First Detailing Attempt - Need Assistance

[Mainn]

Hey everyone,

I tried to detail my car for the first time today. I started with the bootlid only, as in case I got something wrong, it wasn't the whole car. I'm glad I made that decision, as the result didn't quite turn out the way I wanted it to. The paint was in pretty rough shape to begin with. It wasn't smooth, it had marks/water spots etched into the paint – just in need of some love in general.

Here are the products I used:
Microfibre cloths
Meguiars Gold Class wash
Bowden's clay-bar
Meguiars Ultimate Polish
Meguiars hand applicator pads

Here is the process I followed, all complete outside but under shade:

Car rinsed, followed by a wash using the two-bucket method.
Clay-barred the bootlid, using Meguiars Quik Detailer as a lubricant. After using the clay-bar, I wiped the rest of the detailer off with a microfiber cloth.
I split the bootlid into different sections. I split the top of the bootlid into 3 or 4 different sections, and the rear of the bootlid into two. I put 4 small drops of polish onto an applicator pad, dotted it around the area, before starting with a few circular motions to spread the polish over the area. After the polish was spread, I went over the area in straight line motions, making four or five passes. After, I wiped the polish off with a different microfibre cloth, before spraying some quick detailer on the surface and wiping that off again, with the aim of removing the last bits of polish that I may have missed.

Here is the result:
Imgur: The magic of the Internet
Imgur: The magic of the Internet

From a distance, it looks much better than it did, as you can see somewhat in the first photo (photos don't quite do it justice) – it looks a lot more 'white' than the surrounding panels, and a lot more glossy. However, up close, especially under direct sunlight, you can see that it has these weird surface marks which completely ruins the look (second photo). In addition, not all of the contaminants came out, as you can also see in the second image. The paint now feels silky smooth when you run your finger along it, so the claybar did its job. It's something related to the polishing, I think.

I'm not quite sure where I went wrong, and what I can do to fix this. Any advice or ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks!!

 

[chinee]

Claying your car can scratch the surface of the paint. If there's substantial contaminants in the paint to start, the clay dislodges it and you can potentially introduce scratches and swirls, and leave the paint looking hazy. Normally the lubricant helps minimize scratching, but if there's a lot of contaminants, you WILL scratch your paint.

Tell us more about your car:
- Year and model?
- How old?
- Where is it kept, garaged, out in the open?
- How often did you wash it?
- How was it washed, hand, gas station?
- In the city, near industrial areas, country living? (trying to get an idea of the fallout the paint's been exposed to)

The Ultimate Polish is likely not enough to address most swirls and imperfections, especially those you might have introduced while claying. I would think you need to try something a bit more abrasive. To do it right, Ultimate Compound, then Polish. If you're lazy like me, I would try the Meguiar's 3-in-1 Wax; I'm personally a big fan of Blackfire One Step, a product similar to the 3-in-1.

And whatever you decide to try, there's going to be A LOT of elbow grease involved... drink LOTS of water!

 

[custmsprty]

You will never get the results you desire using a polish by hand. You need a da polisher.

 

[jdgamble]

You will never get the results you desire using a polish by hand. You need a da polisher.

This. You’ll need a machine if you want to do this right. It’s not terribly expensive, and if you like playing with cars, it’s a great investment.


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[Mainn]

Claying your car can scratch the surface of the paint. If there's substantial contaminants in the paint to start, the clay dislodges it and you can potentially introduce scratches and swirls, and leave the paint looking hazy. Normally the lubricant helps minimize scratching, but if there's a lot of contaminants, you WILL scratch your paint.

Tell us more about your car:
- Year and model?
- How old?
- Where is it kept, garaged, out in the open?
- How often did you wash it?
- How was it washed, hand, gas station?
- In the city, near industrial areas, country living? (trying to get an idea of the fallout the paint's been exposed to)

The Ultimate Polish is likely not enough to address most swirls and imperfections, especially those you might have introduced while claying. I would think you need to try something a bit more abrasive. To do it right, Ultimate Compound, then Polish. If you're lazy like me, I would try the Meguiar's 3-in-1 Wax; I'm personally a big fan of Blackfire One Step, a product similar to the 3-in-1.

And whatever you decide to try, there's going to be A LOT of elbow grease involved... drink LOTS of water!

2003 Holden Commodore. Lives outside under the sun. Wash it maybe once a month on average. Either two bucket method, or touchless at a car wash. Have owned the car for 3 years and have never polished or waxed it.
In the city.

Would love to purchase a DA but I don't have the money for it at the moment, so I thought I'd give hand polishing a go. I'll try using compound first, and then polish, once the weather is good again. One thing to note is that the haze can be removed using a claybar, so I think it's polish related. First time so I'm not sure what's going wrong!

 

[UncleDavy]

You definitely need a machine for removing defects in the paint. Hand polishing will not really accomplish anything. You don't need to buy a high end machine. You can start with a less expensive Harbor Freight DA polisher. You can apply wax by hand, but you will not get a good finish with hand polishing.

 

[custmsprty]

You definitely need a machine for removing defects in the paint. Hand polishing will not really accomplish anything. You don't need to buy a high end machine. You can start with a less expensive Harbor Freight DA polisher. You can apply wax by hand, but you will not get a good finish with hand polishing.

Based upon the vehicle he owns I'm thinking he lives outside of the states, maybe Australia.

 

[MarkD51]

2003 Holden Commodore. Lives outside under the sun. Wash it maybe once a month on average. Either two bucket method, or touchless at a car wash. Have owned the car for 3 years and have never polished or waxed it.
In the city.

Would love to purchase a DA but I don't have the money for it at the moment, so I thought I'd give hand polishing a go. I'll try using compound first, and then polish, once the weather is good again. One thing to note is that the haze can be removed using a claybar, so I think it's polish related. First time so I'm not sure what's going wrong!

Since you don't have the money for it at the present, and it appears you can acquire Meguiars Products, (Likely off the shelf where you live) about all I can suggest is switching to a more aggressive product, such as Meguiars Ultimate Compound.

You'll have to bust your hind end, and try doing one panel at a time. Then again, follow with the Ultimate Polish.

You possibly might have to repeat the Claying process if you're still noticing above surface defects such as water spotting or etching caused from such.

Over the panels you have worked upon, take a thin plastic sandwich bag, place your hand inside of it, and feel your paint and glass. If it's still feeling rough, repeat the clay process.

 

[cleanmycorolla]

HAND polish is just not the way to improve the paint, infact the unevenness of your hand, and your pressure will muck up the paint worse. Just wait until you get a DA, you're hand polishing is going to create more of a headache for you!. If you're going to do it, do it right

 

[chinee]

Hand polishing is better than no polishing at all. In fact I hand polished all my cars for the first 30 years of my car care regimen, one bucket washes every 1-2 weeks, and Meguiar’s cleaner wax by hand 2-3 times yearly. Clear coat remained intact on my 15 year old Infiniti and 17 year old Sequoia, and the paint is still shiny and glossy, beads water and I still get compliments. Only been using a DA polisher since last year.

Was it hard work? Yes, but the better the car looks, the better I will care for it.

Since this is your first true attempt at a full detail, don’t expect to be done in a day or even a weekend. With compounding and polishing, aim for 1-2 panels a day, and lots of icy hot (or Iodex) the next few days.

 

[chinee]

2003 Holden Commodore. Lives outside under the sun. Wash it maybe once a month on average. Either two bucket method, or touchless at a car wash. Have owned the car for 3 years and have never polished or waxed it.
In the city.

Would love to purchase a DA but I don't have the money for it at the moment, so I thought I'd give hand polishing a go. I'll try using compound first, and then polish, once the weather is good again. One thing to note is that the haze can be removed using a claybar, so I think it's polish related. First time so I'm not sure what's going wrong!

Not necessarily true, if anything, clay introduced it's own set of swirls and haze. Another possibility given the age and exposure to sun all these years.. there's oxidation going on, and as the clay and polish remove some of the oxidation, it leaves the surface looking uneven, since you've "scratched" grooves in the oxidation revealing paint/clear coat. Your best bet is to use a DA polisher, however since one is not available, start with just a portion of the hood you pictured. Tape off a section, compound then polish. Keep in mind that you are using the compounding step the same way we use coarse sandpaper to level and smooth the surface of a carpentry project, and fine grit to achieve a very smooth surface.

This is a challenging task to achieve by hand, but when you're done, you will have learned a lot about compounding and polishing, and will also achieve a high level of satisfaction doing it yourself.

Good luck! And post pics as you go along...!

 

[Paul A.]

I agree with upping the aggression to Meg's Ultimate Compound.

It can be done by hand but it's a Herculean task. That's how I started.