Newbie to detailing.

[mr_chin]

What polishing tool do you guys use?

I was looking at this and it's on sale right now.

Simoniz Sander & Waxer, 7 in. | Canadian Tire

Any tips to share before I start firing it at my car?

[gn02156668]

you may want to look for a Dual - action polisher instead ... such as Porter cable 7424 XP or Griot Garage random orbital polisher .

[gn02156668]

Did a Wash & Wax and further installed Opti Coat 2.0 on this brand new 2015 Subaru WRX.

This WRX is currently in stock setting but it's rims are upgraded to 17" STI rims with 245/ 45 / R17 summer tyres.

The vehicle was filled with road tar , brake dust and bird poops originally .... surprise !

It was foam cannoned and hand washed in the beginning, After that, it was clay clothed and wipe down with IPA alcohol.

After the IPA, the WRX was applied with Opti Coat 2.0 in order to enhance / protect the paint.

Enjoy !



Before



Before




Brake dust + roar tar



Foam cannoning




After OC 2.0

[mr_chin]

Originally Posted by gn02156668

you may want to look for a Dual - action polisher instead ... such as Porter cable 7424 XP or Griot Garage random orbital polisher .

I know dual actions are safer and better, but it's a small area I need to polish.

Anyone got tips to using non dual action polishers?

[Sunfighter]

Hi everybody - I'd like to polish/wax/detail my GF's 2010 white Honda Civic. It has never been done before and while the car is in great condition the paint is in desperate need of some love.

Any suggestions on where I can rent a dual-action polisher?

[RevYouUp]

Originally Posted by mr_chin

I know dual actions are safer and better, but it's a small area I need to polish.

Anyone got tips to using non dual action polishers?

You won't really be able to correct any imperfections with that simoniz thing, it'll probably be good for only applying wax. It's not great that's why it's always on sale. You should invest in a porter cable instead, it's amazing value and you basically get your money back by using it once as a detail job would cost about $200+

[gn02156668]

Did a 1 stage polish and installed Cquartz ceramic coating on this beautiful tracking machine which is powered by HBL Auto Sport.

The vehicle was in decent condition except it was filled with swirls and dents here & there.

We firstly foam cannoned the vehicle and hand washed it.

After that, it was clay clothed and a 1 stage polish was performed to correct the paint imperfection.

Once the vehicle was wiped down with IPA , we installed the most popular Cquartz ceramic coating on this tracking machine in order to prevent road tar / grime from sticking to the paint.




Foam cannoning in action





Agitating the truck tyres with solution , brown stuff is coming out



Before 1 stage polish



Before & After 1 stage polish



Before



After



During the process



After ceramic coating







Polished exhaust tip



Cleaned rims

Enjoy !

[gn02156668]

Did a 1 stage polish on this 1997 Mazda Miata from HBL Auto Sport in Richmond.

We firstly foam cannoned the vehicle in order to remove any loose dirt, After that, we hand washed and clay barred the vehicle.

There were numerous tar built up on the bottom panels and the vehicle was filled with swirls.


We performed a 1 stage polish very carefully and restored the paint successfully. The oxidized paint was removed and 60% of swirls were corrected.

After that, Cquartz Ceramic Coating was installed in order to enhance / protect the
paint.




Foam cannoning



Reaction of solution with the tyres



Before 1 stage polish



After 1 stage polish



Before & After







After installation of Cquartz





Soft top is protected as well






Enjoy !

[!Yaminashi]

Question regarding quick detailer for you guys: Does it harm the paint at all if you don't completely remove QD? I'm guessing it was formulated to not cause damage to paint.

Also when do you draw the line between "I should get this off with some QD + microfiber towels" and "it's been a few days since my last wash.
It's tough deciding between the two evils. Do you let whatever it is sit or risk scratching?

[syee]

Originally Posted by !Yaminashi

Question regarding quick detailer for you guys: Does it harm the paint at all if you don't completely remove QD? I'm guessing it was formulated to not cause damage to paint.

Also when do you draw the line between "I should get this off with some QD + microfiber towels" and "it's been a few days since my last wash.
It's tough deciding between the two evils. Do you let whatever it is sit or risk scratching?

Are you referring to the "waterless wash" product like Optimum No Rinse (and similar products) when you say quick detailer? I never remove QD (unless it's to slightly buff out the hazing it leaves behind). When I do use ONR, I'll give it a gentle wipe down with a water soaked microfibre though.

Honestly, when my car gets too dusty, I'll just take it down to the pressure wash bays and give it a quick hose down with their pressure washer. That usually removes 90% of the dust. I would think if you're picky, you could use ONR to clean up the other 10%.

[!Yaminashi]

When I say Quick Detailer I'm actually referring to products that say "Quick Detailer" on the bottle, but I believe I have read some people use diluted ONR as QD as well.

I never actually thought of doing that, a quick wipe with a soaked microfibre mitt + ONR would probably be effective than quick detailer + a MF towel.

I just struggle to determine whether it's worth wiping off whatever it may be if the car has some dirt on it. I tried ONR before and I wasn't completely convinced. It got the job done, yes, but did it do so without inflicting any scratching/swirling? I don't think so..

[gn02156668]

The sun was up and we attended this "Eggplant" STI with custom paint job today.

The vehicle was in good condition overall except it was filled with lots of water spots despite the paint was protected with ceramic coating already.

Further more , there were numerous high spots of the ceramic coating which the previous detailer forgot to wipe down.

Besides that, we did a polish polish on the rear right passenger door in order to remove some paint imperfection and further protected the paint with Cquartz coating.

We firstly foam cannoned the vehicle and proceeded to hand wash & clay bared the paint.

After that, we followed up and removed the high spots by using hand tool to polish the spots lightly in order not to remove too much coating which was installed previously.

The whole vehicle was then protected with a durable sealant to protect the ceramic coating.



foam cannoning





High spots from the ceramic coating were formed as the previous detailer did not wipe down the residue properly.



scratches / paint imperfection on the right



Before & After a light polish



Before & After, notice a cluster of swirls on the left



final result

[gn02156668]

Did a Wash & Clay bar on this mean looking 2015 STI and further protected it with Cquartz ceramic coating.

This STI was in good shape over all except it was filled with tar on the bottom of the vehicle and some clay bar residue was left on top of the roof by the previous detailer.

The vehicle was foam cannoned in the beginning and then it was hand washed and clay bared to remove embedded paint.

After that, the vehicle was wiped down with IPA and Cquartz was installed to enhance / protect the shininess of the paint.




Foam cannoning





Installing the ceramic coating



windshield / windows were cleaned and polished



After installation of ceramic coating









Rims were waxed for protection.

Spec of the vehicle:

Rims - Work Emotion 11R 18 x 9.5 ET38
Tyres - Michelin Pilot Super Sport 275-35-18
Coilover - Ohlins

[SupraTTturbo2jz]

anyone wanna post pics of all their detailing tools and supplies? I need a quick starter kit or something for getting rid of swirls, waxing, clay bar and buffing out touch up paint for the scratches i've been getting from rocks

[smoothie.]

wax free car wash
clay bar
orange and green pads
silicone free polish
dual action orbital
sealant
wax

[Gerbs]

So I decided i'm going to go beyond the wash and wax. I have ordered claybar, interior cleaning products and now i'm stuck on a polisher for the wax / polish.

Amazon.com: Meguiar's MT300 Pro Power DA Polisher: Automotive
http://www.amazon.ca/PORTER-CABLE-74.../dp/B002654I46

What polisher would you guys recommend? I figured it might be better to spend that 50 extra the first time than to regret not getting the better polisher for 50 more.

Also any metal polishers you guys recommend? My exhaust is completely black

[syee]

Originally Posted by Gerbs

So I decided i'm going to go beyond the wash and wax. I have ordered claybar, interior cleaning products and now i'm stuck on a polisher for the wax / polish.

Amazon.com: Meguiar's MT300 Pro Power DA Polisher: Automotive
http://www.amazon.ca/PORTER-CABLE-74.../dp/B002654I46

What polisher would you guys recommend? I figured it might be better to spend that 50 extra the first time than to regret not getting the better polisher for 50 more.

Also any metal polishers you guys recommend? My exhaust is completely black

I've never used the Megs so I couldn't really tell you anything about the experience. I did a quick Google search on it and the only thing that really sticks out is maybe the fixed counterweight that they used might cause some vibration if you use smaller/larger backing plate/pads.

I couldn't find any readily available specs on how many amps the motor is so I couldn't really compare it to the 7424. If you're just starting out, maybe the 7424 might be a bit more forgiving than something more high powered like a rotary or even a Flex.

The Meguiars forum seems to have a few threads about the MT300. Maybe see what people's opinions are of it.

As for metal polish, some of the guys on the detailing forums swear by Bar Keepers Friend I use Eagle One Never Dull and I'm pretty happy with it.

[Urrtoast]

You can use Megs Ultimate compound and Ultimate polish by hand as well for starters from Canadian tire

As for the Da Polisher or Polisher
I would recommend checking out these shops

Auto Obsessed - premium auto detailing supplies, auto detailing products, car care products
and
eShine Canada, Car, Wax, Polish, Polisher, Tire Dressings, Detailing Supplies, RV, Truck, Boat, Automotive, upholstery, marine, convertible, Microfiber

Ack 1st post

[SupraTTturbo2jz]

Originally Posted by smoothie.

wax free car wash
clay bar
orange and green pads
silicone free polish
dual action orbital
sealant
wax

that is quite a bit to purchase. How do I use them properly in sequence? I already have an orbital somewhere in my storage. Mostly what I want right now is to buff out my touch up paint and rid of swirls but not sure the proper use of all these products.

[smoothie.]

Leveling touch up paint is done by wet sanding.

You're wasting the clear coat around it if you're gonna buff it out

[syee]

Originally Posted by smoothie.

wax free car wash
clay bar
orange and green pads
silicone free polish
dual action orbital
sealant
wax

smoothie pretty much listed it in the right order. I probably wouldn't have went for both the orange and green pads as both are pretty aggressive but that's just my opinion. I usually go for an orange, white and black pad. Orange for aggressive cut on deeper scratches/swirls. I use the white for polish/jeweling, then the black for LSP application.

I don't really think there's all that much you can do with rock chips unless you touch up and wetsand. I probably wouldn't recommend it if you're still learning. Just touch it up the best you can.

What smoothie listed is pretty much the minimum. Maybe just get a good sealant instead of a sealant and a wax. Otherwise, everything else is pretty much required to do a decent detail job. The biggest cash outlay is going to be the polisher, backing plates, pads, etc. You can find good cheap polishes (like the Megs 105/205) for fairly cheap and waxes like Collinite 845 are quite affordable as well and perform well.

[Gerbs]

Anyone ever tried those cheap 10 dollar foam guns. Shop foam gun online - Buy foam gun for unbeatable low prices on AliExpress.com


Also, anyone know of any good deals on DA polisher atm.

[SupraTTturbo2jz]

Originally Posted by syee

smoothie pretty much listed it in the right order. I probably wouldn't have went for both the orange and green pads as both are pretty aggressive but that's just my opinion. I usually go for an orange, white and black pad. Orange for aggressive cut on deeper scratches/swirls. I use the white for polish/jeweling, then the black for LSP application.

I don't really think there's all that much you can do with rock chips unless you touch up and wetsand. I probably wouldn't recommend it if you're still learning. Just touch it up the best you can.

What smoothie listed is pretty much the minimum. Maybe just get a good sealant instead of a sealant and a wax. Otherwise, everything else is pretty much required to do a decent detail job. The biggest cash outlay is going to be the polisher, backing plates, pads, etc. You can find good cheap polishes (like the Megs 105/205) for fairly cheap and waxes like Collinite 845 are quite affordable as well and perform well.

hmm, are you familiar with using bondo? Would that help fill out the chips I have on my hood and bumper followed by touch up paint? The autobody shop that repaired my shattered glass ordered me matching touch up paint and gave me little paint brushes for touch up free of charge. Didn't want to ask them more advice though haha.

[syee]

Originally Posted by SupraTTturbo2jz

hmm, are you familiar with using bondo? Would that help fill out the chips I have on my hood and bumper followed by touch up paint? The autobody shop that repaired my shattered glass ordered me matching touch up paint and gave me little paint brushes for touch up free of charge. Didn't want to ask them more advice though haha.

Generally, you'd want the part you're touching up to be as level with the original paint as possible so the defect isn't as visible. I would think using Bondo to fill in the paint chip then painting over it would cause the touch up paint to be above the level of your paint which if you wet sanded, would end up removing your touch up and showing your Bondo anyways.

Touch up paint usually goes on fairly thick anyways so it should generally have enough paint on there to fill in a stone chip.

[gn02156668]

Did a Wash & Wax at a coin wash early in the morning. Since the vehicle is protected with Cquartz ceramic coating and it took only 40 mins to have the vehicle washed & waxed properly.

Best $2 I have ever spent ....



During wash



After last step product.