After Care to the Paint ?

drumer66

drumer66

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Hi guys...

I have been reading and learning, and i am now waiting for all my new stuff to come in the mail.... purchased a Porter DA, and went with the Pinnacle xmt line, amongst a slew of other stuff.....

anyway... Im am learning and understanding what it takes to go through the entire process of getting a vehicle all cleaned up ...

proper washing,
possible claying,
polishing,
glazing/finishing
then a really great wax

but my question is this.... what is the folowup to all this...

wash / wax quarterly
wash / polish /glaze/ wax
wash / glaze / wax ...

this is the part that i need some answers too....

any input is greatly appreciated...

thx
jim d .... drumer66
 
"Possible" claying, you'll probably need to clay a decontaminate the paint for sure!

For follow up use proper wash techniques, 2 bucket method, maybe a nice foam gun, good waterless washes for some lubricity. If you practice proper wash technique you shouldn't have to polish often at all. Most people here, we wasg our cars probably average every week-two weeks???

You should read threads and search around, lots of info to absorb here. But you shouldnt need to polish and glaze all the time. once you do a good detail, just follow up with good washes and some wax or spray wax until you want to strip and start all over!

Good luck
 
drumer66 said:
Hi guys...

I have been reading and learning, and i am now waiting for all my new stuff to come in the mail.... purchased a Porter DA, and went with the Pinnacle xmt line, amongst a slew of other stuff.....

anyway... Im am learning and understanding what it takes to go through the entire process of getting a vehicle all cleaned up ...

proper washing,
possible claying,
polishing,
glazing/finishing
then a really great wax

but my question is this.... what is the folowup to all this...

wash / wax quarterly
wash / polish /glaze/ wax
wash / glaze / wax ...

this is the part that i need some answers too....

any input is greatly appreciated...

thx
jim d .... drumer66
Click to expand...

After you compound and/or polish your paint, it's very important to MAINTAIN the work you've done. There's only so much clear coat on your vehicle, so if you keep on introducing more and more scratches and keep on polishing them away, you'll run into trouble eventually.

As mentioned earlier, use the 2 bucket method when washing, both buckets should have grit guards in them, and pick up a foam gun, too. I also use 2 microfiber chenille wash mitts... one for the top-half of my car, one for the bottom-half, and they never interchange. I wash my car once a week so that it's not a horrendous job each and every time. Plus, keeping your vehicle's paint waxed with a quality wax or sealant will always make the job easier because nothing will have a good chance to stick to the paint.

As for how often you should wax... I say whatever floats your boat. I use products that can last months and months, but I probably seal my paint with sealant about once a month on average. As my car is washed once a week, I'll usually follow up with a spray wax just to maintain the main protection on the paint and also to give that "just waxed" look.

When it comes to my car, I'm quite obsessive, but if you saw my car, it'd be hard to argue with. My car is no Ferrari, so it barely turns heads... sometimes I wish it did, lol... but I do it for myself because it just makes me feel good. It's kinda my own meditation time. Just today I washed my car, stripped all the wax off (3 layers of sealant, 2 applications of spray wax), glazed the paint and then sealed once again... all in one shot. I think of nothing else when I'm working on my car. It used to be a chore for me... but then I just somehow got really in depth with it all.

Hope this helps you a bit. If you have anymore specific questions, feel free to message me on here. I can share with you the products I use, pics of my car for reference, etc.
 
OK, so your question..... to me.... is rather simple but with a ton of options.....

After you perform a major correction on your vehicle the follow-ups are merely maintenance related:

1- Washing --> You can wash with car wash and buckets, a waterless wash or a rinseless wash (both are faster). When you are washing, beware as whenever you dry the paint you are abrading the paint ever so slightly to durability is slightly affected. Meaning, if you wash every day don't expect the LSP to last longer than a schedule where you wash weekly or monthly.

2- Check for new chips and swirls. As an example, I have 2 spots of swirls on my rear deck lid. On a nice day I will be redoing the entire deck lid along with some DA work.

3- If you want to apply topper waxes then that is where spray waxes come into play. Certainly you can top with a paste or liquid wax but here you need to be congizant of any embedded contamination in the paint. You will see it as you apply a paste or liquid and need to be careful not to instill swirls.

4- Inspect the beading the sheeting of the paint as it rains (will help you gauge durability of your LSP).

Essentially, establish a weekly or a bi-weekly schedule for maintenance work.
 
Quick question.
To avoid scratches what do you guys recommend.

My routine/set up

-Pre soak with a foam gun
(sprayed down with foam a few times)
Wash
-(two bucket wash with grit guards
With Wookies fist)
- dry
HD cobra waffle weave + 530 MF towel with some detail spray to remove any streaks left behind

-Bi weekly wax if needed.

Is there something in the order that's causing scratches ? Anything I can do prevent scratches ?

Also, I am in the market for some waterless wash. I have been using detail spray at every car show with the 530 mF to remove that thin layer of dirt that's gathered during the ride to the show.
With a waterless wash as QD for shows and at home am I avoiding scratches even more oppose to using a regular QD ?
 
drumer66 said:
but my question is this.... what is the follow up to all this...

wash / wax quarterly
wash / polish /glaze/ wax
wash / glaze / wax ...

this is the part that i need some answers too....

any input is greatly appreciated...

thx
jim d .... drumer66
Click to expand...


Hi Jim,

Thank you for your PM on this thread as I prefer to answer questions on the public forum and not in private messages.


I just scanned through my first how-to book and I do cover "maintenance" towards the end of the book as it relates to using spray detailers and spray waxes but there is not a specific chapter on

How to tell when it's time to do "something" again.


And while I could write that chapter it would be more or less a duplicate of an earlier chapter in the book called,

Visual and Physical Inspection


And in this chapter I share how to inspect your car's paint with both your sense of touch and with your eyes and by doing so evaluating or diagnosing the accurate condition of the paint.

The chapter after Visual and Physical Inspection is called,

Paint Condition Categories


In this chapter you learn how to take the results of your inspection and place your car's finish into one of 11 paint categories. Now you know your starting point. The chapter after Paint Condition Categories is called,

What's your Goal?

And I ask and answer this question because everyone is different and by this I mean some people that will buy this book look at their car as transportation and merely what to maintain their financial investment and using a cleaner/wax a couple of times a year is all they want to do and thus that is their goal.

To other people their car is an extension of their personality and/or and escape from the rat race world we live in and they take the finish on their car as serious as a heart attack. They want to know everything they need to do to create a flawless show car finish.

And of course there are people all in-between these two extremes.


So writing a chapter at the end of the book to tell people what I've already shared at the beginning of the book would be redundant.

So the answer to your question is,

Determine your goal? You can see and read about the 11 paint condition categories in my how-to book here,

Page 37 - Paint Condition Categories


Once you've determined what your goal is then you wash and dry your car, or use another means of getting the exterior clean like using a spray detailer, waterless wash or rinseless wash. The point is to get the car clean so you can accurately see and inspect the finish for below surface defects like swirls and scratches and also "feel" the paint for above surface defects.

It is the results from your inspection that give you your starting paint and then you do the thing you need to do to reach your goal.

If you inspection shows that sometime after you last detailed your car the paint picked up some type of above surface bonded contaminants because after getting the car clean and feeling the paint you feel bumps on the paint then you know that in order to restore your car's finish to categories #1 or #2 you're going to need to decontaminate the paint using some type of mechanical means, such as,

  • Claying
  • Speedy Prep Towel
  • Nanoskin Autoscrub Pads
  • Nanoskin Wash Mitt
  • Optimum Opti-Eraser
  • Ultima Elastrofoam block
Or some other means of removing above surface bonded contaminants.


Then if your inspection reveals that since your last detailing session the paint has swirls and scratches, then you do your best to determine if they are shallow or deep and then,

"Use the least aggressive product to get the job done"

And you determine what the least aggressive product, pad, tool and technique is by doing what I call a "Test Spot".


How To Do a Test Spot
(and why it's so important)


And then work your way through the process you dial-in and prove over the rest of the car till you end up with something like this,


1972 Corvette Stingray - Extreme Makeover - Process and Products Used

1972Corvette036.jpg




Then.... the most important thing you can do after you get your car's finish to where you want it to be is to make sure anything that "touches" the paint is the highest quality you can obtain and anytime the paint is being touched focus on the task at hand and use good technique.

I have hundreds of articles that discuss all of these things on my article page here are just a few...

The Final Wipe – Tips for creating a streak-free, show car finish

Increase Your Grip Strength with Microfiber Gloves

How to correctly fold and use a Microfiber Towel

The 4 minimum categories of wiping cloths

How many microfiber polishing cloths do I need to detail my car?

How to maintain a freshly waxed car

How To Use Pinnacle Liquid Crystal Waterless Wash with Carnauba

The Mindset of a Professional Detailer

"Find something you like and use it often"

"Use the least aggressive product to get the job done"


Everything a person needs to know to go from start to finish is in my first how-to book. It is focused getting you through an entire detailing process to your car using any of the popular DA Polishers but it includes so much more information that will help you no matter what tool you use.


Paperback




I recently re-read my book and it is as detailed as this reply to your question.


Hope this helps...



:)
 
thanks for the response and info...

drumer66
 
mwoolfso said:
OK, so your question..... to me.... is rather simple but with a ton of options.....

After you perform a major correction on your vehicle the follow-ups are merely maintenance related:

1- Washing --> You can wash with car wash and buckets, a waterless wash or a rinseless wash (both are faster). When you are washing, beware as whenever you dry the paint you are abrading the paint ever so slightly to durability is slightly affected. Meaning, if you wash every day don't expect the LSP to last longer than a schedule where you wash weekly or monthly.

2- Check for new chips and swirls. As an example, I have 2 spots of swirls on my rear deck lid. On a nice day I will be redoing the entire deck lid along with some DA work.

3- If you want to apply topper waxes then that is where spray waxes come into play. Certainly you can top with a paste or liquid wax but here you need to be congizant of any embedded contamination in the paint. You will see it as you apply a paste or liquid and need to be careful not to instill swirls.

4- Inspect the beading the sheeting of the paint as it rains (will help you gauge durability of your LSP).

Essentially, establish a weekly or a bi-weekly schedule for maintenance work.
Click to expand...



thanks for the input.... very appreciated.... thanks eveyone....jd
 
Dear Mike.... great show and great info.... i do have a final question for ya... at least i think its my final one...lol.....

I recently purchased a Porter Da, along with mostly XMT products... my question is this ;
I purchased the glaze ....12 oz. XMT Carnauba Finishing Glaze
is this a sealant ? if not, does it get applied before or after a sealant ?

thx,
jim D
 
you wash every day don't expect the LSP to last longer than a schedule where you wash weekly or monthly.
 
drumer66 said:
I purchased the glaze ....12 oz. XMT Carnauba Finishing Glaze
is this a sealant ?
Click to expand...

It's a liquid Carnauba wax with some light non-abrasive cleaning action and polishing oils to enrich clarity of a clear coat and richness of a single stage paint.

drumer66 said:
if not, does it get applied before or after a sealant ?

thx,
jim D
Click to expand...

It is a last step product, so you would do all your compounding and polishing and then apply this to seal the paint.

Some people like to apply a synthetic sealant first and top with a Carnauba wax for what is called depth and a warm glow but you don't have to you can stop after applying the XMT Carnauba Finishing Glaze.


:)
 
mike.... once again thanks.... i'm on the fence with the sealant, but it does sound like a good idea... i may get it and decide later... thanks again .. any suggestions of to what sealant to get, if i am using the XMT line...

jim d
 
mike...

one more quick question ... i just happened to catch the video of one of the wolfgang products... the 3.0 finishing glaze ... how is this product different than the xmt finishing glazespray... and are they both applied by hand or by buffer... i have the porter unit....
 
mike... i mis-wrote my info... i have the wolfgang paint sealant spray , not XMT... does this get buffed in and out.... and is the cure time like the 12 hours 3.o wolfgang finishing paint sealant
 
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