I'm want to detail my car!!!

[Aguila]

I live in Canada, it's -13c. I have a garage and a small heater, would it be ok to detail my car by hand in low temps using the products listed below?

1. Meguiar's Quik Clay Detailing System

2. Meguiar's Scratch X 2.0

3. Meguiar's Step 1 Deep Crystal Cleaner

4. Meguiar's Step 2 Polish

5. Meguiar's Tech Wax Paste 2.0

Do you think this would be a good selection of products for a hand detailing job or should I swap something?

Thanks

[Carfire]

Re: I'm want to detail my car!!!

I think it is fine, as long as your garage is warm.
I think using Scratch X and DCC is not needed though.

[akimel]

Re: I'm want to detail my car!!!

Regarding the temperature, I suggest you do a test spot on your car and see how the products behave in the cold.

Excellent list of products.

But one observation: I note that your car is white. You may not see any improvement in gloss and shine by the application of Deep Crystal Polish (DC2). Optical improvement is usually best observed in dark-colored cars. Feel free, therefore, to skip this step and move directly to wax.

I presume that you will be using ScratchX for incidental scratches and DC Paint Cleaner for the entirety of the car. I ask simply because if your plan was to use ScratchX over the entire car, then you would not need to use Paint Cleaner.

You may find of interest this proposal for a Wash & Wax Regimen for a Daily Driver. In this regimen I have substituted Cleaner Wax for DC1, the advantage being that it also provides a layer of protection. I then suggest topping the car with NXT. So it's similar to the plan you are thinking about, but also different at one or two points.

Keep it simple and keep it fun!

Good luck!

Cheers,
Al

[Aguila]

Re: I'm want to detail my car!!!

Hey thanks,

I'm probly gonna scratch x the whole car. Should I leave my heater on all night to let the wax cure? or is waxed cured as soon as I wipe it off?

[akimel]

Re: I'm want to detail my car!!!

Are you sure you need to ScratchX the entire car? Meguiar's recommends beginning with the least aggressive product. You might therefore want to consider trying out SwirlX first. Do a test spot and see if that accomplishes what you are hoping. If it does, great. If not, then move up to ScratchX 2.0. In any case, if you are intending to do the entire car with either SwirlX or ScratchX, you should omit DC1 from your plan.

NXT cures over a period of several hours: see NXT Cure Time? The polymers need time to set up and crosslink, which is why it's important to keep your car away from water for 12 hours after you have waxed your car with NXT.

[Mikejl]

Re: I'm want to detail my car!!!

I agree with the above. Drop the DC1. I would try both SwirlX and ScratchX 2.0. Since you are working by hand ScratchX may give you quicker results than SwirlX. Both products should leave you with a glossy finish.

Good luck,
Mike

[Aguila]

Re: I'm want to detail my car!!!

Ok, how about these steps

1. Meguiar's Quik Clay Detailing System

2. Meguiar's Step 1 Deep Crystal Cleaner

3. Meguiar's Scratch X 2.0

4. Meguiar's Tech Wax Paste 2.0


I need a polish though, or is scratch and deep crystal cleaner a polish?

Also, I see people saying they use Dawn for a prewash, is that Dawn dish soap? :S

[mb911]

Re: I'm want to detail my car!!!

I wouldn't use dawn. Just wash it with some meguiar's wash if needed, and then clay.

I don't think you need to use DC paint cleaner and Scratch X. Just use one or other after claying.

Then you can use the polish you have if you want. It's pretty good actually.

Then finally wax. You have a good system. You'll like the results.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: I'm want to detail my car!!!

I live in Canada, it's -13c. I have a garage and a small heater,

That's only about +8~9F and you should ideally bring the temp up to around 60F (15C) at least, and let the surface temperature of the car adjust to this as well. Does your small heater have the power to raise the temperature that much in your garage? If not, you're probably better off just waiting until things warm up a bit. At those very low temperatures you'll find a lot of the products just won't apply correctly, will be difficult to remove, and waxes won't dry properly.

[akimel]

Re: I'm want to detail my car!!!

The terminology can be confusing. I believe that in Meguiar's linguistic universe both DC1 and ScatchX would be considered paint cleaners (see Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle). I also believe that both would be considered (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) as cleaner-polishes. But DC1 is significantly less aggressive than ScratchX. One would use DC1 if one's goal is to remove contaminants and previous layers of wax. ScratchX does all of this, but because it is a stronger polish it can also remove swirls and scratches. Which product you should go with depends on your goals.

Polishing by hand is hard and time-consuming work--hence the recommendation to eliminate redundant steps. There is no need to apply both DC1 and ScratchX in the same detailing session: go with one or the other.

It sounds like you have some swirls and scratches you would like to remove, so try the ScratchX on a test spot and see how it works for you. If it works on your test spot to your satisfaction, then you can apply it to the entire car and then go to wax. If it doesn't work to your satisfaction, then you've saved yourself a lot of time and energy. At that point you would either want to step up to Ultimate Compound or invest in a dual-action polisher.

Don't be too discouraged by having to wait for spring. Many of us are waiting for that spring day when we can finally get to work on our cars.

[Aguila]

Re: I'm want to detail my car!!!

I think I might just wait to spring, I hate winter!. I don't think my heater will heat up my whole garage to 15c.

50 more days until spring!

[Mike Phillips]

Re: I'm want to detail my car!!!

Polishing by hand is hard and time-consuming work--hence the recommendation to eliminate redundant steps.

There is no need to apply both DC1 and ScratchX in the same detailing session: go with one or the other.

This is correct. You would use one or the other but using both would be repeating a step. It's better to invest the time and effort into really doing a great job of apply just one of the products.

Just to note, when applying a paint cleaner to clean paint you only work a small section of a time, about a foot squared and then after applying, working the product for about a minute and then wiping it off you would then move on to a new section but be sure to overlap a little into the previous section.

Because you only work a small section at at time, the cleaning step takes the longest to do, this is true when working by hand or machine. Even with a machine you need to only work a small section at at time.

When it comes to applying a polish or wax AFTER you have done the cleaning step, then you can tackle large sections at one time because for these steps you're not trying to remove paint, just coat over it.

For the cleaning step, if you're trying to remove swirls and scratches you do this by leveling the surface and this means removing a little paint and you can't remove a little paint if you're trying to apply a paint cleaner to one half of a hood or door at one time. So stick with small, workable sections for the cleaning step.

[Aguila]

Re: I'm want to detail my car!!!

What products would you guys use and what steps would you take to my detail the exterior of my car by hand?

It has only been polished/waxed once and its a little over 1 year old. It only has very light swirls cause by the dealership car wash, it's not a touch less one!. I'm also sure I can get a lot off with a clay bar, that's a must.

[Johnson]

Re: I'm want to detail my car!!!

I didn't realize you could apply to the whole car? Am I reading that right? That has more aggressive then Paint cleaner and cleaner wax?