Newbie

G

Gryz

New member
Hello,



I have always had a passion for automobiles, and for the last couple years have been working for a very large auto dealership washing and cleaning the insides. I have that down to a science and would like to get into detailing using compounds and the such.



I have been doing my research, and would like to get things straight before I start.



I recently aquired a '97 BMW 328is that is in need of a good cleaning. It has minor scratches and swirls and the color could used brightened up a little bit. The only place I am able to buy products for this is at an Autozone or NAPA. Can't imagine Walmart selling quality products...



So I intend on washing the vehicle, claying, using some sort of scratch/swirl remover and then waxing. Is this the correct order?



Questions:

Do I clay the entire car, or just the rough parts?

Can I get a recommendation on a good scratch/swirl remover available OTC?



I have a rotary, with applying pads, but no pads to take off the comounds, can I do this step with a cloth, or should I buy an extra one or this purpose?



Thank you
 
Clay the entire car.



Scratch Swirl Remover, Meguiar's 80, 83, 84 & 85 are good locally available stuff.



How much experience do you have on the rotary? Depending on experience, try a PC first, it's easy as pie and very hard to damage stuff.



Just curious though, why can't you order online?
 
I have zero experience with a rotary, but am willing to give it a try. If that is risky I have no problem doing it all by hand.



I prefer not to order online, I would prefer to try my hand with OTC products first, if I do not get the results I want form those I will purchase off the Internet.
 
Does scratch X just mask the problem?

Should I be using something slightly abrasive?



Also, does Scratch X or any other swirl remover take the place of a polish, or must I apply it after using this?
 
Gryz- Welcome to Autopia! A few sorta-random thoughts follow:



I suggest you *not* use the rotary for now. It's easy to make irreparable mistakes with one and if you get "holograms" (a common rotary-induced flaw) you'll have a bear of a time getting them out by hand.



I have a '97 BMW M3, bought very used, so I'm somewhat familiar with what you're about to do. It will be *very* difficult, if not impossible, to get that paint perfect by hand, it's just too hard (or at least mine is).



In your case, a machine that'll make the job easier (even if it doesn't give "perfect" results) would be a good idea. You might be able to use it at work doing the *outsides* of the vehicles too. The Porter Cable ("PC") is the usual answer, though I prefer the Cyclo (do a search on it and check it out).



Scratch-X has a reputation for taking a *lot* of elbow-grease. If you *must* use OTC products, I'd look for an autobody/paint supply place, which can greatly expand the definition of "OTC".



If you're working by hand, my absolute recommendation is to use polishes from 1Z, but you have to order them (I get mine from Aloha & Welcome to Our Oasis for All Your Auto Detailing Supplies & Accessories ). If your local autobody/paint place still has some of the discontinued 3M Perfect-It III Rubbing Compound 05933 and Perfect-It III Machine Glaze 05937, these work well by hand too (buy them if you can still find them).



Don't use a machine to buff off residues from polish or wax, use a Microfiber cloth ("MF"). If you order from Pakshak, they have a great assortment of MFs.
 
Thank you,



The rotary that I have is a very cheap one form walmart I believe, it is cordless and runs off of a battery pack. If that makes any difference. If you advise me not to use it, I wont. I just feel bad not using it when I recieved it from a friend as a gift.



I will consider buying the 1Z polish, as I have read on here many good things about it.
 
Gryz- I understand the psychological pressure to put your friend's gift to some use, but yeah, I'd advise against it, at least for now.



But I'm wondering if it's truly a "rotary polisher", I've never run into a cordless one :think: If it *is* a rotary, there's a danger of messing something up with it. If it's *not* a rotary, it might not be powerful enough to be optimal, but could still be of some use.



At any rate, you can use 1z stuff by hand or machine, so that wouldn't change.
 
When I go home from college for break I will take a pic of the machine so you can see what exactly it is.



I will try the 1Z by hand, any specific one to try? Paint polish...express polish?



Thanks again
 
Porter Cable is definitely the way to start.



Surprised that no one has brought up Menzerna polishes yet, but not buying online really limits what you can use. I don't think I have ever bought a polish, sealant or a wax OTC.



A few hours of work on the car with the PC and some Menzerna PO106FF should do wonders for your paint, assuming it hasn't been treated as such in the past.



Be sure to use Microfiber towels. Those are another thing that I have purchased online.



To get great results, without buying online, you might run into a real challenge.
 
Gryz said:
When I go home from college for break I will take a pic of the machine so you can see what exactly it is.



I will try the 1Z by hand, any specific one to try? Paint polish...express polish?
Click to expand...



OK, I'd like to know what the machine really is.



So they still make Express huh? I'd heard they were gonna discontinue it. I generally recommend the Paint Polish, it's their general-use offering. IMO the Express would be *way* too mild for the BMW.
 
One last question, After I clay and use an abrassive polisher, should I apply a polish without abrassive properties? If so, is the latter otherwise known as a glaze?



Also, I have searched and found tons of threads about ColorX, any reasons to use it in place of ScratchX?
 
IMHO, I'd say look for another alternative to the ScratchX method. I tried it about 2 months ago on my 2003 BMW. I read tons of threads here and on megs' board regarding ScratchX and followed all of the directions per Mike Phillips himself. I gave it a good effort but after about 10 minutes of really working it on a very light 1 inch scratch I could only

see the the slightest improvement. I mean SLIGHT!!! I estimate it would have taken me

about another 2 hours to take care of that one scratch. Maybe the paint on my car is very hard or something, I don't know, but for me it wasn't cutting it. literally. I'll use scratchx for

something else someday when I find a use for it. I'm sure it's a good product because many people seem to like it but no luck for me. I used like a week's worth of elbow grease too.

My $.02
 
Gryz said:
One last question, After I clay and use an abrassive polisher, should I apply a polish without abrassive properties? If so, is the latter otherwise known as a glaze?



Also, I have searched and found tons of threads about ColorX, any reasons to use it in place of ScratchX?
Click to expand...





The 1z Paint Polish will leave a ready-to-wax finish, in fact, it contains the sort of stuff that's in a nonabrasive polish/glaze. After using it you'll be ready for your LSP.



Color-X is an even milder product than Scracth-X, so IMO it's not what you'd want; it's not nonabrasive but it's pretty close. It cleans well, does leave protection behind, but it won't do any significant correction and IMO it's simply not in the same class as the 1Z stuff at least not for this application.
 
Also, I have a question about the plastic trim pieces. Am I correct that I should not get any of this polish or wax on these parts, or is this only if I use a machine?
 
Gryz said:
Also, I have a question about the plastic trim pieces. Am I correct that I should not get any of this polish or wax on these parts, or is this only if I use a machine?
Click to expand...



It depends on the trim and the polish. yeah, I know, that's awfully vague :o



Some polishes really stain some trim...white stains that won't come off easily (if at all). And abrading plastic trim is *generally* not a good idea. This is why people avoid the trim when working by hand and tape it off when working by machine.



But OTOH some trim and polishes get along fine. E.g., I used 1Z Paint Polish on the black plastic trim on my '00 Blazer and it worked great- no staining, cleaned it up very well. But I need to stress that I experimented with a little area and had a bottle of solvent handy in case I needed to clean off the polish residue. And there was a moment of concern when I did this test...will it stain or won't it?
 
Well I ordered the 1Z PP the other day. I plan on doing the whole car by hand. I was just wondering about the side skirts and bumpers...whether or not to use it.



Thanks for your help.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top