Hello! Intro and some Q's

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Xeno

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Hi all,

Been looking through this site for a while, researching till my eyes burn and my fingers fall up as usual. I'm coming from basically no experience washing/detailing a car. My dad used to use dish soap and turtle wax, and he would always do it himself.

I have a 1999 Mazda Miata with a hardtop and live in NYC. The car is in great mechanical shape. The body is also remarkably good for a 15ish year old car, although the hardtop has paint chips and the paint is really swirly all-around. I initially bought this car to get some experience driving stick in the city (I'm planning to buy a Mustang this year, and wasn't sure if I should get stick or auto.) I believe it's safe to say I will be buying an auto. I'm liking manual, just not when there's traffic. Maybe I'll get one someday when I can afford two cars.

In any case, I'd like to list the supplies I am going to purchase, and I would appreciate your thoughts! (FYI, I live in an apartment and part the car on the street.) Keep in mind, I am a best-bang-for-your-buck kinda guy. I do not like spending extra if I don't have to. If there is an economical hidden-gem option to replace anything listed, please let me know.

Wash

  • 2 buckets with grit guards
  • Gilmour FoamasterII (presoak- already purchased)
  • CG Honeydew wash (for weekly washes)
  • CG Citrus Wash and Gloss (for stripping sealant)
  • Optimum No Rinse (Wash and Wax) for weekly wash when I cannot get the hose. I am considering just getting normal ONR for it's multi-purpose use.
  • Blackfire Wet Diamond sealant
  • Stoner Invisible Glass Cleaner

Media


Other



Any advice or critique is appreciated.


A couple questions I have are:
  1. I hear it's good to apply two coats of sealant (in this case, BFWD), but I park outside. Given my supplies, what would you recommend I use to clean it before the 2nd coat? I know it's bad to use something like ONR Wash and Wax because it would cause BFWD not to bond properly. Would CG Honeydew be ok? A diluted Citrus Wash and Gloss?
  2. Swirl mark, paint chips - a sad sight. I will probably be selling this car in the not too distant future, but I will would like to treat her as good as possible while I have her. I do not think it would be cost effective for me to purchase a buffer and give it a go myself (I'm open to your opinion here.) I was thinking about going to a professional place, but I'm also afraid of the price there - and I'm afraid of going to someone who won't actually do a good job. Suggestions? Recommendations for a place around New York City?
  3. Lets say there is bird poop on my car. Would it look weird if I used ONR W&W as a quick detailer on just that spot (assuming I did not wash the car previously with it) since it has carnauba wax in it? It is better to just get normal ONR?


Thank you,
Richard
 
First off welcome to Autogeek.

Your wash looks good. Meguiars D120 is really a good glass cleaner and it will make 11 gallons for $19.99. For the media Mothers has a Tire, Wheel & Well Brush Kit for $14.99. You may want to get some better microfiber towels for your paint. Most people here probably wouldn't use Costco towels except in the interior.

I just put my second coat of Menzerna Powerlock on and I used ONR before I applied it. I think now would be a good time to try out the buffer on the old car. You can probably get a buffer and the other things you need and maybe even save some money. There are quite a few videos on here to help. Practice makes perfect. ONR is cheaper so yes I would do the same.
 
Considering u live in an apartment I would just stick to onr you use less water and its a lot easier if u don't have access to the hose often. If it gets to dirty for a rinseless I'm not familer with nyc but if they have a do it yourself car wash, I would pull in there. Use thier water and just buy a OTC soap like turtle wax ice or meg gold class you get more for ur money. Instead of the two cg soaps get gold class from a Wal-Mart or autoparts store, if you need to strip sealant just add more soap. Check out pak shak they got pretty good microfibers, +1 for mothers brush kit, otherwise list looks good :)
 
The onr can be mixed to make a quick detailer, look at description of item at ag store. I would just use the onr instead of buying 3 soaps. And a little better towels is. Good idea. Theyd work for interior as said above.

Sent from my MB886 using AG Online
 
Infiniti said:
First off welcome to Autogeek.

Your wash looks good. Meguiars D120 is really a good glass cleaner and it will make 11 gallons for $19.99. For the media Mothers has a Tire, Wheel & Well Brush Kit for $14.99. You may want to get some better microfiber towels for your paint. Most people here probably wouldn't use Costco towels except in the interior.

I just put my second coat of Menzerna Powerlock on and I used ONR before I applied it. I think now would be a good time to try out the buffer on the old car. You can probably get a buffer and the other things you need and maybe even save some money. There are quite a few videos on here to help. Practice makes perfect. ONR is cheaper so yes I would do the same.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice. Regarding the ONR. Do you feel using the ONR w/ carnauba (called Wash and Wax) as a QD would be a bad idea if I only have BFWD on the car? I'm worried it would give that spot I use it on a different look from the rest of the car that only has sealant on it.

Vegas Transplant said:
:welcome:​


:nomore:​

Click to expand...
:laughing: Point taken. But I don't want to spend $20 on that cylindrical brush. Is it necessary?

a g thang said:
Considering u live in an apartment I would just stick to onr you use less water and its a lot easier if u don't have access to the hose often. If it gets to dirty for a rinseless I'm not familer with nyc but if they have a do it yourself car wash, I would pull in there. Use thier water and just buy a OTC soap like turtle wax ice or meg gold class you get more for ur money. Instead of the two cg soaps get gold class from a Wal-Mart or autoparts store, if you need to strip sealant just add more soap. Check out pak shak they got pretty good microfibers, +1 for mothers brush kit, otherwise list looks good :)
Click to expand...
Thanks- My car can get pretty dirty being on the street, and I would rather just do a normal wash if I can. The ONR is for the times when my neighbor won't be home to turn the hose on for me. And thanks, I'll look into the gold class that you mentioned. The closest self car wash place is about 40 minutes away, and doesn't seem cost effective.

sproketser said:
Welcome aboard .
Click to expand...
Thanks!
vet said:
Welcome!
Click to expand...
Thanks!
bcope said:
The onr can be mixed to make a quick detailer, look at description of item at ag store. I would just use the onr instead of buying 3 soaps. And a little better towels is. Good idea. Theyd work for interior as said above.

Sent from my MB886 using AG Online
Click to expand...
Thanks. Would you recommend the original ONR or the ONR Wash and Wax (with carnauba)? Also, I'd need SOME type of other soap to strip the sealant.
 
Xeno said:
:laughing: Point taken. But I don't want to spend $20 on that cylindrical brush. Is it necessary?
Click to expand...

No.

I don't own one of the cylindrical brushes myself, but I have read too many threads and posts from newbs asking how to remove scratches from their wheels after using brushes that were not intended for auto cleaning.
Especially, toilet brushes. And other non-coated wire brushes.
 
Vegas Transplant said:
No.

I don't own one of the cylindrical brushes myself, but I have read too many threads and posts from newbs asking how to remove scratches from their wheels after using brushes that were not intended for auto cleaning.
Especially, toilet brushes. And other non-coated wire brushes.
Click to expand...
Ah ok. Thanks alot, I appreciate it.
 
Thanks guys. My stuff should be coming in soon. The fellas at AG are really great.
 
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