First serious detail, please check out my order list!

Y

Yuen

New member
Hey all,



Bit of background: I've tried detailing in the past, but I didn't have a PC so it was always a wash (California Gold with a sponge), clay (Meguiar's Quik Detail set), then straight to wax (Meguiar's Gold Class Wax with an applicator and buff on using a 3M Microfiber cloth).



I've now got a Makita BO6040 polisher, and I want to do a serious detail and get rid of the scratches on my 1992 BMW E36 320i. Colour is Arctic Grey. It's got plenty of swirls, but no oxidation. I purchased $300 of gift certs on Autogeek a week back, and I want to put my order in before the 26th.



My shopping cart currently consists of:



1. Optimum Polish (32oz.)

2. Optimum Compound (32oz.)

3. Optimum Poli-Seal (32oz.)

4. Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay 'Special' Kit (4 oz. Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay, 16oz. Clay lubricant, 2 x Cobra Detailing towels)

5. PB Natty's Blue Paste Wax

6. Guzzler Combo Kit (Guzzler, Supreme Guzzler)

7. Cobra MF WW Glass Towel

8. Cobra MF Towel Combo (4 x Indigo Edgeless Polishing, 4 x All Purpose Cleaning, 4 x Super Plush Deluxe, 16oz. Pinnacle Micro Rejuvenator)

9. ShMitt combo (1 x White washing, 1 x white/yellow interior)

10. 7.5" LC CCS Pads (1 x yellow, 1 x orange, 2 x white, 1 x black, 1 x blue)



Questions:



1. I will be using Mother's California Gold or Meguiar's Gold Class Car Wash for washing, I'm assuming the cheaper stuff like ArmorAll isn't as good?

2. Should I get anything for QDing, was looking at the DP 4-in-1 which could be diluted, and would last me awhile? Price seems good too.

3. Is the Pinnacle clay good? A thread or two that I've read didn't seem to favour it much. If not, which clay sold by Autogeek is the best?

4. What is the difference between black and blue pads, I see both of them have no cut, so is it necessary to have both? Do I need more yellow/orange/white pads? And do I need to buy the green 'dual-purpose' pads?

5. Should I get 1 Ultimate Guzzler, instead of 1 Guzzler, and 1 Supreme Guzzler?



I was actually going to go for the Werkstatt line, but the lack of polishes in their line meant that I had to source polishes from another supplier. Being in New Zealand, shipping is not economical at all, each supplier will charge around $40 with USPS Surface mail, and I am happy to wait. AG won't do Surface though, so I will have to pay in excess of $100 for shipping alone. If there are products above that you feel aren't necessary, or perhaps if you know of cheaper alternatives, please let me know.



Current total is $294.82 for the above. I was thinking of getting a quart foam gun, and am still tempted... anyone think it's worth the $60?



Appreciate your input, can't wait to get all this sorted and get the car looking great. :buffing:
 
I don't have any experience with any of the clay they sell on Autogeek, but Clay Magic is OTC for me and gets the job done pretty well. Good luck on your detail!



-Pete
 
Hi there,



That certainly is a good set of products you have down there on your list to get you started on the road to an excellent full detail.. To answer your specific questions:



1) What you are ideally looking for in a shampoo, espeically on a newly detailed car is one which will a) not strip wax, and b) has good lubrication so that the mitt glides easily across the paint and this reduces slightly the chance of inflicting marring... I have no experience of Mothers products but know that the Meguiars Gold Class is certainly an excellent shampoo in this respect.



2) A QD spray is always something useful to have around - as a clay lube for example. I personally really like Meguiars Last Touch as a QD but there are many out there that are excellent. One good use for a QD is in the dyring stages after a normal was: once the car has been rinsed, spray the panels with QD and then wipe dry with a waffleweave towel - this lays down a little lube for the towel so as to reduce the chances of inflicting marring and also leaves a "just-waxed" look on the paintwork... QD can also be very handy for removing stubborn product residues.



3) IIRC, the PInnacle Poly clay is an eleastic clay? Someone please correct me if I am wrong here... I really like the elastic clay properties after having used a Swissol clay like this (though they have recently changd there clay make up :( ) and find them very easy to use. I have also heard of goof reports of the Ponnacle clay on the UK detailing forums. Im afraid I cannot give a more detailed answer than that however, hopefully someone will chime in with a defiitive answer on the Pinnacle clay...



4) Re: pad choice. The black and blue foam pads are both finising pads, one has a slightly finer foam than the other. I personally have both but find myself normally just settling for the black pad. The fine foam pad (blue) would lend itself ideally to sealent or wax application, but Iactually prefer applying these tyle of products by hand. The pads you have on the list there look a comprehensive set (I may add an extra orange foam pad to the list) and will work well with the Optimum polishes and compounds that you have on the list. There is a large number of various cut available from LakeCountry pads as you have found out but in honesty the range that you have on your list couples to the range of polishes you have on your list is easily enough I would say to deal with nearly every possibility you may have on your paint finish swirl and marring wise.



5) I would get both the Guzzlers. I generally have two drying towels on the go at any one time when working n a car - one for the upper half of the car and one for the lower half.



Re: foam gun, this is something that we in the UK find particularly useful in the winter when our roads are covered in salt... Cars at this time of year, espeically those that spend there life on the motorway like my one, end up covered in road film very quickly. Foam guns are excellent for safely foaming away the majority of this film before washig with a wash mitt and this leads to a safer wash as you dont risk getting most of this traffic film burried in your wash mitt.



Hope that helps.



KG
 
HAN said:
I don't have any experience with any of the clay they sell on Autogeek, but Clay Magic is OTC for me and gets the job done pretty well. Good luck on your detail!



-Pete
Click to expand...



Thanks Pete, I see many people like the blue Clay Magic clay, however, only PakShak sells them. Danase has great options for clay, I would get Sonus if I were to buy from Danase... but shipping prices are prohibitive.



Dave KG said:
Hi there,



That certainly is a good set of products you have down there on your list to get you started on the road to an excellent full detail.. To answer your specific questions:



1) What you are ideally looking for in a shampoo, espeically on a newly detailed car is one which will a) not strip wax, and b) has good lubrication so that the mitt glides easily across the paint and this reduces slightly the chance of inflicting marring... I have no experience of Mothers products but know that the Meguiars Gold Class is certainly an excellent shampoo in this respect.



2) A QD spray is always something useful to have around - as a clay lube for example. I personally really like Meguiars Last Touch as a QD but there are many out there that are excellent. One good use for a QD is in the dyring stages after a normal was: once the car has been rinsed, spray the panels with QD and then wipe dry with a waffleweave towel - this lays down a little lube for the towel so as to reduce the chances of inflicting marring and also leaves a "just-waxed" look on the paintwork... QD can also be very handy for removing stubborn product residues.



3) IIRC, the PInnacle Poly clay is an eleastic clay? Someone please correct me if I am wrong here... I really like the elastic clay properties after having used a Swissol clay like this (though they have recently changd there clay make up :( ) and find them very easy to use. I have also heard of goof reports of the Ponnacle clay on the UK detailing forums. Im afraid I cannot give a more detailed answer than that however, hopefully someone will chime in with a defiitive answer on the Pinnacle clay...



4) Re: pad choice. The black and blue foam pads are both finising pads, one has a slightly finer foam than the other. I personally have both but find myself normally just settling for the black pad. The fine foam pad (blue) would lend itself ideally to sealent or wax application, but Iactually prefer applying these tyle of products by hand. The pads you have on the list there look a comprehensive set (I may add an extra orange foam pad to the list) and will work well with the Optimum polishes and compounds that you have on the list. There is a large number of various cut available from LakeCountry pads as you have found out but in honesty the range that you have on your list couples to the range of polishes you have on your list is easily enough I would say to deal with nearly every possibility you may have on your paint finish swirl and marring wise.



5) I would get both the Guzzlers. I generally have two drying towels on the go at any one time when working n a car - one for the upper half of the car and one for the lower half.



Re: foam gun, this is something that we in the UK find particularly useful in the winter when our roads are covered in salt... Cars at this time of year, espeically those that spend there life on the motorway like my one, end up covered in road film very quickly. Foam guns are excellent for safely foaming away the majority of this film before washig with a wash mitt and this leads to a safer wash as you dont risk getting most of this traffic film burried in your wash mitt.



Hope that helps.



KG
Click to expand...



KG, thanks for the detailed reply! I think I'll just bite the bullet and get the foam gun... at least I won't regret not getting it in the future. I'll also add another orange pad to the list, I actually read that you should get at least 2 of each pad in case you drop it and whatnot. But I'm guessing it would be ok to just get 1 yellow, as it's not as commonly used?



Have you had experience with Optimum Hyper Compound, and is it necessary? I know it depends on the car's condition, but it sounds pretty strong. I imagine using Optimum Compound on a yellow pad would already give plenty of cut.
 
The whole list looks good.



Best thing is you're gonna get it all for 45% off!!!



Now to answer your questions....

1. I will be using Mother's California Gold or Meguiar's Gold Class Car Wash for washing, I'm assuming the cheaper stuff like ArmorAll isn't as good?

Most OTC washes are good. Gold Glass is highly used and recommended. I have used Megs NXT for 8 months now in my business and love it. It resists spotting and sheets and cleans well.



2. Should I get anything for QDing, was looking at the DP 4-in-1 which could be diluted, and would last me awhile? Price seems good too.

I love 4-in-1. Very economical. I've used as a rinseless wash, clay lube, and QD. Love it.



3. Is the Pinnacle clay good? A thread or two that I've read didn't seem to favour it much. If not, which clay sold by Autogeek is the best?

99% of all clay is by Clay Magic. Scottwax has posted alot about this. I've used and liked it. I'd get the DP Clay for the money.



4. What is the difference between black and blue pads, I see both of them have no cut, so is it necessary to have both? Do I need more yellow/orange/white pads? And do I need to buy the green 'dual-purpose' pads?

I use the EDGE system so I can't really comment on the colors of this one. I love the EDGE2K pads and would recommend them to anyone. Very durable and you get 2 pads in one.



5. Should I get 1 Ultimate Guzzler, instead of 1 Guzzler, and 1 Supreme Guzzler?

I have 2 of the Ultimates and could not ask for a better towel. I can dry an entire Tahoe (large SUV) and still have room in it. Very durable and cleans up too. I would just get one Ultimate and then some of the blue plushes. Very absorbant.
 
Justin, thanks for posting, I've seen your many threads and your work is fantastic. I want to ask your opinion on the DP clay. It's definitely value for money, however I haven't managed to find reviews on it. I'm sure you've used various brands of clay... wondering if you can tell me how it compares to Mothers/Clay Magic blue/Sonus/Pinnacle etc? After reading on your experience with Max Wax I considered going for it, but in the end NB seems to be very well regarded and its price is much better for me.



Edge2k system won't work on the Makita BO6040, unfortunately - or I'd have considered going for that!



How much volume of QD can you get out of a bottle of 4-in-1 after diluting?
 
Yuen said:
Have you had experience with Optimum Hyper Compound, and is it necessary? I know it depends on the car's condition, but it sounds pretty strong. I imagine using Optimum Compound on a yellow pad would already give plenty of cut.
Click to expand...



Yes, I have used Optimum Hyper Compound in the past, both by PC and rotary, and found it very effective at removing quite severe marring while still managing to finsih down remarkably well for a compound. You are right, whether or not it is needed is very much dependant on the condition of the paint. What I would recommend that you do is mask up a small test area on a section that represents the paint defects, eg on the bonnet. Then trial the least abrasive combination you have first, eg Optimum Polish on a white pad and examine the results... If the swilrs are removed to your satisfaction then you need nothing more aggressive, if not step up to osing OP on a orange pad... then if required OC on an orange pad, OC on a yellow pad and so on until you get a combo that is working for you and the paint. If youuse an aggressive compound like OHC, then follow with OP to refine the finish.



On the topic of theOptimum polishes, while using them I would say that they are a very nicely lubricated polish and as such they have a great work time... I like polishes where you can work them for several passes with plenty of lube and the Optimum polishes and compounds seem well suited for this - as such, ensure that you thoroughly work the products to get the best from them with several slow passes until the residue of the product starts to go clear.



KG
 
KG, was your OHC the old formula or the new one? According to what I've read, the old OC is now OP, and the old OHC is now OC. The new OHC is even stronger than the old OHC.
 
Yuen said:
KG, was your OHC the old formula or the new one? According to what I've read, the old OC is now OP, and the old OHC is now OC. The new OHC is even stronger than the old OHC.
Click to expand...



Ah good point, well made - I should have thought about that. I believe that the OP, OC and OHC I have are the old formula ones, or at least I think they are as I bought mine as part of a clearout sale that a UK trader was having when they were phasing out the Optimum range to introduce a new range and being the typical Scotsman that I am I jumped at a bargain! :chuckle:
 
Haha, good to hear you got them at a good price! I think the new formula have a round gold sticker on the bottle that says 'New Formula'. Thanks for the advice on working the polish, I'll be re-reading it before my detail... :thx
 
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