Newbie wanting to know about AIO

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lowcarbonblue

New member
hey guys, i'm new and wanted to ask a couple of questions. Hopefully this was the right place to post this.



I have a 97 Toyota supra that just got repainted a year ago the same color stock "Royal sapphire Pearl" paint. It is a show quality paintjob with no orange peel whatsover and the brand is PPG. So now, i'm trying to get into this whole auto detailing thing. I had soem questions. I finally got some very minor swirls and used a bit of 3m Perfect it 3 finishing glaze that i got from the bodyshop on it and it's actually got all the swirls. not sure it it just filled it in or actually took them away. I know this is not abrasive at all.



My question is, What does AIO really do? People have told me it cleans the paint. if i put this on my car, will it basically put all the swirls back on my car? When would i use this step in my process? Do i still clay the car before AIO or does AIO do the job? Do i still polish? And do i put a wax over AIO? Please be nice since i'm pretty new to this stuff. I just want some insight since most of you are very smart guys that take this very seriously.
 
my friends s2000 was unkept and the AIO didnt take all the roughness out so i went over with a claybar to smooth it out, then i redid it with the AIO, then a layer of carnuba....car came out glossy and super smooth. whelps hopefuly this helps u out
 
lowcarbonblue said:
My question is, What does AIO really do? People have told me it cleans the paint. if i put this on my car, will it basically put all the swirls back on my car? When would i use this step in my process? Do i still clay the car before AIO or does AIO do the job? Do i still polish? And do i put a wax over AIO? Please be nice since i'm pretty new to this stuff. I just want some insight since most of you are very smart guys that take this very seriously.
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AIO will not put "swirls back on". It is non-abrasive. AIO is a terrific chemical paint cleaner and also leaves behind acrylic sealant protection. Clay before using AIO. Yes you still need to polish if you have swirls to remove...do this before using AIO. You can and should put a sealant and/or wax over AIO. If you are using both a sealant and a wax, do it in this order AIO-->sealant (multiple layers if desired)-->wax.









VwGti said:
Isnt AIO sort of a polish? I guess its a slight polish cause it needs to protect the paint also.
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Polishes are used to remove swirls and oxidation, not for protection purposes. Sealants and waxes are protectants. Polish is a widely misused term in the detailing product market, particularly in the consumer-grade products.
 
VwGti said:
Isnt AIO sort of a polish? I guess its a slight polish cause it needs to protect the paint also.
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It's a very light polish. More of a paint cleaner/protectant IMO. If I'm out to remove swirls, I'm not looking to AIO to get the job done. I'll leave that to something like, lately, IP or SSR 2.5. And after that I'll lay down some AIO.



With that said, I do like AIO as a spot polish in between major details.
 
THat is what i meant when i said "its a slight polish". I know pure polish does nothing for protection and needs to be topped off. What i meant about aio being a slight polish and needing some protection was that AIO has protection included in it so it is not a strong polish.
 
VwGti said:
What i meant about aio being a slight polish and needing some protection was that AIO has protection included in it so it is not a strong polish.
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OK, well SSR3 and Menzerna Powergloss are strong polishes, but they don't leave any protection. Most polishes do not leave any protection behind.
 
Its either good abrasiveness with no protection or little abrasiveness with moderate protection. THe AIO IMO falls in the 2nd category and should only be used on freshly painted cars that have very minor problems.
 
How about P21s GEPC? It's extremely mild, but leaves no protection. VM and RMG are mild polishes, which also leave behind little protection.
 
Sealants are synthetic waxes, so in a sense your thinking is correct. But yeah, in general when the term "wax" is used, it's referring to the traditional paste wax that has some percentage of carnauba in it.
 
Wax refers to a product with natural wax ingredients. Sealants contain protectants in other forms, such as silicones, acrylics, polymers, etc... Sealants are more durable than waxes and have a much higher melting point.
 
Your best order is:



1) Wash

2) Clay

3) Polish (to correct surface defects like scratches, oxidation, swirl marks, etc. The key is to match the right polish for that vehicle's needs using a light, medium or strong polish. When finished, paint should be in "ready to wax" condition.

4) AIO - Kinda like getting a new clearcoat.

5) Optional step - a glaze like Clearkote RMG or 3M Hand Glaze, etc.

6) Caranuba Wax or sealant.

You can also use a sealant and wax. In that case, use the sealant first, then wax.
 
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