Beginner help please
 

i am looking to buy a buffer, pads and everything i need to detail my black 370z myself. People just want to much money to detail a car when i can learn myself and dont have rely on others. Can anyone that is expedienced with my question please lead me in the right direction. Thanks

www.detailersdomain.com

Not only can you buy all your products here, but the prices are good and each product has a detailed description of what it does and how to use it.

You'll need:

- microfiber towels
- a bucket
- a grit guard for the bottom (optional but i suggest it)
- a good wool mitt
- some decent soap

That's just to wash it. If you want to get farther into the actual detailing and polishing like you mentioned, you'll need to (just doing basics here):

- strip the paint of all wax/polish/sealant with some dishwashing detergent (joy/dawn)
- clay bar the paint (or use a buffer product) to pull embedded debris out of the paint, as this will cause swirling when you buff
- get an orbital polisher and a variety of pads and some polishes. the buffing will take out light scratches. if your fingernail can catch on the scratch, it's most likely too deep for polish and will require more experienced care to correct.

Polishing is not something that you just "do". You pick the correct product and the correct pad to do the job. Check out the links as far as the pads go and read the descriptions. If it's a light cutting pad, the pad is created to take out very light scratches. Medium cutting means it's created to take out a medium scratch- note that none of these scratches are down to the paint- they're only scratches that mar the clear coat.

A light buffling bad for wax or sealant would be used for... wax and sealant :) Generally, one bad should be used for one product if you can.

Let's say you have a light scratch or your car has a bunch of light scratches (swirls) that you can see under sunlight. The process would be:

- Wash the panel completely with a detergent soap to remove all car care products like sealants and waxes
- clay bar it to pull dirt and debris out of the paint (it should feel smooth when you run a latex gloved hand over it
- use your polisher to buff out the swirls. check out the junkman's youtube for a ton of information as far as proper use and application of these tools and products
- once the paint looks great, seal it. this is kind of like a hardcore wax that makes the paint shine. i like wolfgang's deep gloss paint sealant.
- once the sealant has cured (Read the bottle), apply a wax to protect the paint. many people think that wax is there to keep the paint "shiny"- it's not. it's there to create a temporary barrier against the elements. i just use some bobo meguiars stuff from autozone for this. i don't really care about the wax much.

that's your paint.

for wheels, i use:

- sonax to decontaminate/clean
- zaino tire gloss for a natural coat that doesn't sling or pick up dirt

lastly, i use some finishkare 425 over the entire car (including wheels) as a detail spray.


it doesn't help to read a detailing forum like over on autogeek or detailer's domain to check out some of the how-to's or detailing breakdowns that a lot of pro detailers post.

hope this helps.

Great advice cheshire.

I use a Porter Cable 7424XP and Adam's Polishes products along with a few from Meguires and Swissvax. For polishing, I use Meguire's 105 & 205 or the Adam's polishing lineup. They have a ton of great detailing videos. The shine comes from polishing, so this is by far the most crucial step if you want to remove any swirls or imperfections in the paint. It doesn't matter what color your car is, polishing works the same way. It's basically smoothing out the clear coat. As such, you only have a limited amount to work with. This is why you should stick to a dual action polisher, like the groits or porter cable. It's pretty safe to use with some basic common sense. Stay away from rotary polishers unless you know what you're doing.

Wax or sealants protect the newly polished finish from the elements. Wax usually refers to natural Carnauba. They usually don't last as long, but create a "deeper" shine, especially noticeable on a black car. Sealants usually refer to synthetic formulas. They last longer but don't look as good as a high quality carbauba IMO. They last about 6 months between applications as opposed to about 2-4 months for wax. A lot of variations in quality for both waxes and sealants, so it's really a matter of personal choice. I use Adam's Americana or Swissvax Onyx.

Check out this other site as an alternative.

We Are Car Care -- Car Wax, Car Polish, Auto Detailing Supplies, Car Buffers & Car Accessories Store

Thanks for the info, Mike.

I also use a PC 7424. I'm looking into getting the new Rupes unit, though- they're supposed to be pretty amazing.

Get's some popcorn, set aside two hours and watch these videos. You don't have to spend all that much money to achieve what you want. The thread is a sticky so it's easy to find. :tiphat:

I linked your channel in my reply. Excellent and easy to follow instructions for anyone who wants to get into detailing. :)

The only thing I really hate about the PC is the handle.

I was thinking of upgrading to a Flex polisher, but the PC does more than I really need.

Thank you sir. :tiphat:

If you notice, I NEVER use the handle. You can remove it and put a bolt in its place to hold the black plastic on the polisher.

If you're thinking about upgrading, Rupes is the only way to go.

I wouldn't consider the Flex or the Rupes polisher an upgrade. I would consider them a compliment to the PC. You can do more with the PC than both of those polishers combined, it just takes longer. The most important thing about the PC is you are not removing more clear coat than necessary when all you need is a touch up of your paint. In terms of upgrading, less is more with these three polishers.

Thanks guys helped alot ordered a few things online and ready for the summer to get my baby shinning I appreciate it

A flex polisher would give me faster results and with better ergonomics, so in my opinion, I would consider that an upgrade over a PC. You know as well as I, that technique is everything. You can technically removed more clear than necessary with a PC if used incorrectly. By that same token, you can achieve the same level of repair with the Flex polisher without taking more clear than necessary.... if done correctly. I guess my point is, speed has nothing to do with the end result. The PC is technically safer since it's not correcting as fast, but the Flex would allow me to tackle heavy corrections in a lot less time than a PC.

You are EXACTLY correct. The speed of either polisher is not what makes them safe or dangerous. It is the fact that they Flex and Rupes polisher both have direct rotation that CANNOT be bogged down or stopped. That rotation is measured in RPM's, just as a true rotary polisher is. With that in mind, the Flex and the Rupes will remove more clear coat than the PC by design, no matter what technique you use. It is inevitable by the design of both machines.

That's not the case with the PC because of the free floating spindle design. You can completely stop the rotation and thus, the amount of clear coat than can be removed is limited. As you brought up, that's why it takes so long to get any major work done with the PC. Light work on the other hand is a breeze with a solid technique.

That's why I say that both polishers compliment each other by offering you a choice as to how much work you are trying to get accomplished.

Right, the Flex and the Rupes will remove more clear coat than the PC per pass, but all that means is a shorter time polishing. You make it sound like it's impossible to do light work with Flex. The way I see it, it's like driving a 1/4 mile in a Prius vs driving a 1/4 mile in a GT-R....same finish line, half the time.

I'm not even knocking the PC, and like I said it's a great tool for most of what I need. I just don't think owning both would be much of a compliment since there is a 95-100% overlap from an end result point of view.

Or, you can look at it as removing more clear coat than necessary. Whenever I touch up my paint, all it takes is ONE pass with the PC, a light polish and the white pad. One pass with that combination fixes whatever damage I may find. That same pass with the Flex or the Rupes is going to remove MORE clear coat than the PC will. With the work time being equal, using a more powerful machine not only offers no advantage, it removes more clear coat than necessary. If you are needing the power of something like the Flex to do light work on your paint AFTER you have completely corrected it, then there is something flawed in your paint maintenance process.

For heavy work, I agree. For light work, the PC is a smarter choice when considering the preservation of your clear coat.

You kinda lost me there but but I think the rule of using the least aggressive method to repair you paint damage when it is not severe is basically the rule of thumb that I always preach. You can always buff more clear off the car but you can't buff it back on.

Supposedly the Rupes is pretty awesome because of the larger throw of the orbit. I guess it moves more, therefore it can do more work in the same amount of time?

I dunno but the praise is pretty universal. Damn expensive, though.

I'm not a professional but I can understand why pros like it- time is money for them and anything that can save time (like the nanoskin autoscrub over a claybar) = money for them.

When it comes to effectiveness, I can see what you guys are talking about. They basically do the same thing, right?

When talking about the Rupes polisher, why is the amount of "throw" so important? It's all simple math, really. If you have one machine with 10mm throw, and another with 20, then it means you get twice the polishing action in the 20 versus 10 when working the same sized area for the same amount of time. Most DA polishers on the market are in the 8-10mm range of throw, whereas the Rupes polishers are 15 and 21.

For someone in business where time is money, this is important. If you're just a weekend warrior fixing only your car, it's really a waste of money.

One thing about the detailing arena is that you'll see a lot of people buying stuff on hype rather than need or common sense. It's like these people who buy carbon fiber panels for their car, every kind of horsepower upgrade that they can find and the most expensive tires for racing, Then they cruise the car to car shows once a month and the car never sees the track. I just shake my head and laugh. To me, that's like marrying Halle Barry and making her sleep in another room. :confused: