jlindahl2571
New member
- Oct 26, 2010
- 7
- 0
Hello guys, I've done a lot of reading on these boards, watched a bunch of videos, and such and I'm looking to really give my car it's first full detail/winterize the car as I'm from MA and it'll be seeing snow, salt, etc.
I know everyone loves pictures so here's my car after a simple wash.
I'm basically looking for a complete run through on what I should do. I'd say the paint is in good condition and there aren't many swirl marks and such. It seems as though I'd go with a wash, then clay, then wash, then a pre wax cleaner, then sealant, then wax? I'm going to be doing all of this by hand so I don't want to go too crazy on the products.
I have the steps to washing and clay baring down, but I'm not so sure on the waxing and sealing. I guess you have to wipe on a thin layer of sealant, let it dry for about 10-20 mins, and then let it cure for about 10-12 hours? Then you wax the next day? Would you have to wash it again before you waxed it? And do you have to let the wax dry and cure the same way as the sealant? Sorry for all the questions I just don't want to go out there and seal/wax my car and have it be a waste of time.
Another problem is that it seems as though these are best done in a garage or in the shade, which I really don't have access to either..so will the products still be as effective if I do it outside in the sun?
Also, on my left rear quarter panel, the clear coat appears to be withering away. It's tough to tell if this is really the case but that's how it feels. It's really small, but my concern is should I just clay/seal/wax right over this? I'm guessing I shouldn't clay it but sealing it and waxing it would be good. But are there any other things I can do to protect the clear coat and such?
Next set of questions is the actual products themselves. I noticed that everyone loves wolfgang, especially the deep gloss sealant 3.0 but I'm not sure I want to dish out $40 on my first sealant/wax job. I mean if it's that much easier to use and is really that much better I guess I'll go for it, but I'm not a professional detailer.
Then there are the mother's products I was looking at. The california gold 3 step line caught my eye Mothers California Gold Pre-Wax Cleaner prepares the vehicle's paint for wax, glaze, or sealer by cleaning out impurities and smoothing the top layer as it's much cheaper and such. But does the $10 price tag on each step mean that I'm cheaping out?
Then there's Klasse, which everyone seems to like as well and looks like it's in the middle ground price wise between these two options.
I'm basically looking for you to tell me everything I need to know and what I should buy as I'm a little lost as you can see. Thanks guys.
I know everyone loves pictures so here's my car after a simple wash.
I'm basically looking for a complete run through on what I should do. I'd say the paint is in good condition and there aren't many swirl marks and such. It seems as though I'd go with a wash, then clay, then wash, then a pre wax cleaner, then sealant, then wax? I'm going to be doing all of this by hand so I don't want to go too crazy on the products.
I have the steps to washing and clay baring down, but I'm not so sure on the waxing and sealing. I guess you have to wipe on a thin layer of sealant, let it dry for about 10-20 mins, and then let it cure for about 10-12 hours? Then you wax the next day? Would you have to wash it again before you waxed it? And do you have to let the wax dry and cure the same way as the sealant? Sorry for all the questions I just don't want to go out there and seal/wax my car and have it be a waste of time.
Another problem is that it seems as though these are best done in a garage or in the shade, which I really don't have access to either..so will the products still be as effective if I do it outside in the sun?
Also, on my left rear quarter panel, the clear coat appears to be withering away. It's tough to tell if this is really the case but that's how it feels. It's really small, but my concern is should I just clay/seal/wax right over this? I'm guessing I shouldn't clay it but sealing it and waxing it would be good. But are there any other things I can do to protect the clear coat and such?
Next set of questions is the actual products themselves. I noticed that everyone loves wolfgang, especially the deep gloss sealant 3.0 but I'm not sure I want to dish out $40 on my first sealant/wax job. I mean if it's that much easier to use and is really that much better I guess I'll go for it, but I'm not a professional detailer.
Then there are the mother's products I was looking at. The california gold 3 step line caught my eye Mothers California Gold Pre-Wax Cleaner prepares the vehicle's paint for wax, glaze, or sealer by cleaning out impurities and smoothing the top layer as it's much cheaper and such. But does the $10 price tag on each step mean that I'm cheaping out?
Then there's Klasse, which everyone seems to like as well and looks like it's in the middle ground price wise between these two options.
I'm basically looking for you to tell me everything I need to know and what I should buy as I'm a little lost as you can see. Thanks guys.
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