First wash a DISASTER. Please help...

Junkman2008

And how. There are so many things wrong here but I'll wait until the OP ask for my opinion.

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"Marines - Making the other guy die for his country for over 200 years."

Super Tanooki

Fire away...

Junkman2008

Man! I feel like Robocop when they terminated his 4th prime directive preventing him from arresting any senior executive of OCP. Now I can take the gloves off!

Okay Tanooki, I can see that you have been reading some detailing threads by the fact that you bought two buckets. Don't buy anything else until you have done some research of the correct caliber. You know how they say "practice makes perfect?" The correct saying is "perfect practice makes perfect." If you are repeating a incorrect approach, you will experience what you are experiencing.

Let's start with those two buckets you bought. Great for carrying water around in but they are the last things that I would use to wash my car. The reason why is that your two buckets are missing the most important thing that a two bucket wash process must have in order to SAFELY wash your car and those are Grit Guards.

It does you no good to use a two bucket system if your soap and rinse water has dirt in it that you continuously disturb every time you stick your mitt into them. The Grit Guards are what prevents this from happening, along with the practice of using two buckets. I did a thread about the Grit Guards and the Grit Guard buckets and how they work. I suggest that you take a look at that thread so that you can get a thorough understanding of the importance of using them.

Next, let's address those towels and that Chamois or "shammy". First, the shammy. There is one major problem with those and that is, not all Chamois are authentic. Everything that you will find in the big box and auto stores are usually made in China crap consisting of goat or pig skin, instead of being made from the actual Chamois, a goat-antelope species native to mountains in Europe, including the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, the European Alps, the Tatra Mountains, the Balkans, parts of Turkey, and the Caucasus.

Now I didn't remember that off the top of my head, I had to look that up!

Anywho, if you think that what you are getting in a auto store is high grade and cost a lot, those prices and quality are nothing compared to the cost of real Chamois, which is often used in the glove making industry. For example, a 40x60cm piece of real Chamois will run you around $50 US. But man, they make some of the best driving and golf gloves that you will ever put your hands into. I paid $60 for my Chamois golf gloves.

That China made junk is garbage and will scratch up your paint. I used enough of it in the 80's to know first hand.

The same goes for the microfiber towels that you purchased. If you look at the tags on them, you will see that they were made in China. Totally garbage. When I bought my car from the first owner, he told me that the only thing he ever used to dry the car with was those fancy microfiber towels that he bought at Auto Zone. Here's what the car looked like the day I bought it:



Concentrate on the door where the sun is hitting it. Do you see all those hideous scratches and swirls? That looks like utter crap! This is the bliss that a lot of car owners live in. Those cheap, made in China towels are NOT what you want touching your car. They will scratch the paint to hell and back. It doesn't happen with the first use, it happens over time. Those scratches will always be in your paint if you continue to use those towels you bought.

Now I never bag on a product without recommending a alternative. I have found two towels which are worth their weight in gold. The Adam's Single Soft Microfiber Towel and the Zaino Borderless Blond Towel. You cannot go wrong with either towel. These are two of the best towels on the market.

Now let's address your product choice. Since you purchased Meguiar's, I will assume that Meguiar's is the brand you want to use. I will not attempt to change your mind, however, I will educate you on the product of your choice.

Meguiar's has an excellent line of products, some of which I use in my very own garage. You on the other hand, did not purchase any of them. As a matter of fact, what you purchased was from the junk line that Meguiar's sells. Here's the deal.

Meguiar's has two separate lines of product. One line will say "Meguiar's" on the bottle (what you bought). That is their consumer line. It is priced aggressively compared to the other products that sit beside it on the shelves at the big box and auto stores. That is their watered down, containing fillers line. That is what I call garbage.

Then there is their professional line. It will say "Mirror Glaze" on the label. This product IS NOT sold in big box or auto stores. The only place that you can get it is online, at professional body shop outlets or at a Mirror Glaze distributor. This is the stuff you want to be using if you are going to use the Meguiar's line. It ain't cheap and it is not conveniently located (unless you have a Mirror Glaze distributor in your city like I do). ANYTHING from their professional line is going to be an outstanding product. You have a multitude of products to choose from within that line and for a novice, this can be not only confusing, but daunting at the same time. That is the main reason that I don't use it as a teaching tool. Novices get totally lost in all the different products. That is also why I use Adam's, and use it as a teaching tool. It is as simple as these videos.

Now there are people who use the consumer line products from Meguiar's and feel that they are a lot better than I give them credit for. At the same time, I'm sure you've had a friend who swore that some woman he saw was fine as hell but once you laid eyes upon her, you were looking for the nearest grocery bag. All of that is to say this. Anyone can tell you that their paint looks better than showroom on the Internet. They can even post a 20' shot of their car and make it look gorgeous. But until you can walk up to their car and stick your nose down in the paint, you will really never know if what they say is true or not. That's why I will set the bar at what I call perfect paint so that you and I are on the same page.

Here's a car that looks like it is ready for a trip across the stage at Barrett-Jackson. At first glance, this is a dream.



But when you actually walk up on the paint and stick your nose in it, this is what you see:





It's about as bad as when they turn the lights on at closing time in a strip club, allowing you actually see what the strippers really look like.

Now using the process that you saw in the videos that I linked to earlier, this is what half of that car looked like when I finished with it:






As you can see, my idea of perfect paint is little more extreme than most. You are not going to get those kinds of results with the stuff you purchased. You kinda wasted your money there but hey, we all had to learn including me. Mind you, I started back in the early 80's so I've been through a lot of garbage products.

I'll leave you with two images of my paint. From 10 feet:



...and from 10 inches:



The result is the same. Flawless.

I await your questions.

__________________
"Marines - Making the other guy die for his country for over 200 years."

Cmike2780

1-Its unnecessary to use detail spray before you apply as so long as the surface is clean. Polish to remove swirls and contaminants. I use detail spray to remove the haze after applying wax or polish.

2. It's good to wax every 3-6 months. The synthetic waxes tend to last on longer side. A good soap that doesnt remove the wax goes a long way.

3. You polish when necessary. To correct paint imperfections like swirls and scratches. Do not make polishing a weekend ruotine. You only have so much clear coat to work with. Just apply a new coat of wax when all you need is protection. Polishing essentially removes a very thin layer of the clear coat to give you that smooth finish. Polish is like ultra fine sandpaper.

4. Swirl x is a polish and works the same as any other polish. There are varying degrees of polishes from coarse to ultra fine. You must apply in stages and use the least amount (finest grit) required to correct the paint. You always end with an ultra fine polish before applying new wax. Clay as much as you want. That wont damage the paint so long as you use plenty of detail spray and a freshly washed surface. Clay bar only removes stuff stuck on the surface and has no abrasives to remove clear coat.

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[09][MB][6-Spd MT][Touring][Stillen Gen III][K&N][Borla CBE][Evo-R]

Super Tanooki

Invaluable information, Cmike, thanks a lot man. As you can tell, I'm new to the more intricate details of paint care. With my previous cars I just washed them. No extra care.

But the Z is my baby.

dad

Wipe the polish off before it drys. Roof first-put the polish on, wipe it off before it drys. The do the hood, same as the roof. Do the car in sections. Polish a section --- but wipe off, before it drys(if it drys a little, it's no big deal). Make sure to rotate your cloth. Buff it a little, you'll see the shine. After that wax the whole car.

__________________

We can do without any article of luxury we have never had; but once obtained, it is not in human nature to surrender it voluntary.

Super Tanooki

Thanks, erm... Dad. I'd have probably done that wrong, too.

EDIT: What's the best cloth to use for polishing?

dad

The ones in the photo look Ok, you'll need maybe 8-10, but thats only because your polishing and/plus waxing.

__________________

We can do without any article of luxury we have never had; but once obtained, it is not in human nature to surrender it voluntary.

Cmike2780

Nice Write up as always junkman. It's tough giving advice without coming off as a sales pitch isnt it.

Also, be it megs, Adams or whatever brand. It's best not to mix different products. Don't apply a coat of Adam's wax over the NXT wax for example without removing th old wax first.

OP, I would leave any type of polishing to the pro's if your not comfortable or don't have the proper tools. At the very least, practice on an old crappy car. Any friends or family member wouldn't mind a free detail.

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[09][MB][6-Spd MT][Touring][Stillen Gen III][K&N][Borla CBE][Evo-R]

Junkman2008

You are so right!

I 100% agree with this. The chemist who have developed these products have already done the guess work as far as what product works best with what product. Staying within a family line of products is always the best route to go as you don't have to worry about any adverse reaction between brands, whether you can actually see the reaction or not. Very solid advice.

I would say that he would be okay if he picked up a PC. It is very hard to do damage to paint with a PC unless you just flat out beat the car with it. Safest machine on the planet that actually will do something.

OP, there are quite a few professional grade brands out there to choose from. Just choose a professional grade product and give yourself a fighting chance. I can unplug you from the Matrix and open the door, but you are the one who has to walk through it.

__________________
"Marines - Making the other guy die for his country for over 200 years."

Forrest

Like I said I don't know any thing about SwirlX or polishing by hand.
Quick search got me this: Car Polishers & Car Polish: Car Polishing For a Show Car Shine
"It is no longer possible to effectively polish and wax your car by hand. The simple reason is that modern car paint finishes, since about year 2000, are very hard and durable."
I kind of assume you will do more damage then good, while maintaining quite impressive forearms from all the rubbing hahahaha.


If I were to polish I would find a tried and tested method of polishing. For me Junkman posted a tried and tested method with video steps. I use the Adams line of polishes and quite a few of there products. I am a big fan of Adam's Invisible Undercarriage Spray. But I did not buy the 400 dollar package. You can pick and choose what ever items you want from where ever to save cash.

Read my guide on Zaino, You dont have to use Zaino but it will help you with some techniques.

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my pictures http://www.the370z.com/members/forrest-albums-370z.html

Super Tanooki

Thanks for all your help, peeps. This is a really good thread for complete newbies. I have myself a shopping list and I'll be happier knowing I'm doing things right.

^_^

kenchan

tanooki- i just saw your thread and didn't read the entire thread, but those buckets you got are too small! hahaha. you need minimum 5 gallon capacity and place grit guard on the bottom.

i personally use two griot's buckets with casters. has a grill on the bottom as well. great tool.

Junkman2008

You should check out the whole thread. He's straight now.

__________________
"Marines - Making the other guy die for his country for over 200 years."

Cmike2780

Fancy bucket you got there. Where's the cupholders?

__________________

[09][MB][6-Spd MT][Touring][Stillen Gen III][K&N][Borla CBE][Evo-R]