Looking for step-by-step's

B

BlueDonkeyBlues

New member
Does anybody know any comperhensive sites that give step-by-step instructions on auto detailing? One with lots of pictures would be nice.

Thanks.

Oh, yeah--hello everybody.
 
Welcome to DC ...I heard Meguiar's had one...ask 2Hotford he'll know...but you can ask lots of questions here and I'm sure you'll get a lot of advice.:D
 
You'll definately learn a ton here, and Meguiars has a cool step by step video that will teach you the basics and then some.
 
This is a good place to start. I think if you ask the question then you'll get the answer. I've learned a lot just by reading what has already been said. I still have lots of questions but at least I know the answers are here. :)
 
Well, actually, I do have a more specific question or two. I just bought my first new car, a black Honda, and it has swirl marks all in the clearcoat (or paint, or whatever). I tried a small spot with some swirl remover from Maguire's, but it didn't make any difference. The guy on the other end of the Maguire's customer service telephone number said that I would likely have to have it done by a professional detailer. I've called a couple of them, and they all say it'll probably cost several hundred dollars.
Do I really need to go to a professional to take care of this?
Maybe I used the Maguire's wrong.
Oh, btw, people keep telling me, why don't you take it to the dealer and tell them to fix it, but I'd really rather learn to fix it myself, if it's at all possible.
...
Any thoughts?
 
You may need professional help.. oooorrr .....

Blue...

You may need to take the advice and take it to a professional detailer. Ooooorrr ..... you could learn on your own with the right tools, spending, maybe, a little more.

The job a reputable detailer would do for you really depends on the condition and depth of the swirls. If the swirls are very light and only moderately visible, they may use a random orbit polisher to remove them, but more likely will use a high speed rotary. Iwould not recommend learning with a high speed rotary on your first new car. But, if the swirls are light, you could pick up a Porter-Cable 7424 from coastaltool.com for around $120, get some pads and compound from the sponsor of the site and work the problem yourself. Again, it really depends on how deep and "strong" the swirls are. I do not have a really good way to explain the difference in hard swirls without looking and pointing out.

If you take it to a detailer, make sure to find out their process. If they do not mention high speed polishing and mention glazing, be a little leary. The lower quality detailers will merely fill in the swirls and light scratchs with "fillers" many of which are described by the term "glaze". Once you wash the car a few times, the fillers will wash out and you are back to square one. Where are you located, maybe one of the members could help you out a little more closely. If you are in the Cleveland, Ohio area, I can be of help.

Good luck and happy reading of this forum and the other good ones around.

-Matt
 
Oh yeah ....

If you do decide to work out the problem yourself, read this forum back as far as you can stand to :) and you will learn a lot. Talk to Dwayne at PremiumAutoCare.com (forum sponsor) and he can give you great advice and recommend products, he won't lead you wrong or sell you more than you need!

If you do it yourself, feel free to post and we can all provide some pretty detailed steps if your reading of past posts does not get you comfortable.

-Matt
 
Matt just gave you some good advice....this is a new finish...sometimes the dealer or factory puts these "swirls" or burn marks into the finish and they can be there for life...if they are real bad and always visable in all sunlight...the they are the hard ones Matt is refering to...you may just wantto take it back and complain to the dealer...even the best detailer with a high speed machine will not get all of them out permanently without disturbing the integrity of the clearcaot, and then what little they can't get out will be hidden by a product....wax, glaze..etc..

Now if they are light and only visable on certain angles and light conditions, you could do as Matt said, buy a PC, they are available here at premiumautocare.com with an assortment of pads, and try to remove them with the help of your fellow DCer's.

:D
 
The swirls are visible in the sunlight, but invisible in the shade (even just the shade of a passing cloud). At night, they can be seen only in the right light.
...
How much damage can I potentially do if I try to fix this myself? What's the difference between the PC y'all were talking about and a plain ol' orbital buffer from Wal-Mart (like the one I have)?
 
A guy who represents Meguiars once told me that the hardest detail he ever did was trying to get the swirls out of a brand new factory paint job on a fire truck. He said it took a ton of chemicals and 2 days solid work to do the job.

Every vehicle is different.
 
This was posted at another site but here is what they wrote


Tar & Grease removal

2. Trunk clean and shampoo

3. INTERIOR CLEAN & SHAMPOO

Front -
Headliner first half
Trim
Dash
Panel steering column; glove box
Carpets
Seats and Console
Door panel
Door jamb

Back
Headliner second half
Back deck
Rear seats
Back of front seats
Carpets
Door panel
Door jamb

Dress the same way

Clean windows the same way

4. PAINT FINISH

Use a 3; 2 or 1 step paint finishing process
touch up stone chips, paint wheel wells black

5. FINAL DETAIL

Apply dressings to tires, trim and engine
Remove wax from car
Final detail with towel and small detail brush
Windows when complete
 
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