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Last night and today I went and did the full clay bar job using the polisher & clay bar pad, then used Mezerna final polish II on the whole car, and Klasse sealant glaze on the whole car.
I don't have Mezerna Full Metal Jacket (yet) but once it gets here I'll take some additional pics and actually post them.
The clay bar makes a big difference, the car feels so so much smoother, and after doing the buffer on everything it is nice and glossy shiny. Of course now I found several "touchup" paint spots I didn't know were even there. The car looked Soooo bad before, now it looks pretty good I'll have to say.
Here is a camera phone pic after just washing it:
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Sweet '93 NX DE+T GT28RS- For Sale
Thanx for this one, guys. I've been putting off doing my summer (old fashioned hand) detailing 'cause I just can't stand the thought of it in hotlanta, and it's not even hot yet - - -.
Jer
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'93 B13, etc.
If you don't have the patience
to do it right the first time,
how is it you have the time to
do it over and over again?
Thanx for this one, guys. I've been putting off doing my summer (old fashioned hand) detailing 'cause I just can't stand the thought of it in hotlanta, and it's not even hot yet - - -.
Jer
Jerry, you're going senile. I just sat in "hotlanta" traffic and its f*** hot with no AC
PC's are the sh*t, detailing sucks without one. I Klasse'd our white NX a few weeks ago too, and it's still looking nice and glassy. One of these day's I'll put a carnauba topper on it so it has deep gloss.
Why do you think that? Most carnauba based waxes will wear off within a few weeks. Acrylic and amino-functional sealants will wear off in a few months.
The biggest mistake people make when they wax their car is not prepping the surface first. You have to remove the impurities (usually by claying), and ideally you would polish out any swirls or surface marring. Then you seal or wax it to protect it from the elements.
Unprotected paint will dull much faster than paint protected by wax, because the UV rays of the sun degrade the paint.
Everything's relative, Crim - - Wait 'til August - - - -
You bet I'm keepin' that compressor come he** or high water - - Glad you only got stuck for 2 hrs
Bought one of those el cheapo things at HF a year or so ago - kinda works, random orbit, but doesn't like to work very well. The Porter Cable piece went to the top of my list (LONG list) of car things, thanx to these guys.
Last edited by jerryeads : 06-22-2006 at 09:49 AM.
I think that because I used to detail cars for a living. Waxes are not clear as you might think. Waxes are opaque, and thus leave a "film" on the surface. Why do you think people with top end paint jobs ($3k+) never wax their cars? They only polish the car. Please do not buy into the labels on most car care products.
The hardest and highest quality wax (Brazilian Carnauba) will, for a lack of better words, melt off the first time the air temperature reached around 100 degrees or 10 minutes in the sun. Carnauba melts at 130 degrees, pending the resin binders. When the air temp is around 100 degrees in the sun, your cars finish is at a higher temperature.
You are probably going to tell me that you can feel the wax job after a week or so in the hot sun, and you would be right to a certain extent. The wax coat is no longer uniform as the wax "slides" when melting.
Yes the wax will protect the finish for a bit from the elements, but as soon as the wax reaches its melting point, it is all over. The more you wax, the more you WILL build up residue from the synthetic compounds in the wax. Some products state that the wax is pure Carnauba or whatever, but this is false. The wax is far too hard to be applied if left in its original state, thus other compounds are added.
The bottom line here is that wax will build up over time, unless you do surface prep (not washing) every time you decide to wax your car.
-Tim
I think that because I used to detail cars for a living. Waxes are not clear as you might think. Waxes are opaque, and thus leave a "film" on the surface. Why do you think people with top end paint jobs ($3k+) never wax their cars? They only polish the car. Please do not buy into the labels on most car care products.
The hardest and highest quality wax (Brazilian Carnauba) will, for a lack of better words, melt off the first time the air temperature reached around 100 degrees or 10 minutes in the sun. Carnauba melts at 130 degrees, pending the resin binders. When the air temp is around 100 degrees in the sun, your cars finish is at a higher temperature.
You are probably going to tell me that you can feel the wax job after a week or so in the hot sun, and you would be right to a certain extent. The wax coat is no longer uniform as the wax "slides" when melting.
Yes the wax will protect the finish for a bit from the elements, but as soon as the wax reaches its melting point, it is all over. The more you wax, the more you WILL build up residue from the synthetic compounds in the wax. Some products state that the wax is pure Carnauba or whatever, but this is false. The wax is far too hard to be applied if left in its original state, thus other compounds are added.
The bottom line here is that wax will build up over time, unless you do surface prep (not washing) every time you decide to wax your car.
-Tim
Well that's cool that you used to detail for a living. It's something I'd like to do on the side for extra income.
True, carnauba wax is slightly opaque. The idea is to apply as thin a layer as possible. If it's hazing, then you put too much on. That thin layer will protect the paint till the elements wear it off in a few weeks, or you take it off yourself. If you can feel it changing in the sun, then there must be WAY too much on. Yikes!
Acrylics and amino-functional resins are clear. They'll last longer, but will still wear off in time.
If these products built up on the car, then people really could just wax their car once a year, like some products claim. I'm sure you know there's no such product that meets those standards (yet).
I've never heard of a professional polishing their paint and failing to protect it afterwards. That sounds pretty crazy, most show cars are polished to perfection, then sealed and waxed. I've heard of show cars with dozens of layers of protection on.
I do not use any OTC detailing products, they're all junk. What lines are you familiar with?
I agree, proper prep is key! Wash, clay, polish, polish, polish! Then seal.
PRO, Zaino Bros., Auto Magic, Griots, 3M, Wurth and Stoner, & Eimann Fabrik
Quote:
Originally Posted by Melissa
Well that's cool that you used to detail for a living. It's something I'd like to do on the side for extra income.
No, you don't. It gets old fast. I would rather stab myself in the eye repeatedly than do that again.
Quote:
If these products built up on the car, then people really could just wax their car once a year, like some products claim. I'm sure you know there's no such product that meets those standards (yet).
They do build up on areas of the bodywork, they don't just vanish or wash off easily. That is why they make strippers.
Quote:
I've never heard of a professional polishing their paint and failing to protect it afterwards. That sounds pretty crazy, most show cars are polished to perfection, then sealed and waxed.
I am sorry that you have never heard of that, but trust me on this one. Yes they seal the paint after polish, but a sealer and wax are two very different things.
-Tim
PRO, Zaino Bros., Auto Magic, Griots, 3M, Wurth and Stoner, & Eimann Fabrik
I hear Zaino's the sh*t. I've been using a lot of Poorboys, some 3M stuff, and some Sonus.
Quote:
No, you don't. It gets old fast. I would rather stab myself in the eye repeatedly than do that again.
Hehehe, maybe because you weren't getting good results! J/K, I really enjoy detailing, I'd like to do it on the side. There's no money in being a scientist.
Quote:
They do build up on areas of the bodywork, they don't just vanish or wash off easily. That is why they make strippers.
Carnauba waxes break down fast in UV light. You really have to wax your car a lot, say weekly, to earn a build up. Even on a garage queen, because the wax can evaporate off the surface (yes, it really can). I've never seen a "wax stripper" for sale on any of the detailing sites I shop at or any mention of them on the detailing forums I waste time on. I'd say it's because it's fairly unneccessary - besides, Dawn dish detergent works just fine. That stuff will take everything off your paint.
Quote:
I am sorry that you have never heard of that, but trust me on this one. Yes they seal the paint after polish, but a sealer and wax are two very different things.
-Tim
Yes, sealer and wax are different. Sealants will last a long time, and provide a glassy look. You can top it off with wax for a deep glossy look, but the wax will only last a few weeks. No show car would have the typical show car deep gloss without layers of carnauba.
Tell me about it, Melissa - worse, I do policy research for a state gov (but I DO have nice processing and stat software toys). 'Spose if I were private I'd have a porch or a bummer rather than this B13ve. ANYWAY, thanx to both you and sr20ser I caught a 7424 with all the griot stuff off ebay, NOW, there's lots of opinions above; both of you, should I toss the meguiar's stuff I have and get stuff off the griot's garage to do it right?? Given I really don't know squat about what I'm doing in this arena (I wrench and play race car, but detailing nada), do I go to griot's or where to read about start to finish (clay bar to final wax, for example)?
THANX
Jer
Use the Meguiars. For the cost and level of the product, it is hard to beat. Hell, I use their clay bars when getting other stuff will take too long.
There is nothing wrong with Meguiars. Just like anything else, you get what you pay for. On a side note, Eagle One wheel cleaner works better than the twice the price Auto Magic stuff.
-Tim
I bought some new pads & polish, found a porter cable DA sander/polisher at a pawn shop, and finally got around to trying it out last night.
All I can say is WOW! Holy crap, my car went from a semi-dusty white to a smooth, shiny, reflective, lusterous sweet finish.
And all I used was the yellow pad and intensive polish as a semi-compound stage, I still have 2 more stages to go with this stuff.
If you have a crappy paint job but all of it is still there, follow the tips and products on this site -http://www.properautocare.com/porcabpolac.html
It made all the difference in the world. Now I'm thinking I might be able to skip the new paintjob!
welcome to the world of detailing. my brother and I actually made a business on the side from it. we enjoy it as long as we are not sweating our balls off. I've got tons of pictures of cars we've done before and all of our customers were all surprised that it was their car they were looking at.
j/k
