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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
(Same site, but there's different articles on each page)
As for Meguiars, I find their stuff to be good, but not great. No need to throw them out and waste your money, you can practice with what you've got before buying other products.
And then, if you end up like me, you'll spend hundreds of dollars on different detailing products just to try them out. It's another addiction!
Chris - 119 was a VERY good price. I got mine used, it's got a few scratches, but operationally flawless, plus the velcro pad set ($yow$ new) for a hunnert. Guy was gonna do his 'porch' and a couple boats but never got up for it. Had hoped for $80 but nothing else on ebay was close. AND it's a porter-cable - there are some brands you just don't worry about much; get what you pay for.
Melissa and sr20ser, THANK YOU for the help. I start this eve.
__________________
'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?
meguiar's professional line is still top notch. these are the same products used in many body shops to this day. I still use a few of their pro lines for our customers.
Depending on how bad your paint is, you may need the dual action stuff to remove oxidation, then a good paint cleaner to get the paint ready for polish. I used the Sonus Paint Cleanser, and it worked like a champ. This is my favorite picture, showing what the paint looked like before any polish touched the car.
weapons of choice:
I used the Meguries with a orange Sonus DAS pad, and the cleanser was with an orange pad too. Make sure you tape up the trim before using the buffer. This protects both the pad and the trim. I used blue painter's tape.
I have seen a few cars Jay (Panapower) and his bro. have done.... transformation and surprise are just a few words to describe the work....
I used to have to manage the detail dept. among other things at an exotic dealership a while back.... I actually liked the reults of Pinnacle on black cars... but then they were Ferraris so the paints condition was usually good
FYI, black is actually one of the easier colors to work with. Ever see white so deep and glossy it looked three dimensional? I haven't, but black and red, I have.
Regardless of color, just follow the basic steps:
1 - Wash. Use Dawn if you need to strip off old wax, otherwise use a good car shampoo and a clean wash mitt that won't swirl your paint.
2 - Clay bar, to remove contaminates. If you don't do this, you can embed particles into your paint when you polish.
3 - If you need to remove oxidation, etching, or heavy swirls, use an abrasive polish, preferrably with a PC. Working by hand won't accomplish much.
4 - Use a mild polish to remove lighter swirls and marring, even if you already used the abrasive polish.
5 - Protect your paint. You can use an acrylic or amino-functional sealant, which will last a few months. Sealants have a high reflection, glassy look. You can top that with a nice carnauba to give it richness, depth and gloss. Or you can skip the sealant and go straight to the wax, but remember that wax only lasts a few weeks at best.
It takes the better part of a day, but it's worth it. You can get the really detailed explanation of this via the links I posted above.
Melissa - you mention sealants - can you recommend a few?
Didn't get to fire up the pc until last nite, started cleaning. MY what a neat tool.
Thanx also for the why on the clay bar step.
THANX
Jer
Menzerna FMJ, 4-Star Ultra Paint Protection, Klasse Sealant Glaze, Poorboy's World Ex-P and Zaino are all the sealants that are raved about.. I cannot personally recommend one, but I am going to order up a bottle of 4-Star UPP for our silver metallic Camry, Carnaubas can mute the metal flake.
__________________
Jonathan Schultz
1997 200SX SE-R U13 Swap
2005 Toyota Avalon Limited
Menzerna FMJ, 4-Star Ultra Paint Protection, Klasse Sealant Glaze, Poorboy's World Ex-P and Zaino are all the sealants that are raved about.. I cannot personally recommend one, but I am going to order up a bottle of 4-Star UPP for our silver metallic Camry, Carnaubas can mute the metal flake.
I haven't used Menzerna yet, but I hear good things about it. Same thing with Zaino. Both are a bit more expensive than I'd like.
Klasse Sealant Glaze is very tricky to apply without hazing until you really have a lot of experience under your belt, and even then some detailers b*tch about it. This is an acrylic that can last up to a year!
Klasse All-In-One (AIO) is good stuff. It is also an acrylic, and lasts 4 to 6 months. It has very light cleansing properties. If you apply it over a wax, it will remove the wax. However, you can wax on top of it.
Poorboy's EX-P is also good stuff. This is an amino functional resin, which also lasts 4 to 6 months. It does not have cleansing properties, but you would not want to apply it over wax, it would haze. You can definitely wax on top of it though.
I'm a huge fan of Poorboy's products because you can use them in direct sunlight on a hot day, with little to no difficulty. Plus all their products smell awesome! If I didn't know any better, I'd eat the stuff!
EX-P and Trim Restorer = coconut
Natty's Blue and SSR's (Super Swirl Removers) = bubblegum
Spray and Gloss = lemon
(that's all I've got right now, trying to hold off buying more)
I think we need to color me embarrassed for letting this thing go so long. While I had the hood redone last fall and it's clean, the roof and trunk lid (as far as I've gotten so far) I've gone over with the 7424 and the Meguiars cleaner I had twice - and I'm still bringing off dead paint. Do I keep doing this until it stops making the pad black (this didn't happen with the hood and fresh paint at all), or am I going to have a 'silver' car if I keep this up?
THX
Jer
I think we need to color me embarrassed for letting this thing go so long. While I had the hood redone last fall and it's clean, the roof and trunk lid (as far as I've gotten so far) I've gone over with the 7424 and the Meguiars cleaner I had twice - and I'm still bringing off dead paint. Do I keep doing this until it stops making the pad black (this didn't happen with the hood and fresh paint at all), or am I going to have a 'silver' car if I keep this up?
THX
Jer
Yes, you need to stop. When you mean you had the hood redone, you mean painted? Nissan black, up until the cars were moved to Mexico, did not have a clear coat. You are removing the paint when you polish, so if you go too far, you will be at the primer. Since the hood has a clear coat, you won't get black color on the pad.
No clear coat! Didn't know - figured when they clearcoated the hood that was because the rest of it was done that way. Wondered how the heck black was coming thru clearcoat - DOH. THANKS Eric. On to the polish.
Melissa, ONLY a GIRL would trip out on the fragrance of this stuff (I'M TEASING I'M TEASING - don't hit me!)
Jer
Last edited by jerryeads : 06-28-2006 at 02:08 PM.
