Suggested products for a new guy?

Redem

New member
Hi, I am interested in doing my first detail on a new car, which is white. I am looking into the diffrent types of products that may go well with my paint but have no idea where to begin. I have always done everything by hand but would love to speed it up some aswell as a better finish. I currently use collinite 845/ and Z1 Mp red can polish(something like that.) This combo worked great on my darker color car but I am not so sure it would work for my new one.





What products would you reccommend for a new white car that wont break my bank account? Are there any decent, semi cheap da buffers that I can pick up and learn with to get a better than hand polish finish? Thanks.
 
If it's a new car, you may not need an abrasive polish. IMO, Zaino and Werkstat are the best sealants out there, and for both longevity and looks, I prefer them. Collinite is good, too, but I don't care for the look as much. Zaino has a more complete line, while Werkstat is a little more economical. I use both.
 
Some more info....





I am looking for easy to use products that do not cost too much, but I am willing to pay a fair amount for good results. I want both a wax/polish combo that can be used by hand and PC. I also need somesort of bug/tar/degreeser all in one type spray as I seem to be getting a lot of tar spots/bugs/tons of brake dust along with a place where I can find some good equipment to get the job done.



The car is a mazda speed 3 in crystal white pearl. Its sort of a metallic white but I do not have any good pictures showing the paint. I have no idea how the paint is and have no experiance outside of the 1z/845 combo. I would like to move up from what I was currently using on my old cars and eventually to a pc in a few more weeks. I was thinking something along the lines of poorboys as I have heard good things, but then again I have heard great things about many many products.





So, I am interested in a all out wash,clay,polish,wax/sealant/whatever. Am I missing anything in the process? Glaze? Is this just a non abrasive polish? Thanks for any help in advance, I am currently searching all over but do not seem to be finding anything on white cars.
 
wfedwar said:
If it's a new car, you may not need an abrasive polish. IMO, Zaino and Werkstat are the best sealants out there, and for both longevity and looks, I prefer them. Collinite is good, too, but I don't care for the look as much. Zaino has a more complete line, while Werkstat is a little more economical. I use both.



I dont think i need anything abrasive in anyway, so am I looking for a glaze instead? The 1z metallic polish I have used is not very abrasive at all as I understand it. It is a very light polish, am I wrong? Thanks for the names, imma check them out now.
 
I have a white 94 Mark VIII. I detailed it last weekend, first time ever using a PC. I did the hood and fenders, went to the roof and broke my PC, was repaired under warranty. Anyway what I used was

Meg Deep Crystal soap

Clayed with Meg clay

Polished the hood with Orange CCS pad and Prima Swirl, the fenders with a white pad

I wanted to do the roof and trunk with an orange pad and go over the car with Prima Finish and then DG 501

But like I said Broke the PC so I went over the car with Meg NXT 2.0 and the next day sprayed Prima Hydro

PC is fixed so this weekend I hope to get some scratches out of the Accord and then in the next few weeks finish the Lincoln and used the DG 501 to see if it really makes the white stand out like I have been told

Here is the car

IMG_0538.jpg


IMG_0530.jpg




Very overcast

reflection1.jpg


Click here for more pics
 
No, I understand your post.



Sorry for going in circles, this stuff is always confusing.



What I think I need is....



Wash (dg 901 I believe I have)

clay (something light I can pick up from a local auto parts store should do?)

Polish (this is where I am confused, glaze?polish? the diffrence?)

LSP ( I have collinite 845 and I do like it, any other suggetions?)



What else am I missing for a basic wash/detail of a new car? What I really need help on is the polishing. I am not sure what I should be looking at as I do not need anything abrasive.



Edit- I figured I would try something that has been around and seems to work well. I am thinking of trying kaio out. My question is, how is kaio on light colored cars, and do I need to add anything else such as another lsp or polish? It seems that kaio and 845 is a combo that has been shown to have good results. Should I add anything else to this? Is it safe to use on a new car, is it abrasive at all?
 
It seems like everyone simply has their own way of doing things and I am going to have to try them out myself to see how I like them.



What I am going to do since the car is new....



1) Wash, duragloss 901

2) Clay

3) Do I need to add anything here? I guess this would be the spot for some polish if I did need it.

4) kaio

5) Collinite 845 unless someone siggest otherwise. I need something durable.

6) Qd



This should be enough for a car that is brand new. I hope the 845/kaio combo works decent but I am not so sure it will. I am open to adding more steps but I am not sure it is needed just yet. Is there any reason to do anysort of polishing before kaio if I am free of marring? Is there a better, durable wax that I could be using that goes with kaio? I am looking for something that will last me about 3 months.



PC, I will be buying a pc with these items. Is it recommended to use a pc with kaio/845? What type of pads should I be using for my situation? I have never used a pc, but I hear its fool proof.
 
The durability is not as good as Zaino or Collinite, but my favorite wax I've personally used on white is S100, or P21S. Someone may correct me on this but I believe they are identical products, while S100 is 50% of the price. They have a different name, but same labelling, same exact jar, same color, same smell, seem to look about the same. White never looks that deep, but S100 seems very reflective and helps to give white a little more than average clarity.



Just my opinion..



BTW: While P21S costs about 30+ bucks online, you can find S100 in Harley stores for about 15 bucks.
 
Redem said:
Are there any decent, semi cheap da buffers that I can pick up and learn with to get a better than hand polish finish? Thanks.



i would recommend purchasing a DA, whether it be a PC or the more expensive but better Flex. You'll be able to remove many more swirls and scratches with a DA then by hand. But just as importantly you'll be able to remove more of the stained dirt that you cannot get during normal wash or polishing by hand - this is especially important on a white car (i once had a alpine white corrado). This really let's the paint 'pop'.



The learning curve for a DA is practically nothing, you just need time and patience. And it you have been polishing by hand then it seems you have these.



As for recommended products, it would be helpful to know what the make and year is of the car. but, FWIW, this is what i used on a 2001 330ci:



Products:

clay

clay lube

menzerna SIP

menzerna 106FF

JetSeal 109

1:1 Isopropyl Alcohol (IAP) / distilled water mix

Flex 3401

3M blue painters tape

250W Halogen lamp

3 LC CCS orange pads

2 LC CCS white pads

1 LC CCS grey / black pad

12 MF towels

Waffle Weave drying towel​



What I did, in order:

washed

clayed

washed

taped

removed license plates

removed front grill



menzerna SIP

menzerna 106FF

IPA wipe down

JetSeal 109 (1st coat dried over night, 2nd coat dried 4 hours)

removed tape

final wash​



How long:

washing, clay and tape: 90 mins

SIP: 5 hrs

106FF: 3 hrs

JetSeal: 30 min​
 
The car is a mazda speed 3 in crystal white pearl.



What are the full names of S100 and P21S. How durable are they and where can I find the later? Here is a picture from google of the car, I do not have a picture of mine.



http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/4046/p1010479bgt7.jpg



Ok, new plan. I will be doing the first detail by hand and will pick up a PC down the road for the next round. How well does kaio and s100 or p21s work by hand? This is a daily driven car so i may very well just stick with 845 since I am firmiliar with it. I am thinking...



- wash

- clay

- something here? Needed or is kaio enough?

- kaio

- lsp 845 or p21s?



After the weekly wash, I usually do DG AW or megs UQD. Is there anything wrong with using AW after every wash? Is there anything else I can add before kaio? I do not feel I need any sort of polishes, is kaio going to be enough to bring out some shine? Is it ok to do multiple layers of lsp? How long should I let 845 cure before doing a 2nd coat?
 
Car Wax - Carnauba Waxes- Pinnacle Carnauba Car waxes, P21s Concours Carnauba car wax



S100 and P21S are both on there. P21S 100% is probably a slightly different mixture, but I can't say if it is worth the price difference from personal experience. You'll notice also the price difference between S100 and regular P21S and how similar they look on the outside, not even considering yet all the other similarities - I really think they are the same thing exactly.
 
I think I am going to try s100, ok to use by hand and good enough as an outside Daily driven car? Should I use a glaze before kaio?
 
By hand I would suggest

Wash the car with your DG 901

Clay with Clay Magic or Meg smooth surface both can be purchased locally

Meg paint cleaner/polish

Danase Wet Glaze

Then wax or sealant of choice, I like the NXT 2.0 can be pruchased locally, or DG 105

Then get some DG Aqua Wax and use that once a week or so after a wash.

DG products can be purchased from Carquest or from Duragloss.com with only $4.95 shipping.
 
Redem said:
I think I am going to try s100, ok to use by hand and good enough as an outside Daily driven car? Should I use a glaze before kaio?
No glaze before KAIO because the cleaners would remove it. You could try something like DWG after the KAIO and then topping with your wax or sealant.



S100 (and any other wax/sealant) is OK to use/apply by hand. S100 might look better than your Collinite, but it won't have near the durability. I suggest you do something like one fender with S100 and the other with Collinite and decide if the looks outweigh the durability. You can always just KAIO on the fender you didn't care for and put your LSP of choice on.
 
I think I will try sals combo since this one will be by hand and I have almost all of those products.



The only thing that i do not understand is the whole glaze/polish/paint cleaner deal.



Paint cleaner = simple cleans paint. It is not abrasive and does not have any correction factor.



glaze = non abrasive polish, simply used to add gloss/shine?



I want to make sure I am not using ANY abrasives yet on my new car. I of course will be stepping up later down the road.



So,

wash - dg 901

clay - i have megs currently

Paint cleaner - megs or kaio(is this pure paint cleaner?) Are they both ok by hand?

Glaze - dwg, I have read a lot about this and you guys love it. I will be trying it. Not abrasive, correct?



wax- I have nxt and collinite, and will have s100 as well. All can be applied by hand as much as I like. I will decide which one I prefer.





Is this all correct? I am ready to order and will be picking up a lot of other random things with the order. Can anyone recommend me some applicator pads and tires dressing? I also need someting to seal my rims, I am lost on this subject though. In short, are all these items non abrasive and ok to use by hand?



Thanks a lot for all the help, I tired some of my 1z polish but didnt care for the results on my white car.



For an all out detail on a car that need paint correction, is this the correct order...



wash/clay/paint cleaner/polish/glaze/wax?
 
I use s100 (From Harley-Davidson dealer) and it spreads like melting butter... Takes very little to cover. Very easy wipe off as well. It is a pure wax without cleaners so I think it can go over NXTv2 or 845 after they cure if you want to check out cobinations, too.
 
From what I heard researched about dwg, is that it really isnt a polish at all. It simply adds gloss and shine. In general, polish,glaze,paint cleaners are all polishes of diffrent degrees correct? This DWG is not, it has NO abrasives and because of that I could use it everyday with no ill effects, am I correct?





I do feel I need an extremely mild polish before the dwg. What are some really really light polishes that will help me clean my paint before dwg/wax? I do not have swirls or anything, simply some orange/pollen spots from when the car wax delivered.
 
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