My First Detail

[Lanceb028]

Just want to start off saying this is a great forum with loads of info and good hearted members, been on boards where its just bashing everyting no matter what.
so :dblthumb2: to AGO



now to the good stuff



i recently purchased a 2013 Altima in super black and after having it for two and a half months and massive bird poo and tree berrys i notice the etching on my clearcoat that would not come out after i went to a hand car wash nearby.

which all brought me here to AGO and a wealth of info that has helped me almost get rid of all the spots and some swirls

tree berry and bird poo stains all over







not to mention someone hit the car while it was parked. nice discovering that after washing






after 6 hours of washing (using junkmans 2 bucket method), claying, M105 on an orange pad using my GG 6"












and for the deeper scratches cause by another car i used M205 by hand ( was uneasy using my GG with this being my first rodeo)





and for wax i used this guy on a white pad
















although there are still some swirls i am happy for the most part as this is my first time and will be doing my girlfriends lexus RX next :buffing:



again i would like to thank you guys for the info on here

 

[traveljunkie523]

Looks good man. I too just did my first detail and I know how you feel. Good job!

 

[zmcgovern45]

I'm glad to see you are taking a DIY approach to properly detailing your vehicle! Sounds like you have some good products, but you may need to work on your technique... practice makes perfect after all.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe you posted this as a photo of the hood after polishing?

Aside from the minimal swirls that remain, it is quite obvious that there is significant marring left by the cutting compound. You mentioned that you used M105 on an orange pad, but I did not see if you said you used M205 on the entire car, or just the area that was hit?

You need to polish the entire vehicle with M205 and a finishing pad after using M105 to remove the marring/haze that is left behind by the cutting compound. Eliminating this marring will leave you with a darker and much more vivid looking black. The reflections should be completely clear and not have streaking like what is shown in your photograph. These "streaks" (<- idk what else to call them) are visible because the light is being refracted in the tiny scratches left by the M105.

Here is an example to better show what I am talking about....

^The lower portion was compounded with M105 and a MF cutting pad, the top portion was also compounded with the same products, but it was then followed up with a finishing polish and pad. See the dramatic difference in color as well as the lack of any haze/streaking appearance.

Here is what it looks like in the sun...

^You can clearly tell the area that has been finish polished compared to the surrounding areas that have only been compounded. This is a somewhat extreme example, and yours may not be as evident as this.

Afterwards, reflections should be crisp and clear!

Not bad for your first time though! Keep it up :buffing:


**A note about the Lexus you are going to work on... Lexus tends to have noticeably softer paint than many other vehicles. Remember to do your test spots, starting with the least aggressive method and stepping up products/pads as needed to achieve your desired results!**

-Zach

 

[Lanceb028]

thanks guys,


i i applied the ultimate compound by hand only in that one spot where it was hit. the used ultimate polish all around on the orange, then wax with the white pad.

so i should have used the ultimate polish on a polishing pad afterwards just for clarification?

i appreciate all the help my prev. car was a 2000 maxima with 170k miles i never cared about that car so this is all new to me LOL

 

[zmcgovern45]

thanks guys,


i i applied the ultimate compound by hand only in that one spot where it was hit. the used ultimate polish all around on the orange, then wax with the white pad.

so i should have used the ultimate polish on a polishing pad afterwards just for clarification?

i appreciate all the help my prev. car was a 2000 maxima with 170k miles i never cared about that car so this is all new to me LOL

I'm confused... you originally said

after 6 hours of washing (using junkmans 2 bucket method), claying, M105 on an orange pad using my GG 6"

and for the deeper scratches cause by another car i used M205 by hand ( was uneasy using my GG with this being my first rodeo)

Now you are saying you did not use M105 or M205 on ANYTHING, but you used UP on an orange pad and UC by hand... so now I'll go with the assumption that I have it all straight.

Judging by the photo that I previously commented on, the UP on an orange pad was not removing all of the swirls. This could be due to several things - technique (machine speed, pressure, arm speed), amount of product used (too much or too little), or you simply might have needed to use something more aggressive like the UC on the entire car.

Judging by your very first photo of the "before" state of the car, the swirls did not appear to be too bad, but since you were simply using a tiny flash on a cell phone, I would imagine that didn't truly represent the condition of the paint and that it was actually worse under ideal lighting.

You might have tried something like UC on an orange pad followed by UP on a white or black pad over the entire car, followed by applying wax via a black or blue pad.

Again - it all comes with practice and experience... keep it up! It will get easier, faster, and you'll see better results on your next attempt.

-Zach

 

[Heisenberg]

Here is a helpful chart to remember the order in which things are applied. M105 is the compound, and would be followed with a finer polish to remove micro marring.

Then you can match those steps with your pads and products to see where they fit in here.

I'm a little confused on what you did by hand vs by machine on what areas of your car. I think you said you used M205 for deeper scratches; that's a finer polish that won't have the same cutting effect on swirls and defects as M105 will. Can you clarify that a bit?

Car looks pretty nice though, that color is hard to keep clean/swirl free... I have a dark black on my Mazda that is a full-time job to take care of.

 

[Lanceb028]

I'm confused... you originally said

sorry about that should have been alot more clear and might have gotten the model numbers mixed up, 105 ( was used for the deeper scratches applied by hand) and 205 applied with orange cutting pad with GG da, then 845.

again sorry for the confusion


-Lance

 

[WRAPT C5Z06]

Hey Lance, there's quite a bit of marrring(compounding swirls) left over. You need to go over the car with a lighter pad and polish. :dblthumb2:

 

[Desertnate]

Hey Lance, there's quite a bit of marrring(compounding swirls) left over. You need to go over the car with a lighter pad and polish. :dblthumb2:

He mentioned waxing with a white pad. Could that be part of it? Would that leave some marring? I thought a white LC pad was for polishing.

I would think 205 or UP on a white pad followed up by the Collinite on a finishing pad (grey?) might do the trick.

 

[zmcgovern45]

I doubt the white pad would leave any marring when used with a wax unless the paint was particularly soft. I have never worked on a Nissan, so I cannot add any insight as to how hard or soft his paint might have been. However it is definitely more common to use a black (grey?) or blue pad to apply waxes and sealants.

 

[WRAPT C5Z06]

He mentioned waxing with a white pad. Could that be part of it? Would that leave some marring? I thought a white LC pad was for polishing.

I would think 205 or UP on a white pad followed up by the Collinite on a finishing pad (grey?) might do the trick.

White pad is definitely not the pad of choice for waxing. If the paint is soft, yes, it could marr the finish. Once he gets his pad selection correct, he'll be fine.

He may even be able to get away with just 205. A test spot is very important!



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[Lanceb028]

after some more reading, yeah my pad selection wasnt wise. learning experience i guess. thanks guys for the advice and big thanks zmcgovern45 i appreciate the detailed help

 

[zmcgovern45]

after some more reading, yeah my pad selection wasnt wise. learning experience i guess. thanks guys for the advice and big thanks zmcgovern45 i appreciate the detailed help

No problem... for your first time, you were definitely on the right track! You'll get quicker and produce better results with each car you work on... keep it up! :dblthumb2:

 

[ntwillie1]

I doubt the white pad would leave any marring when used with a wax unless the paint was particularly soft. I have never worked on a Nissan, so I cannot add any insight as to how hard or soft his paint might have been. However it is definitely more common to use a black (grey?) or blue pad to apply waxes and sealants.

I thought GT-Rs were made by Nissan

 

[HateSwirls]

I have a few compounds that I own one of my favorites is the UC and the cheapest.
Really a hard product to beat.
You did a fine job here, keep reading here, ask questions, many good people here that know how to correct and maintain cars.
This is the place for you
I remember the day I found this site, I was in car heaven

 

[zmcgovern45]

I thought GT-Rs were made by Nissan

Good call... forgot about that one my brain doesn't associate that as a "regular Nissan"... that paint was hard as a rock though. It had their "scratch resistant paint" so idk if that really counts when comparing it to other Nissans?

 

[Lanceb028]

After a terrible winter up here in NY/NJ and my bad pad selection from last fall i am going to take another shot at this, except this time with more knowledge from reading various threads here including mikes and
zmcgovern's articles on Ask A Pro blog, i have a new plan of action to get my altima shining again ( or maybe for a first time lol)

anyway here is my plan of action

2bucket wash with Chemical guys Mr pink and car pro merino wash mitt

decontamination using IronX and nanoskin sponge medium

Menzerna SF4500 on a HT tangerine pad ( i believe this black paint is soft so hopefully this will work). if that doesnt do the trick i will try SF4500 on a HT cyan pad (I also have FG-400 just in case but i believe i wont need that in this scenario.)


after correction/polishing i will use carpro eraser to wipe away any oils and inspect to make sure the surface is defect free.

lastly i will apply CQUK using the block and suede MF towels provided in the kit.


Well thats it if anything is incorrect or off please let me know. Any and every comment is welcome you guys have alot of knowledge and experience here.

 

[Mastercraft241]

That sounds like a good plan.

 

[Joelotto]

That sounds like a good plan.

I'm still learning all this stuff and only completed several cars but IMO this is not a good plan.
SF4500 is more like a jeweling process and is used for final polish for extreme gloss and then you talk about if that doesn't work you will go to FG-400. The difference between SF4500 and FG-400 is on both ends of the polishing/compounding spectrum. Huge jump between products if used on same color pad.

I say since you are new two this....much like myself stick to the basics. Stick with m105/205 since this is what you already have while learning but do test spots starting from the least aggressive pad polish/compound combo to see what get the results you are looking for with the least amount of aggressiveness towards the clear coat as your car only has a limited amount. One big thing....keep your pad clean after doing section passes. I use compressed air for this and it made things go smoother. One more time whatever process you use keep the pads clean....don't let them get gunky or grabby on the paint.

Back to the beginning....I don't think this is a good process to follow as sf4500 and fg-400 are worlds apart. First find what works best with combination of 105/205 and different pads to get the paint to a point of correction you are seeking. If the paint is soft and it has some haze to it you go to the next level with maybe 205 white/grey pad to take the paint to the next level and bring out the gloss. It looks like you started with 105/205 and read good things about menzerna products but I did the same. Keep working with what you got, maybe get a better pad selection(different colors) and make 105/205 work for you. Read more about the menzerna products and as you learn bring in new products but IMO 105/205 is a good building base.

For those here with more experience please chime in if I gave bad input here has I'm still learning. I started with 105/205 and love menzerna.

One last thing....make sure your using some sort of good light source to inspect your progress to see if your combination is getting the results you are looking for.

I say try 205 with gray pad or white........and grow from there

Feed back please

 

[Lanceb028]

thanks for the info joelotto!!

asper the Menzerna chart SF 4500 has little cut, SF4000 has more cut and is more what i am looking for ( i have this also) . as for pad selection i have some hydrotech pads already. also all the products ive mentioned i have already.