How much time do you spend on that kind of treat? I've detailed my BMW once, hand wash, paint rubber, polish, wax. It took me so long I could not decide to do it again for my 911. Since then: Professional detailer (once since I got the car in november) and frequent visits at the smoothest car wash in town. But that causes some swirls, which is also disappointing. Is there any chance to get a decent result in three hours?

 

That must be some kind of big BMW to take more than three hours. Although I'm not sure what "paint rubber" means.

I hand wash and vacuum my DD car weekly, every six months or so I'll wax it. Maybe once a year the wax is preceded by a clay and/or polish. None of that stuff takes me more than three hours. But then I've gotten pretty fast at it, and with the frequent washes, the car never gets real dirty (which helps in every other regard).

My cars never see an automated car wash.

And right now, the 991 is the DD. I drive the Mercedes on days like today when I need to carry something or someone or there is severe weather forecasted.

 

Well, I should definitely work on my detailing skills. The procedure took me at least 8 hours. And it was only a 3 Series Touring. Paint rubber was supposed to mean clay. I mixed it up with the name of product I use (you can see how deep into detailing I am). Thanks!

 

I know there are a million different Carnauba waxes out there, but is this a decent one? I always liked how easy it went on and came off and doesn't stain any plastic trim white.

 

I love using P21s wax. I have used both the above and below. Seriously I couldn't tell the different between the two after applied them to my car.

 

I'm sure some would disagree and say the Rupes is the TTS of DA polishers...

991 base/991S...Manual/PDK...Flex/Rupes

 

One thing that will save time, wash and clay together. Wash one section, rinse, then clay. It takes a bit more skill to clay with water than detail spray, basically being more careful to keep the clay moving as water doesn't have the lubricants built into detail spray. And you need to avoid splashing water onto areas you've just finished. But done right its a time saver.

Another thing, avoid excess. Many people spend way more time than necessary going back and forth over the same areas. Experiment a bit to learn the least you can get away with, and stick with that.

More wax is wasted wax. Use the least amount that can be applied efficiently and evenly.

Use lots of clean towels. 90% of polish and wax removal depends on the cloth being clean. Let it load up very much and now you're wasting effort moving it around instead of taking it off.

Use the right towels for the right jobs. They are not all the same. I like 100% cotton for quickly removing the bulk of the wax (or polish), followed by microfiber to finish off. Try different things and see.

When its tough getting wax or polish off a certain area, don't waste time and effort (and risk scratching) rubbing over and over. Just apply a bit of detail spray, or reapply a bit of wax (or polish). It will come right off.

Yeah sure it still takes me a good 3-4 hours to wash/clay/polish/wax. But thanks to all these "time savers" about half that time is spent sitting on my fat butt enjoying a beer while admiring my work.

 

I'm a Rupes junkie! I've had a Flex, but I just didn't like it. It certainly works well and can be more aggressive, but I just didn't like it as much as the LH21 and Duetto. I still have a Griot's 3" and 6" for back-ups. I just can't bring myself to pony up the cash to ditch the Griot's 3" for the Rupes Mini.

 

I've been "properly" detailing for about 10 years. It still takes me between 10 and 25 hours to do a proper detail (depending on what's getting done). Then again, I'm usually watching something on Netflix while I'm doing it.

 

Funny Matt, I went to one of the AG events and had a chance to use all the Rupes polishers - they're nice but seem to lack power to me and to really get max results, you pretty much need to stay inside of their system which I don't like. I have several cabinets full of high quality polishes, compounds and pads that I'm not willing to dump.

The biggest reason most people don't like the Flex is because it "walks" on them. Frankly I think this is a great feature because it's instant feedback that your using poor technique and need to correct. I'm sure I'm in the minority because those who have the Rupes really like it. And to quote Mike Phillips, find something you like and use it often. At the end of the day, no one asks or cares what machine you used.

 

Yep, Mike made it very clear that he prefers the Flex, which is why I bought one. I didn't hate, but was too use to the Griot's. I think the Rupes is a nice happy medium between the Griot's and Flex in operation. I would guess I would prefer the Flex had a "grown up" with it.

 

After reading this thread I felt like polishing my car. Done!

It took me about six hours, which is, to be honest, more time that I willing to spend frequently. I dont own a polishing machine so far, so did the polishing by hand. And I was suprised how many little flaws the paint already has (I have the car for 7 month now). Seen from close under a bright halogen spotlight, a lot of tiny chips and fine scratches came to light. Nothing really serious, but still, I did'nt like to see how widespread the damages are. Anyhow: I love the result!

Special Thanks to chuck911 for his recommendations how to speed up the process.

 

Some cracking shots and beautiful shine !

 

Very nice results.

A dual action polisher would probably cut a full 2 hours out of your 6 hour project. While it won't help reduce the wash and clay process, you can use the dual action polisher to:

• polish (to correct the paint),
• apply glaze or other product prior to final step of applying sealant/wax
• apply sealant,
• remove sealant or wax

Get a few different pads plus a couple of terry cloth and and micro fiber bonnets and you will be good to go.

 

My 2011 gt3 rs is 75% covered in x pel.
What's the best way to keep this white car clean, yes wash, then what?
Right now it looks better than showroom.