Car Detail prep - what buffer?

alright, so answer this ! hah Poor Boys Paint Sealant or Pinnacle Paintwork cleansing lotion for my red car ?

Now im going to open up a whole new world to this process. I need new washing towels/mits/pads to wax !
What would be the best to use to apply and take off each of these products ?
 
idk you keep going back and forth you must realize what the product actually does

your asking if you should use sealant vs cleansingg lotion. those 2 cant be compared they are different stages....

wash
clay bar
treat swirls/glaze
wax

this is what you want to do because you dont want to do to many steps.

i think your confusing yourself. where you really need to find your answers is here
Auto Detailing Facts, auto detailing Tips, How to detailing Guides, how to polish, how to wax, DIY detailing, do it yourself guides
please scroll down and read the graph on the main page, then read threw the tips and tricks of washing and all those listed below...
 
01AUDI said:
alright, so answer this ! hah Poor Boys Paint Sealant or Pinnacle Paintwork cleansing lotion for my red car ?

Now im going to open up a whole new world to this process. I need new washing towels/mits/pads to wax !
What would be the best to use to apply and take off each of these products ?
Click to expand...
Both Pinnacle Paint Lotion cleans the surface and Poor Boys Paint Sealant protects it.
 
yes, you are right.. i am confused !
I guess after the clay bar, what is it that will help take away the swirls/water marks?
Just give me a process of what to use and i'll take that !
 
01AUDI said:
yes, you are right.. i am confused !
I guess after the clay bar, what is it that will help take away the swirls/water marks?
Just give me a process of what to use and i'll take that !
Click to expand...

please read the link i offerd you, once you do that come back and re-read our replies, all the info is right infront of you, you just have to sort threw it!!!

i promise if you take the time to read the link you'll hit your head once you get it realizing how simple it is
 
01AUDI said:
yes, you are right.. i am confused !
I guess after the clay bar, what is it that will help take away the swirls/water marks?
Just give me a process of what to use and i'll take that !
Click to expand...

I honestly would invest in a Random Orbital (Griots or PC XP) When used with the proper pad and compound....swirl marks disappear in seconds.

I am a detailing newb just as you....and asked the same questions you are now asking. I just used the Griots buffer with WG twins on my car in WOW is all I can say. All of the swirl marks are gone and the car is glowing.

What I used:

1)Washed with DP Rinseless wash using 2 bucket method
2)Used leaf blower purchased from walmart to dry
3)Used Waffle Weave towel to fully dry the car
4)Clay Bar'd with Quick Detail spray
5)Used Wolfgangs Total Swirl Remover (Used Griots Buffer with Orange CCS pad) Took all swirls out
6)Used Woflgangs Finishing Glaze (Griots buffer with white CCS pad)
7)Applied Menzerna (Used Griots with Blue Finishing CCS pad)
8)Applied Woflgangs Gloss Sealant by hand (aloud to dry 45min then removed)
9)Applied another coat of the WG Gloss sealant 12 hours after first application (sealant needs 12 hours to cure)

Hope this helps. There are hundreds of different products and methods you can use. Find the product and procedures you like and go for it. The above is just what I did and it worked well for me.

Bottom line...get a Random Orbital Buffer and pads
 
buy this... Wolfgang Duo & Porter Cable 7424XP FREE BONUS

-Wash your car
-Clay it
-Wolfgang TSR with orange pad
-Wolfgang Finishing Glaze with gray pad

$189 shipped to your door and your paint will look amazing. Using a Random Orbital buffer is easy, you will get better results and get the job done quicker and walk away from your car saying, "Wow, that was easy and looks GREAT!" :xyxthumbs:
 
01AUDI said:
even for red ?
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Yes even for red, Black hole does an outstanding job on red cars. I have even used black hole on a white car and it worked well but it is designed for dark colors. Red is a dark color.

I will try to explain how a glaze works. I do not claim to be a scientist or anything so if I am wrong in this PLEASE someone who "knows better" correct me here. You should consider a swirl or a light scratch as a "V" shaped cut or groove if you will, in the paint. The main reason you can even see the swirls is that light (sun or halogen light) shines down on your cars paint and the light will reflect back at you from one side or the other of the "V" shaped scratch or swirl illuminating the defect.

A show car glaze, when used properly will somewhat fill the swirl thus reducing or muteing the ability of the light's reflection. I say "somewhat filling" the swirl or light scratch because I don't believe the glaze completely fills the defect, but rather leaves a trace of the filler in the base of the "V" shaped defect (scratch or swirl). The end result is that instead of the "V" shape, now what you have is more of a "U" shaped defect because of the product left behind. Your ability to see the light's reflection relies partly on the light reflecting off of one side or the other of the sharp "V" shape of the base of the defect.

Now that the sharp base of the defect has been filled with the Black Hole, the light has much less "ability" to reflect back to your eye. It is kind of like "smoke and mirrors", what a glaze actually does is, it creates the illusion of a defect free finish.

I know this can be a bit confuzing but if you are after a "better looking" finish on your car and don't want to pay all the money to get the basic tools and product to really correct or eliminate the defects of your car's finish, this is the way to go.

If you do choose this route, get a foam applicator to apply both the Black Hole and the polymer sealant as a micro fiber or terry applicator will tend to get further into the defects, limiting the filling effect of the product. Apply the Black Hole with very light pressure on the pad but be thorough about it, ensuring that you do not miss any spots on the car.

A very thin coat is all that is required but allow the pruduct to to dry for one hour before "lightly" wiping off the excess. I suggest taking a one hour break after this "wiping off excess" step to ensure that the product left in the defects completely dries before "lightly" applying the polymer sealant.

I place "emphasis" on "lightly" because the task at hand is to "fill" the defects....not to clean. I believe that if you follow these guidelines you will be more than satisfied with the results. I hope this helps you to achieve the results that you came here to find, TD
 
87rx7chick said:
wouldnt the cleaner wax remove what black hole will do?

just checking.

also if you have not already picked up gold class liquid wax
Meguiars NXT Generation Tech Wax is unlike any other car wax! Tech Wax, a synthetic, scientifically engineered paint sealant, is an alternative to
meguiars has some other wax thats just as good but also helps hide and bring back to luster, i used it on my scion that has normal wash marring and it made it all disappear, just a recommendation!
Click to expand...
Yes it will remove the Black hole. Please read my post above and consider using just the Black Hole and a polymer sealant. "lightly" You do not need to turn this into a ten step process.
 
The Meguires NXT would be a good choice of polymer sealant if applied "lightly" because as it does come back off easily and will require less rubbing, I do believe it has a slight cleaning ability. Remember the task at hand is to "fill" not to clean.
 
tuscarora dave said:
Yes it will remove the Black hole. Please read my post above and consider using just the Black Hole and a polymer sealant. "lightly" You do not need to turn this into a ten step process.
Click to expand...

:iagree::iagree::iagree: Dave hit the nail right on the head. There is no need to make this a 10 step process. This is like applying make up to cover some blemishes and wrinkles on your skin until you are ready to actually correct the imperfections.
 
I'm not sure if after 4 pages anyone explained the basics of removing swirls so here goes and then I'll answer the above question.

Swirls and scratches are defects that are below the surface. In order to remove swirls and scratches you must remove the surface paint until you LEVEL the upper most surface with the lowest depths of the defects you're trying to remove.

In other words, in order to remove swirls and scratches you must remove paint.

Now to your question,

01AUDI said:
I was really looking for a less-expensive route, so there is no other option ?
Click to expand...

Modern clear coats tend to be harder than traditional single stage paints and because they are harder, it makes it difficult for you with your hand to remove swirls and cheapie buffers don't have the power or the speed to remove paint.

So it requires one of the tools already recommended in this thread. Take my word for it, the members of this forum are very wise to the available tools on the market and there are no cheapie buffers that will remove swirls. (remove paint).



ballz716 said:
What about Megs Ultimate Compound, Megs Swirl-x, Klasse All-in-one,Opti-seal. All can be done by hand and work good
Click to expand...
Yes. They can all be applied by hand and you can remove swirls by hand, i.e. you can remove paint by hand. Here are two threads that cover this topic.

Check these out,

I think in this first one I "write" a lot about working by hand with a lot of details but no videos..

Man versus Machine



This one also has a lot of detail about working by hand,

1-Step versus 3-Step Process by Hand


This one shows a possible problem when working by hand,

Finger Marks


Here's an old short video clip that shows me working with a version of ScratchX by hand when it was still made using Diminishing Abrasives. The new version uses SMA technology but I would still use the product the same way if I were trying to remove swirls and scratches.

60corvette_scratchx2.wmv



01AUDI said:
yes, you are right.. i am confused !
I guess after the clay bar, what is it that will help take away the swirls/water marks?
Just give me a process of what to use and I'll take that !
Click to expand...

Claying only remove above surface bonded contaminants, that is things that have landed on top of the paint and stuck to the paint with a strong enough bond that washing won't remove them.

2 categories of correction products
  • Clay for above surface contaminants
  • Compounds, Paint Cleaners and Swirl Mark Removers for below surface defects

I'm the last person in the Cyber-World that you'll catch making blanket statements that label specific car brands as having hard paint but most of the newer Audi's I've worked on have paint that trends towards being hard, not soft.

This means a machine is going to be necessary to remove swirls.

Here's the deal, even if you remove all the swirls, they will come back if you're not completely careful in how you "touch" the paint, this includes washing it. So if you plan on running your car through a car wash all this discussion is for nothing, just buy a cleaner/wax apply it, work it over the paint well and the wipe it off and move on.j

If you're the type that's going to invest in a good quality wash mitt, a luxury car shampoo, premium quality drying towels or chamois then removing swirls is an option you can undertake.

Make sense?

:)
 
A real simple process by hand would be,

  • Wash
  • Clay
  • Polish the paint
  • Wax or apply a Paint Sealant

You can do all of the above by hand and the results can look phenomenal. Anyone here will be happy to make product recommendations for your Audi.


:xyxthumbs:
 
ok i think i have it now!
AMAZING POSTS, THANK YOU ALL ! I have a lot more reading to do and have taken in a lot, but so far i really have learned a lot.

Process:
2bucket wash with Megs Gold Class Shampoo - using hand mit
Waffle towel to dry entire car
Megs Clay Bar with Megs Quick Detailer
Quick wash and dry again - (maybe)
Poor Boys Black Hole with foam applicator pad, lightly on, leave for 1hour, lightly take off with new pad
Poor Boys Sealant or Megs NXT with foam pad, lightly on, leave 1hour, lightly off with new pad !!

Saying this is correct.. when using the Poor Boys, will it harden up on the car or turn white? Reason I ask is, how do i know when ive added enough, or too much, to the car?
 
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You don't need another wash after claying. Just make it nice and light layers. With the Black Hole, I found this on the AG store
Poorboys Black Hole Show Glaze for Dark Vehicles is a wipe on, wipe off product. Spread the wax on with a soft, clean foam applicator. If applying by machine, set your polisher to a low speed and work until a shine begins to appear. Allow it to dry to a haze and then buff off with a clean, soft Cobra Microfiber Towel.
Click to expand...
 
i forgot to include something about my wheels and engine !
I had heard that the P21s Total Auto Wash is realy good for cleaning your wheels and it would also clean up my engine bay.
Then I was going to use the Nu-Finish on my wheels as it might help protect them from brake dust, etc.

I keep reading about warm/cold engine and when to apply to the engine, correct me if im wrong, but shouldnt your engine be cold when cleaning it !? How long do you leave the p21 on before you whipe off your engine and for your wheels?
 
01AUDI said:
i forgot to include something about my wheels and engine !
I had heard that the P21s Total Auto Wash is really good for cleaning your wheels and it would also clean up my engine bay.
Click to expand...

Couple more threads already written for you to read through, this is why I make the titles of all my articles "clickable", I can simply go to the article and highlight, copy and paste the link which is also the title, like this,

How to use a Discussion Forum to Detail an Engine


I'm going to guess that because your car is an Audi, it's possible there are some components in the engine compartment that you want to be careful around when spraying cleaners and blasting with water. I know on new cars, (and your car compared to my car is a new car), that some sensors can be ruined by chemicals or water and be quite costly to replace? For this reason I wrote the above article.

On all "theme-based, or car specific discussion forums you'll always have your in-house gurus that will be able to share with you if there's anything in the engine compartment to be careful around and even tell you what it will cost should you destroy it. So if you haven't already, join a Audi forum for your year and model of car and post to the appropriate forum the question,

Is there anything I need to be careful around when detailing the engine and engine bay of my 2001 Red Audi TT ?

It's just a tiny ounce of protection because it's hard for any one person to be an expert on all car makes, models and engines and their varying components under the hood.


Also, this is only meant in the kindest way, but when you get to the 4th and then 5th page of a thread on how to polish paint and you have a question on wheels and engine detailing? It's usually a good idea to start a new thread dedicated towards that topic instead of tagging it on so far into a thread on a dissimilar topic.

It's actually a way of helping yourself to get better help and answers.

Wrote a few articles on these topics too... click on the first one and look for the headline in bold that reads, Start a new thread for a new topic

Limit your message to just 3-4 questions

Here's a bonus thread, not that you need it but lots of people read through threads like this and they might find the below article helpful when they get ready to post to the forum.

How to write a good title for your thread


:xyxthumbs:
 
i guess i should have just titled it "i'm lost..help!" :help:

thanks again for everything, ill be doing some reading for a while now !
 
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