Advice for a Newbie

[MiWolverine]

Hello all. Obviously my first post here and I am looking for some advice on how to approach this detailing. Way back in the day, I used to work for an auto detailer. Though, some of the things I learned and still remember from that job are probably worthless now. I have been browsing this website and reading/watching video and I must say that I am overwhelmed.

In March, I purchased a new '17 Altima. I have been hand washing and drying it since new. I want to keep the car in great condition, as I try to with all cars I have purchased, since I live in Michigan and the car is my daily driver, I am looking for advice on how I can go about this. The car is parked in a garage while at home, and while at work it is parked in a parking garage.

My plan is to purchase a DA polisher, get some 5.5" pads, and polish/wax/sealant. This is the part that overwhelms and confuses me. What pads and what polish/wax/sealant would I need? This is where I am seeking advice. The paint, while nice, probably isn't perfect. I do plan on claying, but after that is where I need advice on which way is the best for me to go so I am not spending money on products I don't need. I would greatly appreciate feedback on this and would like to thank those in advance who do offer some.

 

[AKT]

For my daily driver, my plan (it is still a plan because order has yet to arrive) is to use ONR wash and wax for washing, and then as clay lube for claying, then optimum car wax after drying.

I thought of buying a polisher as well but i think it would not be feasible for me long term because my daily driver usually encounters flying stones in the freeway so even i am too careful in maintaining the paint, stone chips would just ruin it in an instant

 

[VISITOR]

Here's what you need to get into machine polishing - Recommendations for a beginner by Mike Phillips

 

[Rsurfer]

What to protect your paint? Coat it!

 

[JTS]

Years ago when rotary's had one speed and compound course enough to take the bark off a tree.

 

[rajon]

I am almost literally in the same boat but a few years into this. I traverse I-275 and I-696 basically daily and I like to keep my little ATS super shiny because I park in a sea of Cadillacs.

That said I have tried lots but I have gotten to the point where I got up a little early today and my car was a little dusty so I pulled out my foam gun and did a quick wash and dry before I left for work. Maybe 15 minutes. (I have Wolfgang PP3.0 topped by Fuzion on it at present)

I eventually, after much agonizing, chose the Griot's polisher primarily because it is red and was on sale at the time. I do not regret this.

You could be like me and just drop $200 every time Autogeek sends out those evil little 20% off coupons or you can plan better. I have not found anything sold here to be of anything less than professional quality.

So, what I found.

1. Look at all of Mike Phillip's articles. Read them twice.
2. Do an aggressive wash
3. Paint correct
4. Get the car looking the way you want and then coat it. I am a bit of a sadomasochist so I wax my black car frequently and put a sealant on my white car.
5. Gentle wash frequently. A well sealed car is trivial to wash.

In winter I found that going to a coin wash and spraying off the salt and then doing a waterless or rinseless in my garage.


Good luck!

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Hello all. Obviously my first post here and I am looking for some advice on how to approach this detailing. Way back in the day, I used to work for an auto detailer. Though, some of the things I learned and still remember from that job are probably worthless now. I have been browsing this website and reading/watching video and I must say that I am overwhelmed.

In March, I purchased a new '17 Altima. I have been hand washing and drying it since new. I want to keep the car in great condition, as I try to with all cars I have purchased, since I live in Michigan and the car is my daily driver, I am looking for advice on how I can go about this. The car is parked in a garage while at home, and while at work it is parked in a parking garage.

My plan is to purchase a DA polisher, get some 5.5" pads, and polish/wax/sealant. This is the part that overwhelms and confuses me. What pads and what polish/wax/sealant would I need? This is where I am seeking advice. The paint, while nice, probably isn't perfect. I do plan on claying, but after that is where I need advice on which way is the best for me to go so I am not spending money on products I don't need. I would greatly appreciate feedback on this and would like to thank those in advance who do offer some.

First - Welcome to AutogeekOnline! :welcome:

Second, I'd click the link that VISITOR shared,

Here's what you need to get into machine polishing - Recommendations for a beginner by Mike Phillips

I cover everything a person just getting into machine polishing needs to know including the links to get everything a person needs.

As for which brand of products to get and which type of pads?


What do you have already for any compounds, polishes and waxes?

To me, the most important factor when working on car paint is the abrasive technology used in the compounds, polishes and cleaner/waxes. Most guys say it's their technique but that's ego-driven. Their technique does not "touch" the paint first the abrasive do. Followed by the pad and then the tool and then the person.

These brands all use great abrasive technology,

Wolfgang
Pinnacle
Menzerna
Jescar
SONAX
Optimum
Meguiar's
GYEON

The above list is just off the top of my head there are others too...


As for pads, if you get the Griot's Garage 6" DA orbital polisher like I share in the article shared, then keep it simple and get some foam cutting pads, foam polishing pads and if you're going to use a wax or a sealant then get one foam wax pad.

If the car is in great shape right now you probably don't even need foam cutting pads and can get away with just foam polishing pads.

If the car is a daily driver then consider getting a great one-step cleaner/wax and do like I do, dial in your process to where you can buzz around your car quickly and then every once in a while wash and wax your car. Most people never pay attention to the body lines of my truck. If they did they would notice it has large, flat panels an no trim. This makes it fast and easy to run a polisher over. I'm lazy but I like a shiny truck.

For the wife's car I use the Pinnacle Black Label Surface Coating. You have to get the paint perfect before you coat a car but after you coat the car the paint looks amazing and the car will wash and dry fast.


There's a million ways to skin a cat...

I am almost literally in the same boat but a few years into this. I traverse I-275 and I-696 basically daily and I like to keep my little ATS super shiny because I park in a sea of Cadillacs.

That said I have tried lots but I have gotten to the point where I got up a little early today and my car was a little dusty so I pulled out my foam gun and did a quick wash and dry before I left for work. Maybe 15 minutes. (I have Wolfgang PP3.0 topped by Fuzion on it at present)

I eventually, after much agonizing, chose the Griot's polisher primarily because it is red and was on sale at the time. I do not regret this.

You could be like me and just drop $200 every time Autogeek sends out those evil little 20% off coupons or you can plan better. I have not found anything sold here to be of anything less than professional quality.

So, what I found.

1. Look at all of Mike Phillip's articles. Read them twice.
2. Do an aggressive wash
3. Paint correct
4. Get the car looking the way you want and then coat it. I am a bit of a sadomasochist so I wax my black car frequently and put a sealant on my white car.
5. Gentle wash frequently. A well sealed car is trivial to wash.

In winter I found that going to a coin wash and spraying off the salt and then doing a waterless or rinseless in my garage.


Good luck!

That is a very nice reply with great suggestions. Thank you for taking the time to chime in and share with this new members.

I'll bet your cars looks GREAT!

 

[MiWolverine]

First - Welcome to AutogeekOnline! :welcome:

Second, I'd click the link that VISITOR shared,






I cover everything a person just getting into machine polishing needs to know including the links to get everything a person needs.

As for which brand of products to get and which type of pads?


What do you have already for any compounds, polishes and waxes?

To me, the most important factor when working on car paint is the abrasive technology used in the compounds, polishes and cleaner/waxes. Most guys say it's their technique but that's ego-driven. Their technique does not "touch" the paint first the abrasive do. Followed by the pad and then the tool and then the person.

These brands all use great abrasive technology,

Wolfgang
Pinnacle
Menzerna
Jescar
SONAX
Optimum
Meguiar's
GYEON

The above list is just off the top of my head there are others too...


As for pads, if you get the Griot's Garage 6" DA orbital polisher like I share in the article shared, then keep it simple and get some foam cutting pads, foam polishing pads and if you're going to use a wax or a sealant then get one foam wax pad.

If the car is in great shape right now you probably don't even need foam cutting pads and can get away with just foam polishing pads.

If the car is a daily driver then consider getting a great one-step cleaner/wax and do like I do, dial in your process to where you can buzz around your car quickly and then every once in a while wash and wax your car. Most people never pay attention to the body lines of my truck. If they did they would notice it has large, flat panels an no trim. This makes it fast and easy to run a polisher over. I'm lazy but I like a shiny truck.

For the wife's car I use the Pinnacle Black Label Surface Coating. You have to get the paint perfect before you coat a car but after you coat the car the paint looks amazing and the car will wash and dry fast.


There's a million ways to skin a cat...










That is a very nice reply with great suggestions. Thank you for taking the time to chime in and share with this new members.

I'll bet your cars looks GREAT!

Thanks, all, and thank you for the welcome, Mike. To be honest, I really don't have much of anything in regard to compounds or polishes. I do have a brand name carnauba wax I purchased last year for my previous car. I also have wax pads and MF towels and wash mitts. However, I would like to simply start out fresh with everything. I don't have a DA polisher, yet. Though, it is on my list of items to buy.

The paint looks to be in great shape (car is silver, if that matters), though, it does have light swirls in the finish. As I mentioned, the car is mostly parked indoors both at home and work. Commute is less than 5 miles round trip. We do travel to northern Michigan several times every year. In the 5 months I have owned the car, I have only put just over 3,000 miles on it.

So, based on the information I gave given, I would want to clay the car, remove the swirls, polish and seal the finish, and possibly throw a wax on top. Question is, what will last long enough to make it through a Michigan winter?

 

[Hammer77]

I used Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant winter of 15-16, it lasted and looked damn fine doing so!

 

[Kamakaz1961]

Welcome to AGO and listen to what Mike Phillips said. Sound advice. He is the Master of car detailing. We are all his little grasshoppers!....LOL

 

[RippyD]

Finding pads will drive you crazy. Different colors mean different things from different pad makers. To make things easy and get good quality pads, I would start with Griot's pads. They make it very clear and have limited options. They of course work with the GG6, and can be used with practically any compounds or polishes. The Griot's ones are good as well and again, it makes it very for somebody starting out to know what color pad to use when. The basic Griot's pads are find. I would suggest spending a little more if you can for the BOSS pads. They cost more, but are very good and can be used with almost any machine you may upgrade to in the future.

Other pads are good or possibly better. It's a matter of how much time you want to spent reading about pads and different types of foam (and trying to remember if yellow or tangerine is the one you need for compound) vs. getting some good pads that get you correcting your paint with no confusion right now.

 

[rajon]

That is a very nice reply with great suggestions. Thank you for taking the time to chime in and share with this new members.

I'll bet your cars looks GREAT!

You might notice that I basically just regurgitated information from your book and all of the ridiculously detailed and well-written articles you publish. I don't post much because there is almost no question that hasn't been answered here already. It is mind bogglingly easy to get a car looking better than 99% of the heaps on the road.

I washed my car BEFORE work because I got up 20 minutes early. Who does that? Autogeek customers, that's who. If I don't get crazy with the wheels (which is almost always) I can do a gentle wash in 15 minutes. My process (mind you that this is for a lightly soiled car - like as dirty as it would be if it went through an automated wash but with fewer swirls and much better wax)

1. Fill up the rinse bucket. (Double grit guard because why not? I am only using one bucket)
2. Hose the car off
3. Foam gun the horizontal panels.
4. Microfiber mitt only front to back strokes. Minimal strokes, frequent rinsing of the mitt.
5. Rinse
6. repeat process for driver side, rear, passenger, front.
7. Dry with leaf blower or McKee's shop vac dryer thingy.
8. Go over with a waffle weave micro fiber
9. "Stretch" the car (open the hood, doors, deckk lid) and attack them all with a pocket full of microfiber towels and detailer spray.
10. Done in less than 20 minutes.

I have been favoring McKee's 37 Power Wash lately and it rejuvenates the wax pretty well.

For winter I find Wolfgang Paint Protectant 3.0 to be amazing but The Ceramic coat to be better for obvious reasons. I have tried a ridiculous number of waxes and find that my preference changes with my mood more than reality.

 

[Rsurfer]

You might notice that I basically just regurgitated information from your book and all of the ridiculously detailed and well-written articles you publish. I don't post much because there is almost no question that hasn't been answered here already. It is mind bogglingly easy to get a car looking better than 99% of the heaps on the road.

I washed my car BEFORE work because I got up 20 minutes early. Who does that? Autogeek customers, that's who. If I don't get crazy with the wheels (which is almost always) I can do a gentle wash in 15 minutes. My process (mind you that this is for a lightly soiled car - like as dirty as it would be if it went through an automated wash but with fewer swirls and much better wax)

1. Fill up the rinse bucket. (Double grit guard because why not? I am only using one bucket)
2. Hose the car off
3. Foam gun the horizontal panels.
4. Microfiber mitt only front to back strokes. Minimal strokes, frequent rinsing of the mitt.
5. Rinse
6. repeat process for driver side, rear, passenger, front.
7. Dry with leaf blower or McKee's shop vac dryer thingy.
8. Go over with a waffle weave micro fiber
9. "Stretch" the car (open the hood, doors, deckk lid) and attack them all with a pocket full of microfiber towels and detailer spray.
10. Done in less than 20 minutes.

I have been favoring McKee's 37 Power Wash lately and it rejuvenates the wax pretty well.

For winter I find Wolfgang Paint Protectant 3.0 to be amazing but The Ceramic coat to be better for obvious reasons. I have tried a ridiculous number of waxes and find that my preference changes with my mood more than reality.

Have you tried a Rinse less or waterless wash? For a lightly soiled car it beats dragging out the hose, foam gun, buckets, wash mitts and leaf blower. Plus your neighbors would think better of you.

 

[DaveT435]

You'll want to use Iron X or McKee's 37 iron remover, etc. to get all the iron particles out of the paint.

What part of Michigan? I was raised in the Kalamazoo area.

GO BLUE!!

 

[rajon]

Have you tried a Rinse less or waterless wash? For a lightly soiled car it beats dragging out the hose, foam gun, buckets, wash mitts and leaf blower. Plus your neighbors would think better of you.

I use a rinseless occasionally. I use the leaf blower rarely and rely on the electric dryer. I have all the stuff on hand and the hose is coiled right beside my driveway. It only takes 4-6 minutes to get set up. I am a software development engineer but I have been in the auto industry long enough that I have had a lifetime's worth of how to make a build process efficient training. I have spent years taking time out of washing my car to where it is now a trivial process. I will switch to rinseless or waterless when the temperatures creep closer to freezing.

I wash my neighbor's cars occasionally so I stay on very good terms with everyone.

 

[RippyD]

I am a software development engineer

(Secret developer handshake.) Don't code much any more, but can tcb when needed. Had to write some Javascript recently. Not a fan of that...

I will switch to rinseless or waterless when the temperatures creep closer to freezing.

I'm a fairly recent convert to waterless/rinseless. I use a combo - towel in a bucket of rinseless and still spray the car with waterless first. I have found that it's a better method for me for a couple of reasons:

1. Easy to do in the garage. The water that gets on the floor is easily dealt with or evaporates.
2. I take more care when doing a rinseless, so I think it's safer. If fine scratches are any indication, it seems to be much easier in my paint.

Obvious don't use it when there's heavy dirt. I'm either do a 2-bucket wash or more likely hit it with a hose or pressure washer. I also use a Big Red Sponge on lower areas pretty frequently to keep embedded grime out of my good rinseless towels.

 

[rajon]

(Secret developer handshake.) Don't code much any more, but can tcb when needed. Had to write some Javascript recently. Not a fan of that...

Hysterically awkward secret handshake returned. Java is for drinking, C (and begrudgingly C++ and Python) are for coding. The condescending UNIX user from the Dilbert comics is my career goal.

I'm a fairly recent convert to waterless/rinseless. I use a combo - towel in a bucket of rinseless and still spray the car with waterless first. I have found that it's a better method for me for a couple of reasons:

1. Easy to do in the garage. The water that gets on the floor is easily dealt with or evaporates.
2. I take more care when doing a rinseless, so I think it's safer. If fine scratches are any indication, it seems to be much easier in my paint.

Obvious don't use it when there's heavy dirt. I'm either do a 2-bucket wash or more likely hit it with a hose or pressure washer. I also use a Big Red Sponge on lower areas pretty frequently to keep embedded grime out of my good rinseless towels.

My collection of microfiber products is bordering on embarrassing. I have different colored wash mitts for horizontal, vertical high, and vertical low. I will play with the rinseless a little more but the foam gun is just so much fun.

 

[RippyD]

Hysterically awkward secret handshake returned. Java is for drinking, C (and begrudgingly C++ and Python) are for coding. The condescending UNIX user from the Dilbert comics is my career goal.

I'm embarrassed to say I've been that guy.

Product user to me: "The app blows up when I enter this data."
Me in response, and seeing the code in my head: "That's not possible."
​

It takes a special kind of arrogance to just flatly deny what people are telling you. Java I can tolerate. JS is just... I don't even know what it is.

My collection of microfiber products is bordering on embarrassing. I have different colored wash mitts for horizontal, vertical high, and vertical low. I will play with the rinseless a little more but the foam gun is just so much fun.

You clearly haven't spent enough time here. You're not doing it right until a spouse or other person close to you opens a cabinet or sees a huge, hidden collection of MF towels and suggests that maybe you have a problem. That's the indicator that you're getting close to having the right amount of MF.

Yeah, foam guys... a lot more fun than a rinseless wash in the garage.

 

[MiWolverine]

You'll want to use Iron X or McKee's 37 iron remover, etc. to get all the iron particles out of the paint.

What part of Michigan? I was raised in the Kalamazoo area.

GO BLUE!!

I've lived all over Michigan, but currently live in Jackson. Born in Saginaw, moved to Traverse City (where I lived most of my life), then Grand Rapids and finally settled in Jackson. Jackson is okay (short drive to The Big House), but I want to get back up north. Not to TC, but somewhere on the other side of the state. TC is a mess and, to me, isn't very inviting anymore. Though, I do love Benzie/Leelanau areas. Oh, and GO BLUE!

Thanks again, everyone. This site is quite awesome with all the info. I start getting into one video and have to start watching another right away. Same goes for articles. Much to learn.

 

[rajon]

I'm embarrassed to say I've been that guy.

Product user to me: "The app blows up when I enter this data."
Me in response, and seeing the code in my head: "That's not possible."
"It's a feature."
​

You clearly haven't spent enough time here. You're not doing it right until a spouse or other person close to you opens a cabinet or sees a huge, hidden collection of MF towels and suggests that maybe you have a problem. That's the indicator that you're getting close to having the right amount of MF.

She doesn't ask about my "carwash stuff" and I don't ask about her clothing purchases. She accepts that washing the car makes me happy so off I am sent.

One time her eyes got really big when I pulled out "all" of my chemicals. (It wasn't even like a third of my stock, I was just setting up to do a mild correction)