BOSS BEST IN SHOW SYSYEM
- Thread starter Bull6791
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TGates- You ever try that EF Clear Pearl as a Drying Aid? And yeah...I *still* have another jug of it on the shelf!
Bull6791- The short-answer is that you can use anything that won't mess with your LSP. SprayWax, Quick Detailers, Rinseless Washes...I've had great results with all of those, and yeah...I've had a few "!oops!" 'es along the way when things were *not* compatible, but those were long ago and the products have changed since then.
If you're still thinking Griot's, I'll go back to: Wash it, decontaminate it if you want to or think it's needed, polish with Ceramic All-in-One, top with Ceramic 3-in-1 (or their Ceramic Liquid Wax), and then use the Ceramic Speed Shine as your Drying Aid/LSP-booster. If you and your vehicle were in my shop, with all my gazillions of products to choose from...that's what I'd suggest we should do. Hands-down, no question, no need to discuss the other four or five equally easy/satisfactory alternatives that I can think of.
We have not touched up on what I consider the most critical aspect of Detailing: the Mainenance Wash. Washing a vehicle thoroughly *WITHOUT MARRING THE PAINT* is extremely difficult to do, and you can't polish out marring very often or you'll run out of the extremely thin layer of clearcoat that vehicles have these days. I strongly suspsect that the old rule of "don't remove more than 2/3mil or ~18microns" is only applicable to older vehicles or those rare ones that still use a lot of clearcoact.
Bull6791- The short-answer is that you can use anything that won't mess with your LSP. SprayWax, Quick Detailers, Rinseless Washes...I've had great results with all of those, and yeah...I've had a few "!oops!" 'es along the way when things were *not* compatible, but those were long ago and the products have changed since then.
If you're still thinking Griot's, I'll go back to: Wash it, decontaminate it if you want to or think it's needed, polish with Ceramic All-in-One, top with Ceramic 3-in-1 (or their Ceramic Liquid Wax), and then use the Ceramic Speed Shine as your Drying Aid/LSP-booster. If you and your vehicle were in my shop, with all my gazillions of products to choose from...that's what I'd suggest we should do. Hands-down, no question, no need to discuss the other four or five equally easy/satisfactory alternatives that I can think of.
We have not touched up on what I consider the most critical aspect of Detailing: the Mainenance Wash. Washing a vehicle thoroughly *WITHOUT MARRING THE PAINT* is extremely difficult to do, and you can't polish out marring very often or you'll run out of the extremely thin layer of clearcoat that vehicles have these days. I strongly suspsect that the old rule of "don't remove more than 2/3mil or ~18microns" is only applicable to older vehicles or those rare ones that still use a lot of clearcoact.
Not sure I used it as a drying aid, but to be fair, back in 2005? 2006? a drying aid was still kind of a foreign concept to me!
It's been discontinued.
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Bull6791- Sorry about muddying the waters by mentioning that Einman Fabrik Clear Pearl. I sent some to Tyler (was it really *THAT* long ago?!? Oh man...) and couldn't help but mention it. Eh, never mind....
I've never tried the Collinite 520, just used their 845 and 476S. Those were among my faves for a long time and yeah, they're OK...I'm not throwing them away even though I'll probably never use them again. FWIW, the 476S lasts longer and has more "depth and jetting" (scare-quotes because we're splitting hairs) whereas the 845 can be used on trim (if you do it right- don't let it flash/dry, buff off immediately) and has a "brighter, glossier" look (ditto on scare-quotes).
I'd bet anything that the various Collinite products are compatible. They make good stuff. I'd be literally 100% confident that you can use the Meguiar's UQW on Collinite waxes (and I'm about 80% certain you could use it over top of *anything* that's not a coating).
Some Polish that finishes out ready-to-wax, then one of the Collinites, maintained with some SprayWax or a Leaves-Stuff-Behind Quick Detailer, would certainly work well. BUT...
Still...when I think about your specific situation, and the concerns you've raised, and [every other factor that comes to mind], this time I come back to using that Griot's Ceramic combo. For your first go-around with a polisher, that Ceramic All-in-One strikes me as a complete no-brainer.
With all the [stuff] I have on the shelf, for my next Big Detail I'll either do something more involved (regulars here know that would involve FK1000P), which I'd rather not steer you towards, or else I'll use the Griot's Ceramic. And I'm *extremely* particular about what I use on my vehicles
I've never tried the Collinite 520, just used their 845 and 476S. Those were among my faves for a long time and yeah, they're OK...I'm not throwing them away even though I'll probably never use them again. FWIW, the 476S lasts longer and has more "depth and jetting" (scare-quotes because we're splitting hairs) whereas the 845 can be used on trim (if you do it right- don't let it flash/dry, buff off immediately) and has a "brighter, glossier" look (ditto on scare-quotes).
I'd bet anything that the various Collinite products are compatible. They make good stuff. I'd be literally 100% confident that you can use the Meguiar's UQW on Collinite waxes (and I'm about 80% certain you could use it over top of *anything* that's not a coating).
Some Polish that finishes out ready-to-wax, then one of the Collinites, maintained with some SprayWax or a Leaves-Stuff-Behind Quick Detailer, would certainly work well. BUT...
Still...when I think about your specific situation, and the concerns you've raised, and [every other factor that comes to mind], this time I come back to using that Griot's Ceramic combo. For your first go-around with a polisher, that Ceramic All-in-One strikes me as a complete no-brainer.
With all the [stuff] I have on the shelf, for my next Big Detail I'll either do something more involved (regulars here know that would involve FK1000P), which I'd rather not steer you towards, or else I'll use the Griot's Ceramic. And I'm *extremely* particular about what I use on my vehicles
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Bull6791- IME, the primary benefits of FK1000P (now named Big White Marine or somesuch) are that it lasts longer than anything else I've used (except now-unavailable coatings) and protects so well against birds/bugs that I don't have to clean them off to prevent etching. Whole different approach and not one I recommend in this case.
I have no idea whether the Griot's Ceramic stuff will last/protect as well, but it's dead-nuts easy and just *SO* much quicker/easier...no comparison.
Note that one benefit of using an AIO that contains abrasives is that, unlike "regular" abrasive polishes, AIO's don't need a panel wipe before LSPing (to remove polishing oils and residual abrasives) and don't really even need the LSP, at least not right away. They'll protect fine until the next wash, and you can do the "real LSPing" then.
After you spend all the time washing, decontaminating, polishing (even if it's just "AIO-ing"), you might be ready to call it a day/weekend/week. If that's the case, having to wipe the panels down and start LSPing as a separate step..well, that might be a bit much!
We never did discuss just how long you plan to spend on this...how long the vehicle can be off the road, how many hours at a time you want to work on it, factors along those lines. I *REALLY* want this to be an OK, even enjoyable, experience for you that leaves your car "done" for a while so you can just enjoy the fruits of your labor without having to plan on another big commitment to "just finish up". Don't underestimate the scope of a Full Detail, especially while you're getting squared-away and developing your process. Nah, not trying to scare you off, just offering a little reality check
I have no idea whether the Griot's Ceramic stuff will last/protect as well, but it's dead-nuts easy and just *SO* much quicker/easier...no comparison.
Note that one benefit of using an AIO that contains abrasives is that, unlike "regular" abrasive polishes, AIO's don't need a panel wipe before LSPing (to remove polishing oils and residual abrasives) and don't really even need the LSP, at least not right away. They'll protect fine until the next wash, and you can do the "real LSPing" then.
After you spend all the time washing, decontaminating, polishing (even if it's just "AIO-ing"), you might be ready to call it a day/weekend/week. If that's the case, having to wipe the panels down and start LSPing as a separate step..well, that might be a bit much!
We never did discuss just how long you plan to spend on this...how long the vehicle can be off the road, how many hours at a time you want to work on it, factors along those lines. I *REALLY* want this to be an OK, even enjoyable, experience for you that leaves your car "done" for a while so you can just enjoy the fruits of your labor without having to plan on another big commitment to "just finish up". Don't underestimate the scope of a Full Detail, especially while you're getting squared-away and developing your process. Nah, not trying to scare you off, just offering a little reality check
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Bull6791- Just saw your "can you.." post as I was about to log off...here's a quick take that oughta cover the bases OK:
-Wash the car
-Decontaminate if necessary (method and severity of contamination should determine whether it's part of the wash process or a separate step)
The car should now be clean, decontaminated, and dry..all ready for the next step.
-Inspect for significant marring, which will take more correction than panels that "look OK"
-Using a Polishing Pad, do a panel with the Ceramic All-in-One, following the Griot's instructions/label/tutorial. Inspect to see whether it turned out to your satisfaction. If not..because you still see some marring...go over it again (and again.."rinse repeat"-style) until it's either good enough or you get tired of messing with it. The C AiO is mild, so it might not remove *all* the marring, but it'll do a lot.
At that point, you should be comfortable with your process or ready to ask for advice.
-Continue to do the rest of the panels. Clean your pad out very frequently, switch to a new/clean pad very frequently. Keep inspecting!
If you've had enough when you finish the car with the C AiO, call it a day/weekend/week. If you want to do more, do the final LSPing:
-Use the Griot's Ceramic 3-in-One as per the Griot's instructions/label/tutorial. Let it cure for a day or so before you get it wet or apply another coat. I did three coats overall.
Then, to maintain it:
-Wash carefully to avoid marring, and watch for signs that the LSP is changing so you can stay ahead of the curve. Use a little spritz of Ceramic Speed Shine as a Drying Aid. If you think the Ceramic 3-in-1 is starting to fail, redo that, but otherwise the Ceramic Speed Shine will leave it looking great and well-protected.
That's a very short version, but I don't *think* I've missed anything. So I'm back to..."how much time/effort/etc. are you planning to spend?"
-Wash the car
-Decontaminate if necessary (method and severity of contamination should determine whether it's part of the wash process or a separate step)
The car should now be clean, decontaminated, and dry..all ready for the next step.
-Inspect for significant marring, which will take more correction than panels that "look OK"
-Using a Polishing Pad, do a panel with the Ceramic All-in-One, following the Griot's instructions/label/tutorial. Inspect to see whether it turned out to your satisfaction. If not..because you still see some marring...go over it again (and again.."rinse repeat"-style) until it's either good enough or you get tired of messing with it. The C AiO is mild, so it might not remove *all* the marring, but it'll do a lot.
At that point, you should be comfortable with your process or ready to ask for advice.
-Continue to do the rest of the panels. Clean your pad out very frequently, switch to a new/clean pad very frequently. Keep inspecting!
If you've had enough when you finish the car with the C AiO, call it a day/weekend/week. If you want to do more, do the final LSPing:
-Use the Griot's Ceramic 3-in-One as per the Griot's instructions/label/tutorial. Let it cure for a day or so before you get it wet or apply another coat. I did three coats overall.
Then, to maintain it:
-Wash carefully to avoid marring, and watch for signs that the LSP is changing so you can stay ahead of the curve. Use a little spritz of Ceramic Speed Shine as a Drying Aid. If you think the Ceramic 3-in-1 is starting to fail, redo that, but otherwise the Ceramic Speed Shine will leave it looking great and well-protected.
That's a very short version, but I don't *think* I've missed anything. So I'm back to..."how much time/effort/etc. are you planning to spend?"
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Gotta log off soon...but the FK lasted so much longer than anything from Collinite that there was simply zero comparison. But, of course one person here, who lived in AZ, found that the 845 lasted *longer* than the FK! Utterly opposite my experience (over many, many years!) but that's just how it goes.
If you go with Collinite or the FK, I'd still recommend an All-in-One, but not the Griot's Ceramic (compatibility issues?). I'm partial to Zaino's AiO before those products, but everyone has his preferences.
I'd still strongly recommend just doing the Griot's Ceramic approach at this time. Very strongly
one person here, who lived in AZ, found that the 845 lasted *longer* than the FK! Utterly opposite my experience (over many, many years!) but that's just how it goes.If you go with Collinite or the FK, I'd still recommend an All-in-One, but not the Griot's Ceramic (compatibility issues?). I'm partial to Zaino's AiO before those products, but everyone has his preferences.
I'd still strongly recommend just doing the Griot's Ceramic approach at this time. Very strongly