New car coming & messed up existing Car!!!

[ziadjoseph]

Greetings all,
Well I am totally new and captivated by this auto care and passion by the esteemed folks here since discovering this hidden world of Autogeeks.
I am a novice and simple car owner (no business applications here) and simply seeking advice on how best to care for our vehicles. I will be honest; prior to encountering you lot here I hated washing my car and as such the results of neglected paintjob are there to see. the interior is immaculate however on our present car. We own a black (midnight) FA2 Civic and are about to get this week our new nightshade (essentially purple) Nissan Qashqai. I don't think this vehicle gets to the US but it does in England. We are from the caribbean in Trinidad, so our vehicles deal with poor roads (dusty, muddy when raining), rains and heat/humidity.
I have realized the error of my ways and now potentially getting passionate about our vehicle care; particularly driven by the need to protect a costly investment and now getting an appreciation for my civic and what could have been. So I want to sort out my civic and care/maintain our new car. I have been actively viewing the how tos and tips on the website. I have the following questions:
New Car (purple):
1. This car is dark/purple and I want to ensure from the get go it looks great and maintained as such:
I want to wash properly (been realizing I have been probably causing more harm than good with my washing techniques), I am totally paranoid about claying and fear I do some damage, so I were just going to use some Iron X, then Klasse AOI, Klasse High Gloss Sealant Glaze then Pinnacle Souverän Paste Wax.....AKA the Forum Favourite!!.

2. I am all hand applications, I have no tools nor intend to obtain any at this time due to cost. I want to take it slow and ensure I can back up my intentions with actions. Can anyone allay my fears on claying especially as I am novice and also as my car is dark/purple are there any things I should or should not do given my intended approach and maybe my hesitation to clay. Is it necessary for my new car? I have read from the tips that I should feel it with the bag/hand after washing, just afraid that i see I need to clay and then I am forced to and I mess things up with scratches etc. maybe is there a product out there for me given the propensity for dark colours to show the scratches and swirls easily?
3. I see no tips on polishing in the how tos? can you polish by hand? i only see mention of polishing with this dual action polishers etc. I acknowledge form the info on the site that polishing seems to be a must prior to waxing/sealant, if I am using the Klasse AOI for my new car can I forego this? can I do some polishing by hand with a dedicated polish? please educate me on this aspect.

Old Car (Black)
This paint job seems good from a broad based view but upon closer inspection there seems to be alot of problems. Most notably: knicks/chips at least to the primer, fine and coarse scratches and some "burnt" spots. I carried to car to detail by a friend many months ago and he messed me up. When he returned the car to me there were small spots where the paint was literally stripped away, there were also the burnt spots on the trunk and not to mention alot of fine scratches. The coarser scratches are because this was my wife's car and she is a teacher and them kids have no regard for property, my friend could be termed an enemy now post detail job. I want to correct or at least mitigate the damage that was done and have the car looking in better shape. What to do in this case? I will try to upload some pics shortly.
many thanks
"Geek in the making"
Ziad

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

We are from the caribbean in Trinidad, so our vehicles deal with poor roads (dusty, muddy when raining), rains and heat/humidity.

"Geek in the making"
Ziad

Welcome to AutogeekOnline!


To give everyone an idea of where Trinidad and Tobago is located here on earth...

We have a number of forum members from your area,

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/introduce-yourself/87670-hello-trinidad-tobago.html

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/introduce-yourself/89457-hello-trinidad-tobago.html

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/introduce-yourself/54448-hello-trinidad.html



Working by hand is long and hard, that's because most clearcoat paints are hard, at least compared to old school single stage paints.

Id' suggest getting a good one-step cleaner/wax and getting good with it. This way you only have to go around the car ONE TIME.

When working by hand this will be important and if you "work" the one-step cleaner/wax well you'll get great results.

I'm doing a Webinar on how to choose and use a one-step cleaner/wax this Thursday for the IDA. It's free if you're a member of the IDA and $25.00 if your not.

It's really geared for people working by machine but I will touch on techniques for working by hand.


Here's my article on this topic.

How to choose and use a one-step cleaner/wax by Mike Phillips



Info on the Webinar here

 

[ziadjoseph]

Thanks Mike, I have perused your posts meticulously for this entire weekend gone here, what a wealth of knowledge. It was your post on new car exterior which got me thinking. I looked at the porter dual action 7424 and I am wondering if I should pull the plug and just get it. Will decide soon. Is there anything to be concerned being a novice and using this automated tools regarding doing more bad than good on a vehicle. I am more concerned about our new car really, our civic could be my guinea pig (however I would really rather not mess that up any more than it is, after all a new paint job is costly).

 

[ziadjoseph]

Here are some images of the black civic:
Bonnet (frustrating)

[/IMG]

Stripped paint like this shown below can be seen in a few spots around the car such as door handles and wing mirrors to name a few.

[/IMG]

Chips close up on bonnet and front fenders

[/IMG]

some funky burnt hologram looking like thingy on the corner on each side coincidentally of the trunk.

[/IMG]

car overview

[/IMG]

 

[DragonHawk]

Yes! You should pull the plug and get one. I'm not sure you realize what you are getting into going at this by hand and your results will be less than satisfactory in my opinion. Dont get me wrong, you can do a lot by hand but it just isn't the same. Don't be afraid of the clay, there is nothing to it, just keep it lubed with soapy water, quick detailer etc,. I wouldn't skip claying if it's never been before. I'm curious what your Nissan looks like, I've never heard of that model before. Cheers.

 

[Ebg18t]

I'm curious what your Nissan looks like, I've never heard of that model before. Cheers.

The Nissan Quashqia is slightly smaller than the American Nissan Rougue. It would compete against the American Honda CRV & Toyota RAV4.

It's a Cool looking compact SUV.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Thanks Mike, I have perused your posts meticulously for this entire weekend gone here, what a wealth of knowledge.

Thank you....

I looked at the porter dual action 7424 and I am wondering if I should pull the plug and just get it.

I've never met anyone that regretted moving from working by hand to working by machine.

For simple DA polishers I like the Porter Cable but it's true that the Griot's Garage DA polisher has more power and a better warranty.

Here's the deal... when doing the type of work intended for these types of tools to do they will both get the job done in the same amount of time as long as you're using THIN 5.5" foam pads. Period.

As for safety, the only time these types of tools offer any risk is if you drop them on the hood of your car or on your foot.

I have dozens of articles and videos on how to use these simple dual action polishers. I also have a very in-depth book on this tool and 4 videos.



Books

Paperback
This is the second edition of my first how-to book "The Art of Detailing". It covers simple DA polishers like the Porter Cable, Griot's and Meguiar's MT300 & G110v2 as well as all the other knock-offs of the Porter Cable like the DAS tools.

The Complete Guide to a Show Car Shine Paperback Book



Ebook
This is the ebook version of "The Complete Guide to a Show Car Shine. This is an Adobe PDF file that you can run on PC computers.

The Complete Guide to a Show Car Shine - E-book



iBook
This is the ibook version of "The Complete Guide to a Show Car Shine".

The Complete Guide to a Show Car Shine - iBook



Ebook
This last book is the electronic version of the first edition of my first book. The updated edition is: "The Complete Guide to a Show Car Shine". The paperback version of this edition is no longer available except as a collector item sometimes found on eBay.

Mike Phillips' The Art of Detailing - E-book

Back in March of 2015 I posted the supply was almost gone here,



Paperback
Only a few left before they are all sold out...






DA Polisher Videos



Porter Cable 7424XP Dual Action Polisher
This is the first DVD ever made on how to correctly use a Porter Cable dual action polisher to do paint correction. It's very accurate and filled with all the correct techniques for safely machine polishing a car. Even if it's your first time. The video is very well done with filming and editing by Yancy Martinez.

How to Properly Use the Porter Cable 7424XP Dual Action Polisher




Meguiar's G110V2 Dual Action Polisher
Note: Even though the below video shows the Meguiar's G110v2 the techniques and information would apply to using ANY simple dual action polisher no matter what the brand. The video is very well done with filming and editing by Yancy Martinez.

Mike Phillips' How to use the Meguiars G110v2 DVD





Porter Cable 7424XP Dual Action Polisher - with Bruno Massel
The below video I made with Bruno Massel from Garage Squad, Truck U and 2 time NHRA World Champion and currently racing a Chevy COPO Camaro sponsored by Chevrolet and Autogeek. The video is very well done with filming and editing by Yancy Martinez.

Wolfgang Concours Series Instructional How-To DVD





Porter Cable 7424XP Dual Action Polisher - with Matt Steele
The below video I made with Matt Steele from Truck U and Trucks Gone Wild. It walks you through how to use the Porter Cable to remove swirls, scratches, water spots and oxidation plus complete exterior and interior car detailing using Pinnacle Natural Brilliance. The video is very well done with filming and editing by Yancy Martinez.

Pinnacle Complete Car Care System Instructional How-to DVD






Porter Cable 7424XP Dual Action Polisher - with Matt Steele
The below video I made with Matt Steele from Truck U and Trucks Gone Wild. It walks you through how to use the Porter Cable to remove swirls, scratches, water spots and oxidation plus complete exterior and interior car detailing using the XMT Series by Pinnacle.
Pinnacle XMT Series Instructional DVD


If you were to read cover-to-cover any one of the books listed above and any one of the videos listed above not only would you know more than most detailers that don't hang out on discussion forums but you'll have the knowledge and the confidence to go out into your garage and tackle any project from start to finish with success.

 

[ziadjoseph]

Mike, i think i will grab a polisher also now looking at it all. Do you have any insight regarding my Civic and what may be a good approach. I looked at your video on how to deal with chips and would attempt to repair using one of the correction kits. Otherwise when that is sorted anything to note regarding the areas of stripped paint and other deeper scratches? I take it this vehicle will not be perfect again given the severe localized imperfections which may need professional work and not my novice hands/technical know-how.
Ziad