Experimenting with Megs D151 - 2001 PT Cruiser

[spike]

So I detailed my friend's PT for her as an experiment to try some of my new toys: D151 and the Tangerine hydro-tech pad for the Flex 3401 VRG. I just was curious as to what the D151 + Tangerine pad were capable of. I am happy with the results, but as I will show you in some of the last pics, there are some defects that were left behind.

Here's what I used:

WASH: Optimum car wash with 2-bucket method

CLAY: Blue Clay Magic with ONR lube

PAINT CORRECTION: Flex 3401 VRG with Megs D151 on a tangerine hydro-tech pad

LSP: Collinite 845 (to give the car even more protection)

TRIM: Poorboys trim restorer

Cleaned tires and wheels with Eagle One A2Z

WHEELS: Poorboys wheel sealant

TIRES: Megs mirror glaze #38 (believe it or not, I still have some left that I bought years ago, and I still love the way it dresses the tires. Sadly, I believe it's been discontinued...)

GLASS: Megs NXT glass cleaner

All plastic headlights and tailights, and the sunroof got a coat of Collinite 845 for protection.

Now, on to the pics!

Did my test spot, and the results looked promising:

Before

After 50/50

Not sure how she got this "scuff" on her door, but it was a good test of the D151 to see if it would take care of it. Before:

After - just left some RIDS behind. But D151 took care of most of it!

Pillars before:

After:

Rear fender before:

After: Just left some RIDS behind

Hood before:

Hood after: Definitely an improvement, but I still have some swirls...

Front fender before:

After:

Rear bumper before:

A 50/50 shot after applying PB Trim Restorer:

Full bumper after: (not sure what the residue on the right corner is, but it wouldn't darken up for me)

Now for some final finished shots: (love those wheels!)

And a final beauty shot:

So I believe the car turned out really well for just my second try at paint correction using the Flex. The D151 did a great job on the paint, and took care of a lot of swirls. But I do have a question: After using the D151 and applying LSP, this is what I'm left with:

Hood

And: Rear hatch

And you saw the before and after of the hood that I got. Is this normal for a one-step polish? Are these the results that you would expect to get, or do I still need to refine my polishing process some more to get better results than this? Just trying to see if my results are normal for a one-step polish.

Thanks for looking, and any and all comments are appreciated!

 

[rwright]

Very nice! D151 seems to put out some really good results for a 1 step item, I may have to buy some!

 

[Rez90]

Does Autogeek sell D151 in any other size then a gallon? I'd love to buy some but i'm not looking to purchase a gallon...

 

[maximus20895]

ADS does, but for the price of a gallon it's worth it just to buy that..

 

[spike]

Very nice! D151 seems to put out some really good results for a 1 step item, I may have to buy some!

I really believe you will like it when you try it. It was super easy to work with.

Does Autogeek sell D151 in any other size then a gallon? I'd love to buy some but i'm not looking to purchase a gallon...

I had your problem too, Rez. I ended up having to purchase mine elsewhere to get a smaller size (sorry AG! )

 

[Mindflux]

I like how well that PB Trim Restore worked

 

[Wills.WindowsAndWheels]

Really nice work man. I got a sample size of D151 and wanna try it out too. I planned on using it for my 1 step polish package...glad to see it worked so well.

Im not sure why you got so many swirls back after doing your LSP...was your MF clean/soft? I dont know if D151 has fillers but i wouldnt think it would have THAT many fillers to where it would go from what you had it as...to what you ended up with...thats odd.

Hope im not being selfish but im really anxious to know how you liked the Hydrotech pad. ive been considering buying some. How many pads did it take you to do the whole PT? What was your pad cleaning process as you did the car?

I still say you did a great job, but hopefully someone else can give you a better idea of what happened, bad MF or maybe dust settled before you did your LSP and that cause swirls?

 

[CH.Detailing]

The Tangerine foam is a very light cutting foam, comparable to the LC white, I'm sure you would have gotten much better results using a Cyan cutting pad, and it should still finish out fine for you.

 

[spike]

Really nice work man. I got a sample size of D151 and wanna try it out too. I planned on using it for my 1 step polish package...glad to see it worked so well.

Im not sure why you got so many swirls back after doing your LSP...was your MF clean/soft? I dont know if D151 has fillers but i wouldnt think it would have THAT many fillers to where it would go from what you had it as...to what you ended up with...thats odd.

Hope im not being selfish but im really anxious to know how you liked the Hydrotech pad. ive been considering buying some. How many pads did it take you to do the whole PT? What was your pad cleaning process as you did the car?

I still say you did a great job, but hopefully someone else can give you a better idea of what happened, bad MF or maybe dust settled before you did your LSP and that cause swirls?

Thanks for your kind words! I like the tangerine pad. It seemed really easy to work with. I don't have lots of "extra" funds right now to purchase extra pads, so I only used 1 pad to do the car. After every panel I brushed the spent product out of the pad with a pad brush before applying fresh product. Then, after I did the roof, hood, and trunk, I washed the pad out with soap + water, dried it really well, then did both sides of the car. I felt like this was the best way of keeping my pad as clean as I could. But I'm sure the experts will chime in and say I needed to use more pads, but I did my best to keep the one I had clean while working with it.

 

[spike]

The Tangerine foam is a very light cutting foam, comparable to the LC white, I'm sure you would have gotten much better results using a Cyan cutting pad, and it should still finish out fine for you.

You're probably right, CH. But not knowing how the cyan pad would finish down with just a 1 step, I was hesitant to go that aggressive. But, maybe when I get more car money in, I can try the cyan by itself and see. Just wanted to do the initial test with what I used just to see how well the combo worked.

 

[spike]

:doh: How could I forget! I personally wanted to thank Mr. Mike Phillips for all of his training articles, and everyone here on the forums who helped me with my first detail regarding the how to's of taking pictures of the defects. I believe these pics turned out way better than last time! But this being my second detail with the Flex and not just by hand like I used to do, I still have a lot to learn. Many thanks to all the Autogeekers!

:dblthumb2:

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

So I believe the car turned out really well for just my second try at paint correction using the Flex. The D151 did a great job on the paint, and took care of a lot of swirls. But I do have a question: After using the D151 and applying LSP, this is what I'm left with:

Hood

And: Rear hatch

And you saw the before and after of the hood that I got. Is this normal for a one-step polish? Are these the results that you would expect to get, or do I still need to refine my polishing process some more to get better results than this? Just trying to see if my results are normal for a one-step polish.

Thanks for looking, and any and all comments are appreciated!

A one-step cleaner/wax also called an All-in-One, (the terms are interchangeable), has to balance

Correction ability
Polishing ability
Protection ability

In order to do all three of the above and leave behind a "nice" looking finish a one-step cleaner/wax has to balance correction ability with end-results, so it usually won't offer the same correction ability you can get with a "dedicated swirl mark remover" or compound.

You can increase the cutting ability by increasing the aggressiveness of your application material, (that's the pad you use), or the application process, (that's the way you apply the product or the tool you use), but again, the more aggressive you get with either of these to factors or both of them will increase the likelihood that you will leave either swirls or micro-marring in the paint in your end-result.

Large orbits or the larger throw of the Flex 3401, which is about 3/4" can increase the potential for micro-marring with an abrasive product, you can get more correction ability from the more aggressive longer stroke, but the downside is the potential for micro-marring if the paint you're working on is prone to micro-marring or if the pads and especially the chemicals are more likely to inflict micro-marring.

A good cleaner/wax will reduce swirls and scratches by leveling the paint enough to remove the shallow swirls and scratches but often times won't remove all the swirls and scratches so what you're seeing is the norm for a one-step.

If you want to get deeper... you could repeat the process until your remove enough paint to remove all the defects because if one application removes some swirls, (that means one application removes some paint), then it only stands to reason that more and more applications will remove more and more swirls, but if you're going to do that then you might as well use a dedicated compound or swirl mark remover and then follow this step with a light polish.

It's a matter of deciding what you want to do, do you want to do a one-step or a multiple-step process?

Often times people that are new to detailing for money will trend towards doing multiple-step process but only be charging for a one-step, while their intentions are GREAT they are often times providing a service to a customer that won't appreciate their talent to create a work of art.

That is, they are removing all the swirls out of a Daily Driver Grocery Getter when their customer would be just as happy if they just made the paint "Shiny". This is because a lot of people don't know,

The difference between a swirl and squirrel


IF a person is doing "Production Detailing" and there's NOTHING wrong with production detailing, then they should be using a one-step cleaner/wax and only promising to restore the "shine" to the car's paint, not remove each and every swirl and scratch.

If you're doing Show Car Detailing", then use a multiple step process and aim for a swirl-free finish. Of course, educate your customer on the two different options and the difference in price and match your service to their expectations, desires and budget.


Nice work on the PT Cruiser!

:dblthumb2:

 

[spike]

Thanks Mike! Yes, she was very happy with how shiny the car turned out, and, I really didn't have the time to dedicate to do a 2 step correction for her DD. So, all in all I think the car turned out well. I'll keep experimenting along with some other products too, and further my experience with detailing...

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

:doh: How could I forget! I personally wanted to thank Mr. Mike Phillips for all of his training articles, and everyone here on the forums who helped me with my first detail regarding the how to's of taking pictures of the defects. I believe these pics turned out way better than last time! But this being my second detail with the Flex and not just by hand like I used to do, I still have a lot to learn. Many thanks to all the Autogeekers!

:dblthumb2:

And very nice job on taking pictures! :xyxthumbs:


For those reading this, here's a few articles on capturing good before and after pictures...

How-To capture swirls, scratches, etchings and other surface defects with your camera
The power in the after shots is created in the before shots
How-to work with pictures on discussion forums
How to upload a photo into your Autogeek Photo Gallery
How to insert an image from your photo gallery into your message


The above can be found here, How-To Articles along with a few more under this heading...

Photography and Working with Pictures on the Internet

 

[Wills.WindowsAndWheels]

A one-step cleaner/wax also called an All-in-One, (the terms are interchangeable), has to balance


:dblthumb2:

Thant line right there may have answered a question ive been meaning to ask for a while.

I understand what compound/polish/sealer/wax's do, but going back quite a few years when i first wanted to get more into detailing, and didnt know hardly as much as i did now, i bought Mothers 3 Step Process....the first step being a Cleaner Wax.

I really didnt understand what a Cleaner Wax was or what it did...but from going off of what you said there Mike....any cleaner wax is basically the same as an AIO LIKE Megs D151, correct???

 

[FinalTouchAuto]

Thank line right there may have answered a question ive been meaning to ask for a while.

I understand what compound/polish/sealer/wax's do, but going back quite a few years when i first wanted to get more into detailing, and didnt know hardly as much as i did now, i bought Mothers 3 Step Process....the first step being a Cleaner Wax.

I really didnt understand what a Cleaner Wax was or what it did...but from going off of what you said there Mike....any cleaner wax is basically the same as an AIO LIKE Megs D151, correct???

D151 is like an AIO on steroids.

 

[WRAPT C5Z06]

You're probably right, CH. But not knowing how the cyan pad would finish down with just a 1 step, I was hesitant to go that aggressive.

I think the Cyan pad would have definitely left behind micro-marring, especially if you were working with soft paint. A tangerine or white pad are the best to use with D151 because they should finish haze free or close to it, and D151 is not a compound.

 

[FinalTouchAuto]

I'm going to be using the D151 this weekend and will test how well it finishes out using only an orange Lake Country pad and will post the photos.

It will either be on a black WS6 Firebird or a dark purple Neon, so the results should be fairly obvious.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

I really didnt understand what a Cleaner Wax was or what it did...but from going off of what you said there Mike....any cleaner wax is basically the same as an AIO LIKE Megs D151, correct???

Not really, there's a lot of differences in 'types" of cleaner/waxes. I made a list of the different categories in this thread, I need to update it since we've brought in some new products since I first wrote it.

How To Choose The Right Wax or Paint Sealant for your Detailing Project

Differences will primarily be,

Type of abrasive
Aggressiveness level of abrasives
Polishing oils, type and amount if any
Protection ingredients, some are Carnauba, some are Synthetic and some are Hybrid
Liquid or paste

Did I miss anything?

D151 is like an AIO on steroids.

It's about as aggressive as you want to get for a one step that you expect to finish out to customer pleasing results. Getting more aggressive would give it more correction ability but the trade-off would be seen in finish results.

I'm going to be using the D151 this weekend and will test how well it finishes out using only an orange Lake Country pad and will post the photos.

It will either be on a black WS6 Firebird or a dark purple Neon, so the results should be fairly obvious.

With a DA Polisher on the 5.0 to 6.0 speed setting with an Orange Light Cutting Foam Pad, the results will be good correction, good gloss and shine but with some micro-marring.

Just a guess but with good luck you'll get all of the above and no micro-marring. If you do see micro-marring, re-working with the same product but switching to a less aggressive foam pad should remove the marring but then you're back to a two-step.

 

[FinalTouchAuto]

Just a guess but with good luck you'll get all of the above and no micro-marring. If you do see micro-marring, re-working with the same product but switching to a less aggressive foam pad should remove the marring but then you're back to a two-step.

Exactly. Both customers are simply paying for a 1-step machine polishing, so I'm just going to see how well I can get it to finish out. Typically I would do a Single Stage Polish and then follow it up with a carnauba or sealant either on the blue pad or by hand, but if I can get similar results out of 151 with a single step then why not save the time?

Neither are expecting 100% correction on these daily drivers and will be excited with the amount of clarity that is brought back. I know that much for sure

I bought a gallon of the D151 with the anticipation of it being a great product to use on "daily driver" details.