Beginner here, need new combo!

R

Reflector

New member
Hello Everybody.



I have been reading this forum for a couple of days now and its very interesting. I have owned my car for more than 4 years but I never was a detial person, just the regular wash every once in a while, sometimes with dawn soap because I thaught it did a better job cleaning :eek: guess not.



Anyways, the past few months I started enjoying detialing my car. I am a car enthusiast so anything car related I enjoy basically.



I started with the regular car waxes and polishes. but then I started reading some websites and learned a little.



My routine now.



1. Wash with dish wash (only if I want to start over with a new ply)

2. Meguiars Swirl Polish (if needed)

3. Meguiars Pro Show Car Glaze #7

4. Meguiars Quick Detailer (to remove any residue, I cant seem to get it completely removed and the detailer helps alot)

5. Meguiars Gold Class Liquid Paste Wax

6. Meguiars Pro Final Inspection



I dont use any buffers or anything fancy. Just the regular applicator and pure cotton to remove the wax & polish, and I use 100% cotton towels apply and remove the spray detailers.



I am very happy with the results that I get and it seems to last about a month or so, I just keep using the detailer every couple of days for cleaning and helping the shine last.



Although I am happy I still feel that the shine can be enhanced.

I am really looking for that deep gloss wet look, My car is silver if that helps any.



Any advice for a certian product or process that is better than what I use or do will be greatly appreciated.



excuse the spelling or grammer, english is my 3rd language.
 
Welcome!



Don't forget to clay the finish B4 you start polishing and applying any wax or sealant.



Quite a few of us use Meguiars DACP and step right to wax or Zaino or Klasse etc. It all depends on what you want.



I understand you are doing this by hand. This can be frustrating on some products because they need a PC to "heat-up" or "break-down" the product well enough for it to work properly. You may want to invest in a PC. They are cheap, easy to work with and you cannot damage your paint with it unless you drop it on the paint.



Search through the site, look at some of the results people post and then see what it took if that's what you want. Also, look into the detailing guide, now being updated, but still informative. Go here for it: http://www.autopia-carcare.com/autguidtodet.html.



It's all up to you... How much time you want to spend, what effects do you want etc.



Regards,

Deanski
 
Hello Reflector and welcome. :welcome



Your routine sounds quite good and technically correct as it is right now (some might dispute the use of Gold Class, but that's debatable). The only thing that might be improved is polishing by machine, but it's hard to say how your car currently compares to a brand new looking finish. Machine polishing is more effective at removing defects and damage than by hand, but that is only if you even have any damage of course... Do you notice any dulling or does it have swirls still?



Silver is a colour with two personalities. On one hand, it hides swirls, dirt, defects, and most problems in general very well. On the other hand, it is not as impressive or terrific to look at as darker colours like blue or black, even when fully and completely detailed properly. White has a similar problem. I'm not saying your paint can't be improved upon from where it is now, I do not know, but I'm just cautioning you that there is a limit to what can be done with silver.



HTH and happy detailing. :)
 
your method looks good to me, just that i would change the gold glass wax. for me it gave a good shine for maybe 1-2weeks and thats it. consider using a carbuana wax like megauirs #26 high tech yellow wax, or p21s/s100 which many autopians love. i think selants and synthetic waxes like zaino and klasse give better shine for silver cars? thats from what i read from autopia atleast.
 
Thanks everybody!



very helpfull link JasonC8301, exactly the same problem I was having removing it.



4DSC, I know exactly what you mean about silver. Basically it will not look new even if you purchase a new car, but on the other hand it will not look old even after a few years. I feel the colour silver is very good for a daily driver, wont look dirty and will always look acceptable even without maintanence.



After I am done detailing the shine is not very impressive during the day time, it just looks super clean. But at night its very nice, especially under HID (Xenon) lights the whole car turns purple and the gloss seems to show.



a few questions.



What do these terms mean :o



MF's =

PC =

DACP =

HTH =



okay, so I beleive everybody agrees I should change my wax. I read a little more and it seems that Zaino, P21S, Klasse or Meguiars #26 will be best.



any particular one I should give a try first?
 
Reflector - Welcome to Autopia! You display a commendable command of English, especially considering it's your third (!) language :xyxthumbs



Oh, and HTH= Hope This Helps



I currently have five silver cars. You CAN get silver to really look impressive if you use the right products and techniques.



I haven't used #7 for ages. Nothing wrong with it, but I'm getting good results without it.



On silver, I've found that using a synthetic works much better than using just a carnauba wax, even a good one like P21S.



In addition to Zaino, Klasse AIO+SG, Blackfire, and Platinum are three other products you might consider. The BF and PUPP are probably the easiest to use. I myself usually prefer how they look, compared to the Klasse, but it depends on the car. Different versions of silver look better/worse with different products on them.
 
Good suggestions from all, but remember that using a synthetic usually has different usage instructions that a "normal" wax. You usually shouldn't bother with the #7 glaze step, and it sometimes takes more care to use them. It's up to you if you want to do this or not and you'll have to do some reading up on the numerous products and see if they look attractive to you. Good luck!
 
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