After Polish,best advice for my bad habits?

[CharlieSheen]

I gotta be honest.I don't take care of a vehicle very well.I'm kind of manic-depressive with it.I can literally work on it 12 hours straight,then not do a thing for a month.Most of this is because of my work schedule.

So,I just bought a very nice and clean 10 year old Tahoe.Paint is in good fundamental shape,but it needs clay and polish.If I stay on it with no distractions I can get there in a couple weekends,with the DA.But what after polish?

What can I apply,and how should I apply it,to protect my finish?Like I say,I may not get to it,for even a wash for a few weeks,depending on work.Truck is a semi-daily driver,and is white.

 

[Pureshine]

There are a lot of sealants to choose from here are the 3 I use. I only use Opti-coat after paint correction.
Menzerna Power Lock
SONAX PolymerNetShield Polymer Sealant
Optimum Opti-Coat Permanent Paint Coating

 

[CharlieSheen]

There are a lot of sealants to choose from here are the 3 I use. I only use Opti-coat after paint correction.
Menzerna Power Lock
SONAX PolymerNetShield Polymer Sealant
Optimum Opti-Coat Permanent Paint Coating

If I go with the Opti-Coat,is there anything different from normal to maintain it? Is there anything about the product that can make things more difficult somehow down the line?

 

[Pureshine]

If I go with the Opti-Coat,is there anything different from normal to maintain it? Is there anything about the product that can make things more difficult somehow down the line?

Opti- coat is pretty easy to use there are some good videos on how to apply. No there is nothing to make it more difficult down the line.

 

[CharlieSheen]

Opti- coat is pretty easy to use there are some good videos on how to apply. No there is nothing to make it more difficult down the line.

Have you applied Opticoat to daily drivers? How is it holding up?

 

[Zapa]

I have 22ple on my daily driver and absolutely love it. Beads better than anything else i have seen and gives the car a great shine and depth. It has also made washing the car soo much easier. Dirty and road grim does not really stick to it.

 

[Flatlander]

After polishing out the paint a "permanent" coating makes sense to me. I am partial to GTechniq C1. Easy to apply and a beautiful shine. I have opti-coat, C1, Dodo juice infinity sealant, CQuartz, ExoV2, CQuartz -UK all on one vehicle (Varoius panels of course). Opti-coat is a great choice as well IMO.
- Mike

 

[Pureshine]

Have you applied Opticoat to daily drivers? How is it holding up?

It holds up great for daily drivers just most people with lower end cars are not will to pay for Opti-coat. So its why I use the other 2 sealants for them.

 

[kimtyson]

I'd recommend the Duragloss line. Their stuff is so easy to work with and it lasts a long time for us busy guys. It's very easy to get back in the swing of things even after a couple of weeks of no attention to the finish.

 

[dooyaunastan]

For the best results, try and coordinate the days that you polish and protect the paint with a sealant/wax coating.

You could, in theory, clay it one weekend, polish the next (after a good wash), and then wash it again the next weekend and seal it then. However, this poses many issues, such as:

- Risk of marring/scratching the paint with the washes in between your detailing steps (claying, wait a week, wash, polish, wait a week, wash, protect)
- Risk of contaminates bonding to the paint in the span of time you will be working on it (I've baggie tested after a wash, one week after protecting, and had contaminates that needed claying to remove. Yes, one week.
- Risk of said contaminates lodging themselves in your polishing pads during your polishing process (Hellooooo scratches)

It can be done, as long as you're careful in your approach, but I would advise against it, and try and figure out a way where you can knock out as many fundamental steps with as little time between them as possible.

As for protecting, you have 3 options:

Coating - Opti-Coat, CQuartz, 22ple, Gtechniq C1 and/or EXO V2, and a few others on the market now. Many of the coatings perform, function, and are designed differently, I'll leave that research up to you, but you can't really go wrong with any of them, it's all about what you're looking for (sheeting, looks, beading, dirt/grime repellency) and you have to prioritize what you want.

Sealant - Less durable than a coating, more durable than wax. Doesn't offer the protection that a coating does, but will last longer than a wax. Doesn't offer the looks that a wax does, it creates a more candied look.

Wax - The traditional. Offers warmth & depth to darker finishes, plus there's the whole process of applying that is what keeps people still using waxes when there are such things as these coatings available now. Some people still like waxing their cars every other month.

 

[FUNX650]

what after polish?
-What can I apply
-how should I apply it

Being that you said this vehicle is a DD...

I suggest the Klasse Twins.
A Couple of Application Guides:
Klasse usa ,Klasse Application Guide, How to apply Klasse AIO, Klasse High Gloss Sealant Glaze, All-in-one, klasse all-in-one
Klasse High Gloss Sealant Glaze (KSG) Guide and Review | Ask a Pro Blog


Or: Collinite #845.
An Application Guide: http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...e-845-definitive-how-guide-legendary-wax.html




Bob

 

[CharlieSheen]

For the best results, try and coordinate the days that you polish and protect the paint with a sealant/wax coating.

You could, in theory, clay it one weekend, polish the next (after a good wash), and then wash it again the next weekend and seal it then. However, this poses many issues, such as:

- Risk of marring/scratching the paint with the washes in between your detailing steps (claying, wait a week, wash, polish, wait a week, wash, protect)
- Risk of contaminates bonding to the paint in the span of time you will be working on it (I've baggie tested after a wash, one week after protecting, and had contaminates that needed claying to remove. Yes, one week.
- Risk of said contaminates lodging themselves in your polishing pads during your polishing process (Hellooooo scratches)

It can be done, as long as you're careful in your approach, but I would advise against it, and try and figure out a way where you can knock out as many fundamental steps with as little time between them as possible.

Thanks for that,I knew I would have to address this with a plan.I figure there is no way to just clay the Tahoe in less than 12 hours of work,no distractions.Polish will probably take a little more than that.I figured on starting on the roof and removing the roof racks,and just clay, polish and seal in one weekend.The roof sucks because it is ribbed and is going to be a PIA every step AND I will have to set up some sort of scaffold to be able to work on it properly.

Yeah,I figure I have to clay,polish and seal,before the truck even goes anywhere.What kind of problem is it going to create to have to seal one area at a time?

 

[dooyaunastan]

Claying shouldn't take 12 hours, even for a Tahoe, unless it's been baking in bird doo doo, pollen and fallout for years on end and even then, I'd say 4 hours maximum (that's worst case scenario, the whole car could be done in up to an hour alone, you won't know until you try it).

You could work panel by panel, if you were I'd suggest doing something like picking up a bottle of Ultima Waterless Wash + and using that as your wash solution once you've thoroughly washed the vehicle with a 2BM wash. To make that step by step to avoid confusion:

Properly wash the vehicle (time is of little issue on this wash, cleanliness of the vehicle is priority)
Clay the whole vehicle (or one panel, but I'd suggest going ahead and doing the whole vehicle)

That could be one day of work

Next day, you could
waterless wash a panel
polish the panel
protect the panel

and repeat that process as many times as necessary, but I'd do a baggie test after every few days (if it sits outside) just to make sure there isn't anything on there that you could be working into the finish.