White car for a nubie

[Stokdgs]

Leaning towards recommending buying a rolling chair, clay bars, microfiber towels, inspection light or just a led flashlight, klean strip prep all, GG G9 or Rupes or Flex, GG correcting pads and finishing pads, White Diamond and finally GG 3 in 1.
I don`t have any equipment at the winter home so he will have to purchase it all and I will have to give him a hands on lessons. I may end up doing it myself.

bcgreen --
I hope and pray you and yours are safe and well..

You are most kind and generous to help your amigo.. I am so grateful for people like you ! Thank you for this !

The plan sounds great ! Don`t forget to either bring or order some foam pad cleaner like this one which comes in individual envelopes, and is very easy and efficient at what it does -- https://www.autopia-carcare.com/snappy-clean-powder.html#.XpokcmapH3g

And then something else to wash the microfibers so they will get clean and then dried so as to not contaminate them with a cotton towel load, etc...

And of course, some nice 25 foot extension cord/s, lights, etc., and it sounds like you guys are good to go !

Hope your impetuous friend will get to enjoy this process with you and all will go well..
Dan F

 

[bcgreen]

bcgreen --
I hope and pray you and yours are safe and well..

You are most kind and generous to help your amigo.. I am so grateful for people like you ! Thank you for this !

The plan sounds great ! Don`t forget to either bring or order some foam pad cleaner like this one which comes in individual envelopes, and is very easy and efficient at what it does -- https://www.autopia-carcare.com/snappy-clean-powder.html#.XpokcmapH3g

And then something else to wash the microfibers so they will get clean and then dried so as to not contaminate them with a cotton towel load, etc...

And of course, some nice 25 foot extension cord/s, lights, etc., and it sounds like you guys are good to go !

Hope your impetuous friend will get to enjoy this process with you and all will go well..
Dan F

Thanks for the kind words. Are you in AT. or NoCal? When I was getting more serious about detailing I bought the lighting set up and it helped alot, but the light gun worked better. Also when I was living in SoCal I went to visit the son of the inventor of WOW and asked him to help me figure out why it was difficult to keep the black Infiniti G35 scratch/marr free. I noticed when he was getting his equipment ready to polish, he went and cleaned his pads in a deep sink, by pushing up and down on the pad under running water with a couple of drops of soap. Since then, that has been my process as well. He has the extension cords so when we pick up the Jag. Sat. morning we will see if all this planning will lead to fruition.

 

[acuRAS82]

If GG 3-in-1 ends up not adhering well to the WD, you could switch him to a non-ceramic, durable spray such as OCW.

 

[Stokdgs]

Thanks for the kind words. Are you in AT. or NoCal? When I was getting more serious about detailing I bought the lighting set up and it helped alot, but the light gun worked better. Also when I was living in SoCal I went to visit the son of the inventor of WOW and asked him to help me figure out why it was difficult to keep the black Infiniti G35 scratch/marr free. I noticed when he was getting his equipment ready to polish, he went and cleaned his pads in a deep sink, by pushing up and down on the pad under running water with a couple of drops of soap. Since then, that has been my process as well. He has the extension cords so when we pick up the Jag. Sat. morning we will see if all this planning will lead to fruition.

bcgreen -

I am in Northern California out in the farmlands off of Highway 70 North..
One of my daughters and her family live in Huntington Beach.. It`s a lovely place. A very nice vibe.. I went once to visit Chip Foose at his Shop there..

The Ultimate Secret for keeping any Black Vehicle scratch and marr free ------------------------------------------------------------do NOT touch it !!!!

That is an interesting pad cleaning process that guy used..
I only use Snappy Clean and my process is very similar.. I like this product the best because it really cleans out pads, is very low foaming, and rinses out really easy..

Hope your "project" works great for you men !
Dan F

 

[Accumulator]

What`s the idea behind the White Diamond? I`m not familiar with it and generally don`t go for multiple-LSP approaches.

bcgreen- With regard to the GG/Rupes/etc. polishers, I`d give thought to how their switches are. I`ve come to utterly despise the "PC-style" switch, enough that I simply hate my Rupes mini! Never really bugged me before, but for some reason it sure does now; I want *triggers* from here on out! The toggle switches on the Cyclos don`t bug me, thank goodness, but gee...I never expected the others to go from minor annoyance to outright hatred either.

 

[Accumulator]

If GG 3-in-1 ends up not adhering well to the WD, you could switch him to a non-ceramic, durable spray such as OCW.

Just FWIW, I wouldn`t consider OCW to be "durable". Sure not hating on it as it`s all I`ve used on my wife`s A8 for years now, but I do have to redo it *all the time* and it sure doesn`t compare to the FK1000P with regard to protection and ease-of-cleaning, not even close.

Maybe OK as a Drying Aid/topper, but if the White Diamond isn`t fine all by itself I`d just pick something else, something really durable. I`d *GUESSED* that the GG 3-in-1 would be about as durable as an easily-sourced/used LSP could get, but yeah...I`m not really knowledgeable here so you know what my opinion`s worth

 

[acuRAS82]

Just FWIW, I wouldn`t consider OCW to be "durable". Sure not hating on it as it`s all I`ve used on my wife`s A8 for years now, but I do have to redo it *all the time* and it sure doesn`t compare to the FK1000P with regard to protection and ease-of-cleaning, not even close.

Maybe OK as a Drying Aid/topper, but if the White Diamond isn`t fine all by itself I`d just pick something else, something really durable. I`d *GUESSED* that the GG 3-in-1 would be about as durable as an easily-sourced/used LSP could get, but yeah...I`m not really knowledgeable here so you know what my opinion`s worth

I think WD is a traditional glaze. So I dont give it credit as an LSP. I’m just not positive if SiO2 Spray products bond well to the thick oils. Hopefully they can. I was thinking of a non-Ceramic spray wax with enough durability to last a few washes, or a month. If OCW can’t give that then I would suggest Wolfgang Fuzion Spray Wax, but that’s pricey and not sure the man wants to put in that kind of money.

Maybe the beat suggestion of mine that should bond to a glaze for sure would be Sonax BSD. That’s me new, practical answer. But it’s a bit of a pain to wipe off... not sure if that’s a problem for the user?

 

[Oneheadlite]

Not sure if you’ve established your action plan or not, but thought I’d chime in with my thoughts.

One of the biggest things I’ve learned from outside of this forum (or really any detailing forum) is that for your average civilian or budding enthusiast, be careful about recommending a process that’s great for you. You really have to consider the person’s car cleaning history, their goals, and how likely they are to stick to your recommendations.

It’s easy to forget when you’re really into it, but most people (even people that think they’re into clean cars) just don’t see them like we do. No offense to your friend, but I’m guessing it’s not likely he has the same knot-in-the-stomach feeling Autopians get when they pass a crazy hologrammed out Black Suburban on a sunny day in rush hour. Your average folks will just see a clean shiny black truck, but we can see it’s been wrongly accosted with a rotary.

Goals. Is there goal truly a perfect swirl free finish, or do they just want a clean car that washes easily and looks way better than nearly everything out there? We always want to chase every minor defect, but so often the car owner can’t even see them. Then all you’re really doing is sacrificing clear coat.

Sticking to recommendations. Are they just going to run it through a beater brush tunnel wash after all the hard work you put into products, methods, and process? Dry it with their old bath towel because the high-end drying towel you recommended was still dirty? An Autopian will avoid certain car washes because they contain gloss enhancers that might alter their chosen LSP, while for your average folk it’s a win they’re using a car wash soap.


I had a coworker who was really big into keeping his car clean and fancied himself a detailer. Turns out he was using dish soap and old beat up towels (His red 350z, while clean completely reflected this approach). When we talked about micro fibers, he went out and bought some harber freight ones. I gave him a quick demo of what polishing and quality stuff could accomplish.

Next, he got a black 135. We talked about a lot of the basics, and settled on Sonax Poly Net Sealant with Brilliant Shine Detailer as a booster. He used the PNS once, then washed it with parts store gloss enhancer wash. I did get him set up with a decent set of micro fibers at least. I lent him my polisher and chemicals, and while he could see the difference, he lost interest after doing the hood and roof. The rest of the car being swirled out just didn’t seem to bother him. It looked better than most at Cars and Coffee, and I guess that was all he needed.

I think you’re on the right track looking at the Griot’s line. While spending too much time reading on here has had me buy a bunch of different products, I keep going back to Griot’s when I just want to get the job done without a bunch of fuss.
Too often I’m working in a time crunch, so I’ve found the Sonax PNS and BSD just weren’t for me. I found the same thing for Gyeon Cancoat - it’s not that it’s a bad product (it’s certainly not!!!), it just didn’t suit my working conditions and available time.


TLDR: I would recommend not going crazy at first. Keep it simple and just do a thorough decontamination wash (with iron removal). Clay if needed. Follow it up with the Griot’s Ceramic 3 in 1. What to use to boost it? Griot’s Ceramic 3 in 1. Nice part is you can use it as a drying aid. Longevity shouldn’t be a problem using it in that fashion. You won’t even use much, as just a light mist will do. I’d be shocked if he wasn’t happy with the look.

FWIW, Griot’s Interior Detailer is on of my favorite products.

 

[Accumulator]

I think WD is a traditional glaze..

Then I`d absolutely skip it. I`d never expect a non-Autopian to value it enough to even suggest it, and certainly not at the expense of LSP durability. IMO, as long as the LSP leaves it easy to clean and shiny, and doesn`t need redone very often, that`ll be plenty good enough. Hey, it`d be a *LOT* better than the vast majority of Concours-winning cars I see.

There`s just no way I could ever overstate how different *every person I know IRL* is about this stuff compared to the people here, and I know people who are fanatical about their Concours scores.