[ember1205]

I've picked up some Meguiar's Gold Shampoo and Conditioner wash. Planning on a deeper clean over the weekend but don't have the rest of the things that I need yet to get into polishing and such. Still looking for input there on products and process.

[EJR8402]

Originally Posted by ember1205

I've picked up some Meguiar's Gold Shampoo and Conditioner wash. Planning on a deeper clean over the weekend but don't have the rest of the things that I need yet to get into polishing and such. Still looking for input there on products and process.

I like Lake Country pads, and use them with my PC7424. Like a lot of pads, the color indicates the level of abrasiveness. They can be had at www.autogeek.net, and I'm sure other places.

Polishing is all about finding the pad/polish combination that is no more aggressive than needed to correct the defect(s). You start with the most aggressive combination that you've chosen, then work your way gradually down in aggressiveness/abrasiveness. The chart below provides a good comprehensive list of various polishes by various manufacturer's/labels in order of abrasiveness.

https://www.autopia.org/Todd-Helme/polish-chart.jpg

You might try watching some youtube videos or reading some tutorials online. Here's one from Mike Phillips @ Autogeek:

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by EJR8402

I like Lake Country pads, and use them with my PC7424. Like a lot of pads, the color indicates the level of abrasiveness. They can be had at www.autogeek.net, and I'm sure other places.

Polishing is all about finding the pad/polish combination that is no more aggressive than needed to correct the defect(s). You start with the most aggressive combination that you've chosen, then work your way gradually down in aggressiveness/abrasiveness. The chart below provides a good comprehensive list of various polishes by various manufacturer's/labels in order of abrasiveness.

https://www.autopia.org/Todd-Helme/polish-chart.jpg

You might try watching some youtube videos or reading some tutorials online. Here's one from Mike Phillips @ Autogeek:

Thanks for the response here.

I've actually watched a few of the Autogeek videos, including this one (which doesn't really discuss much - the others were better suited to what I was after). I'm a big consumer of YT content once I've been able to validate that it's the sort of content I am after.

You stated "You start with the most aggressive combination that you've chosen, then work your way gradually down in aggressiveness/abrasiveness."

That seems incorrect to me. I would expect to start with the LEAST aggressive combo that would be targeted toward my needs and then work my way UP until I achieve the results I'm after. Starting with something more aggressive than I actually need would cause more "harm" than necessary to achieve a result.

For example: Targeting some light water spotting has lighter needs than having to correct three years of so-so washing habits that cause a lot of swirls. If I start with something aggressive enough for swirls, I would be taking off more clear coat than necessary just to alleviate some light water spots. No?

The other thing I'm completely lost on right now is literally "where to start." The car sat on the dealer's lot for around 9 months. Rain, snow, sun, wind, etc. Now, it has additional water spotting due to being washed with well water. I want to get the paint as clean as I reasonably can (I'm not looking for perfect because it isn't a show car) so that I can seal it and have a more intelligent overall way of keeping it clean and in good shape. So, what do I potentially target in terms of a level of abrasiveness in a polish? Pad? Combo?

It's sort of like telling someone that they should be a saw if they need to cut something without considering the type of material, the quality of cut necessary, the thickness of the material, etc.

[Glen e]

The greatest thing about a least aggressive policy is you can always do it again, and again, and again if you need to… Whereas if you go heavy you’ve already made a commitment. So just start out with this
get a medium pad
set the polisher at medium speed, put 6 to 8 dots and rub it in on the pad and a few dots on a 2 x 2 section of the car like the hood.
Go up-down-side to side twice slowly , wipe it off and see if it looks better. That’s all there is to it. I use a couple pads per car. Usually changing around the back bumper.

Then do it as many times as necessary until you get the proper finish that you like. Then wipe the whole car down with 25% alcohol or eraser, apply your sealant or wax, and go have fun and worry about something else.

If you’re still paranoid, go do your wife’s trunk or your friends car door…

An excellent all purpose polish that is totally safe:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Meguiar-s...yABEgJ1S_D_BwE

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by Glen e

The greatest thing about a least aggressive policy is you can always do it again, and again, and again if you need to… Whereas if you go heavy you’ve already made a commitment. So just start out with this
get a medium pad
set the polisher at medium speed, put 6 to 8 dots and rub it in on the pad and a few dots on a 2 x 2 section of the car like the hood.
Go up-down-side to side twice slowly , wipe it off and see if it looks better. That’s all there is to it. I use a couple pads per car. Usually changing around the back bumper.

Then do it as many times as necessary until you get the proper finish that you like. Then wipe the whole car down with 25% alcohol or eraser, apply your sealant or wax, and go have fun and worry about something else.

If you’re still paranoid, go do your wife’s trunk or your friends car door…

An excellent all purpose polish that is totally safe:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Meguiar-s...yABEgJ1S_D_BwE

Good info. CarPro Essence... Which one? It looks like there are a few different variants of it. Or, is there something else to potentially use instead?

[Glen e]

If you use car pro you want the gloss enhancer polish. However this is so light that I don’t think it will take water spots out very easily. You’re better off with the Maguires product that I reference above

[DougCBJ]

I recommend the CR Spotless system first and foremost. It's the best detail product I purchased to make my washing process stress free. Also I'll echo what Glenn said, I've used Essence 4 times now over the last 2 years it won't cut much even with a microfiber cutting pad. If I'm trying to cut at all I use Jescar (which is awesome btw with little to no dust). I don't think you'll cut the water spots away with just essence.

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by Glen e

If you use car pro you want the gloss enhancer polish. However this is so light that I don’t think it will take water spots out very easily. You’re better off with the Maguires product that I reference above

Thanks. That makes sense. I guess I was expecting that the best prep for the CarPro sealants would be Essence and it would be a required intermediary step.

After reading the details of the CarPro CQ products, I'm having strong second thoughts about using them. They state that you should wear a respirator, not reuse the microfibers that you use to apply or polish, and that you should do only very small areas at a time. Yet, they advertise these as "easy to apply." What are some good alternatives?

I also have a question about sealing wheels... The CarPro products specifically say they are for sealing alloy wheels but the wheels on the Camaro are painted. Should I just use the same sealant on the wheels?

[Glen e]

I don’t recommend you use the cq products, it’s really not for an amateur, unless you wanna practice on a car first. Just use any of the silicone sprays Meguires hybrid ceramic spray wax is great…Or wipe on Carpro reload after you polish the car.

But you are starting to read too much, and think too much. This doesn’t have to be an all or nothing proposition. Start out with polishing the car, then wipe on the sealant of your choice, and see what you think. Six months down the road if you still want to do some type of coating, do it. But remember a lot of the coatings will show water spots very easily. Just ask Kirk here…

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by Glen e

I don’t recommend you use the cq products, it’s really not for an amateur, unless you wanna practice on a car first. Just use any of the silicone sprays Meguires hybrid ceramic spray wax is great…Or wipe on Carpro reload after you polish the car.

But you are starting to read too much, and think too much. This doesn’t have to be an all or nothing proposition. Start out with polishing the car, then wipe on the sealant of your choice, and see what you think. Six months down the road if you still want to do some type of coating, do it. But remember a lot of the coatings will show water spots very easily. Just ask Kirk here…

Thanks. I definitely don't want to add steps by "practicing". lol

I will start with the Meguiar's polish and add Reload and see what happens from there. My biggest concern is missing an important step and having to start over. This car gets dirty FAST, so I'm looking to ease the cleaning burden.

Thoughts on using Reload on the wheels since they're painted?

[Glen e]

Reload will be fine on the wheels. A easier and better deal is another car pro product in my signature for wheels

[EJR8402]

Originally Posted by ember1205

Thanks for the response here.

I've actually watched a few of the Autogeek videos, including this one (which doesn't really discuss much - the others were better suited to what I was after). I'm a big consumer of YT content once I've been able to validate that it's the sort of content I am after.

You stated "You start with the most aggressive combination that you've chosen, then work your way gradually down in aggressiveness/abrasiveness."

That seems incorrect to me. I would expect to start with the LEAST aggressive combo that would be targeted toward my needs and then work my way UP until I achieve the results I'm after. Starting with something more aggressive than I actually need would cause more "harm" than necessary to achieve a result.

For example: Targeting some light water spotting has lighter needs than having to correct three years of so-so washing habits that cause a lot of swirls. If I start with something aggressive enough for swirls, I would be taking off more clear coat than necessary just to alleviate some light water spots. No?

The other thing I'm completely lost on right now is literally "where to start." The car sat on the dealer's lot for around 9 months. Rain, snow, sun, wind, etc. Now, it has additional water spotting due to being washed with well water. I want to get the paint as clean as I reasonably can (I'm not looking for perfect because it isn't a show car) so that I can seal it and have a more intelligent overall way of keeping it clean and in good shape. So, what do I potentially target in terms of a level of abrasiveness in a polish? Pad? Combo?

It's sort of like telling someone that they should be a saw if they need to cut something without considering the type of material, the quality of cut necessary, the thickness of the material, etc.

I think you misunderstood, or maybe I wasn't clear enough. But I do see that you said in your original post it was water spotting you are trying to correct, so my bad there- I was giving more general information on polishing. But- I did say that it's about finding the pad/polish combo that's NO MORE aggressive than necessary to achieve the DESIRED RESULT. The best way to find that is to start with something relatively mild, do a test spot, and inspect it to see if your defect is removed. Go up in abrasiveness if the defect is not removed, until you have a combo that works.

Once you have that, a one-step polish may be enough. I did this on my trunk last week with some oxidation/water spotting: my Klasse AIO was enough to just remove the defect in one step. That's about as mild as a polish gets.

But let's say you have deep defects that a rubbing compound is necessary to correct, you wouldn't START with a fine polish or glaze and then work your way to the rubbing compound. The way to do it is to start with the most abrasive option you've chosen, gradually on to the least. Again, this is assuming that you've already concluded the rubbing compound is necessary to remove the defect(s). The rubbing compound removes big defects, but it causes other defects that another, less aggressive polish will remove. In a multi-step solution, you're constantly refining the result to remove the (gradually smaller and smaller) defects caused by the prior step(s), until you get a result that's refined enough for a nice gloss.

Look at the chart I linked: most of the polishes in the middle are good enough to remove some swirls, but are not super aggressive. Looking at the products farther to the left, those are the types of products that will remove water marks, a little oxidation and maybe some light swirls, but not much else. If something in the middle range is necessary to remove the defects, then you might use that and follow it up with something on the left, like a glaze.

[Joe M 2012 2SS]

The first thing that needs to be determined is what type of water spots are on your car's paint. They are either mineral deposits left from water that has evaporated, or spots etched into the paint.

https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...-type-iii.html

Since you have well water, the most likely spots are the mineral deposits siting on top of the clear coat.
I've done plenty of cars for people who have hard water at their residence. Two things you must do to avoid these when washing the car are.....

1) Only wash the car in the the cool of the morning, right at sunrise. Never wash in direct sunlight or when temperatures are hot.

2) Perform a pooling rinse after rinsing the soap off, which removes 90% of the water on the surface.


Once you have the surface completely clean/clayed, and free of water spots, wipe the paint down with either Eraser or an IPA solution. Wear nitrile gloves, you don't want any oils from your hands getting on the paint.

Essence needs a bit of heat for it to activate properly, microfiber pads generate a bit more heat than foam one's do. I like Meguiars DMF finishing pads with Essence. They work flawlessly. When you initially prime the pad, you'll want Essence on the entire surface, then only a small amount needs to be added for each section worked.

The product should turn clear when it's worked in properly. The machine in this video is a long throw machine, which cuts much faster than the PC. So your movement of the machine will need to be slower.



It hasn't been mentioned in this thread yet, but the use of proper lighting is imperative when compounding/polishing to ensure proper results are obtained.



Being that your car is not a DD, I'd highly recommend rinseless washing instead of traditional. Your car shouldn't be getting very dirty, and rinseless will save you a good bit of time as well, and eliminate water left on the surface that can dry and spot.

[ember1205]

Thanks, @Joe M 2012 2SS.

There are definitely some water spots that are the direct result of the minerals in my well water. But, given that the car sat on a dealer's lot for 9 months in New England and went through a full-blown range of seasons and weather before I bought it, I want to make sure that I'm starting out with as clean of a surface as I can get.

I'm going to use the Meguiar's polish that @Glen e recommended and Reload and will not use Essence. I don't actually HAVE the Reload (or Eraser) yet, but they should come this week.

One of the things I am trying to be able to deal with is the dust that collects all over the rear of the car from the brakes. I washed the car thoroughly on Friday and pulled it into the garage afterward. I wiped everything down so that the car was as dry as possible everywhere including under the decklid, under the convertible tonneau, and inside of the doors. I drove the car 50 miles in great weather and the back of the car was covered in black dust. :(

My #1 goal is to be able to allow the car to STAY as clean as possible in between washes with goal #2 being to make the washing process as simple as possible. While I understand the general goal of a rinseless wash, I don't understand the science of it. That's to say... I don't understand how it doesn't make the paint more susceptible to scratching due to less water and how leaving soap on the paint (without rinsing it, there -has- to be residue) isn't bad for it.