Polishes/wax

[Jonno34]

There are washes in between the claying n polishing n after the polishing mate

ive learned a ton from the FI forums since november of last year, and got a job at a detailer in Perth

[GD2ILA]

Hi everyone, i waxed the car today. it came out ok. i wax it every 3 months but i've got a question.

what is the proper steps of detailing eg. 1- wash car & dry the car 2- use clay bar 3- polish using??? 4- wax using??? 5- sealant using??? and this is done every 3months or 6months???

[Dani Boi]

Hi everyone, i waxed the car today. it came out ok. i wax it every 3 months but i've got a question.

what is the proper steps of detailing eg. 1- wash car & dry the car 2- use clay bar 3- polish using??? 4- wax using??? 5- sealant using??? and this is done every 3months or 6months???

1. Wash

2. Surface Prep

3. Clay (ONLY IF YOU NEED TO)

4. Polish

5. Protect

6. Maintain

You dont need to be using clay-bar every three months maybe once a year? or whenever the surface starts to feel rough (should feel smooth like glass). The length at which it will stay smooth to the touch is all dependant on where the car is parked etc.

Carnauba Waxes and sealants are different but offer the same thing, protection. Carnauba wax is natural, paint sealant is well synthetic (usually carnauba wax mixed with chemicals). Companies will label their product as a wax for your average Jo to walk in and go OK I need a wax and a polish when in fact he's actually buying a paint sealant and a polish. Read the back of some labels if you dont believe me, the majority that are labelled wax will say on the back it is infused with polymers etc to increase durability.

[Jonno34]

Damn! I wrote a massively detailed post on this thread .. it seems to have gone

Dani Boi has pretty much outlined it all though

But here's a more indepth one .. since ur cars so nice I'd take good good care of the paint

Firstly, you should be washing your paint once a week, just a simple wash and dry with a quick detailer or something .. shouldnt take more than 30-40 minutes

For more intensive details, this is how its done ..

1) Wash and dry

2) Clay Bar - this removes surface contaminants, giving you a smoother surface, and allows waxes/sealants to last longer and be applied easier imo

3) Wash and dry

4) Polish - if needed (By polish i mean a cutting compound) by either machine (if you have one) or by hand (if you've been working out for 10 years or more this is some hard work) this removes swirl marks and minor scratches in the surface and makes it shineeeeeeee

5) Wash and dry

6) Apply Sealant or Wax

The different types of sealants/waxes are as follows:

You can get fully synthetic sealants such as Final Inspection SEAL or SEAL STRONG which last 6 months to 2 years ... (depending on the product and the amount of layers you put on it and how well u maintain it). this gives the longest lasting protection.

Semi Synthetic waxes/sealants such as Meg's Tech Wax ... imo this lasts a good 2-3 months before i feel the urge to reapply

Pure carnauba waxes such as P21S waxes ... these are a bit expensive, but produce the best shine. however, its more difficult to apply from what i've heard.

7) After applying your wax/sealant of choice ... You should maintain it with weekly washes and if you so wish apply more wax (pure carnauba waxes only) or more sealant layers (if using FI products i dont know about other brands) .. semi synthetics such as megs tend to have cleaners in the wax which will remove old sealant/wax layers ... so rather pointless to try to layer this on top. You can also use a quick detailer instead of wax.

You will need to clay bar your car whenever the surface feels rough ... in my situation with my cars left outside a fair amount of the time, this takes about 6 months ... but thats with weekly washes also, if you dont maintain you're probably gonna need to do it more often!

Polishing with a cutting compound .. imo every year or two is fine depending on how badly you induce swirl marks .. which depends on how good ur wash procedure is!

each time you clay or polish you will remove most if not al of your wax and sealant and need to reapply!

If you want more detailed info on what products to use or wash procedures etc pm me

[ARTZ]

I have usually always used carnuba my cars, Mothers california gold to be exact, an oldie but a goody

I decided to try a synthetic spray sealant for a change cause applying carnuba wax is a pain, and have noticed that dust seems to attract and stick to it alot..i never had this problem with the carnuba wax.

Is this normal or maybe just the product Im using. The bead is amazing, It does give a very nice silky finish and the finish is still there after washing but I literally had to scrub to get this dust buildup off in some places..Also after washing the dust doesnt buildup as bad again, its just after the intial application.

Any idea??

[ARTZ]

ooops..DP

[Jonno34]

In my experiences spray waxes such as meguiars quick wax are really easy to use ...

I've never had problems with dust on my surfaces ..

Maybe you had some leftover wax or something on those spots and the dust stuck to it?

It seems a bit strange .. if your wax is difficult to remove maybe try clay barring the car?

Not a problem I've come across before man, maybe next time it happens take a few pictures and send it across?

[ARTZ]

yeah, it hasnt happened again since I rewashed them it was just the first time..i will reapply another coat of sealant this weekend if its not raining and see if it does it again.

[GD2ILA]

Dani boi & Jonno34 thanks for info and help.

[Jonno34]

No prob's mate Keep the car looking good!

i'll be putting up a post on detailing in the next few days

[rawzz_v35]

hi guys,

im bit of a noob and need some suggestion on detailing my car... since its got swirl marks i was thinking of using meguiars scratchX to get rid of them... then polish it with meguiars pure polish... and may be use carnuaba wax or sealant for protection... any suggestions??

and i have few questions....

1.do i need to wash the car after using scratchX before polishing.... do i have to do it straight away after scratchX or should i leave it overnight (i learned that swirl removing takes time)....??

2. should i leave the car overnight after polishing before waxing it or do i wax it straight after and do i have to wash the car in between??

3.any suggestions for good sealants?? is it the same thing as glaze??

any ideas and suggestions will be much appreciated..

cheers

[rawzz_v35]

...

Edited June 9, 2011 by rawzz_v35

[Jonno34]

rawz : okk In my opinion scratch X is useless as are most hand polishes in removing swirl marks, unless you have a TON of time, muscle, and infinite amounts of polish. the gains you get for the amount of time you spend is pretty crap.

also, scratch X is basically a polish/cutting compound, so i dont think theres any need to go over it with the pure polish.

in regards to carnauba/sealant

carnauba is harder to work with, and doesnt last as long or give as much protection, but is far more glossy

sealants are easier to apply, last ages, and give tons of protection, but arent as glossy, but there are tons of quick detailers etc you can put on top to improve the gloss of them

swirl removing doesnt take time to occur unless maybe you're using a "filling" compound which isnt very good, and after awhile the swirls will just come back anyway i dont have any experience with these kinds of products since in my mind they arent very good so i just went straight to real paint correction work.

Yes, after polishing you will need to wash the car to remove any dust/residue from the polish before waxing it.

you can wax the car straightaway after the polish

check out www.finalinspection.com.au - get Seal Strong or regular Seal depending on what you want and your budget

glazes are completely diferent to sealants, glazes i think just make your paint more shiney haha

if you want to remove swirl marks with a hand polish i recommend P21S hand polish, but it will be far more effective with a machine such as the bosch gex 150 turbo or a festool rotex

PM me if you need more info ... however I made a page on detailing .. ill post the link up in a sec

[Jonno34]

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/topic/365785-detailing-1101/page__p__5837865__hl__detailing+1101__fromsearch__1#entry5837865

hope that helps you mate, again PM me if you need more information or check out the finalinspection forums - i learnt most of what I know from there and work!

also just noticed you live in VIC .. why not drop by the FI Store - damians great and will help you out with what you need .. or maybe you can get him to do the paint correction!

[rawzz_v35]

Thanks a lot jonno... I ll have look at you post and finalinspection forums in a second......

[Jonno34]

np mate, good luck with ur detailing! post up some pics of your results when you're done

[GD2ILA]

detailed the slk today came out ok i guess for the amount of effort.

[GD2ILA]

detailed the slk today came out ok.

[GD2ILA]

detailed the slk today came out ok.

[Jonno34]

that looks great mate!

what products did you end up using?

Ill post up pics of my skyline in a few weeks time

Ordered a Bosch GEX150turbo + FI's CAP range of polishes

Already got seal and claybars from other details

Will post up the results of a 2 stage machine polish on my 34