Doing up Mom's new Stratus

[Jeff Smith]

I am doing the 5 Step on my Mother's 3 week old Dodge Stratus.
I have done the initial wash. And have finshing claying. After all this I went ahead and rewashed with NXT and and gearing up to go to bed as it's now 4:19 AM.

When I wake up I plan to hit it again. It is to dark to tell what it might need yet but I am thinking I will start with DC#1 & #2 and then see if any additional is needed. If not, I plan on rolling on one coat on #21 on Saturday and then another coat of #21 on Sunday.

I have the G-100 as well as the G-104.

The batteries for the G-104 are charged up and ready to go and I would like to give it a try on one of the remaining steps mentioned above.

I am thinking it would be best used for the DC#1 but am unsure and figured I would put out a post before going to bed in hopes of soliciting some suggestions and having them lined up when I get my tail outta the bed and get at it again.

So, in a nutshell. What step would be best for me to use this thing? Again, I just want to try it out. I probably won't be using this regularly but I do want to give it a go.

[Chris Nemlich]

What do you mean when you say you have bother the G-100 and G-100A? The G-100A is a Dual-Action Polisher and has no batteries to charge, it plugs into the wall.

By the G-100 are you refering to the cordless orbital? I can't find the part number right now so I'm not sure if thats correct.

[Jeff Smith]

Originally posted by Chris Nemlich
What do you mean when you say you have bother the G-100 and G-100A? The G-100A is a Dual-Action Polisher and has no batteries to charge, it plugs into the wall.

By the G-100 are you refering to the cordless orbital? I can't find the part number right now so I'm not sure if thats correct.

Oops. I dunno where the heck I got the G-100A from. It is the:
Meguiar's Cordless Orbital Buffer - G-104
http://meguiars.com/?garage-accessories/Meguiar's-Cordless-Orbital-Buffer

I'll edit the original post.

Still looking for feedback though.

Thanks

[Jeff Smith]

Well, I did not get any responses before I was ready to begin so I am gonna run with using the G-104 with the DC#1 and see how it goes. I'll be stopping from time to time and checking on this thread to see of any feedback has been left.

[Jeff Smith]

So far using the G-104 seems to be going well enough. The battery life has alot to be desired though. I have the hood done and the roof and one battery is dead.

But these are brand new batteries and have only been charged once and this is the first time I used them. No biggie as I have the G-100A to fall back on when the other battery dies. I expect battery performance should improve a little.

I guess it is probably safe to say that on average, the G-104 probably shouldn't be looked hard at for trying to do an entire vehicle. Especially not clean, polish, wax (x2).

This is all well and good as I did not buy this thing to use regularly. I bought it so that when I have a friend over and we are doing their vehicle I would have something to fill his/her hands with instead of them standing there drinking up my coffee.

It might also serve me well when I apply my Rain-X glass Polish or possibly the NXT metal Polish, whenever it arrives. I am sure I will find plenty of uses for it.

[F-150]

Can you guy more batteries and chargers separetly? That'd solve the problem.

[Jeff Smith]

Originally posted by F-150
Can you guy more batteries and chargers separetly? That'd solve the problem.

I am sure you can. For me and the way I do things it would not be worth it as I also have the G-100A. But for someone who might do alot of mobile work or live in an apartment without easy access to an outlet, this might be the ticket.

From what I see thus far, it would not be good for any serious cleaning/polishing or waxing. But I am wondering if it might be good for removal of a spray type quick wax. I think I will will try it on that next.

I believe the batteries wil get better after several uses. It will probably take a 3-4 cycles before there are running at full capacity. That will be a better time for review I think.

[Murr1525]

DC#1 will work fine with the machine polishers, though as it is non abrasive, wont be able to remove defests much. You would need #80, or #83 for that.

[benhui86]

y would u use the G104 and go through all that stuff w/ DC1 when u can just go over the whole car once with 80 on the pc/G100 and then 21 and call it done..... thats all u need since the car is only 3 weeks old.... one pass of DC2 before 21 would add an extra pop to it though.... but that can also be applied quicker with the pc

[Don]

Originally posted by benhui86
y would u use the G104 and go through all that stuff w/ DC1 when u can just go over the whole car once with 80 on the pc/G100 and then 21 and call it done..... thats all u need since the car is only 3 weeks old.... one pass of DC2 before 21 would add an extra pop to it though.... but that can also be applied quicker with the pc

Because starting with the DC1 instead of the 80 keeps in line with the 'Less is Best' philosophy. So unless the finish had been brutalized by the dealer, or had picked up some swirls/marks that were more than just simple, light hazing - the DC1 should be fine.

[Jeff Smith]

What I have done so is this:
1. Wash w/NXT Wash
2. Clayed with Mother's Clay Kit
3. Washed again & Blowed dry
4. DC#1 w/ the G-104 then the G-100A
5. Washed again & Blowed dry
6. DC#2 w/ the G=100A
7. Washed again & Blowed dry

I used the DC products as this thing is new and I really did not see enough dealer swirl marks to go with the #80 or #9. I have used #80 before and had good results and have never used the DC Steps 1 & 2 so figured this would be a good car to experiment with it on. Plus I was trying to keep to the least aggressive product necessary concept.

I have what I thought were a couple of watermarks on the hood and on the trunk I have what I am assuming is a Bird Dropping Splatter mark or a mark as the result of some chemical splatter. Unsure of which.

For both of these I used the DC#s 1 & 2 as outlined above then I used #9 swirl remover, then went to the #80. After doing all of this I made apparently no impact on these spots. But closer evaluation leads me to believe the spots on the hood are paint defects and the spot on the trunk seems to be etched into the paint. So I decided not to go with the #83, and will just note these areas and come spring when I do all of this over again I will have my new Rotary and will hopefully have gained enough experience to have a go at these again.

Today it is gonna get the 1st coat of #21. I was hoping to apply one coat yesterday and one today but playing with those spots ate up my time and it was to close to dark to wax. So I'll get one coat on today then another ASAP this week.

The thing is looking pretty snazzy thus far. When I have better sun I will attempt to snap some pics of the whole car as well as the spots. These spots are not bad. You know the kind. I will probably be the only person who ever even knows they are there.


BTW, I know you folks are thinking I am overwashing. My house is surrounded by trees and I am taking breaks in between each step so when I return, I give it a quick wash and blow dry to minimize the chances of goodies falling from the trees to the paint job. It seems to have worked.

[Jeff Smith]

Well,
Got it almost done. had to stop for the day. Got 1st Coat of #21 on and get a wipe down with an Extreme Shine MF. Did the windows inside & out and put some NXT on the tires.

Momma is mighty proud. I snapped a 3 pics of the hood trying to get some sun but the sun was ducking behind some trees and they did not turn out very well.

I am in a little bit of a rush so I am just going to put the link up for now to my gallery. The first three pics are of the hood.

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=4233

Later in the week will take more of the entire car after the 2nd coat of #21 is on as well as my choise for a topcoat which will likely be DC#3 of possible GOLD or #26. Have not made my mind up yet.

[Jbirk]

YOu are over doing it with the washing.

Honestly, you should wash it once or twice in the beginning. Get it really really clean then jump to claying.

After clay, you could have jumped right to DC 1, or if you had a residue problem washed it.

Then you could do DC 1, DC 2, and wax.

There is no need to wash it after DC 1 or DC 2!

[Jeff Smith]

Originally posted by Jbirk
YOu are over doing it with the washing.

Honestly, you should wash it once or twice in the beginning. Get it really really clean then jump to claying.

After clay, you could have jumped right to DC 1, or if you had a residue problem washed it.

Then you could do DC 1, DC 2, and wax.

There is no need to wash it after DC 1 or DC 2!

I did most of this over a three day period. I did not want any of the residue to dry up and cake in the cracks and crevices so I washed it alot.

This was the first vehicle I really took my time and did the whole routine on and I just did a little each day and enjoyed myself. I didn't mind the extra little quick washes. I dried with the leaf blower.

[Don]

Originally posted by Jbirk
YOu are over doing it with the washing.

Honestly, you should wash it once or twice in the beginning. Get it really really clean then jump to claying.

After clay, you could have jumped right to DC 1, or if you had a residue problem washed it.

Then you could do DC 1, DC 2, and wax.

There is no need to wash it after DC 1 or DC 2!

Originally posted by j333_76484


BTW, I know you folks are thinking I am overwashing. My house is surrounded by trees and I am taking breaks in between each step so when I return, I give it a quick wash and blow dry to minimize the chances of goodies falling from the trees to the paint job. It seems to have worked.

I don't blame him for washing so much. With the 3-day span plus being outside under trees, the extra washing seems to be cheap insurance.