I thought I knew how to clean my car... I was wrong.
 

I've always been fairly ---- about cleaning my cars. I've been a big fan of Meguiar's 3-Step system and Tech 2.0 wax. I use the 2-bucket method and always work in the shade. Anyways, it would appear I'm a rank amatuer.

I stumbled across these yesterday:
www.detailcity.org
www.autopia.org

There are product lines I've never even heard of. I've also researched the detailing industry and have discovered several ways I've always cleaned that are big no-no's.
There's a detail supply shop near me and I'm gonna go up there and see if the guy has any help for me in getting my Dodge Ram ready to sell. It needs "some" work to the paint. Based on the threads I've been reading, I can get it back to looking practically brand new with just a little bit of effort.

Anybody else here into "detailing" as a hobby?

I used to be when I had a car worthy of it. My paint is so bad, I no longer see a point in trying to polish a turd. With my others cars however, I used to keep hundreds of dollars worth of supplies. I would buy new cleaners literally every week just to try them out. My cars used to get detailed on a weekly basis, now, my Miata is lucky to get a wash and a vacuum once in 4-6 months. Rain does a good job of washing, and a good shake off of the floor mats and pick out the trash and I'm good to go.

Best thing I ever used was Rejex, which is an aircraft sealant/polish/wax, whatever you want to call it. Road grime and bugs would literally wash off with low pressure water, and it actually lasted months, not weeks. Also works well on glass, much like rain-x, but better. Only down side is no UV protection.

do we have to read both sites to find out what you learned or are you gonna share like a nice boy.

Give me list for a proper car wash and wax.... I've never bothered before but I am finding myself having urges to actually take care of the wife's new car.

+1:giggle:

I'd love to play with detailing as a hobby, but I just can't justify buying a buffer, pads and compounds when there is so much more to spend my money on. Maybe some day, but only after about 100 other things.

Who gives a shit about getting cars this clean? I drive mine instead.

hey gays, look at my super sweet light:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3360/...50d55162_b.jpg
I want a man to breed me.

I'm interested in hearing about the do's and don'ts of detailing.

+1

Basics:
An oribital buffer is absolutely the way to go for polish/wax. There are literally dozens of different pads for different purposes. Using a buffer properly is an artform... but not beyond the means of mortals.

Wash with a mit (different types available, ie lambswool) that you've soaked in water overnight.

Use 2 buckets when washing. One for soapy water, one for rinsing after each panel or more often.

Body should always be cool to the touch when water hits it... ie, in the shade long enough.

When finished washing the car, spend a few minutes washing the mit.

Net covered sponges used for removing bugs and tar should NEVER be used on anything except the small areas of bugs and tar, not to be used for the whole car.

Drying should only be done with a microfiber towell... not and old worn out bath towell or something that does double-duty on the dog.

Clay'ing when done properly is awesome and worth every second.

There is a lot to be said for masking of plastics/trim pieces.

There is a specific product and a specific method to remove every single type of imperfection in the paint you can name or describe... and they're all different and all just as effective when done properly. They mostly require patience. Never use store-bought generic touch-up paint... always get your paint from the dealership with a matching paint code.

Oxidation (even extreme) is typically not a big problem.

The majority of products you can buy in a typical auto-parts store are not what professionals use. A few Meguiars/Mothers/EagleOne products ARE mentioned frequently... but only a few.

What I've discovered:
For 99% of enthusiasts, a good wax twice a year and a bath every month is fine. For .9% of us, waxing monthly and washing weekly with stuff you get at PepBoys is more than enough. The last .1% of us who think this shit is important need to get out more.

The amount of money I would spend on cleaning products, plus my time doing the work, makes it CLEAR that it's way more worth it to pay a professional a couple times a year to lay the smack down on your car. I'm talking about a guy who spends a couple hours to do it right. I'm talking about paying a guy $200 to detail your car three times a year who will do it ten times better than you in 1/4 the time.

You'll still need to hose it down and hit it with a mit in between those times, but take those entire afteroons you used to spend and do something productive while a pro handles the car. I've done the math... it's worth to me to pay a pro.

And I've looked... a good detail by a pro is $200. Anybody who charges less is either brand new in the business or is skimping on product or the job.

I just dusted my car with a rhinoceros ball-hair mitt...it looks phenomenal!!! I'm considering taking it for a drive this year if the humidity is low, I don't want to soften the paint or expose it to direct sunlight in the summer months. People who expose their vehicles to UVB radiation are heartless killers.

thanks sam.

maybe I will pick up a second bucket. my current bucket currently does double duty as car wash bucket and potting soil storage. this is counter productive.

Mine was used as a chuck bucket a while back when one of my kids had the flu. Same day I got my CX7.

I like to rub my car with puke once or twice per year, it really brings out the shine in the pearl.

your all noobs to this crew i bet they have plenty of detailing tips not to mention arms the size of popeyes.http://www.autopia.org/forum/pro-det...man-hours.html

I wash mine about once a week....sometimes twice if it rained or something. I wax about once a month with a 2-part process....Meguars #83 followed by gold class using a DA. I wash with Gold Class wash and used an Absorber to dry. I do rinse the Absorber everytime before using it. I generally use two seperate wash mitts for the car...one for the wheels/wheel wells/underside of side sills (cotton) and one for the painted surfaces (microfiber). I did get to use a friends PC to give the car a quick polish and it was a PITA...but the results were nice. I have never used a clay bar lol

You should, if anything for getting it nice and clean before rubbing the shit out of it with power equipment. You might be surprised by how much shit it pulls off the paint.

I also think you can over clean the paint, or work on it too much. That might be the reason my first few cars had paint problems after a year or two of me constantly rubbing it with shit that had light grit. It might have been shiny for that time, but I just did it too often. If done right, you shouldn't have to use power buffers and what not but once every few months, with washing in between.

Another decent site is autogeek.net. They have a forum and sell their own in-house brands as well as other brands like Meguiar's, 3M, etc. They run good deals from time to time. A lot of people on autogeek are also on autopia. I'm not really active on either, just lurk once or twice a year to see what the latest rage in products is, or just to work up some inspiration when I know I need to break out the random orbital.

I have a bunch of different polishes & waxes, pads, microfiber shit, etc. The thing is, I like having nice paint, but I view the labor more as a chore than a hobby. Especially with a black car that shows every little imperfection. So if I'm going to spend the time to detail the paint (about once a year, maybe less often now that it's garaged) I want to use good products that won't have me cursing.

I wash with the two-bucket method, and a short-nap microfiber sponge. Don't get one that looks like it has dreadlocks because they can hide debris inside, much like real dreadlocks LOL. If I see any debris on the sponge I just blast it off with the hose. Dry with microfiber towels. It's been a couple years since I have let a cotton towel touch my paint and I'm much happier for it.

NA Miata single stage paint is pretty easy to polish to remove oxidation & swirls. After claying I start with Meguiar's M105 and then go to M205. This is on a Porter Cable random orbital that I've had for about 5 years BTW. There are finer polishes than the 205, but then I start to get into diminishing returns as far as my time is concerned. After polishing I give a wipe-down with 50/50 isopropanol/water and seal with Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant, then after 24 hours top with Wolfgang Fuzion wax. Those products are stupid easy to wipe on and off, and a little goes a long way. I give it another coat of Fuzion every 3 months or thereabouts and it keeps the water beading like a sumbitch.

The newer polishes, waxes & sealants on the market are waaaayyy better than what we had 5 years ago IMO. If you're still using a carnauba wax that's a bitch to buff off and only lasts a few weeks then you owe it to yourself to shop around. Most of the really good products can't be found at your FLAPS so you have to hit up the online vendors.

^^^This

This ^^^ This

In the future, I will probably be paying someone to do it. It's too costly to do it yourself, and I have never done as good of a job as someone who does it every day for a living can do.

i detailed cars at a high end car dealer for 7 years in high school and through college. I've detailed thousands of cars, literally. i could ramble on about this topic for hours, but honestly like the old saying goes, there's more than one way to skin a cat.

sam, a lot of the info you posted there i don't really agree with but that's ok, there's also a big difference between doing it for fun and doing so to make money.

things that bother me. go into any good reputable place or any body shop and you'll see guys using rotary buffers, not orbital. people tend to be way too into claying cars, it does have merit but if you're going to break out the buffer, many times you can remove the grit at the same time. If they car is cleaned regularly you may only have to ever clay your car one time, ever. amatuers tend to use way to many silicone products especially in the inside.

I hate silicone based products...except for tire shine and that I put on with a cloth (not a sponge). On the dash I use soap and water and every once in a while when it starts getting dull, I'll wipe it with some good ole' fashion dino oil. Yup. Plastic = petrolium product....so it makes sense to hydrate plastic with a petrol product.

I don't get the wheel cleaners/brushes. What is wrong with using a "ok" wash mitt with the same soap and water used on the car (obviously not using the same bucket of water to wash the car)? I've been doing this for years and my wheels never have embedded dirt or brake dust...even after being on the track. I do occasionally wax my wheels though.

I don't think using a DA is bad if you know how to properly use it and use it with decent products. I also use the DA to remove wax....by putting a fresh pad on it and covering it with a microfiber. I know it's 'bad to swirl wax as you remove it' because it can work swirls back into the finish, but I've not noticed any increase in swirls/haze/hologram since using the DA to remove wax/polish. I do constantly flip the cloth though. Having friends in the detailing business have given me some pointers, but overall they agree that what I do works well for the paint on my car.

I clay my balls, then buff them with a terry-cloth orbital (I don't want to get too much heat into my balls), and seal them with a silicone glaze applied with a sponge prior to tea-bagging your girlfriends and mothers. Its the least I can do.

What about Zaino?

For your balls or the car?

You might have been kidding but nothing has quite brought the flat out of my faded bumpers than a good puke from my old roomate after our 120 beer night.

I saw no mention in this thread of the very fundamental way you must wash your car. Always wash back and forth the way air moves over the car, never in circles. You'll inevitably scratch your paint every time you wash it and this makes them less noticable.

Having said that, I stopped washing my car over a year ago. Its such a waste of time. Kind of like making the bed.

For a car. I don't need help on products for my balls but thanks for asking stud.

Don't completely stop. At least wash it every few months, or at least bring it to the car wash and spray it off and splash some soap on it. Paint always seems to take a dump when you ignore it for a while. I have a '91 Accord that used to be in amazing condition, until I stopped driving it regularly and stopped washing it often. Within a year the paint had gone from excellent condition to having chunks of clear coat flaking off, and the colors began to fade. Paint likes to have a little attention.

Ehh I'll tend to agree. Except for myself, my entire family is extremely ---- about their cars. My dad washes his car every morning, waxes it christ almost everytime I see him. That's why I was asking about the Zaino, it's all they use.

My car is covered in about .060" of chopsaw wheel dust. Is that bad? My old subaru had some sort of fungus or mold growing inside the paint. haha. I'd rinse it off with miracle grow.

I spent a good chunk of my bonus last year on detailing products, bought a PC DA buffer, a bunch of different pads, optimum polishes, MF clothes, etc... The miata doesn't take too long to detail because it's so small, I do a proper wash, clay, polish, wax once a year then just upkeep on the wax. I've been using dodo juice supernatural the last couple of cars and have been quite happy with it.

P21S I found is a really good wheel cleaner, spray on, agitate a little then rinse off. Using an old mitt and soap would probably work too, as long as you don't leave your brake dust on them for too long.

For a non glossy dash sealant try 303 spray protectant, you can use it on vinyl and leather and plastics and doesn't leave that ugly glossy finish that armor all leaves that attracts soo much dust.

I might have tried some if I could keep the goddamn numbers straight. That Z-2, Z-5, Z-7 business is too confusing. With a million different products out there, I'm going to grab one with "wax" or "sealant" in the name. But if you have access to some of your dad's stash, might as well try it and see if you like it. My impression was that there is a layering process involved with the different Z-whatevers, and while I don't loathe waxing my car, there are other things I'd rather do.

Making the bed is a waste of time because the only people who see it are me and all of your mothers. OTOH, the car goes out in public and I won't be seen driving a really filthy vehicle unless it's my truck.

I used to care a lot, I still have a PC DA buffer and a few Meg's compounds laying around. Now the car gets a little QD and a rag every so often to keep it looking presentable.

I use the stuff too just not often. It's all I have used, but that's just because it's what's easy to get, easy to apply and remove, lasts an unusually long time, smells great, etc. I never researched it to see how it compares to other boutique products, however my dad sells a TON of the stuff mostly to older corvette drivers haha. Plus Zaino got me my job here at Jesel so I have to use his stuff :) (Sal used to work for Jesel way back in the day.) The only thing I currently have is an old bottle of the car wash.

^^^^triple this... I'm lazy as fuck...

i washed my car for the first time in about 2 years on sunday. in direct hot sunlight. out of one bucket. I clayed it, then "waxed" it with nufinish. because I had it. would autopia tell me that was worse than not washing it another year?

zaino is still acceptable. I always had good results with it when my car was < 3 years old.

I always took pride in having a car that the rust-bucket 5.0 guys turned their noses up about.

I think it would be pretty sweet to see the results of someone baking a turd, then using a whole regimen of these products on it. My guess is that it would end up looking great.

I used to think it was fine to grind and cut near my car but then my friend brought up a good point. Grinding sparks stick right into glass. My windshield is fugged and so is the little window in my garage (which I care less about).

Ahhh crap. I didn't think about that. Damn. Time to increase prices.

Tell me about it lol. I need to get some of the welding dropcloth from harbor freight.

This is exactly why I haven't painted my car. I don't want to HAVE to maintain the paint.
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Awesome Sam.

My paint is oxidized and faded pretty badly. I went over the whole car with Turtle wax polishing compound and that brought the color back in before I waxed it. But after a few months it has gone and faded again. What do I buy?

Original paint? If so, nothing will help. Mine looked OK until I started using rubbing and polishing compounds on it, and it helped for a while, but then the paint just took a dump. Classic red is especially bad about this. When I got my car 3 years ago it was basically all one red, now it's 4 shaded between medium pink (front bumper) to still pretty red on the doors and hood. Trunk is dark pink and the rear bumper is slightly darker pink. Only thing that will help is new paint.

na6c guy is right, the reason it keeps doing this is because your car came from the factory with no clearcoat. it will keep oxidizing and getting chalky. the only thing you can really do is just keep up with it.

Original paint, so it will be new paint time soon then. Thanks!

I've almost gotten used to it looking like shit. At least I don't worry about scratches or door dings anymore. I close my door with my feet, and use grocery bags full of cans to close the trunk :giggle: I caught myself doing that the other day and broke out laughing because I never imagined I would do that to any of my cars.