Wes8398
New member
- May 5, 2011
- 85
- 0
Well, after spending a few months here reading around and asking a few questions, I placed my first order. It included a GG 6" polisher, the 5" Meguires microfiber DA system kit, appropriate BP, some extra 5" pads, some 3" pads and BP, a bottle of Collinite 845, 2 hydro-tech crimson pads to apply that, and some other odds and ends including some quality microfiber towels, etc. About a week ago, I finally set a day aside to put all this stuff to work. Here are a few pics of what I was dealing with (thanks to a local "detailer" who took me for $200 and left me far worse off than I started):
So, as you can see, I had a bit of work to do. Some areas of the car (namely the hood and trunk deck lid) were almost grey-looking they were so swirled.
After re-watching all the how-to videos I could and rereading all the great advise from you guys in my various start-up threads, I got to work.
PREP:
I washed using 2 bucket method and grit guards, then clayed using Riccardo's yellow clay and a mixture of water and Optimum No Rinse.
CORRECTION COMPOUND:
This took about 6 hours with short breaks. I tried to stay in 2x2 sections, but think I went larger most of the time, even though I kept telling myself not to. Noob mistake, but I think it worked out anyway.
I used compressed air to clean my pad after every section or 2. After each cleaning, I would add another 2-3 pea sized drops to my pad. I went with about as much pressure as I could while still allowing the pad to spin (black mark on BP helped a lot), and used a very slow arm speed. I had my GG set at 3.5 for the recommended OPM's. Once a whole panel was done, I would wipe off. The product came off very easily and was an overall pleasure to deal with. After this step alone, I felt like I was ready for a wax/sealant already. It corrected most of the swirls and came out looking glossy and really didn't leave anything terribly ugly behind. I think I could have got more of the surface scratches out had I adjusted my technique a bit, but I was thrilled just to see the majority of swirls disappearing before my eyes.
FINISHING WAX
This step took me an hour and a half or so, if I remember correctly. I cleaned the pad less frequently (every 2-3 sections), and felt like I was using less product than the compounding step too. Here, I used a pretty quick (too quick?) arm speed, and really not much more pressure than just the weight of the machine. I had my GG DA set to 2.5 in order to meet the recommended OPM for this step. I found it tough not to work on larger than 2x2 sections here too. As with the first step, once a full panel was done, I would buff off. The stuff came off very easily. Again, a pleasure to work with.
Here are some shots of the results after just this 2 step process. Pretty impressive, I must say. Especially considering that my technique likely left a lot to be desired.
Just to give an idea of the finishing wax at work:
FINAL STEP:
After all the positive things I read about Collinite 845, I had to try it out. I gave the finishing wax a few days to cure and applied the 845 today. Unfortunately this is where I get a little disappointed. NOT IN THE 845, but rather in whatever the heck happened. I think I somehow installed some new defects (swirls/holograms) during this step. Maybe it's because I've been staring at the car in awe for a week now and my eyes are just getting pickier, or maybe the direct sun and new glossiness was just bringing out things I didn't see before, or maybe I screwed up; I don't know. I read the how-to on 845 and really wanted to put this stuff on super thin, so maybe I went too thin and put some defects in that way. I dabbed the clean windows frequently to make sure I still had product on the pad, but maybe I didn't have enough.
Anyway, I applied the 845 with crimson HydroTech pads, employing a pretty quick arm speed and doing about a panel at a time. I probably did about 3-4 "section passes" of each panel, which I wasn't sure of... Just kinda winged it. In about an hour, the car was covered and I left it for about 30 minutes before I buffed off in the same order I applied. The wax came off pretty easily, so I definitely didn't put it on too thick. The gloss was amazing and wet-looking, and I was really impressed with the product. Again, the disappointment just came when I got it into the sunlight and saw some flaws that had appeared, most likely due to my technique. Anyway, here are the final results after the 845 application today:
Thanks for reading and I hope this helps anyone who is in the position I was in.
Anyone with any feedback, constructive criticism, anything to help me for next time I do this, please feel free to post up!
Lastly, Should/could this go into the product feedback sub-forum as well?
So, as you can see, I had a bit of work to do. Some areas of the car (namely the hood and trunk deck lid) were almost grey-looking they were so swirled.
After re-watching all the how-to videos I could and rereading all the great advise from you guys in my various start-up threads, I got to work.
PREP:
I washed using 2 bucket method and grit guards, then clayed using Riccardo's yellow clay and a mixture of water and Optimum No Rinse.
CORRECTION COMPOUND:
This took about 6 hours with short breaks. I tried to stay in 2x2 sections, but think I went larger most of the time, even though I kept telling myself not to. Noob mistake, but I think it worked out anyway.
I used compressed air to clean my pad after every section or 2. After each cleaning, I would add another 2-3 pea sized drops to my pad. I went with about as much pressure as I could while still allowing the pad to spin (black mark on BP helped a lot), and used a very slow arm speed. I had my GG set at 3.5 for the recommended OPM's. Once a whole panel was done, I would wipe off. The product came off very easily and was an overall pleasure to deal with. After this step alone, I felt like I was ready for a wax/sealant already. It corrected most of the swirls and came out looking glossy and really didn't leave anything terribly ugly behind. I think I could have got more of the surface scratches out had I adjusted my technique a bit, but I was thrilled just to see the majority of swirls disappearing before my eyes.
FINISHING WAX
This step took me an hour and a half or so, if I remember correctly. I cleaned the pad less frequently (every 2-3 sections), and felt like I was using less product than the compounding step too. Here, I used a pretty quick (too quick?) arm speed, and really not much more pressure than just the weight of the machine. I had my GG DA set to 2.5 in order to meet the recommended OPM for this step. I found it tough not to work on larger than 2x2 sections here too. As with the first step, once a full panel was done, I would buff off. The stuff came off very easily. Again, a pleasure to work with.
Here are some shots of the results after just this 2 step process. Pretty impressive, I must say. Especially considering that my technique likely left a lot to be desired.
Just to give an idea of the finishing wax at work:
FINAL STEP:
After all the positive things I read about Collinite 845, I had to try it out. I gave the finishing wax a few days to cure and applied the 845 today. Unfortunately this is where I get a little disappointed. NOT IN THE 845, but rather in whatever the heck happened. I think I somehow installed some new defects (swirls/holograms) during this step. Maybe it's because I've been staring at the car in awe for a week now and my eyes are just getting pickier, or maybe the direct sun and new glossiness was just bringing out things I didn't see before, or maybe I screwed up; I don't know. I read the how-to on 845 and really wanted to put this stuff on super thin, so maybe I went too thin and put some defects in that way. I dabbed the clean windows frequently to make sure I still had product on the pad, but maybe I didn't have enough.
Anyway, I applied the 845 with crimson HydroTech pads, employing a pretty quick arm speed and doing about a panel at a time. I probably did about 3-4 "section passes" of each panel, which I wasn't sure of... Just kinda winged it. In about an hour, the car was covered and I left it for about 30 minutes before I buffed off in the same order I applied. The wax came off pretty easily, so I definitely didn't put it on too thick. The gloss was amazing and wet-looking, and I was really impressed with the product. Again, the disappointment just came when I got it into the sunlight and saw some flaws that had appeared, most likely due to my technique. Anyway, here are the final results after the 845 application today:
Thanks for reading and I hope this helps anyone who is in the position I was in.
Anyone with any feedback, constructive criticism, anything to help me for next time I do this, please feel free to post up!
Lastly, Should/could this go into the product feedback sub-forum as well?
