Getting ready to detail a G37 Sport

[fritzetn]

Hey guys!! I am getting ready to detail my 08 Infiniti G37 Sport.


I will be adding more close up pictures of the car to capture all the swirl marks in the paint. I had the car repainted 2 years ago and they didn't do the best job. I had to force them to polish out orange peel left behind (twice) and there is still some reminisce of orange peel in some places :bash:

Here is my game plan

1. Jack car up (its lowered) and wash all the wheel wells and suspension.
2. Wash old wheels and put away (Brand new wheels going on the vehicle)
3. Wash exhaust tips
4. Wash (lightly) engine bay
4. Iron X entire vehicle
5. Foam Cannon over Iron X
6. Wash top half of Vehicle (2 buckets)
7. Wash bottom half of vehicle
8. Focus heavily on rinsing all cracks and crevices to remove sand/salt/ect.
9. Dry entire vehicle and use compressor to blow water out of cracks
10. Clay entire vehicle with Meguirs Clay Bar Kit ( will be saving up for a clay mitt later)

11. Wash Vehicle? or IPA wipe down?

12. Use an aggressive polish such as M105 or M101 with Adam orange cutting pad (M105 located in local store but M101 I would have to order ) Currently have Adams 3 step polish with severe swirl remover but don't feel like it has enough cut to fix the severity of the swirls.

13. Use Adams fine polish (just because I have it at home)

14. Then use CarPro Reload or Sonax Polymer Netshield toped with Sonax Brilliant detailer? Instead of using what I've done in the past ( Sealant, Glaze, then Wax)


I am trying to avoid spending to much extra at the moment so everything I mentioned I already have minus M101 or M105.

After step 10 I could use some advice and input from you guys. Feed back please

I will update with more pictures tonight!

 

[kevincwelch]

I'll take a stab at this.

It may not be an issue, but if this car has been repainted and polished twice as you say, you might encounter some areas where the previous detailer either wet sanded or polished away a good amount of the clear coat, putting these areas at risk.

Assuming the clear coat is good, I think most of your washing plan is pretty good. I'm a fan of jacking up the car and removing the wheels for a major detail and getting in there to clean out the wheel wells with APC and cleaning the wheels with something like DUB, Sonax or CG Diablo. Lot's of options there. Iron-X could also be used to decontaminate the wheels and use regular wash also. Tires with a good APC or Tuf Shine. Lots of options there. You can coat, wax or seal the wheels, but I'd recommend using CarPro HydrO2 on the wheels. It's super easy and lasts up to 3 months. Easy to reapply as well. Some would polish the wheels before; I find that to be an incredible PITA.

Mike Phillips talks about the Aggressive Car Wash method (do a search). If you're going to spray Iron-X all over the car and foam it with something like CG Honey Dew (or whatever), I don't really see the benefit of doing a 2 bucket wash at that point, as long as you have a few wash mitts and get them wet with the foam cannon. See his instructions. After you rinse, you can either foam it up again to use that as a lube for the claying (Mike talks about the decon mitts) or use a clay lubricant.

Rinse and dry as you suggested.

In terms of polishing, I'd take a thorough look at the paint with some various lights and out in the sun if you can. Inspect the entire paint.

Rather than starting with the most aggressive compound/pad combo, I'd personally start by doing a test section -- 2' x 2' -- and using the least aggressive combination first and checking your results. Dial in the polish/compound and pad combination as needed. Take your time with this.

Once you are done, you can either wash or use something like IPA, Gtechniq Panel Wipe or CarPro Eraser to remove any polishing oils. You have to be careful that you use decent MF towels so as to not reintroduce any swirls or marring on your nicely polished paint.

Lots of opinions on what to put as a last step. I'm a fan of coatings, and some of the easier coatings include DP (I guess McKee's now), Pinnacle Black Label, Wolfgang and HydrO2. The last one will last only 3 months, but it's easy to reapply. Of course, you could seal it with a quality sealant and then put a wax on top of that, or you could simply seal it or simply wax it. Your choice depending upon what your flavor is.

 

[fritzetn]

I'll take a stab at this.

It may not be an issue, but if this car has been repainted and polished twice as you say, you might encounter some areas where the previous detailer either wet sanded or polished away a good amount of the clear coat, putting these areas at risk.

Assuming the clear coat is good, I think most of your washing plan is pretty good. I'm a fan of jacking up the car and removing the wheels for a major detail and getting in there to clean out the wheel wells with APC and cleaning the wheels with something like DUB, Sonax or CG Diablo. Lot's of options there. Iron-X could also be used to decontaminate the wheels and use regular wash also. Tires with a good APC or Tuf Shine. Lots of options there. You can coat, wax or seal the wheels, but I'd recommend using CarPro HydrO2 on the wheels. It's super easy and lasts up to 3 months. Easy to reapply as well. Some would polish the wheels before; I find that to be an incredible PITA.

Mike Phillips talks about the Aggressive Car Wash method (do a search). If you're going to spray Iron-X all over the car and foam it with something like CG Honey Dew (or whatever), I don't really see the benefit of doing a 2 bucket wash at that point, as long as you have a few wash mitts and get them wet with the foam cannon. See his instructions. After you rinse, you can either foam it up again to use that as a lube for the claying (Mike talks about the decon mitts) or use a clay lubricant.

Rinse and dry as you suggested.

In terms of polishing, I'd take a thorough look at the paint with some various lights and out in the sun if you can. Inspect the entire paint.

Rather than starting with the most aggressive compound/pad combo, I'd personally start by doing a test section -- 2' x 2' -- and using the least aggressive combination first and checking your results. Dial in the polish/compound and pad combination as needed. Take your time with this.

Once you are done, you can either wash or use something like IPA, Gtechniq Panel Wipe or CarPro Eraser to remove any polishing oils. You have to be careful that you use decent MF towels so as to not reintroduce any swirls or marring on your nicely polished paint.

Lots of opinions on what to put as a last step. I'm a fan of coatings, and some of the easier coatings include DP (I guess McKee's now), Pinnacle Black Label, Wolfgang and HydrO2. The last one will last only 3 months, but it's easy to reapply. Of course, you could seal it with a quality sealant and then put a wax on top of that, or you could simply seal it or simply wax it. Your choice depending upon what your flavor is.

Thanks for all the advice man. The aggressive wash approach is what I plan on doing on the car. I did see Mike use a foam cannon to clay the car I just didn't know how well it would work with a clay bar. ( It would be a whole lot cheaper and easier to use car soap)

One question I forgot to ask is should I use car soap such as meguirs or should I use dawn soap to strip any old wax?

Also when it comes to polishing I have done a 3 stage adams polish on the car and when I was all done I still had many of the swirl marks they were just not as noticeable. With a lot more swirls visible now I am assuming I would have to go more aggressive than last time.

 

[kevincwelch]

I don't think Dawn will ever live up to its claims as being something capable of stripping wax.

Besides: your polish step will strip any wax or sealant.

I recommended going least aggressive to most aggressive mainly because it's the safer approach. I'm sure there are many more experienced folks on this forum who can look at paint and say they'll definitely need to start with FG400 and a cutting pad to get going. Certainly those who know wet sanding will need to be done first. No qualms with those approaches.

But, I think it's safer for people who don't do it all the time or for those who lack expert experience.

As for your 3 stage Adams polishing that still had swirl marks left over.... Something seems amiss there. Pads? Technique? RIDS?

(Sent from my mobile device.)

 

[fritzetn]

I'll take a stab at this.

It may not be an issue, but if this car has been repainted and polished twice as you say, you might encounter some areas where the previous detailer either wet sanded or polished away a good amount of the clear coat, putting these areas at risk.

Assuming the clear coat is good, I think most of your washing plan is pretty good. I'm a fan of jacking up the car and removing the wheels for a major detail and getting in there to clean out the wheel wells with APC and cleaning the wheels with something like DUB, Sonax or CG Diablo. Lot's of options there. Iron-X could also be used to decontaminate the wheels and use regular wash also. Tires with a good APC or Tuf Shine. Lots of options there. You can coat, wax or seal the wheels, but I'd recommend using CarPro HydrO2 on the wheels. It's super easy and lasts up to 3 months. Easy to reapply as well. Some would polish the wheels before; I find that to be an incredible PITA.

Mike Phillips talks about the Aggressive Car Wash method (do a search). If you're going to spray Iron-X all over the car and foam it with something like CG Honey Dew (or whatever), I don't really see the benefit of doing a 2 bucket wash at that point, as long as you have a few wash mitts and get them wet with the foam cannon. See his instructions. After you rinse, you can either foam it up again to use that as a lube for the claying (Mike talks about the decon mitts) or use a clay lubricant.

Rinse and dry as you suggested.

In terms of polishing, I'd take a thorough look at the paint with some various lights and out in the sun if you can. Inspect the entire paint.

Rather than starting with the most aggressive compound/pad combo, I'd personally start by doing a test section -- 2' x 2' -- and using the least aggressive combination first and checking your results. Dial in the polish/compound and pad combination as needed. Take your time with this.

Once you are done, you can either wash or use something like IPA, Gtechniq Panel Wipe or CarPro Eraser to remove any polishing oils. You have to be careful that you use decent MF towels so as to not reintroduce any swirls or marring on your nicely polished paint.

Lots of opinions on what to put as a last step. I'm a fan of coatings, and some of the easier coatings include DP (I guess McKee's now), Pinnacle Black Label, Wolfgang and HydrO2. The last one will last only 3 months, but it's easy to reapply. Of course, you could seal it with a quality sealant and then put a wax on top of that, or you could simply seal it or simply wax it. Your choice depending upon what your flavor is.

I don't think Dawn will ever live up to its claims as being something capable of stripping wax.

Besides: your polish step will strip any wax or sealant.

I recommended going least aggressive to most aggressive mainly because it's the safer approach. I'm sure there are many more experienced folks on this forum who can look at paint and say they'll definitely need to start with FG400 and a cutting pad to get going. Certainly those who know wet sanding will need to be done first. No qualms with those approaches.

But, I think it's safer for people who don't do it all the time or for those who lack expert experience.

As for your 3 stage Adams polishing that still had swirl marks left over.... Something seems amiss there. Pads? Technique? RIDS?

(Sent from my mobile device.)

Ok sounds good, I will then be using meguirs car soap.

Also I can see why the least aggressive approach would be the best. I will try with the least aggressive and work my way until I see the results I want.

For adams I was using their 3 stage polish with foam pads on a porter cable. the swirls were greatly reduced but not 100%

 

[custmsprty]

What KW said:

It can never be said enough times, do a test section first. It may take a few test spots to finally arrive at the right combination.

I personally think you have some redundancy as for sealants and lsp's.

I'm all about less is better as far as time on the task when you can achieve excellent results with some of the superior products available these days.


Check this out, 5 hours washed polished sealed, start to finish.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...ssan-370-z-griots-g21-hd-adapt-7-hd-poxy.html

 

[fritzetn]

What KW said:

It can never be said enough times, do a test section first. It may take a few test spots to finally arrive at the right combination.

I personally think you have some redundancy as for sealants and lsp's.

I'm all about less is better as far as time on the task when you can achieve excellent results with some of the superior products available these days.


Check this out, 5 hours washed polished sealed, start to finish.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...ssan-370-z-griots-g21-hd-adapt-7-hd-poxy.html

yea I will for sure focus on one test section before moving forward. Also when it comes to sealants I planed on doing carpro reload OR sonax polymer net shield since I jumped the gun a couple weeks ago and ordered both after reading reviews. I might go with sonax polymer net shield with the brilliant shine detailer to top it

 

[custmsprty]

yea I will for sure focus on one test section before moving forward. Also when it comes to sealants I planed on doing carpro reload OR sonax polymer net shield since I jumped the gun a couple weeks ago and ordered both after reading reviews. I might go with sonax polymer net shield with the brilliant shine detailer to top it

I have some of that, haven't tried it yet. One thing, I wouldn't right away top any LSP or sealant with a spray detailer, but that's just my personal preference. Nothing to be gained by it and I've seen instances where I felt it hindered the lsp / sealant. Again that's just me. I save spray detailers for after a few washes or a quick spruce up before taking a cruise in my GC.

This is CG Celeste Detaglio wiped down with Blackfire Wet Diamond Polymer Spray prior to taking a Saturday ride.

The CG CD was applied months ago.

BLACKFIRE Deep Gloss Spray Sealant, spray wax, paint sealant spray

 

[Eric@CherryOnTop]

Just HD Speed that black beauty and call it a day!

Seriously though, wash the car as you describe, then foam it and use that as clay lube. Rinse it off, HD Speed and have a beer in all the time you'll save yourself.

Cross off step 11, and then combine 12-14 into one. HD SPEEEDDDDDDD!!! It works great on black Infiniti paint with a green Buff and Shine pad.

 

[custmsprty]

Just HD Speed that black beauty and call it a day!

Seriously though, wash the car as you describe, then foam it and use that as clay lube. Rinse it off, HD Speed and have a beer in all the time you'll save yourself.

Cross off step 11, and then combine 12-14 into one. HD SPEEEDDDDDDD!!! It works great on black Infiniti paint with a green Buff and Shine pad.

:dblthumb2:

Though I primarily use a B&S Orange pad for a little more correction. I haven't used my green pads yet.

 

[cardaddy]

If you're not used to polishing, especially compounding... DO NOT start off with M105. That stuff can be a BEAR to work with! It'll dry out on you in as little as 2 section passes. And once it does.... OH BOY! The only thing that'll remove it is more 105 with a quick pass and try to wipe it off while it's still wet. Or... try and spritz it with distilled water and go at it LIGHTLY just once with your buffer and wipe it off QUICK. Or... mix a bit of mineral oil (Baby Oil will do) around the surface on it to help hydrate it, then wipe that off.

Better yet, get M100, or D300. D300 is Meguiars Microfiber Correction Compound but it works with ANY pad I've ever tried, and works GREAT. My favorite heavy compound from Meguiar's these last few years in fact. :xyxthumbs:

I'd do it with D300 if I were using Megs. If you want to use Menzerna... then sure... FG400 will work WONDERS. Make SURE you do your TEST SPOTS!!!!! Tape off your roof or hood into 4 or 6 sections accordingly. Start with a white pad, machine speed 5, medium arm pressure, slow arm speed. Then do a test spot with an orange pad, same machine speed, same arm pressure, same arm speed. Do FIVE passes on each section.

Do the above with D300, and do it again with FG400.

There WILL be a difference between the two sections with each compound. There will also be a difference between the compounds on the various sections.

From there you can tell whether you can finish it out with that particular compound..... or..... finish with a lighter polish.

FWIW... you can do a 1.5 step process with FG400 by switching to a finishing pad about half way through working FG400 down and it'll look GREAT. (That'd be work it 4~5 passes with your cutting pad, then finishing it with a light cut pad another 4~5 passes.)
Not as good as if you do a light polish for your second step, but darned close.
Been there, done that.

HD Speed is an AIO, they say it works great. (Haven't tried it.)

HD Adapt is a middle of the road product from them, and I know it works great. You'll need your sealant after that of course.

Locally you can find Megs DUB wheel cleaner and it's just as good as Sonax, but a LOT CHEAPER!!!!! I've even found it on BOGO at Advance.

 

[TTQ B4U]

I'll take a stab at this.

It may not be an issue, but if this car has been repainted and polished twice as you say, you might encounter some areas where the previous detailer either wet sanded or polished away a good amount of the clear coat, putting these areas at risk.

Rather than starting with the most aggressive compound/pad combo, I'd personally start by doing a test section -- 2' x 2' -- and using the least aggressive combination first and checking your results. Dial in the polish/compound and pad combination as needed. Take your time with this.

Once you are done, you can either wash or use something like IPA, Gtechniq Panel Wipe or CarPro Eraser to remove any polishing oils. You have to be careful that you use decent MF towels so as to not reintroduce any swirls or marring on your nicely polished paint.

^^ Great advice. Without seeing close up images but just suspecting it's what you say and just bad swirls, I'd be inclined to say start off gentle. Green pad and HDSpeed would be what I'd look at. Easy on/off and works great. As noted, just dial in if it's an orange or green pad you'll need. Start with Green. Take your time, capture before and after shots and post back if needed.

Key IMO, especially for someone not experienced with a buffer, etc. would be to take on this project as just that; a project and go slow. Do it right and don't go all out to finish it in one day unless you really have the need. Nothing wrong with learning as you go and finishing it up a few panels at a time.