Recent content by billbillw

I still like to use my Absorber. I've had it for 10 years+ and it still pulls more water off faster than just about anything else. It may be more susceptible to scratching if you don't keep it clean. It is also probably not the best for final drying/detailing. I usually just drag it once over...

Steel wool works great, but it does leave tiny iron particles embedded in finish. I would always follow a steel wool application with clay, then polish.

A follow-up. The Meguiars M105/205 products are working great on my car. I experimented between M105 and Ultimate Compound prior to finishing with M205. The Ultimate is definitely easier to use (stays wet longer, less dusting), but I found it didn't look as good as the 105 when I was...

I suggest claying each panel just before you polish it. That way, you don't remove the LSP form the entire vehicle unless needed. If this is your first time using the PC, you might find the need to break the job up into 2 or 3 sessions. I say this from recent experience. My car is taking much...

Might sound like a crazy idea, but depending on the car, it may be easiest to remove the carpet and clean it out of the car. There may be pooled sauce under the carpet in the floorboards that will continue to leach into the carpet otherwise. For many cars there are pretty good DIY tutorials on...

The moisture in the air is enough to cause the salts to have increased oxidation on exposed metal. The warmer it gets, the more moisture the air holds, so it does increase when its warmer, but not purely because of temp. When I lived up north, I always washed the salt residues away from the car...

I've been pretty impressed with the results I've gotten on my 2007 MB using the PC 7424xp and the Meguiars M105/M205 combo. Orange pad for the 105, white for the 205. It has taken out all the swirls and most of the deeper scratches. Its not a fast process though. I spent about 5 hours today and...

OK, I know we were talking about rubber/plastic molding here, but what about black anodized aluminum trim? My Mercedes has a bunch of black anodized trim (running up the side of the front window and roof rails, and also under the side windows). They just look like hell. Oxidized, purple hued...

I like the stuff. Makes great suds, nice smell, gentle on the finish. What would you rather be using?

You didn't mention the make, age, or color of the car. If it is a dark color and the car is more than a year or two old, I suspect you will not be happy without some amount of polishing. You also need to be extremely careful not to add more swirl marks (microfiber is your friend). Read up on the...

Well, I went ahead and ordered a buttload of stuff today including the 7424XP, a pad kit, etc, plus small bottles of M105/M205 and Ultimate Compound. Stocked up on a bunch of the DP 2 for 1 stuff including clay, wheel glaze. Probably about 20 other things I ordered so I can do things the right...

I'm having a hard time keeping up with all the lingo, but I think I'm getting it all. I think I'll give the Meguires 105/205 a try since it is so cheap ($8 for 8oz) compared to the Menzerna. Also, I'm not really sure what you guys mean by having to break down the Menzerna. I knew it had...

I was hoping to buy one of the bundled packages, but I see now that most of them include an awful lot of product (32oz in both the Menzerna and Meguires packs). Do these products have a limited shelf life at all?

Thanks for all the tips. I will certainly re-clay it before polishing. It doesn't take much to convince me its worth the time.

Well, I went ahead and sealed the paint last night with the 3M Performance Finish which I had on hand. It looks OK from a few feet away, but I know I'll be doing some major restoration work very soon. So, would Menzerna SIP + Final Polish be the best bet to remove swirls all around, some...