Detailing by hand

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BlindFusion

New member
I'm a poor college student, who still wants to take care of their car. Most of the time advice is given, or things that I have read include people who have at least a PC to help them out. I simply cannot afford to purchase a PC.



What products are best for use by hand? I don't mind working my arms off to get a good shine, but I don't know what products are recommended. I've got a little bit of swirling that I'd like to take care of, but I know that will be hard. Right now I'm using Meguiars Deep Crystal Car Wash and Gold Class wax and I've used the Clay Magic claybar. I picked up a few microfiber towels, but they're from Wal-mart :scared:



As I said before, I don't have a huge budget to work with so OTC products are welcome. I don't mind making an order online, but it really can't be much over like $50. Thanks.
 
The MF towels from wal-mart arent that great. Target's towels are good for their price. I dont know if one can get rid of swirls by hand but what you are saying sounds like a good process! :)
 
If I can't get swirls out by hand, is there any worth in using one of those $20 random orbital buffers? I know there's one sitting around in the garage somewhere, but I bought that long before I really knew anything about car care.
 
It is extremely tiring to remove swirls by hand. You can hide them with a glaze and wax instead. Then when you have more money to spare after you finish college, you can then get a PC or whatever's good that time to fix your swirls up.
 
To remove swirls: Scratch-X (made my Meguiars, black tube).



To hide swirls: A glaze that contains filler oils to hide them. Will need to be reapplied often-ish, and locked in with a wax.



I wouldn't mess with the cheap buffers. :)
 
GEPC followed by #7 (I think that's the number for meg's non-abrasive glaze) and then topped with a filling carnauba like #16 (discontinued) or one of the collinite's would hide a GOOD amount of your swirling.
 
BlindFusion said:
What products are best for use by hand?
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All of these Meguiar's products can be applied by hand with very good results.



Meguiar's #2 Fine-Cut Cleaner



Meguiar's #5 New Car Glaze

Meguiar's #7 Show Car Glaze

Meguiar's #81 Hand Polish



Meguiar's #9 Swirl Remover



Meguiar's #6 Cleaner/Wax

Meguiar's #21 Synthetic Sealant

Meguiar's #26 Hi-Tech Yellow Wax

Meguiar's NXT High Tech Wax



http://www.meguiars.com/sitemap/
 
mirrorfinishman said:
All of these Meguiar's products can be applied by hand with very good results.



Meguiar's #2 Fine-Cut Cleaner...
Click to expand...



Just make sure it's the new/current version of #2. I still see the older rotary-only version on shelves.
 
#7 Show Car Glaze is very nice, but difficult to buff off. You have to buff off the top layer after letting it dry partially. Wait a minute or 2 for it to dry again and then buff. I found that I had to repeat this 4-5 times before I got a smooth and slick surface.
 
aaron33 said:
#7 Show Car Glaze is very nice, but difficult to buff off. You have to buff off the top layer after letting it dry partially. Wait a minute or 2 for it to dry again and then buff. I found that I had to repeat this 4-5 times before I got a smooth and slick surface.
Click to expand...



#81 or #3 are much easier to use and also have the deep, rich wetness of #7. :)
 
Yes, I'm going to get myself a bottle of #3 after I finish with #7. :) Too bad I can't find them in stores and have to go to Meg's Australia to get it from them.
 
Scottwax said:
#81 or #3 are much easier to use and also have the deep, rich wetness of #7...
Click to expand...



And while it might give up a little in the way of deep/rich/wet looks, #5 is about as easy to use as any product can be.
 
One word: Mother's!!! Mother's waxes and polishes are excellent for hand use. You can also prep your paint by hand with other polishes, so you may need to do some research.



When the situation allows itself, you should eventually purchase a pc, especially for prepping the paint. The pc is almost an ideal tool (as well as a rotary) for polish prepping the paint before adding an lsp for the first time.



Waxing, however, I still prefer to do by hand. I feel that (for me) in order to finish a car, you still need to be as close to the surface as possible, as well as having a bond with the car (sounds silly, but there is a methodology to this). I hold the view that you acutally have to feel the wax being applied and buffed off of the car, as well as seeing the issues on the paint firsthand, so as to properly guage how the wax is being applied and buffed out to a resolution. It can be done by pc, of course, but the most satisfying part of detailing IMO is the final application and stretching of the wax via hand.
 
Thanks for your help guys! I had a few other expenses this month, so I just bought some new MF towels and some ColorX and used that and just put the Gold Class over it. Not the best solution but a temporary one. I quickly realized that it would just be better to save up and get some better detailing stuff and I'll probably make a online purchase in the next few weeks. I think those MF towels from target left scratches all over my car which I didn't realize until I moved it out of the garage.



Oh well. I'll give it another shot next month. Keep the responses coming as I will be referring back to this thread.



Let me see if I got this right though:



For a cleaner: ColorX

Glaze: #7, #3 or #81

Wax: Collinites or NXT



Thanks again for your help!
 
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