Newbie - Some Begineers advice needed...

A

atxman

New member
I recently bought an 07 cadillac escalade that needs some attention.



The paint has swirl marks, i guess from automatic car washes.



anyhow, im not to familiar with professional detailing but would like to learn the basics.





What can I buy over the counter (at autozone, oreiley's,advance auto parts, walmart, etc..) that will help me repair/maintain the paint.



Claybar, Polisher, Wax - Porter Cable, etc... thanks guys i appreaciate all the help - ill post pics later.
 
I just got my flex for a week now...and I friggen LOVE that thing...

You can order the Flex kit online (autogeek you can get free shipping but amazon has a kit too) which comes at a $64 discount because it comes with pads and M105/M205 too



OTC though...you can get the OTC equivalent--I think it's Meguiar's Swirl x? and i forget the other product...but it's meguiars line...

Claybar I used mothers

Wash I switched over to ONR but I doubt that's otc...

I used NXT before I started using collinite--had great looks for dark cars...but didn't last as long as I'd liked.



OTC

Mothers Claybar Kit

NXT

SwirlX (and that other product)

Meg's Gold Class (soap)



IPA (Isopropyl Alcohol for after polishing step) can be bought just about anywhere...
 
If your looking for something fast that you don't have to order online than Meguiars Ultimate compound is the consumer line of 105. A little weaker but it will do the job. Are you going to be buying a machine or by hand? Also Oreiliey's has prostuff that if they don't have it on the shelf they can order for you(105/205). You also can get meg's clay kits over the counter. And wally world has wax's and Autoglym HD wax there also. How bad are the swirls? Can you post any pictures?
 
Thanks guys, well I'm kinda confused with all the jargon being used. I bought a clay kit a while back with some quick detail. Its meguiars brand.but I wanna take it up a notch. I'll do it by hand and only because I don't have a machine, which I don't mind buying just do not know what kind to buy.

I'll try to snap a picture in a few mins
 
imag0024lo.jpg
 
Atx, I'll break down the ones that I pickup the most often

AFAIK: As far as i know

AFAICT:as far as i can tell

FWIW: for what it's worth

OTC: over the counter

M105: Meguiar's 105 compound

M205: Meguiar's 205 Polish



The rest honestly I'd take a look at the "Decoder Ring" thread that's stickied...



Machine Wise, I bought as used the Flex 3401 (bought the kit with the Lake country (LC) pads and m105/m205 but some preferr the Meguiar's Softbuff2.0 pads) it was $400 for the whole kit and at autogeeks I bought it with free shipping (typed "ago" for coupons)



I think if you buy the kit, it's worth either buying the LC White pads (for polish step) or even better, a set of LC Hydrotech pads.





I haven't tried the other machines, but sticking with a DA(or dual action/orbital) rather than an rotary is probably best.





I LOVE my flex; Runs a bit hot (I touched the metal part once and it didn't burn me but man was that hot) and at the upper settings it sounds about half as loud as a wet-vac--but it's made my life so much easier...I've used the Porter cable (PC) years ago...good machine--I like my flex better :)
 
hmmm ok sooo what are you looking for and how much effort are you willing to put into it?

IME(In my experience) NXT makes dark cars look great, but in terms of longevity, I'd say I'd get say a month then I'd have to reapply.



I ended up getting collinite and it hasn't been a month yet, but I have a feeling I'm going to love my results. KIM that the longevity and looks also deals greatly in the prep work (clay/compound/polish/jewel/glaze) but I KNOW OTC you can get Meguiar's NXT wax, BFWD not sure who sells it, Collinite I believe you MIGHT be able to find but not sure (476 lasts longest, 845 would be my monthly upkeep wax)
 
For me, I bought my arsenal recently, but this is what I bought:



FLEX 3401 with LC PADs and m105/205 kit (saved something like $64 dollars and then another $20 in shipping from using coupon_

1 of each Hydrotech pad (there are 3)

Collinite 476s

Collinite 845

ONR (Optimum No Rinse: I use this to wash my car, also as clay lube, damp MF(microfiber) towels with onr to wipe down the leather in the car, also as QD or quick detailer)

IPA(bought at local drug store)





I should note, that I'm still an autopian rookie, so hopefully the more seasoned vets can chime in
 
Those look like moderate swirls to me. That's going to be allot of work by hand! I would try a panel by hand and see if you can handle it. A machine is going to give you better results and a whole lot faster!
 
Everything sounds real good how about in what order I should apply the products



This is my set up



Wash car

Clay

Wax
 
umm for those swirls i'd add a compound/polish step between the clay and wax...



Wash:

Optimum No Rinse (ONR)



Claybar:

Mothers Claybar Kit for regular clay

Sonus Green for maintenance calybar; for when you want to clean but not take off lsp(last step product--in other words your wax)



Wax:

NXT if you don't mind frequent applications

BFWD if you don't mind applying say every 2-3 months but want really deep shine

Collinite if you want 4-6 month protection





On a side note...i hear i think it's called Opti-Coat? gives like 2 years of protection or someting like that--some crazy stuff--but i would research it thoroughly before jumping to it
 
DUDE...FLEX FLEX FLEX FLEX FLEX lol



and if you buy it (and if it's in your budget) order the kit--since it comes with 105 and 205--you got your compound polish steps covered...just understand that it'd prolly be worthwhile to order a set of the hydrotech pads too--I plan on giving the HT pads a whirl soon so if you want to wait till my write up you can do that--but from what i hear the Hydrotechs are pretty solid pads (and there's less confusion as to which pad to use because there's only 3 types )
 
and I realized I read your question wrong--but i more or less put it in the same order lol



Wash => Inspect => claybar => wash => inspect => Compound/polish => IPA => Glaze/jewel (I don't do this step) => Seal/lsp



KIM most people will work on cleaning engine bay/wheels/undercarriage fairly early because of overspray and all that stuff and THEN work from the roof down (oh detail 101 : NEVER touch paint with anything that's been used on your wheels, tires, engine bay...pretty much the super dirty areas)



Engine bay many people seem to do it somewhere in the early stages because alot of products require the degreaser or cleaner to soak in and stuff...(but somehow I doubt this is really necessary for you...)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top