detailing process: is this how its done?

A

agazmi

New member
From reading this forum for the past few days i have come to the conclusion that this is how one is to detail a car, please correct me if im wrong



1- hand wash (preferred way soap gun, then wipe down and rinse)

2- Clay bar

3- inspect the severity of damage, then proceded to correct as such:

moderate to heavy: orange pad PC, with PB ssr 2.5 (2 or more passes if needed)

light to moderate: orange pad PC, PB ssr2.0 (2 or more passes if needed)

finish off with: White pad PC, PB ssr1.0 (2 or more passes if needed)

4-Glaze with a product like CG WMF, Black or Blue pad PC

5-seal with wax like NXT 2.0 or Natty's Blue, Black or Blue Pad PC

6- Dress rubber, tires, and rims

7- vaccum and armorall interior

8- rain-x the glass and voila!
 
That is one way to do it -- But your steps are pretty good. Product selection can be changed, but it a matter of opinion.



You shouldn't have to go more than one pass with a finishing polish.



On the interior, please don't use armorall on everything. ;)
 
Neofate said:
You shouldn't have to go more than one pass with a finishing polish...
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Yeah, I wouldn't switch to the final polish until things are basically as good as you expect them to get. I'd probably switch to a polishing pad a little sooner, the orange pads can be a bit aggressive on some paints.



Plan on the initial correction (with the orange pad and aggressive product) taking a lot longer/more passes than you'd expect ;)



Ah, Armor All isn't all that bad IMO...might want to dilute it with water though.
 
Heh,.. on the Armor All I just don't like the literal 'grease' on everything. The theories of it damages materials I'm not sold on completely.
 
cool, thanks for the replies and advice!. any recommendation on products? is the xmt line a better substitute? and should i stick to one brand of polishes and waxes if im applying to the same car?
 
My #1 recommendation for people just starting to get serious about this stuff is to use 1Z brand polish topped with Collinite brand wax. Simple, effective, and *VERY* user-friendly. But you know what they say about opinions ;) and it's never more true than when it comes to "what detailing stuff should I use".
 
Accumulator has great advice as always. The XMT is not bad polish, it is what I recently used. But there is better. The Z brands are definitely good. However what you've picked out will work well too.



There isn't one brand/polish that everyone agrees is the 'best'. But there are a handful that people agree are all 'good'. If that makes sense.



IE: Anything, Danase - Menzerna - Most Optimum - Zaino -- etc. Maybe a dozen brands everyone will nod their head at,.. but people have their own preferences among them -- And many people , like me, just don't have 10-12 different brands of polishes to compare..
 
You are correct on the order, but here is what I do regarding pads:



For correction, until you know what pad/polish combo is needed to remove defects, start with the least aggressive first. IE, for moderate swirls try SSR 2.5 on a polishing pad, then if it doesn't cut it try it on a cutting pad.



Next, for a chemical cleaner or a less abrasive swirl remove go to a polishing pad.



Glazes, Sealants, and Waxes (with the exceptions of AIO's) I always use a Finishing pad for.



Like others have mentioned, the majority of your time is going to come from that first product/pad that you're using for correction. Possibly 2-3 slower passes. Everything else should be a single pass. Also, if you haven't ordered those products yet but want to stay with Poorboys I would skip the SSR 2.0 and just get the 2.5 and 1.0. There are close enough in abrasiveness that you can easily transition from the two with the correct pads.
 
My process when doing my highest service is



Wash

Clay

Glare Zero w/ yellow LC foam (Soften paint, make deep cuts, scratches and bird marks much much harder to see. Make wet sanding marks dissappear

Toughseal step 1 with gray LC (clean pores, remove old wax, sealant, remove oxidation, make paint silky smooth

Toughseal step 2 with blue to enhance gloss some more and make paint absolutely squeaky clean for an easier machine polishing process (glides over the paint better)



Prepsol

Either Menzerna, Sonus, Aussie Gold, Prima or Hi Temp or a combination of 2 to 3 different brands

Menzerna PG then Sonus SFX 1, 2 and Menz 106FF sometimes works

Final steps - either 1 of these

Glare Micro and pro polish

Blackfire GEP and Prima Amigo with red LC foam or by hand

Driven to Perfection and Ultra Gloss superpolish then driven quick spray with blue LC pad at 1100 rpm to enhance wetness, colour and depth.



Permagard severely and PD5000 to enhance and seal the paintwork for 12 months



A white car will always be finished with 106FF and Driven to Perfection auto polish as the two work together great and nothing else I have tried compares to Driven on white. Makes them blindingly white.



Work time - 8 to 17 hours

Result - killer shine that never fades away and nothing sticks or etches into the paint.

Paint is harder than before due to Zero hardening after the polishing and sealing steps
 
Neofate said:
That is one way to do it -- But your steps are pretty good. Product selection can be changed, but it a matter of opinion.



You shouldn't have to go more than one pass with a finishing polish.



On the interior, please don't use armorall on everything. ;)
Click to expand...



+1 on the ArmorAll - that's evil stuff to put on things like leather/Vinyl seats. You take a turn at more than 5 mph, and you're likely to slide over into the passenger seat! :)



However, your wash lineup sounds pretty much spot on - I do pretty much the same thing, but use different products based upon what *I* like and what works for my vehicles. I've found many times that certain products will work better for one car than another (I've found Mother's Back to Black worked great on my dad's Chevy truck plastic, but Meguiars Gold Class Trim Detailer worked better on my Ford Mustang's plastic trim).



All in all, though, you've got your lineup down pretty good! :)
 
Armor-all natural finish interior detailer is very good, i just got it and happen to like it quite a bit. I hate the "classic" armor all products, that smell like candy and make your interior look soaking wet and slippery as hell. The interior finish detailer is much like aero 303 but available at major stores and is inexpensive.
 
JasonLI18T said:
Armor-all natural finish interior detailer is very good, i just got it and happen to like it quite a bit. I hate the "classic" armor all products, that smell like candy and make your interior look soaking wet and slippery as hell. The interior finish detailer is much like aero 303 but available at major stores and is inexpensive.
Click to expand...



Yeah, the older stuff is basically oil. And oil + heat = cracks.



No thanks.
 
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