Spring Detailing 2013 Sti, how to follow up my fall detailing

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Subirex09

New member
Hi everyone, I am thinking about my spring detail now that the 50 degree weather is finally arriving in ct.


In November, I did my big(to me) annual detail, it involved: FK1119, Iron-x, Claybar, and Collinite 845.


 


 



 


I am still seeing a lot of beading after the rain/snow despite the horrible winter we had, so I am hoping I can do a thorough wash with a product that won't strip all of the wax I put on in November, a bug and tar remover that also won't strip wax, and then a couple more coats of Collinite 845.  I think the clay bar step would take the wax off and Tarminator would as well.


 


Is this too naive of me to think that I won't have to redo all of the steps or are there some products that will help me cut out a couple of the steps that make my fall wash and wax so lengthy?  I can use a standard car wash like Meguiars Deep Crsytal and go over the car a few times but I guess the hardest one would be the bug and tar removal, any recommendations on a spot treating product that won't take the wax off with the tar?


 
 
I use DG Bug Remover--spray on, let dwell a while then wash off with any car soap--never had a problem with it removing LSPs.   Note that DG uses the term "Polishes," but they are refering to sealants.
 
SubiRex09- If you've been washing it with Meg's Deep Crystal shampoo I'd expect it to need a more thorough detail than that.  I suspect that claying or using a paint cleaner/AIO would show that there's a lot of [stuff] stuck to what's left of the 845.


 


IMO going over the car with an AIO and topping with the 845 (if you're still happy with that) wouldn't be much more work than doing two coats of the Collinite, and it'd be a lot more productive.
 
pwaug said:
I use DG Bug Remover--spray on, let dwell a while then wash off with any car soap--never had a problem with it removing LSPs.   Note that DG uses the term "Polishes," but they are refering to sealants.
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Thanks I will check this out as an alternative to Tarminator this year for sure.


 
Accumulator said:
SubiRex09- If you've been washing it with Meg's Deep Crystal shampoo I'd expect it to need a more thorough detail than that.  I suspect that claying or using a paint cleaner/AIO would show that there's a lot of [stuff] stuck to what's left of the 845.


 


IMO going over the car with an AIO and topping with the 845 (if you're still happy with that) wouldn't be much more work than doing two coats of the Collinite, and it'd be a lot more productive.
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On the deep crystal, I just suggested that as a mild car wash without waxes in it, I do not like that as a main wash, just suggested it because I wasn't sure if a wash with waxes would be a good choice over the 845, that I would then put more 845 over but I will need to look into an AIO, this sounds like a good idea, never used one before.


 


I appreciate the insight guys, I tend to do things the same way and don't always realize there are much better alternatives out there!
 
Subirex09- Yeah, the AIOs are handy as they clean the paint, don't need stripped before waxing, and can get you by until the next wash if you're pooped after that point and don't want to spend the time waxing.


 


Some, like Klasse AIO are great/OK on black trim (no stains).


 


Some, like Zaino AIO are *not* OK on black trim, but have mild abrasives and can do a *little* bit of correction.


 


Some, like Autoglym Super Resin Polish are *not* OK on black trim, but have both (very) mild abrasives and some decent fillers to conceal remaining defects.


 


I use all three of the above and they're all good products, any one of them would be fine for your car.  And then there's the HD Speed and stuff from DuraGloss, which I haven't tried yet.
 
Accumulator - You are saying you would skip clay and just do: 1)wash, 2)AIO and then 845? Just checking here. 


I am in a similar situation (more time unwashed, more severe weather), and I can't fanthom the idea of skipping claying because of all the contam on the paint I can see and feel (especially lower panels of course). It would seem that you would risk doing some paint damage during AIO process if you didn't do some kind of decon first, no?  I'm just curious :) 
 
jojo69- I realize that I'm in the minority here, and that it's truly Autopian Heresy, but I don't always clay so I don't always think to recommend it.  BUT...that's just me and I should've mentioned decontamination, especially post-WInter, so thanks for calling me on that!


 


If your vehicle is contaminated (and it sounds like yours *really* is), then sure, do something to get that stuff off of there.  I generally favor chemical decon. via ValuGard's ABC over claying, at least if a) you're gonna be redoing the vehicle to a major extent anyhow (and yeah, an AIO qualifies) and/or b) the contamination is significant.  I know it's easy for me to spend other people's money on stuff like ABC, but I figure that a) ABC is more effective, and b) ABC is simple to do without risk of significant marring (it's just a series of washes).
 
Thanks for the info on the AIO, can't wait to clean this baby up again.


 


And Jojo, thanks for asking about the clay, I was just coming back on to make sure I read correctly that the AIO would be used after a thorough wash right over the wax, you read my mind : ).


 


Accum, the past two winters I used FK1119, Iron X, and then clayed and waxed, but I may look into Valugard ABC to see what it's all about.  I would like to maybe clay once a year and do a chemical decontam once a year, just need to read up and make some decisions.


 


This forum is the best! 
 
Hey Guys, Valugard ABC looks great, I ordered it.


 


Once you get through step C, would you still recommend an AIO, or go right to the wax?
 
I like to use klasse aio, simply because its easy/fast to apply by hand(i use an orange foam applicator, either a 3" pad on the meg's hand applicator or a half orange/half black foam hand applicator), quick to remove, adds slickness and durability, gives a shiny type look, and cleans some more. Though the cleaning property likely wont yield much after ABC, the rest of the items are benefits
 
Yeah, I too would still use the AIO, even after ABC,which will indeed get things nice and clean...at least as well as can be accomplished *chemically*.  After the ABC, any chemical cleaning by the AIO will probably be a moot point, but perhaps you'll still get some benefit from the *mechanical* cleaning action of the AIO being rubbed against/into the paint via the polisher and its pad.


 


BTW, I don't use a finishing pad with AIOs, but rather a mild (as in, no cut in-and-of itself) polishing pad, which will be a bit firmer and more porous.  Remember to stop and clean/swap the pad as it gets loaded up with product and whatever stuff it cleans off.
 
I will look at some applicator pad options and consider both of your recommendations when I order the Klasse AIO. Where do you guys buy your hand pads?


Also, do you guys usually throw the pads out after you use them or do you handwash them and reuse next detail? Sorry if this is a dumb question, even though I am way ahead of friends when it comes to detailing processes, I am still pretty much a newb on Autopia.
 
Another question, what do you guys recommend for what I think could be described as spot correction.


Last summer, I tried to clean some dry bird crap off the roof and ended up causing an inch or so wide swirl/mar. Scratch-x 2.0 didn't fix it during my fall cleaning, is there anything I can use that might help me hide or eliminate this mark? It's small enough to ignore but if there is an easy fix out there, I would go for it for sure.
 
Subirex09 said:
I will look at some applicator pad options and consider both of your recommendations when I order the Klasse AIO. Where do you guys buy your hand pads?


Also, do you guys usually throw the pads out after you use them or do you handwash them and reuse next detail? Sorry if this is a dumb question, even though I am way ahead of friends when it comes to detailing processes, I am still pretty much a newb on Autopia.
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I really like the Buff & Shine hand applicator pads--they are the same soft red foam used in their machine applicator pads--very soft, but very tight cell structure so they don't absorb much product--clean with a good strong APC,rinse, dry and reuse.    Near the bottom of the page here   http://www.autoality.com/store/pc/Buff-and-Shine-c298.htm
 
Subirex09 said:
Another question, what do you guys recommend for what I think could be described as spot correction.


Last summer, I tried to clean some dry bird crap off the roof and ended up causing an inch or so wide swirl/mar. Scratch-x 2.0 didn't fix it during my fall cleaning, is there anything I can use that might help me hide or eliminate this mark? It's small enough to ignore but if there is an easy fix out there, I would go for it for sure.
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Are you doing this by hand or with a dual action polisher like the PC, Griots or Megs?  
 
Subirex09- Working by hand I use either a MF towel or a foam "wax applicator" pad for most jobs.  If needed I *might* cut up an old machine pad if it's the foam I think would work best


 


I wash/reuse pads unless they somehow get contaminated with something really awful, and even then I might keep them for use on suspension bits/etc.


 


For spot-correction (whic is basically all I do any more, with some very rare exceptions) I use a 3" pneumatic polisher.  Absent that, I'd use a 3" plate/pad on a regular polisher.
 
<span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:'helvetica neue', helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Subirex09- I bought Red CCS wax/sealant Applicator pads (on amazon for $6) and never looked back!


Love them and have used them since! I actually need to buy more as I think I lost one in my latest move :( Better to have more than 1 available in case you drop one while you are waxing (has happened to me OH SOO many times!) 


 


And yeah, I wash them with dawn soap, by hand, pad dry with paper towels let dry. Does the trick. 


 


As for the spot correction. Post some pics, that might help and don't expect much correction by hand... at least IME. 
 
I have access to a friend's dap but it might end up taking me longer because I've never used one before so I will probably still do it by hand this time around. Thanks for the recs.
 
Subirex09 said:
I have access to a friend's dap but it might end up taking me longer because I've never used one before so I will probably still do it by hand this time around. Thanks for the recs.
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I've done an entire car by hand a few years ago (never again) and would suggest a more aggressive polish (perhaps Megs Ultra Compound or HD Cut) and the orange side of one of these http://www.3dproducts.com/hd-combo-duo-pad/  I believe it's the same orange foam as in the orange 5.5" DA pad and will help speed things along.
 
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