Out with the old...

[KAdams4458]

... In with the new!

I'm not truly entirely new here, and I have done a lot of browsing and reading of this forum lately. Still, the Introduction section seems to be the best place for this post, so here goes.

Folks, I've reached the decision to throw away every bit of car detailing knowledge I have gleaned from various sources over the years, and want to start from scratch. So much has changed in recent years, and I'm way behind the curve. My version of detailing is really rather caveman-like.

Want to know just how far back I am? Just consider these key facts:

*I've never purchased or used a clay bar.
*The only Microfiber anything that I own is an Ultimate Wipe that someone gifted to me years ago, and to be entirely honest, I've never actually used it until recently. Holy cow, are these cool, or what?
*When I dry a car, I use a real chamois leather that I've owned and maintained for at least the past fifteen years.
*I clean the glass of the car with newspaper.

I could go on and on, but I'll spare you. Suffice it to say that when I detail a car, it does come out looking very, very nice. The thing is, I'm tired of working hard, and now I want to work smart, and I'm willing to give up everything I all ready know in order to obtain that goal. To that end, I now pose the following question to you fine folks. How would you suggest I proceed?

I'm really looking forward to hearing what you all have to say!

[Mark2]

Re: Out with the old...

Well since I am the first to answer, Welcome to MOL . I was a bit like you a few years ago. Then I found this site and other detailing sites and my interest started from that. I think reading posts here about washing, claying, doing a basic cleaning and wax, will give you a good start and inspiration. And don't be afraid to ask specific questions either.

[Murr1525]

Re: Out with the old...

Have you read these basic links yet? They contain all the basic info:

Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle
Step 1 Wash
Step 2 Clean
Step 3 Polish
Step 4 Protect
Step 5 Maintain

Suggested Products for Taking Care of a New Car

What it Means to Remove a Scratch

How To Remove Swirls By Hand

How to remove a defect by hand with ScratchX

Rotary vs. PC vs. Regular Orbital Buffer

Recommended Products - G100a Dual Action Polisher

Using the G-100 to remove swirls with the Professional Line

1986 Ford Bronco II - Extreme Makeover

Each one, teach one... Ferrari Fiorano 355 F1 Spider

Now, for me, assuming you are working by hand, this would be the easiest/most effective process to use, but as you read those links, you can build and expand upon it.

1. Wash - High quality car wash, Gold Class is a good start. Good quality sponges ,towels, Two Bucket System, and Grit Guards.

2. Clay - Smooth Surface Clay kit. Buy an extra bottle of Quick Detailer as well.

3. ColorX - This is a great cleaner/wax that does the clean/polish/wax step all in one. Great for quick work.

4. Wax - Meguiars recomends two coats of wax, so a second coat of a regular wax is a good final step. I would recomend Nxt 2.0 or #21 Synthetic Sealant 2.0.

5. Maintain - Ultimate Quick Detailer is great to use to freshen things back up after future washes.

Hope that helps... or ask away some more...

[KAdams4458]

Re: Out with the old...

Well, I should probably mention that the vehicle I am most concerned with is the 2000 Sebring convertible I purchased recently. It's in my avatar. The paint of this car has been, over the course of its life, somewhat neglected. To make matters worse, the dealer I purchased the car from installed free-swirl marks at no extra charge right before I picked it up. The paint isn't bad at all, but it definitely has room for improvement.

I do own some power equipment, though neither of them are particularly great pieces of equipment, or really well suited to the paint on this vehicle. I have at my disposal a rotary and a random orbital. What I really need, I'd say, is a DA, but that will have to wait for a while. Until then, everything will be done by hand.

I'm particularly interested in wash methods. I have a bit of a problem, in that the only time I can bucket wash the car is when I visit a friend that lives about an hour away. I live in an apartment complex and the car stays in a garage under the building. I guess you could say that it's another reason why I will be doing most things by hand, because there aren't even any outlets down there. Bucket washing the car is also out of the question. To date, I've kept most of the grime knocked off of it by carefully using wash wands on the low pressure setting. I hate these things, and would love to learn a good way to keep the car relatively clean between the occasional bucket washes that require an hour-long drive.

i have actually read every one of those linked discussions, save for the last one. I have some good idea of what to do, but there are still a few details missing. I wonder, for example, when one uses Scratch-X, do the foam applicators need to be reserved specifically for use with the same product. In years past, I have actually colour coded towels and applicators depending on whether they were used for polish, wax, etc. To what extent is that necessary these days? See? So many questions, and so much reading and asking to do. It is rather overwhelming.

I just had a thought... I should photograph all of the detailing products I current have in my possession, just to see what you folks think of them. There may be some extra companion products that you all would suggest for this car, and I'd love to hear them.

[Murr1525]

Re: Out with the old...

1. The best way to wash would be to try and find a coin-op place that allowes buckets during off hours, or meet the owner and ask if you can bucket wash late night, etc. Other than that, hopefully another apt dweller will chime in.

2. As far as ScratchX, while you would likely want some on your shelf, I would not attepmt ScratchXing an entire car if I was going to get a DA in a few months.

3. As far as applicators, towels, during the detailing process, you would want to try and keep your applicator / towels dedicated to each product. But once you washed them, they can be used for whatever next time around.

4. As far as other products... Dont get us started on glass cleaners, tire dressings, trim dressings, metal polishes, interior products... You'll need more shelves.

[KAdams4458]

Re: Out with the old...

Heh heh heh!

Actually, I do want to get you all started on glass cleaner, tire dressings, etc. If it explains anything at all, I have in the past been known to go out and wash a car while it's raining, and if it started sleeting halfway through, I'd still finish the job. Anyway, I all ready have a lot of products, and I tend to buy in bulk for some strange reason. I mean, I have four full trigger bottles of #40 right now. I don't mind buying more products.

You're right. I really don't want to Scratch-X the entire car, but I might have to. Money isn't really what's keeping me from buying a DA right now. It's the fact that we're house shopping, and the less stuff I buy before we move in to a house, the less stuff I will have to move. Oh... I guess that means I should lay off of buying massive quantities of products, too. Err. Darn! Okay, I'll only buy one bottle of each thing I need. That'll work!

Okay, for now then, I'll pick up some clay and I'll try out a bottle of ColorX. That should afford the car a little more protection until I can give it a proper detailing once we're settled in to a house.

[Murr1525]

Re: Out with the old...

I often wash the car in the rain....

[KAdams4458]

Re: Out with the old...

I often wash the car in the rain....

Somehow, on this forum, I suspect we are not alone.

Let me share something here while it's on my mind. It's probably a good introduction for you all, especially since it's something I only just now learned about myself.

I was just going through some of the detailing products that I still have, and I found a box of stuff that I haven't actually laid eyes on in a long time. The box contains a number of various detailing products; some towels, a bottle of quick detailer, assorted waxes, a thoroughly dried out container of leather wipes, and a floor mat, to name a few things. Back in 2000, I bought my first and only brand new car, and I actually used to keep all of these things in a not-so-little box in the trunk. (Well, not the floor mat. That went on the floor under my feet, of course!) Not a day went by that I did not attend to that car, and it showed. Two years after I had purchased it, and over 40,000 miles later, it looked better than it did on the day that I took delivery of it.

Now, this box of stuff I just opened up is special for one particular reason. As I said, ordinarily I kept it in the trunk of the car, but one day I had removed it and the floor mat from the car, because the mat had a stain that I needed to clean off of it, and it was nearly dark outside. I spot-cleaned the mat, hung it up to dry, and went to bed. That night, as I slept, someone stole my car right out of the driveway. Four months passed before it was recovered, and the car ended up being a complete loss.

All of those detailing supplies I carried around with me and the floor mat ended up getting stuffed in a box and forgotten until now. Looking at all of it now, it's almost like I unintentionally made a shrine of some sort when I packed all of it together, separate from all of my other supplies. It's amazing to me how many memories have come back to me from simply unpacking that box.

What's really interesting to me is that while I have detailed plenty of vehicles since mine was stolen, and put plenty of my own cash in to various bottles of polishes and waxes, all of the cars I have worked on since then have always belonged to friends and family. Never once have I made any effort, or even been interested in so much as putting a coat of wax on one of my own. At least, not until I purchased the Sebring I now own. Think of it! Six years without doing much more than driving through an automatic car wash! Looking back, I realise that it wasn't so much because I didn't care about the appearance of my cars. Rather, I was just upset about losing something I had put so much effort and care in to years ago that I didn't see the point in doing any more than I had to. After all, some jerk could just show up and steal my car again. I disconnected myself, so to speak, from caring about my own vehicles, though I still enjoyed detailing those that belonged to others.

Anyway, I guess I'm done with that part of my life, now. Maybe it's because I finally bought the exact car that I wanted to buy eight years ago, but couldn't. Maybe it just took all this time for me to get over having my car, and all of my hard work, stolen and destroyed. I don't really know the reasoning behind it, but I do know that I'm back. For the first time in six years, I want my car in better-than-showroom condition, and darn it, I'm going to have it, even if I have to Scratch-X the entire car by hand to get it!

My poor wife, who met me well after my car was stolen, is probably going to begin to wonder what is wrong with me.

[Sydster]

Re: Out with the old...

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Out with the old...

to mol. Sorry to hear about the car being stolen years ago. Everyone has to go through a healing process when we lose someone or something meaning ful to us. Glad your process is coming full cycle and you want to detail your own vehicle again.

I have a 05 Sebring. In January of 07, I scratch-x the whole car. If you focus on a door one day, fender the next etc you get the job done. People may look at you like you are nuts. However the vehicle looks alot better.
Remember when you use the scratch-x put alot of passion behind the applicator. (elbow grease) Good luck.

[Mark2]

Re: Out with the old...

You really need some Optimum No Rinse or similar product to wash your car. You can spray most of the dirt off at a coin op and then do the final wash with ONR at home. Hint; look at autopia for this ,since Meguiars doesn't have a product like this yet.

[yalerd]

Re: Out with the old...

Hello and welcome to MOL!
Here you'll find a lot of information, it's a good way to start from the beginning.

[mattaleca]

Re: Out with the old...

I often wash the car in the rain....

Its a free rinse cycle. Plus I don't have to sweep the gutters when I'm done.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Out with the old...

Welcome to Meguiar's Online!

Just a friendly tip.. after the introduction thread, try to take your product and process questions one of the other forums, Detailing 101 if you're not sure where to post and start a new thread for the topic you're interested in.

How to write a great subject for your message!

The Number 3 - Try to limit the number of questions in a single message to three...

[Andy M.]

Re: Out with the old...

ME TOO

Andy
101impala

I often wash the car in the rain....