Beginners help

I'm fairly new myself, but that is a very broad question... It really depends on what you are trying to do to the car and how much correction you want or the car needs... Also some people have their go to products that they like to use more than others... No one product is the be all end all product... What works on one car may not work as well on another.. U just have to experiment with different products and pads and decide what works best for you!!
 
Do a test section about 2'x2'. Start with the least aggressive product first. Get a PTG (paint thickness gauge) if you can to make sure it's safe to do a correction in the first place.
 
CWallace said:
I'm fairly new myself, but that is a very broad question... It really depends on what you are trying to do to the car and how much correction you want or the car needs... Also some people have their go to products that they like to use more than others... No one product is the be all end all product... What works on one car may not work as well on another.. U just have to experiment with different products and pads and decide what works best for you!!
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Or do a test spot!!!! :-)
 
Most people will do trial and error method. If you read through the forums there is a lot of great advice. BobbyG, Setec astronomy always have good advise as well as the how to articles on this forum. Also there are a lot of videos that Mike Phillips puts up. Mike also has a Thursday night session that is usually broadcast live once or twice a month.

Remember when doing paint correction make sure that you go,least aggressive first. You can always go with different combos of pad and product.

Main thing to also do is ask questions. People on this site are very diligent in this craft and are willing to help. A question not asked can not and will not be answered.
 
Thanks guys. I appreciate the info. I was just reading some post. And I see guys mention stuff like " hard clear coat ". Was just wondering if there were special product that you would use on that. Or like would you use a certain product for different color cars. Like say a black car vs a silver one.
 
Eandras said:
If you read through the forums there is a lot of great advice. BobbyG, Setec astronomy always have good advise
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Aw, shucks--that was nice of you!

Djshadyad6 said:
How do you guys know which product to use on which car?
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It's not really a matter of matching the product to the car, as others have said, it's a matter of matching the product to the task.

If you're polishing you can use various grades of polish depending if you are trying to remove large defects or minor ones. If you're cleaning, if it's fingerprints you might use a QD, dust you might use a waterless, dirt you might use a rinseless, and mud you would use a hose.

IMO it's more important to understand the processes involved and how to apply each rather than what brand, etc. (as we used to say a long time ago on another forum process > product).
 
Cool @setec.
@ perfections. It will be a black 06 nissan maxima. It has A LOT of water spots and swirls. In Florida climate parked under a big oak tree that has a bunch of bird droppings.
 
Water spots that you're not able to remove with something like vinegar have probably etched the clear coat. Mike p has a great article explaining the differences between type 1,2,3 water spots. If the water spots have etched the clear coat your gonna need at least a dual action polisher to pull them out unless you have a few days to do it by hand.

As for the swirls also the easiest way to remove is with something like a d/a. Products on blk max for me would be Meg's d300 or optimum compound or hyper compound or carpro fixer. Then follow that up with a finishing polish like menzerna po85rd, wolfgangs finishing glaze, pinnacles advanced finishing polish are some good ones.
 
Perfections said:
Water spots that you're not able to remove with something like vinegar have probably etched the clear coat. Mike p has a great article explaining the differences between type 1,2,3 water spots. If the water spots have etched the clear coat your gonna need at least a dual action polisher to pull them out unless you have a few days to do it by hand.

As for the swirls also the easiest way to remove is with something like a d/a. Products on blk max for me would be Meg's d300 or optimum compound or hyper compound or carpro fixer. Then follow that up with a finishing polish like menzerna po85rd, wolfgangs finishing glaze, pinnacles advanced finishing polish are some good ones.
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Nice. Thanks for the advice. I will be buying some equipment in the coming months. I really enjoy washing cars and I hope I can be successful in it as a business. This site has really helped me a lot. Thanks guys for all your advice.
 
Djshadyad6 said:
How do you guys know which product to use on which car?
Click to expand...

Good question and something I completely cover in my how to book. My how-to book starts you out and explaining a "little" bit about automotive paint history and I do this for a reason.

Paints have changed and paints are very thin, so you want to make sure you do everything right from the very beginning and that starts with having some basic knowledge about the "stuff" you're working on.

After we go over paint then we talk about washing the car because you need to "inspect" the finish and you don't do this until the finish is clean so you can see and feel it.

After that I go over your options which are determined by your goals. You see some people want a show car finish while other people just want to do good basic maintenance to protect their investment. I understand this so I go over multiple options or procedures that offers something for everyone.

After that I go into how to determine which products you need based upon,

The results from your inspection and evaluation
Your goals

It is these two things that determine which products you use and this answers your questions.

Djshadyad6 said:
How do you guys know which product to use on which car?
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Make sense?

It's laid out in the same way I would teach a class for a LARGE group of people all with vehicles in a wide variety of conditions and and for people with very diverse goals. The BIG PICTURE is that it walks anyone through what they want to do, step-by-step.


Here's a recent article I wrote that is targeted at people that have recently purchased a new car but it's also very on topic for anyone starting out wanting to detail the car they already own....

It has high resolution pictures, videos showing you what to do and links to even more "topical" articles that most people will want more information on...

Check it out...

How To Detail Your Brand New Car by Mike Phillips



:xyxthumbs:
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
Good question and something I completely cover in my how to book. My how-to book starts you out and explaining a "little" bit about automotive paint history and I do this for a reason.

Paints have changed and paints are very thin, so you want to make sure you do everything right from the very beginning and that starts with having some basic knowledge about the "stuff" you're working on.

After we go over paint then we talk about washing the car because you need to "inspect" the finish and you don't do this until the finish is clean so you can see and feel it.

After that I go over your options which are determined by your goals. You see some people want a show car finish while other people just want to do good basic maintenance to protect their investment. I understand this so I go over multiple options or procedures that offers something for everyone.

After that I go into how to determine which products you need based upon,

The results from your inspection and evaluation
Your goals

It is these two things that determine which products you use and this answers your questions.




Make sense?

It's laid out in the same way I would teach a class for a LARGE group of people all with vehicles in a wide variety of conditions and and for people with very diverse goals. The BIG PICTURE is that it walks anyone through what they want to do, step-by-step.


Here's a recent article I wrote that is targeted at people that have recently purchased a new car but it's also very on topic for anyone starting out wanting to detail the car they already own....

It has high resolution pictures, videos showing you what to do and links to even more "topical" articles that most people will want more information on...

Check it out...

How To Detail Your Brand New Car by Mike Phillips



:xyxthumbs:
Click to expand...

This is great mike. Thanks. Exactly what I was looking for. I do also plan on taking your class in the near future also.
 
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