Which dual action polisher do you have?
Car Detailing Thread
Here’s an F150 I did a day before the hurricane arrived. Never been cleaned since bought. I’ll save the details but the leather interior was not that color when I started. Exterior finished with yet again Adams Graphene.
I would let you detail mine.... excellent work!
Meguiar's - I've had it about 10 years so I'm not sure of the exact model number, but it's basically the porter-cable unit.
Nice work! I love how some time and effort can transform a vehicle!
Depends on how bad it is. I detailed my 2014 about 6 months before I traded it, and it had never been cleaned in 6 years. I had it Krowned every year, so a lot of dust and road grime collected on everything. I started out by putting garbage bags over the motor before spraying Castrol super clean on the underside of the hood. Merely rinsing it with garden hose pressure pulled off 6 years of dirt - no scrubbing whatsoever!
I followed up by spraying down the motor and rinsing with an open ended garden hose. Modern motors can handle water, it's when you use a pressure washer or similar that you can start pushing moisture past the seals. When in doubt err on the light side, you can always do a second pass. Oh and I use a leaf blower to eliminate most of the standing water once I've rinsed.
I think it is about time for the fall decontamination and waxing
RatFink
Carnivore
Haven't had a chance to read the whole thread - but any tips/tricks on dealing with a Matte paint job? The Challenger I have on the way has a matte hood... am I better off putting a 3M wrap on it?
Yep I feel the same. I do it all by hand mostly. Take your time and use the right stuff. Degreaser is key of its really dirty. This is a restored PU from a friend I’ve done. Granted the engine was rebuilt but I’ve cleaned it twice So far.
Mark_UK
Legal Alien
It’s been quite a while since I’ve done some proper paint correction, over 10 years, but the guy that owned this car before me was clearly clueless about how to wash a car as every panel was heavily swirled. A little bit of me died every time I saw the car in the sun or under a street light. Had to watch a few videos to see what was out there and eventually settled on correcting with Griots Garage Complete Compound with a medium cut pad. I did buy some Sonax Perfect Finish, but with weather coming in, I wanted to make sure I had some kind of protectant on the paint. Plus the Griots did such a great job it didn’t really need finishing polish IMO. Protection was Turtle Wax Flex Wax with Graphene. Turtle Wax used to be stuff you used if you wanted to make the car look nice, but didn’t really care about product. They’ve upped their game. This stuff gets great reviews online, is super easy to use - wipe on, wipe off, no cure time and no need to wait before exposing to the elements - and gives a great glossy wet finish. Light has been a bit crap today, but I’ve tried to capture the finish the best I can.
Before, horrible swirl marks
After. I was aiming for about 90% correction, which I think I probably got
Before, horrible swirl marks
After. I was aiming for about 90% correction, which I think I probably got
Looks really good!!! How are the arms feeling? lol
I can't believe how bad those swirl marks were, typically I can't see them in pictures but they were there plain as day. Really good before and after pics!!
Mark_UK
Legal Alien
Arms are ok. Lower back felt it a bit and it took a while for my fingers to stop tingling LOL. Yeah, it was bad. I get not everyone has the wants to go through the whole 2 bucket method when cleaning the car, but this guy must have used a scouring pad!
leftyrighty
Well-known member
Ok so I know I will probably hear something about this but I use auto car washes. It's helpful in the winter and when the weather is nicer I just don't spend the time. My car wash just recently got total redone and everything seems really nice. I did notice today some small swirling down in the bottom black part (see pictures). Don't remember seeing this previously but I'm guessing it's from the tire cleaner portion which seems a little aggressive from the sound of it.
Anyway in the black portion at the bottom there are micro swirls it looks like and I'm curious what I could use to get those out and protect it. I'd need something fairly user friendly.
Anyway in the black portion at the bottom there are micro swirls it looks like and I'm curious what I could use to get those out and protect it. I'd need something fairly user friendly.
Attachments
leftyrighty
Well-known member
I will also note the bottom black part is probably fiberglass so I am not sure if I should use a different product to buff this out? It is just odd. I see no swirls on my regular white paint and my rims are painted black and they show no swirling either.
Any suggestions?
I would just start with a basic clay bar or clay bar and go from there. You be surprised how much that clean stuff up. Personally I use a “clay” pad from griots which is much easier to work with and lasts longer. That and some sort of clay lube to help lube when claying. See how that goes.
Just finished this one last week. Been trying to get this truck done for months. 1984 GMC Jimmy. This was a foam wash, clay, RUPES compound/polish and finished off with Adams advanced Graphene spray. It’s kind of a daily driver so it’s not perfect but it came out so good. Guy loved it.
my parchment leather (read white) is dirty... I have tried a few products, but nothing really working to restore the crisp and clean....
thoughts?
thoughts?
Have another golf buddy that has the same issue. This is what I use on interiors for leather and such. It’s strong but safe. I use a horse hair brush and just do light agitation. Being hard on it doesn’t help. Depending on how much you dilute it you can use pretty much anywhere.
Koch Chemie Pol Star (Po) - 1 L
Koch Chemie Pol Star is a neutral cleaner with a protective formula for leather, alcantara and textile. It helps to remove dirt from deep in the fibers by fine-pored foam lamellas.
www.kochchemietexas.com
leftyrighty
Well-known member
Ok didn't realize clay bars could work on fiberglass...or at least what I think is fiberglass. I will get that and give it a try
leftyrighty
Well-known member
@Motopilot so after trying the clay bar I think I am going to give a basic attempt at some detailing on the car once it warms up a bit here. I started to notice "rail dust" in the paint and used the clay bar to clean that up. So time to put some wax on it to hopefully slow that down for a while.
So question with using a clay bar. I will clean the car and then clay bar. I want to put some sort of spray ceramic wax on it (something easy). Do I need to rinse the car again before spray waxing? Just thinking of the clay luber spray that will be on the paint.
Any suggestions on easiest ceramic spray wax?
You should really wash it again after claying at minimum. Ideally it would be time to polish after claying as the claying can mar and cause swirls in the finish.
leftyrighty
Well-known member
Yikes so it would go wash, clay, wash, polish then spray wax?
some people use a spray just to wipe it down prior to polish. In case you left anything behind. But yes afterwards you would need to apply after clay. It made a big difference didn’t it? Sprays work great but they do not last very long. If you are looking for a compound / polish I recommend the RUPES. Been using this for 1.5 years and love it. The larger bottle is a compound/polish. The smaller has a protectant in it. as you can see I use 90% of the time the larger bottle as then I’ll apply a coating of some kind. The smaller I use on car that needs a basically polish / wax. They both have their place. I like the ease to apply and take off these items as well. And no I’m not paid for these items, they just really work well for me. Post so,e pics when you are done.
