How Do I know what polish/pads to use? So many options!!

[EVOlved]

Of the waxes you listed I'd go with m26 if you want longevity (not all that long but longer) or souveran if your going for looks. If you want more longevity look into a coating or sealant for sealant I'd go with sonax PNS, Wolfgang DGPS, or BlackFire AFPP. Coating you can't really go wrong with any but I'd chose between CQuartz UK and Optimum Gloss-Coat.

For AIO I'd go with either D151, BF TPnS, HD Speed, or the XMT one.

 

[David Hayward]

Thank you. You're right, I don't have the time to dedicate to all three of my vehicles. My daughter's G35 is my main concern but I will no doubt target my other cars. They are much better maintained so light swirls are the only defect on those.

Anyhow, if it takes a pro 8-10 hours or even two days for a all out correction, it will take me twice as long! I just started reading about the Meguiars MF system and that sounds like something made for someone like me. I'm thinking I'll compound and polish/wax my cars once with the "system", and then periodically use just the polish/wax or other all in one for twice(?) annual maintenance. Been wanting to try the Klasse AIO but want to get rid of the heavy swirls first.

I wonder if I could substitute the Klasse AIO for the polis/wax in the Meguiars system. Anyone ever use the Klasse with a DA polisher?

You would be surprised how easy and how well the megs mf kit works. I still use the cutting pad and d300 on a lot of vehicles. As for the Klasse products I hear they are great but have never used them personally. The d300 cutting compound typically finishes out very well even on clear coats considered to be soft from my experience so you could probably use some Klasse product right after it but which one I couldn't say.

 

[Garyhw48]

My favorites are the Lake Country Orange, White and Blue CCS 5.5 inch in that order with Wolfgang Uber or Total Swirl Remover then WG Finishing Glaze and finish off with WG Paint Sealant 3.0. I use a Flex but the PC will give the same results. If you prefer Meguiars then their Ultimate compound then Ultimate polish followed by Ultimate liquid polymer wax or Gold Class Carnauba Plus will also give excellent results. The blue pad is only if you want to machine apply the wax or sealant. You might as well use the machine to apply the wax since all you need is the soft blue pad, it's more fun! Good luck and have a good time!

 

[brondondolon]

You will get a ton of suggestions on the Forum, keep in mind that most of us here are out of our mind about Detailing

As you are just getting started and are probably only working on a few cars a year....I would "Keep It Simple Simon", as Mike Phillips always says.

The Wolfgang Four will correct virtually any defect on virtually any car you come across.

Your PC paired with a 5" backing plate and 5 1/2" pads either makes a powerful defect remover at a great price. The smaller pads will yield better results than 6 1/2" pads for most people

I suggest:

Lake Country 5' Backing Plate

Lake Country CCS 5 1/2" Pads
Orange x4
White x3
Black x2

Lake Country Pad Cleaning Brush

Wolfgang Uber Compound
Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover
Wolfgang Finishing Glaze (polish)
Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant


Remember Technique Trumps Products everytime

^That is exactly what I was going to say.

Wolfgang products def live up to their claims. Here is a side by side comparison of what Wolfgang polishes can do. Btw this car was the WORST I've ever seen in person before I polished it.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using AG Online

 

[EVOlved]

^That is exactly what I was going to say.

Wolfgang products def live up to their claims. Here is a side by side comparison of what Wolfgang polishes can do. Btw this car was the WORST I've ever seen in person before I polished it.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using AG Online

Wow that thing was hammered!!

 

[brondondolon]

Wow that thing was hammered!!

Yeah it was my sister's car. She's always washed it with a rag and dish soap and dried it with a towel. If she was in a hurry she would run it through a drive through car wash. Best part is she washed it maybe at best once a month. I mainly did the detail to see how much of a turn around I could do and what my limitations were. God knows it will be looking terrible in about a week again lol Here is what it looked like when I started it and after I washed it lol

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using AG Online

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

You will get a ton of suggestions on the Forum, keep in mind that most of us here are out of our mind about Detailing

That's funny.... it's also true.... gave me a good laugh here on Monday morning.... :laughing:

As you are just getting started and are probably only working on a few cars a year....I would "Keep It Simple Simon", as Mike Phillips always says.

Simple is good and usually effective.

The Wolfgang Four will correct virtually any defect on virtually any car you come across.

Correct. A very complete and effective collection of pro-grade products. Click the link below for more information than you'll ever need or want....

The Wolfgang Four

Your PC paired with a 5" backing plate and 5 1/2" pads either makes a powerful defect remover at a great price.

The smaller pads will yield better results than 6 1/2" pads for most people

I suggest:

Lake Country 5' Backing Plate

Lake Country CCS 5 1/2" Pads
Orange x4
White x3
Black x2

Lake Country Pad Cleaning Brush

Completely agree with Allen on the above.... click the link below and don't stop reading after the first picture or two... lots of good info down the page....


Video: Mark your backing plate to make it easy to see pad rotation

Remember Technique Trumps Products every time

Hmm.... have to disagree 100% with you here though.... the MOST important aspect of polishing and paint and getting great results comes down to the abrasive technology, that is the stuff inside the compound and polish bottles.


There's good abrasive technology and not so good abrasive technology and because clearcoats are like a window to the basecoat below whatever you use has to leave a clear, defect free surface behind. Not all compounds and polishes do this.

So here's the point, if you're using great product with great abrasive technology you can't help but get professional results. Its' just to easy now days.

If the abrasive technology you're using isn't any good, then it doesn't matter how good your technique is you're still not going to get good results because it's the abrasive being rubbed over the paint that will make or break the end-results.

Abrasive technology trumps technique every time.


Sure technique is important but not as important as the stuff inside the compound and polish bottles. Even cleaner/wax bottles for that matter.

I think I was missing the concept of a test spot, which now seems so obvious. :doh: Makes sense. Thanks.

I've been teaching the practice of doing a Test Spot since the early 1990's. I coined the term, teach it in all my classes and practice it myself every time I work on a car that I have not already worked on.

How To Do a Test Spot


Here's the article I wrote that shares where the term came from. I see people use this as a standard practice all over the web and in videos but term itself actually has a history and story behind it.


Test Spot - The story behind the story...

 

[dlc95]

I checked out the pre assembled kits Autogeek offered, and from there decided what to buy.

 

[sparkism13]

Thanks, Mike. This thread has helped a lot.

I have been reading glowing reviews of the Microfiber DA system from Meguiar's. I think I will keep it simple by trying this out first, and if I'm not happy with the results, I will step it up a notch. Do you know if I can top off the D301 cleaner wax with something else? A carnuba perhaps? I don't know what kinds of wax the D301 is so I'm not sure if anything else can layered on top of it effectively.

I was also thinking about the D151 product as a last step instead of the D301. Can either be topped with another layer of wax?

I was originally thinking of finishing with M205 and then a wax, but if the D301 or D151 can be layered, that would help. And I can use the D151 as an AIO periodically.

 

[David Hayward]

Thanks, Mike. This thread has helped a lot.

I have been reading glowing reviews of the Microfiber DA system from Meguiar's. I think I will keep it simple by trying this out first, and if I'm not happy with the results, I will step it up a notch. Do you know if I can top off the D301 cleaner wax with something else? A carnuba perhaps? I don't know what kinds of wax the D301 is so I'm not sure if anything else can layered on top of it effectively.

I was also thinking about the D151 product as a last step instead of the D301. Can either be topped with another layer of wax?

I was originally thinking of finishing with M205 and then a wax, but if the D301 or D151 can be layered, that would help. And I can use the D151 as an AIO periodically.

I don't think you would really have any gain using D151 vs D301 if you already hit the paint with D300. If you were skipping D300 the 151 would offer more cut than 301. For me D300 has cut well and finished amazing on its own even on softer clear.


There should be no issues topping the 152 or 301 with any popular carnauba wax and probably would be a good idea because durability typically leaves a lot to be desired on the all in one products.

 

[sparkism13]

I don't think you would really have any gain using D151 vs D301 if you already hit the paint with D300. If you were skipping D300 the 151 would offer more cut than 301. For me D300 has cut well and finished amazing on its own even on softer clear.


There should be no issues topping the 152 or 301 with any popular carnauba wax and probably would be a good idea because durability typically leaves a lot to be desired on the all in one products.

Yeah, I guess using D151 after D300 doesn't make much sense. I think I will just go with D300/D301 for now. Maybe try some other stuff next summer.

 

[AutowerxDetailing]

Yeah, I guess using D151 after D300 doesn't make much sense. I think I will just go with D300/D301 for now. Maybe try some other stuff next summer.

If D300 on a microfiber cutting pad leaves any haze you can refine the finish with D151 and a polishing pad. With this process you are only doing two steps and leaving behind pretty durable protection.

You can also top D151 with other waxes down the road. However, if you plan to use other sealants or waxes anyway you may find Ultimate Polish or M205 to offer a better, more reflective finish compared to D151.

I think your decision to go with the Meg's DA system is smart. It truly makes the process of restoring your car's paint as easy as possible.

Sent from my N9810 using AG Online

 

[sparkism13]

So I have ordered the Meg's microfiber kit. I wanted to keep it as simple as possible for now. I hope to have the car done before October. I will post results here to help others in the future who might be on a similar quest. This will be my first attempt at machine detailing. Wish me luck and thank you for all the wonderful advice!

 

[David Hayward]

Good luck and post pictures and let us know how you like it. I think you are going to be very happy with it.

 

[sparkism13]

Well, I got to try out the system yesterday on my wife's RX330 Lexus. The paint on it is in good to excellent condition so I went straight to the finishing wax. I found it very easy to use. The results were very good, although, the results aren't all the noticeable. I mean, the car looks great, but it doesn't look noticeably better than it did prior to. Perhaps it was because the paint was in good shape?

I actually didn't get to finish the whole car, so I ended up having to finish half of it with just NXT 2.0 sealant. So, the one side is polished with the D301 and the other side has only NXT 2.0 on it (after wash and clay).

Here is the car after a thorough washing and removal of previous wax but BEFORE any polishing or wax.

As you can see, it looks great to begin with.

OK, so here is after shots. I won't say which side is which. You tell me which reflection you think looks "better".

Side A:

Or Side B:

 

[sparkism13]

I will try to get some better overall shots when the sun goes in a bit.

 

[sparkism13]

Quick question for anyone that can shed some light. I clayed the car completely with a mothers clay kit. I tried the baggie test before and after, and I found that there was no difference. The paint still felt gritty. I clayed a test spot again thoroughly to see if perhaps I was not claying aggressively enough, but same result. The clay showed some dirt, so it was taking off something.

I read that a paint cleaner could possibly help with removing contamination, so I applied some SwirlX w/MF finishing pad by DA polisher to one side of the hood. Same result! If clay didn't do it, and a paint cleaner didn't do it, what will make the paint pass the plastic bag test? I didn't sweat it too much but I felt that I put in too much time for the paint to feel like it had sand embedded in it (w/plastic bag).

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Quick question for anyone that can shed some light. I clayed the car completely with a mothers clay kit. I tried the baggie test before and after, and I found that there was no difference. The paint still felt gritty.

I clayed a test spot again thoroughly to see if perhaps I was not claying aggressively enough, but same result. The clay showed some dirt, so it was taking off something.

Hmm.... I've always had good luck with the Mother's Clay Kit?

I read that a paint cleaner could possibly help with removing contamination, so I applied some SwirlX w/MF finishing pad by DA polisher to one side of the hood. Same result! If clay didn't do it, and a paint cleaner didn't do it,

Machine polishing with FOAM pads usually doesn't work to remove above surface bonded contaminants. The foam is too gentle, (that's why we like it!), and it will simply GLIDE over the contaminants and polish them to a high shine.

Now a wool pad on a rotary buffer will kick them off but the fibers of the wool pad will impart holograms so it's not a good option either.

what will make the paint pass the plastic bag test? I didn't sweat it too much but I felt that I put in too much time for the paint to feel like it had sand embedded in it (w/plastic bag).

My go-to method of mechanically decontaminating paint is to use the Nanoskin Autoscrub pads on the Flex 3401. If you don't have a Flex 3401 then use a PC type tool.


I just did this to for a show car but it will work for any car....


How to create a high gloss finish

 

[sparkism13]

Thanks, Mike. What was the process before the nanoskin came out? More aggressive clay? I clayed once before (different car) and it did make the paint smooth as glass so not sure why it didn't work this time on this car. Same exact clay too with the ONR at clay lube ratio.