1st time Detailer

[charlie123]

So Ive been doing some overtime and some side work, and I'm finally going, Ive tried contact autogeek for advice and never got a response. I'm just clueless as to what to order for what. I have a DIB 2014 and I have some mild to light scratches due to when I bought the car they took it to 1 of those car washes of death and had scratches everywhere. I also have a about a fist sized blemish on the roof. My questions are is there a difference between like the griots, flex, and porter cable polishers, and what type of waxes should I get for the scratches? I'm really new to this and have watched countless youtube vids and just don't know what to get. But I do know I will be claying and want to do the whole enchilada, I also know I want a foam cannon. Any info would be nice thanks guys.

 

[B2B]

These two stickies should answer most of your questions.

http://www.s197forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81497

http://www.s197forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=84488

I have all three machines that you mentioned and the Flex is far superior when it comes to power and control. Torq 10FX is the latest random orbital polisher but I don't have any experience with it.

I used to swear by Meguiars M105/M205 for paint correction, but now switched to Chemical Guys V34/V36/V38. Easily matches M105/M205 but doesn't create a dust storm like the M105/M205.

Get a Autoality membership and get your supplies there. Great people and great prices.

 

[28ONE]

Read this...

http://www.s197forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=40276

 

[TGR96]

Hey Charlie, I am also a noob to detailing, and I recently did a lot of polishing work on my Mustang, my red 99 Miata, and my wife's 07 black Jeep Grand Cherokee.

My Mustang wasn't too bad, just typical light surface scratches from washing, but the Miata had very badly oxidized paint, and the Jeep had a ton of surface scratches.

I know it's not sexy compared to what a lot of guys on the forum use, but I had good results by using Meguiar's Clay bar first, then I broke out my Porter Cable DA and went to work using Meguiar's compound, then following up with Meguiar's polish, then Griot's Garage sealant, all of which I got at the local Wal mart and Auto Zone. I finished up with a good wax. I used Chemcal Guys Lava because I had picked some up from a fellow forum member. It's kinda expensive, though, so I am sure there are less expensive options that would be great.

I know their are a lot of guys here with a lot of experience with many more products than I have, but for a fellow detailing noob, I found this stuff to work great, wasn't expensive, and was "user friendly."

 

[charlie123]

Awesome thanks dudes for the info. I'll probably going to try and piece it all together so I can get started.

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[Grabber5.sl0w]

Charlie, seems like you just need an all around good Paint Correction. Along with the threads and products mentioned above, pick up a PC 7424 (For beginners) along with some pads (Lake Country is a good brand), research and find a cut and polish to use (Meguirs Cut M105 and Polish M205 are very popular if you want to start from there), and finish with a sealant/wax/paint coating. There are many to choose from but that is the just of what you need to do.

As far as claying the car, I would suggest getting a decon block. It's essentially a synthetic clay bar that isn't as fragile as a normal clay bar. Usually once your clay bar gets dirty, or your drop it it's pretty much toast. With the decon block, all you need to do is wash it off with some water and you're good to go again.
http://www.carpro-us.com/brushes-applicators-tools-swabs/carpro-polyshave-decon-block/

 

[Mr. Q]

As a detailing noob, I was leaning towards using the eagle one prep mitt. ..do you guys recommend?

https://www.eagleone.com/mitt#

 

[28ONE]

That will work, in fact there are so many to choose from it's mind boggling...

 

[charlie123]

So I got tar or some kind sap from driving behind someone on the paint and windshield and can't get it off after I washed the car. And ideas how to get it off?

Would acetone work?
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[B2B]

Try WD40 followed by wash and wax. If necessary, clay bar and wax as needed.

Stay away from harsh chemical like acetone if at all possible.

 

[XxBoostinxX]

So Ive been doing some overtime and some side work, and I'm finally going, Ive tried contact autogeek for advice and never got a response. I'm just clueless as to what to order for what. I have a DIB 2014 and I have some mild to light scratches due to when I bought the car they took it to 1 of those car washes of death and had scratches everywhere. I also have a about a fist sized blemish on the roof. My questions are is there a difference between like the griots, flex, and porter cable polishers, and what type of waxes should I get for the scratches? I'm really new to this and have watched countless youtube vids and just don't know what to get. But I do know I will be claying and want to do the whole enchilada, I also know I want a foam cannon. Any info would be nice thanks guys.

The difference in the polishers is really how they operate. The Flex is forced rotation, meaning it is similar to a rotary but rotates randomly. If you put a lot of pressure on the Flex the pad will not stop spinning. There is more user error with the Flex and if the pad isn't held right on the paint it will try to "walk" on you. Is it better than a Rupes at correcting? Not necessarily. The "throw" of the Rupes allows it to spin the pad at a larger pace than the Flex. The Rupes also requires zero pressure. The Griots BOSS system is a copy of the Rupes, but with a lifetime warranty. For a weekend warrior or enthusiast, a Porter Cable or Griots 6" random orbital are great entry level polishers. The good thing about the Griots is of course the lifetime warranty and more powerful than the PC. I own a Griots 3", Flex 3401, Flex Kompakt, Rupes 21es, and a Rupes Mini and I prefer my Rupes over everything else.

Waxes won't do anything for the scratches. I detail on the side and hardly ever use waxes anymore. I even have a few high end ones that aren't any better than the good cheap ones. Some Collinite 845 works great and is cheap, but I would just correct the car and coat it.

I also don't recommend m105/m205 for anyone that hasn't polished before. Why? Because it has an extremely short working time and anyone with out experience will over work the crap out of it. Get something like the Blackfire Duo - http://www.autopia-carcare.com/blackfire-duo.html#.VfLZnLS4kdU.

Call Autopia Car Care and ask for Ray Vega - 877.855.3125 - tell him XxBoostinxX recommended you and that you need some advice on some products. He is extremely helpful and will take the time to point you in the right direction. If you sign up I get $5 of reward points. http://myaccount.autopia-carcare.com/mod_referralRewards/welcome.php?referralCode=RXWYQF

 

[XxBoostinxX]

So I got tar or some kind sap from driving behind someone on the paint and windshield and can't get it off after I washed the car. And ideas how to get it off?

Would acetone work?
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I would use some tar remover or goo gone. But either will remove any type of wax/sealant you have on the car.

 

[BigSexySP]

+1 on the Meguiars M105 and M205. Those are great products to start out with. One thing to keep in mind is that you don't need to go at stuff with the most aggressive cut at first. Start with the light stuff then bring in the heavy hitters if you need to.

If the purchase and use of a good machine has you nervous (I love my Flex), you can find Chemical Guys Hexlogic orange, white and black hands pads on Amazon. Those will help you get similar results but obviously won't be as quick or thorough.

 

[charlie123]

The difference in the polishers is really how they operate. The Flex is forced rotation, meaning it is similar to a rotary but rotates randomly. If you put a lot of pressure on the Flex the pad will not stop spinning. There is more user error with the Flex and if the pad isn't held right on the paint it will try to "walk" on you. Is it better than a Rupes at correcting? Not necessarily. The "throw" of the Rupes allows it to spin the pad at a larger pace than the Flex. The Rupes also requires zero pressure. The Griots BOSS system is a copy of the Rupes, but with a lifetime warranty. For a weekend warrior or enthusiast, a Porter Cable or Griots 6" random orbital are great entry level polishers. The good thing about the Griots is of course the lifetime warranty and more powerful than the PC. I own a Griots 3", Flex 3401, Flex Kompakt, Rupes 21es, and a Rupes Mini and I prefer my Rupes over everything else.

Waxes won't do anything for the scratches. I detail on the side and hardly ever use waxes anymore. I even have a few high end ones that aren't any better than the good cheap ones. Some Collinite 845 works great and is cheap, but I would just correct the car and coat it.

I also don't recommend m105/m205 for anyone that hasn't polished before. Why? Because it has an extremely short working time and anyone with out experience will over work the crap out of it. Get something like the Blackfire Duo - http://www.autopia-carcare.com/blackfire-duo.html#.VfLZnLS4kdU.

Call Autopia Car Care and ask for Ray Vega - 877.855.3125 - tell him XxBoostinxX recommended you and that you need some advice on some products. He is extremely helpful and will take the time to point you in the right direction. If you sign up I get $5 of reward points. http://myaccount.autopia-carcare.com/mod_referralRewards/welcome.php?referralCode=RXWYQF

Awesome thanks guys. So I guess I could thing to ask would be so since I'm a noon at it I shouldn't correct all the scratches to aggressively?

+1 on the Meguiars M105 and M205. Those are great products to start out with. One thing to keep in mind is that you don't need to go at stuff with the most aggressive cut at first. Start with the light stuff then bring in the heavy hitters if you need to.

If the purchase and use of a good machine has you nervous (I love my Flex), you can find Chemical Guys Hexlogic orange, white and black hands pads on Amazon. Those will help you get similar results but obviously won't be as quick or thorough.

I would use some tar remover or goo gone. But either will remove any type of wax/sealant you have on the car.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk 2

 

[XxBoostinxX]

Awesome thanks guys. So I guess I could thing to ask would be so since I'm a noon at it I shouldn't correct all the scratches to aggressively?

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You want to start with the least aggressive method possible. The reason is, is that different paints react to different polishes/compounds differently. I have polished an Audi and the paint be so hard that even the toughest compound and pad couldn't remove the defects. But my Saleen has extremely soft black paint and I can remove swirls with Menzerna SF4500 and a polishing pad. So you just won't know what you are working with until you do a test spot.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-articles/50162-how-do-test-spot.html

And remember, use the least aggressive method possible! You want to remove the least amount of paint possible while still getting good results. Good luck, and if you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask.

 

[charlie123]

Man that tar or sap or whatever it was, was so difficult to remove. I had to use acetone on the wins hued to remove it.

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