[zts1986]

So, I've always detailed my cars. That consisted of, scrubbing off bugs and debris, washing, and then waxing with a simple hard wax (usually Mothers). Now that I have a much nicer vehicle, I'm noticing the small pollen/sap stains and swirls in the paint a little more and want to take care of it now, but I'm not entirely sure of how the process should go. I have about 4000 miles on the car and it is stored outside, unfortunately.

Here's the process that I'm thinking of. Please comment with any recommendations, especially with products.

1. Strip off old wax. I have one coat of hard wax that I put on the week I bought the car, rather quickly, too. I had to leave town for two weeks and needed some sort of protection on there. Product: standard dish soap.

2. Full wash. By this I mean, remove bugs and any other debris and fully wash the body, including the wheels. Product: RainX Foaming Car Wash.

3. Dry. Leaf blower plus microfiber towels.

4. Clay bar. This is a process that I've never done before and need to read up on, but my understanding is that it will remove micro debris "stuck" in the clear coat.

5. Wash and dry again to remove any clay residue.

6. Polish. Swirls and some imperfections in the paint exist. It's my understanding that a polish with an electric buffer will basically correct this, if done properly. This is a process that I will need to read up on, as well. Need to figure out which pad, speed, and how long to do this process for. I do not want to destroy my clear coat!

7. Apply a sealant. Again, not sure which direction to run with here.

8. Wax. Can stick with a carnuba wax on top of the sealant, I think...

Sounds like a full day process but I really want this thing to shine. She takes some abuse by being a daily driver and being stored outside, so I don't mind the extra care. Any thoughts would be much appreciated!

[KirkH]

Originally Posted by zts1986

So, I've always detailed my cars. That consisted of, scrubbing off bugs and debris, washing, and then waxing with a simple hard wax (usually Mothers). Now that I have a much nicer vehicle, I'm noticing the small pollen/sap stains and swirls in the paint a little more and want to take care of it now, but I'm not entirely sure of how the process should go. I have about 4000 miles on the car and it is stored outside, unfortunately.

Here's the process that I'm thinking of. Please comment with any recommendations, especially with products.

1. Strip off old wax. I have one coat of hard wax that I put on the week I bought the car, rather quickly, too. I had to leave town for two weeks and needed some sort of protection on there. Product: standard dish soap.

2. Full wash. By this I mean, remove bugs and any other debris and fully wash the body, including the wheels. Product: RainX Foaming Car Wash.

3. Dry. Leaf blower plus microfiber towels.

4. Clay bar. This is a process that I've never done before and need to read up on, but my understanding is that it will remove micro debris "stuck" in the clear coat.

5. Wash and dry again to remove any clay residue.

6. Polish. Swirls and some imperfections in the paint exist. It's my understanding that a polish with an electric buffer will basically correct this, if done properly. This is a process that I will need to read up on, as well. Need to figure out which pad, speed, and how long to do this process for. I do not want to destroy my clear coat!

7. Apply a sealant. Again, not sure which direction to run with here.

8. Wax. Can stick with a carnuba wax on top of the sealant, I think...

Sounds like a full day process but I really want this thing to shine. She takes some abuse by being a daily driver and being stored outside, so I don't mind the extra care. Any thoughts would be much appreciated!

Your process listed is sound.

You will not destroy your clear coat with a dual action orbital polisher and foam pads.

Now with a rotary polisher, that's another story....

[Adam's Polishes]

Originally Posted by zts1986

So, I've always detailed my cars. That consisted of, scrubbing off bugs and debris, washing, and then waxing with a simple hard wax (usually Mothers). Now that I have a much nicer vehicle, I'm noticing the small pollen/sap stains and swirls in the paint a little more and want to take care of it now, but I'm not entirely sure of how the process should go. I have about 4000 miles on the car and it is stored outside, unfortunately.

Here's the process that I'm thinking of. Please comment with any recommendations, especially with products.

1. Strip off old wax. I have one coat of hard wax that I put on the week I bought the car, rather quickly, too. I had to leave town for two weeks and needed some sort of protection on there. Product: standard dish soap.

2. Full wash. By this I mean, remove bugs and any other debris and fully wash the body, including the wheels. Product: RainX Foaming Car Wash.

3. Dry. Leaf blower plus microfiber towels.

4. Clay bar. This is a process that I've never done before and need to read up on, but my understanding is that it will remove micro debris "stuck" in the clear coat.

5. Wash and dry again to remove any clay residue.

6. Polish. Swirls and some imperfections in the paint exist. It's my understanding that a polish with an electric buffer will basically correct this, if done properly. This is a process that I will need to read up on, as well. Need to figure out which pad, speed, and how long to do this process for. I do not want to destroy my clear coat!

7. Apply a sealant. Again, not sure which direction to run with here.

8. Wax. Can stick with a carnuba wax on top of the sealant, I think...

Sounds like a full day process but I really want this thing to shine. She takes some abuse by being a daily driver and being stored outside, so I don't mind the extra care. Any thoughts would be much appreciated!

After washing you really don't need to dry you can go ahead and clay, also I always polish right over the clay residue.
However there is no wright or wrong way...…
Check out these videos.

https://adamspolishes.com/video

[zts1986]

Thanks guys. I'm not entirely sure of the difference between a rotary and orbital polisher, but I'll get on that. I'm looking forward to getting to work on this.

[Gunkk]

You want a random orbital. Rotary can burn paint and really don’t perform any better for the average home detailer.

As far as learning how to... watch youtube videos by Adams Polishes, Autogeek videos, Junkman and AmmoNYC. ...or just do what Kirk and Glen and our other veteran detailers suggest... they will not steer you wrong.

[Spartan268]

Your process looks pretty good so far. I learned everything from Glen's detailing guide: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/acxkaf44c...VlC5djtQa?dl=0


Probably the best hand book I've read by far. You don't have to use the exact products and substitute it for something else.

[Glen e]

I too like your process, on my car I would skip #8, and double #7.

[HawkeyeMike]

As far as your #7 step, there are many threads on here to help you decide which brand to use. There are a few, of which all work fine. The main thing to watch out for though, is try to use the same brand for #6 and #7. For example, I'm a big fan of CarPro Reload for the sealant. But if you went that route, you would want to use CarPro Essence on your final polish step, as that preps the surface for Reload to bond to.

Essence won't really take out swirls though, so your polishing step will likely be multiple steps. I'm a big fan of the Chemical Guys 32/34/36/38 line. But, again, there are a few other brands that others swear by and are very good.

I definitely agree with the comment above regarding starting with Glen's handbook. That's where I started, along with some Chemical Guys videos for visual how-to's regarding the Random Orbitals, etc. Those resources helped make me feel like a pro after only a few vehicles.

[Joe M 2012 2SS]

Originally Posted by zts1986

Here's the process that I'm thinking of. Please comment with any recommendations, especially with products.

1. Strip off old wax. I have one coat of hard wax that I put on the week I bought the car, rather quickly, too. I had to leave town for two weeks and needed some sort of protection on there. Product: standard dish soap.

2. Full wash. By this I mean, remove bugs and any other debris and fully wash the body, including the wheels. Product: RainX Foaming Car Wash.

3. Dry. Leaf blower plus microfiber towels.

4. Clay bar. This is a process that I've never done before and need to read up on, but my understanding is that it will remove micro debris "stuck" in the clear coat.

5. Wash and dry again to remove any clay residue.

6. Polish. Swirls and some imperfections in the paint exist. It's my understanding that a polish with an electric buffer will basically correct this, if done properly. This is a process that I will need to read up on, as well. Need to figure out which pad, speed, and how long to do this process for. I do not want to destroy my clear coat!

7. Apply a sealant. Again, not sure which direction to run with here.

8. Wax. Can stick with a carnuba wax on top of the sealant, I think...

1) Not sure dish soap actually removes protection, an APC (All Purpose Cleaner) wash will for sure.

2) When you say "full wash" what does that entail? To avoid putting damage into the clearcoat, you should be using 2 buckets to wash the car, and a third bucket for wheels only. Here is the proper process. Never ever think "scrub hard"....that will destroy your clear coat. Instead think wipe gently.



3) If your planning to clay the car, this step isn't needed as long as the car stays in the shade and the surface is cool to the touch.

4) Clay bars are old tech. Look into a clay alternative. I have the SM Arnold Speedy prep towel. It lasts up to 100 uses (I have about 60 on mine and it still performs as new), never needs kneading, if dropped on the ground, all you need to do is rinse in warm water, unlike clay, which must be thrown away if dropped.
You'll be able to do your car in less than 1/2 the time a normal clay bar takes.
You'll need clay lube. Ultima waterless wash plus concentrate makes 5.5 gallons of clay lube/waterless wash/detail spray for about $20. Great product for a cheap price.

5) Instead of washing the car again, wipe it down with Isopropyl Alcohol 15-20%. You can buy a bottle of 90% IPA and mix with distilled water to get proper dilution. Costs less than $5 for both.

6) Polish will not remove swirls, you need compound to do that. Polish is for bringing the paint to a high gloss. Meguiars D300 compound and their DMC cutting pad are easy to use, and remove defects regardless of which polisher you use, though some polishers may take longer.

Standard finishing polish works for gloss, but Carpro Essence does the job in less than 1/2 the time, and also puts a layer of protection down at the same time. Meguiars DMF finishing pads are great with it.

If you opt for a standard finishing polish, you have to do another IPA wipedown before you apply protection, not doing this will prevent your sealant from bonding, and severely impact it's durability.

Don't worry about damaging your paint with a D/A polisher, it doesn't generate enough heat, or cut fast enough to do damage.

7) Lots of options for sealants, my favorite is Carpro Reload. I like to top it with Adams Wash/Coat.

8) Wax on a non-garaged car is pretty much a waste of time, it won't last very long at all..... instead use a wash/protect product like Adams Wash/Coat, or Carpro Hydrofoam as a topper for your main sealant.

Once you have the paint corrected/polished/sealed, dry the car with water to enable you to touch the paint as little as possible when drying.



My car is also a non-garaged daily driver.
I corrected the paint 5 years ago, and the only thing I have to do is every year or so go back over it with Essence, to fix very light wash marring, compound isn't needed.

[KirkH]

If you want to strip the wax from paint, the best thing is foaming glass cleaner.

I know, I know.... but that it what is done at body shops before paint jobs.

[SnakeEyeSS]

A lot of the popular new for 18/19 stuff will laugh at just about anything but a polish now in the short term. Apex Detail put Turtle Wax SNS against a coating(PA Cosmos V2) and that proved it, heat and chemicals. He really seems like a "ignore the OTC, I'm a pro" kind of guy, as I have heard " I'm glad you guys asked for this"' quite a few times recently. Long term I'm sure the coating would win but if you want to throw something on before a snow storm the Seal N Shine has to be perfect.

Once you get sucked down the rabbit hole of keeping your car shiny, you get more and more interested in coatings.

I have been thinking about this a lot this week:

Personally, having done three coatings with the full method over the last two months, I really am not sure it is worth(5-10 hours of work and $30-100 of products) it when using a $7 product every two weeks would get similar results, and you would like not need what 2, maybe three bottles across 2-3 years? With less maintenance needed to keep the coating perfect. You go through 2-3 weeks of rain and flooding like I did this spring, and even a fresh coating will need some special care for all the filth that builds up with being constantly subjected nasty road water for that many days. And then you find a high spot and if you want it gone, there you go again just for that spot.

[EJR8402]

I would eliminate your #5 and insert the following:

5. Evaluate the condition of the paint.

6. If minor swirls and/or scratches are unacceptable to you, select the least aggressive pad/product combination necessary to correct. If the defects are acceptable to you, move on to the next step.

The way I approach the decision whether to polish is to consider whether the defect I am removing is worth the cost of removing some clearcoat, because it's (obviously) not infinitely thick. To me, one all-out "correction" per year, or even every two years is really all I need to maintain the condition of the paint to my satisfaction. I will typically only soften scratches to the point that they are barely visible, but not necessarily eliminated completely. Wash methods are important here too: the better your wash methods, the less correction you will need.

On your sealant: I use the Klasse twins, All in One (AIO) and Sealant Glaze (SG). These are great products, but there are many more out there as well. The AIO is a great product to apply AFTER your cleaner (something like Meg's #2), and before the final sealant. After allowing the SG to cure for 8-12 hours, you can either layer it for more gloss or top with a carnauba.

[Lafourche1]

Originally Posted by EJR8402

On your sealant: I use the Klasse twins, All in One (AIO) and Sealant Glaze (SG). These are great products, but there are many more out there as well. The AIO is a great product to apply AFTER your cleaner (something like Meg's #2), and before the final sealant. After allowing the SG to cure for 8-12 hours, you can either layer it for more gloss or top with a carnauba.

I just returned to the Klasse twins for all of our vehicles. I used the HydroSilex for over a year and decided that the Klasse products were just as easy to apply and lasted longer between applications. I usually only apply the SG about twice a year (garaged kept and not much snow down here - every 10 years or so).

[EJR8402]

Originally Posted by Lafourche1

I just returned to the Klasse twins for all of our vehicles. I used the HydroSilex for over a year and decided that the Klasse products were just as easy to apply and lasted longer between applications. I usually only apply the SG about twice a year (garaged kept and not much snow down here - every 10 years or so).

I've especially fallen in love with the AIO lately in particular: it's that much better when machine-applied.

If I go too heavy in spots with the SG (usually do), a little distilled water and a MF do the trick.