Detail Day.....Please proofread my plan and help me

E

Express

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I plan on doing a massive detail on the exterior tomorrow. I'm also trying to use up my stock of old Meguiars products. Here is my plan



Wash......the basic wash with Meguiars Soft Wash Gel and than preliminary dry by high speeds on the way home (1.5 miles) and than using the Absrober.



Clay Bar......I've never used one before but I have the Meguiars Quick Clay system. From what I gathered I should saturate say the hood with the OD and rub the clay over it until most of the QD is absorbed. Any other thoughts.



Meguairs Body Scrub.....I've heard mixed reviews on this. I have many many many many swirl marks in my black paint. I plan on applying this by hand wiht a foam applicator using an up and down and side to side motion thoroughly rubbing it into the surface. How much should I apply to each panel? How long should I wait until I buff it off? Is it easy to buff off?



Meguairs Scratch X or #2 Crystal Polish.....I have both but need help on deciding which to use. I want the easiest to apply/remove and the one that will bring out the pearl shine the most.



Meguiars Gold Class liquid wax....I've used this before alone and have been fairly pleased with the result. This will be the protective coat.





I plan on taking before and after pictures as well. This will be my first major details on my car doing it myself and having gathered information from this board. By the way, I will be doing all this by hand. I'm a novice and seek any and all advice from the pros here. My biggest problem in the past is that I guess I use to puch of the product and it is so hard to take off. Any advice?????
 
When using your clay bar, you do not spray your entire hood then clay. You mist the area with your QD (small section at a time) then clay. Make sure the surface is well lubricrated. Spray more QD as necessary. The clay is suppose to glide over the surface, once it stops gliding smoothly across your surface start QDing. Also to make your clay last longer cut them into small pieces, so you can thow them away after your done. Everything else sounds adequate, but maybe you should try something better the gold-class, dosen't last too long. You should try Klasse, Zaino, or Blackfire, they last much longer and provide better proctection.;) But if your into wax, try Blitz or Souveran, both are very easy to remove.
 
For claying keep the area small say 1 square foot and keep it very wet with QD. Linear motions work best; front to back on hoods etc. DO not use too much pressure let the clay do its job. fold and knead the clay after each section.



When done with an area wipe up excess QD and inspect to see if you need to clay more. Try not to let the QD dry. You can also clay after washing before drying.



Sometimes I wash the car then I make new soap mixture and while still wet I will use this new soap mixture and clay areas that require it. Certain clays do not like soap mixtures though anbd they get mushy and sticky.



After claying use plenty of QD to remove any residue or re-wash depending on how much surface you clayed and how much residue you have.



Good luck!
 
Zoomin, I hope this isn't too confusing, but I put your original question in quotes and my answer in the following paragraphs:



"Wash......the basic wash with Meguiars Soft Wash Gel and than preliminary dry by high speeds on the way home (1.5 miles) and than using the Absrober. "



You will pick up some dust on the way home. I would squirt a shot of QD unto each panel before drying to reduce swirling. You might be better off drying with an MF towel with your QD, sort of like doing a normal QD.



"Clay Bar......I've never used one before but I have the Meguiars Quick Clay system. From what I gathered I should saturate say the hood with the OD and rub the clay over it until most of the QD is absorbed. Any other thoughts. "



You will enjoy claying. Do smaller sections at a time and do not wait for the QD to be absorbed by the clay because clay does not absorb QD. Just clay (gently) until it glides easily over your paint and then you are done with that section.



"Meguairs Body Scrub.....I've heard mixed reviews on this. I have many many many many swirl marks in my black paint. I plan on applying this by hand wiht a foam applicator using an up and down and side to side motion thoroughly rubbing it into the surface. How much should I apply to each panel? How long should I wait until I buff it off? Is it easy to buff off?

Meguairs Scratch X or #2 Crystal Polish.....I have both but need help on deciding which to use. I want the easiest to apply/remove and the one that will bring out the pearl shine the most. "



You will have difficulty removing "many many" swirls by hand. But since you are planning to do this tomorrow without a machine, I would just try to reduce or "soften" your existing swirls using the body scrub and crystal polish. I believe Scratch X is more for spot-removal of scratches you can feel with your finger. Just hold off on total removal of the swirls for another time because you certainly aren't going to get them out by hand. Still, I believe you can get a killer shine if you clay, clean, and polish to prep your paint.



"Meguiars Gold Class liquid wax....I've used this before alone and have been fairly pleased with the result. This will be the protective coat. "



Carguy has a lot of experience with terrific results with this wax.





"I plan on taking before and after pictures as well. This will be my first major details on my car doing it myself and having gathered information from this board. By the way, I will be doing all this by hand. I'm a novice and seek any and all advice from the pros here. My biggest problem in the past is that I guess I use to puch of the product and it is so hard to take off. Any advice?????"



Don't use too much product! :) I'm looking forward to seeing your results!
 
ZoominLude,



You may have trouble with the Meguiars clay. I have tried it before and it is not very good, many others here have had problems. The most common are streak and smears on the surface ( even when using enough lube) and quick break down of the bar.
 
Thanks for all the help. From what I gathered I should stick with the original plan and skip the Scratch X. By the way, I didn't get to detail it today. Hopefully tomorrow. As far as the body scrub and polish, which direction (side to side, up and down, circular) should I apply them and how long should I work them into the paint before removing?
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by ZoominLude [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>As far as the body scrub and polish, which direction (side to side, up and down, circular) should I apply them and how long should I work them into the paint before removing? [/b]</blockquote>
I'm not positive about the proper usage of these products as I have not used them before but a good rule of thumb is to apply abrasives with a semi-firm pressure at first then move to a lighter and lighter pressure as the product starts drying up.

The idea here is to replace large scratches with progressively smaller ones, so if you have multiple abrasive products, start with the more abrasive one and work your way down. You don't need to wait for abrasives to haze or cure or anything, once you're done rubbing that's it.

Follow the good advice you've been given and come back with any questions!
 
Apply all polishes, waxes, cleaners, & anything else you apply unto your paint using straight back & forth motions from front to back (or in the direction of the wind while driving your car). This rule also applies when washing & drying your car.



Use a 1-inch size dab on your applicator to polish/clean a 2-3 square foot section of your car. Don't press too hard....let the polish do it's work. Keep going back and forth until a lot of the polish is gone. Buff the residue as you go so you can monitor your progress. I really can't tell you how long you should work the polish into the paint. A lot of that is based on how you feel as your polishing. I usually polish until most of the product is gone and I only have residue left. Then I wipe off the residue and see if I need to polish that area again.



HTH
 
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