have at hand. i know wash it first, but to be honest, I'm not sure whats next, clay or cleaner? and then so on, Ive searched around and didn't find much, guess i looked in the wrong threads

thanks everyone ahead of time

Hi Eric,

Welcome to Meguiar's Online!


After washing, you want to clay your car first, we always clay first and then clean with a paint cleaner. The idea being to remove the contaminants on top of the surface before going after the defects below the surface.

After that, you want to take your Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner and do a really good job of cleaning the paint. This step should take the longest. It's not a wipe-on, wipe-off process, it's a wipe-on, and work-in process. You want to tackle small sections at a time, work the paint cleaner really well into the finish and then remove it using a soft microfiber polishing cloth or a soft 100% cotton towel, then move onto a new section and be sure to overlap the new section into the old section for uniform and thorough cleaning.

The cleaning step is the most important step after claying. After cleaning the paint really well you can then apply the wax of your choice.

Down the road you might want to consider getting some ScratchX as it is a much more effective paint cleaner than the Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner.

Hope this helps...

[Mike Phillips]

Read through this thread too and the links included...

Especially the 5-Step Paint Care Cycle

[ericjackson]

actually i have the scratchX, i dont use it very often, do i do the whole car with it, or just the defects???

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by ericjackson
actually i have the scratchX, i dont use it very often, do i do the whole car with it, or just the defects???

If you read the back label, it states you can use for spot touch-ups or over the entire car, it depends on how bad the car is and your car care goals. If the finish is filled with swirls and scratches and you want to do everything you can by hand to remove them, then use it over the car's entire finish.

The trick to getting good results from ScratchX is to work the product thoroughly against the finish, working a small section at at time and then overlapping into the previous section when you move to a new section.

We show this product each and every weekend at our Saturday Detailing classes and most people are rather surprised at how much pressure, how long, and how many applications we use to take remove the swirls and restore a show car finish on clear coats as these paints are generally much harder than traditional single stage paints and you need to focus more of you attention on the cleaning step when working on them.

Read this for more information on using ScratchX...

How to remove a defect by hand with ScratchX

[ericjackson]

thanks a lot.