1-Step vs 3-Steps

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I was actually hoping for some feedback on what everyone thought of the iphone videos?

I didn't even realize you took that video with an iphone 3GS, which in itself says a lot cause the quality was good especially the frame rate. :props: Side note: I used to be in the broadcasting industry for a bit, we used 3CCD camera's and I used to hate using a home camera after what I used in the studio, but a lot of this newer prosumer stuff and even your iphone are impressive for what they are.
 
I was surprised also at how well it worked. When I was shooting the outside video I as just pretty much guessing as to where to point the camera because the bright sunshine was beaming down on the glass screen making it hard to see what the camera was seeing.

Handy little phone...

:)
 
Jeez Mike didn't think you would take what I said so hard to heart.
What I was getting at was if you did an IPA wipe down to truely show the finish. I am sure some of the scratches/swirls were removed but if you did an IPA wipe down I am sure that it would not look as nice. So after a wash you are going to almost go back to square one. I should have said that then go back directly to square one after a wash.
I am sure you have used UC on more cars than I have by hand because I would not choose to use it that much. I have used it on someones recommendation and it works well under door handles. You would do alot more correction with atleast a pc. When doing something like these little demos I feel you should do an IPA wipe down and show the true finish.
I have been doing this just as long as you have and I am not just throwing things out there, I like to see the true finish. I might be too picky but that is the way I work in anything I do.
Plus I don't see why you got so worked up from my post, I asked a simple question and all I wanted to know is if you did an IPA wipedown or not. Sorry that it seems you don't like to be asked a question or in your words challenged but I wanted to know something and I get that type of response. To me not very professional and if you had doubts about what I asked, either pm me directly or just ask what I meant.
 
Plus I don't see why you got so worked up from my post, I asked a simple question and all I wanted to know is if you did an IPA wipe-down or not.

You asked a question and asserted that just by washing the car the finish in both locations would be back to the way it was before the products were used and by typing square one that implies no true change.

Since you're a professional with 1700+ posts I figured you knew exactly what you were typing, I apologize if read more into it than what you really meant.

I may have mis-read your intent but it did read like you believe all that's taken place is filling.

When the car gets back here next week I'll strip the two spots and take another picture and post it to the forum but I'm not going to do this every time someone brings up the issue of filling. I have been doing this a long time and I'm confident enough in my skill level to not have to check each square inch of paint after I buff something out.

UC and products like it do what they're supposed to do and that's remove defects out of the paint when they're used correctly. And as others have said in this thread UC works. It's for more than cleaning scuffs under door handles in fact it's capable of a lot more. And as I already posted, this wasn't about using any kind of machine, which I had at my disposal, this was about showing what could be done by hand.

So hang tight till next week and I'll do a very strong wipe-down and then take a couple of pictures to show the true results and there will be a dramatic difference.

Like you, I've done almost all of my detailing work with a rotary buffer but I never mind showing people how to use what they already own... their hands.


Thanks for getting back to this thread.


:xyxthumbs:
 
Great write up Mike. Thanks for putting that together. Please don't let the negative comments of some prevent you for putting together these great threads.
 
Mike I would just like to say it was a pleasure talking with you on the phone. Can't wait to see the follow ups on the Saturn we talked about.
 
Great write up Mike. Thanks for putting that together. Please don't let the negative comments of some prevent you for putting together these great threads.

I love a healty discussion. The cool thing about discussion forums is that as long as it's civil it's all good. :cheers:

I'll post the pictures next week to show what's what after chemically stripping the finish and I'm confident it will still show that two well-worked applications of UC removed a majority of the shallow swirls.

That's all I claimed and that's what the pictures will show. I might even pick a new section and like I said, use a more aggressive applicator pad and apply the product 3-4 times and see if I can get it close to what a machine could do.

One thing that Dana pointed out over the phone was that a lot of people may look at the results and think it's easy to get good results when removing swirls by hand. What no one saw was how aggressively I worked the UC over that small section and I did work it aggressively because that's what it takes to remove swirls by hand.

Machine compounding and polishing will always product better results but again, the purpose of this demo was to show another forum member what he could do by hand with a strong cleaner/wax and then if he wanted to do more steps, what he could do with a multiple step approach.

And this is why tools like the dual action polisher have become so popular over the last 15 years or so is because they take a lot of the work out of the process and give you better results.

Time to push away from the keyboard...

:)
 
good post. Makes me feel like getting some UC and Swirl X. How do these compare to Mirror Glaze #81 Hand Polish?
 
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UC is just 105 right? If it is, it's good stuff. Been using it for a while now.

Derrick
 
Makes me want to go out and buy a used Saturn.
 
Mike you definately have a way of making a statement for shure.

It's Autogeek's gain to have your vast knowlegde and character here for sure.

Hope all goes well for you.
 
I've always been a 5-6 step finisher, but have found that while still spending 12-15 hours on a car, I have begun to use some 1-step products.

Especially like the Mezerna Acrylic Jacket, but don't think AG offers it. Also like
the Griots G Polish/Sealant.
 
I would go with Mezerna 203 or even Megs 205. With the right pad 205 can do a decent job.

Well being as neither one is an AIO I don't think that answers our question, but thanks for the feedback. Looking for a good All In One and was looking at the XMT 360, it's supposed to be durable but I'm not sure of it's cleaning and abilities.
 
Well being as neither one is an AIO I don't think that answers our question, but thanks for the feedback. Looking for a good All In One and was looking at the XMT 360, it's supposed to be durable but I'm not sure of it's cleaning and abilities.

Alot of people use these two to do a one-step and then follow with an lsp, plus it would end up being alot more durable then just using XMT 360.
 
As promised, here's the follow-up to Dana's question about how the results will look after washing the car. First I'm just going to wash the section, and then later this week I'll do the chemical strip of the same sections.


So in the normal world, if a person were really trying to restore their paint, then afterwards they would likely wash with a non-detergent, premium car wash, not a known strong detergent wash.

Agree?

So to play Devil's Advocate, I went ahead and washed the text section with Dawn Detergent Dish Washing Soap even though it about killed me to work backwards.

Not only did I use Dawn, I used plenty of Dawn and really washed the paint down thoroughly.

1vs3023.jpg


1vs3025.jpg


1vs3026.jpg


1vs3027.jpg


1vs3028.jpg


Again, if you re-read this thread, Dana, aka ASPHALT ROCKET was wondering if after the test sections were washed if all the swirls that were in the paint to begin with would simply show back up, meaning the Ultimate Compound, the SwirlX and the NXT for the most part just filled them in.

After lunch, when the sun is directly overhead, assuming it stays sunny here at work, (weather changes quickly), I'll go out side and take some after pictures.


I'll take a guess right now, without having checked the results yet as the sun is still at a low angle, that the before side will look horrible and the after side will still look very good.

Note I never said my 2 applications of UC were going to remove 100% of the swirls. If I wanted to remove 100% of the swirls I would have applied it 2, 3, maybe 4 times and used a more aggressive applicator pad and then, 99.9% of all defects would be removed.

What I did, not knowing the thread was going to turn this direction, was simply apply UC twice using an applicator pad that the same company sells, then the SwirlX as a finishing polish and then their wax, (so their system for working by hand), to show another member in another thread the difference in results a person could get by using only a one-step cleaner/wax versus breaking the process up into multiple, steps using dedicated products. I wasn't trying to show him how to get flawless show car results by hand, if I were I would have invested the amount of time required by checking my results and doing what ti would take to reach the goal. Instead I did what I thought would be a good example of what the average Joe Consumer could do.

For the record, I never mind a challenge and while my preference is to always work by machine, I very comfortable working by machine or by hand on clear coat finishes and always willing to tailor the process to best serve our customers and what they're interested in.

So hang tight, and if it's sunny, I'll snap some after shots of both sections and post them, if it's not sunny, then we'll just have to wait till it is, with the fact that with more time the finish results won't be getting better and better but worse and worse, or in other words, time is NOT on my side to prove my point.

Since moving to Florida, I now understand the say,

"If you don't like the weather, just wait 20 minutes and it will change"

Thanks everyone for their patience...

:)
 
Looking for a good All In One and was looking at the XMT 360, it's supposed to be durable but I'm not sure of it's cleaning and abilities.

XMT 360 is a true one-step cleaner/paint sealant that uses a synthetic polymer blend for it's protection ingredients, no natural products like Carnauba wax. It's durability and protection should be as good as any similar product in this category.

My Jimmy arrived from California Sunday night on a Transport Truck here at Autogeek. After I stepped down at Meguiar's in installed a Big Block Chevy and in the process the truck sat outside and I'm sad to say I neglected the paint as I was pretty much focused on the mechanical upgrades.

The sides of the truck are all scratched up from my son and his buddies climbing up the tires to get in the back. The front fenders are filled with swirls and scratches from me and my buddies leaning over the fenders installing the engine and hooking everything up. Right now, the Jimmy is a pretty good rolling test bed for testing the cleaning ability of product like the XMT 360 so this weekend I'll test it out and then post some results.

One thing for sure, it's going to be fun to work with as it really smells good.

XMT 360

JimmyandBoatArrive001.jpg



Especially like the Menzerna Acrylic Jacket, but don't think AG offers it.
Also like the Griot's G Polish/Sealant.

Our XMT 360 would be in the same category as the Menzerna Acrylic Jacket, that is they are both one-step cleaner/paint sealants that use synthetic ingredients for protection.

Haven't used the GGPS yet but liked their Paint Sealant, it's still shining bright on the 1964 Ford Falcoln and everyone tells me it's rained more here in Florida more than they've seen in a long time. I lived in Oregon most of my life and I thought it came down in buckets there, not so... when it rains here there are drops of rain, it's pretty much just a layer of water descending upon the earth.

GriotsPolisher01.jpg




:)
 
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