targagr

Ok..its time to detail my car.Ive been reading all the great posts about guys detailing there car and im jealous.
quick question:
i dont want to watersand before...so what are the steps to follow after a wash it...do i clay bar,seal,polish and then
wax,do i do the reverse or should i pass a swirl remover first.im a little confused in the order i should do this.ive checked the search and im still not quite sure.
hope the detailers can help me out here..THANKS.

DB_NC_95C2

I have a ritual.
Every time I wash the car I pick one panel (i.e. hood or roof).
I clay, hand polish, hand wax (Griot's fine hand polish, either Griot's Best in Show wax (if I'm in a hurry) or P21S (not the 100% carnauba, the regular P21S, if I'm not in a big hurry).
The rest of the car gets a light coat of Pinnacle Crystal Mist spray.
After about 6 washes the entire car is done (6 'sessions' i.e. 1)roof, 2)hood and front bumper, 3)both front fenders, 4)both doors, 5)both rear fenders, 6)engine lid and rear bumper).
Once a year I do the entire car with a random orbital using Griots fine machine polish and best-in-show wax or P21S. But I do 'the entire car' in sections (i.e. front fenders, hood and front bumpers being one section, roof and doors being another section, rear fenders, engine lid and rear bumper being another section. So the random orbital thing takes 3 'sessions'.
I have no experience with swirl remover, maybe someone can enlighten me.

bart1

www.autopia.org

...or the detailer's forum here.

My way is wash, dry, clay, polish, wax, seal.

simpsoap

I do the following, and I have been extremely pleased with the results:

1 Wash
2. Clay (need clay lube)
3. With a Porter Cable or similar, use Menzerna Super Intensive Polish and the uber orange pad
4. With a Porter Cable or similar, use Menzerna PO106fa and the Uber blue pad
5. Einszett Glanz with the Uber Black pad
6. Finish with two thin coats of Jetseal 109

If you need to clean the engine bay or wheel wells, p21s total auto wash is a degreaser, and works great. Spray p21s in there let it sit for a minute or two then take a brush and agitate all the dirt out, rinse it clean.

Andy

fullbooker

My annual routine:
1. Wash & dry car; don't forget the wheels & tires
2. "clay" car. I use Maguires clay and their Final Inspection for lubricant.
3. Using PorterCable orbital apply Maguires Synthetic Paint Sealant.
4. Polish off by hand.
5. Mist on Final Inspection and wipe off by hand.
6. Treat all rubber and plastic with Maguires product.
7. Clean windows and vacuum interior of car.
8. Treat leather with Zymol and vinyl with Maguires.
9. Drive car like you stole it
Phil

Stealth 993

If you don't know what order, don't even THINK of using sand paper!!! Most swirl marks are from improper washing, or dry marring.

1. wash
2. clay
3. dry
4. tape off rubber molding
5. polish
6. sealant
7. wax

Now what are you using, & how are you using it?

V

Pardon my ignorance but when you guys say polish, what do you mean exactly?

Do you mean polish by hand with a fine rubbing compound? What kind of pad do you use?
Is the sealant applied using a sponge? Same with the wax and then a microfiber cloth to remove
the remaining residue?

I don't know if anyone experianced this but I suffer from an elbow wear injury (right elbow ofcourse) and last time I detailed the car using my Cyclo dual orbital polisher (took me a few hours), I had pain for 2days and could hardly do anything.. So I kind of gave up the idea of detailing my car as a DIY in the future. Just a regular hand wash is no problem but repeated vibration (as in hours of vibration) is something I can't stand. And polishing with my left hand is very difficult.. I tried several ways including rehabilitation training but since it's stems from an injury it's likely to be there for good.. Anyone else experiance something similar?

Sorry for the OT.

Stealth 993

Polish & rubbing compound are kind of the same, typically rubbing compound is much more harsh & will remove much more paint then a polish.

I use a Matabo rotary & a Porter cable orbital. Then with a selection of pads & polishes pretty much anything can be fixed if it's not through the paint.

My favorite polishes are.....
Menzerna 85Rd, 106FF, &SIP
Einszett (all of them)
http://www.detailersdomain.com/index...ATS&Category=2

Pretty much I get it all here, he is a forum sponsor.
http://www.detailersdomain.com/index.asp


Sounds like you have "tennis elbow", yes, detailing will hurt, try to use your other arm, or just pay a pro to take care of it.

RickBetterley

Last June I waxed 3 cars over a couple of weeks time, as well as played tennis.
That's where I got my tennis elbow (maybe a new disease called car polish elbow?).
Its better now, but I use the left arm as much as possible when working on the cars.
Hope yours gets better.

targagr

Stealth 993

I was planning on using meguiars products....and using a electric buffer.

thanks all for the info.no i would never attemopt to watersand.
there are so much products out there that its confusing on where to start and where to finish.

Stealth 993

Mags makes good stuff, & not so good stuff, so it depends on what you got. What kind of buffer & more importantly what pads? Yea, it can be daunting on where to start & every car is different, so X&X will work fine, then the next you use X&Y.

V

Thanks Stealth and Rick.

I don't know if it's really a tennis elbow. It stems from an injury I got from an overload during triceps curls at the gym .. I learned the hard way. It's much better now but it's still there (polishing the car for a few hours will certainly bring it back) and it's likely to be there for a good while (that's what my rehab trainer says). It's not so much the big movements (tennis or working out) because that's fine. But it's rather the small repeated vibrations (e.g polishing och even holding onto something that vibrates) that really brings back the pain. I will try to use my left hand instead as much as possible but I doubt I will be able to polish the whole car as a DIY. I might be able to do one section of the car at a time though, that's a good idea

Stealth 993

I would not do it by hand, go & get a porter cable orbital. It's almost idiot proof, & will really cut down the time & effort. The only thing is you got to use your arm to remove the polish & wax.

Yes, you can do sections at a time. Just make sure the other sections are clean when you go to polish. On my car I some times don't do it all at once, just one step then do the next step on another day. I will do a wipe with detail spray before I start.

This kit will rock your car, & be easier on the elbow.
http://www.detailersdomain.com/index...ROD&ProdID=359

V

Stealth,

When I used my Cyclo dual orbital for one day, that really did a lot of damage. It feels kind of ridiculous being only 29 yrs old and all but I truly must have damaged something real bad a few years back. Surely polishing by hand will be worse, but even the orbitals stresses the elbow with all the small vibrations. I have to find one with a minimum of vibration (just the orbital rotation not in combo with upside down like a sanding machine) or use a thicker, softer pad? As I said, it can take a fair amount of stress but at a certain point, I can really feel I have to quit. I think working with sections is the key here. I will obviously have someone else do it if I need to do it all at once..

A big thank's for your concerns. Your cars seem to shine 7 days of the week