nice write up

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by piql &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What would you do with a Honda that has about half of its clear coat peeled off?

Can you use anything like a clay bar directly on paint?

Or how would you suggest dealing with peeling/flaking clear coat?</TD></TR></TABLE>
Paint with peeling clearcoat is difficult to work with. Make sure the owner (if you're doing it for someone else) understands what that peeling coat means and that you're not a miracle worker.

I try to get as close as I can without working in vain or causing more damage (or damaging my supplies).

Claybar can pick up pieces of the clearcoat, which makes the claybar trash incredibly quickly.

The paint will mostly get frosty looking if you use anything on it besides car wash.

Even drying it can make a mess.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DynastyRacer22 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">how much would you charge to do my 2001 civic?</TD></TR></TABLE>
It really depends on the condition of the car. It's something I like to see in person if I can. I don't detail for others much anymore, but mostly stick to occasionally teaching my friends how to take care of their own cars. the winter time is not a fun time to detail a car with a time limit.

Thanks for the compliments.

 

so.. this one time i was waxing the car and afterwords it seems that threads from the microfiber cloth got stuck in the wax, does that happen often? I couldn't get them out.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nbcivic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so.. this one time i was waxing the car and afterwords it seems that threads from the microfiber cloth got stuck in the wax, does that happen often? I couldn't get them out.</TD></TR></TABLE>
I have never heard of that problem, but that must be some thick wax.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by NOFX &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
I have never heard of that problem, but that must be some thick wax.</TD></TR></TABLE>

well the wax was sitting in the garage, open for a while. could that be a factor? that's the only reason i haven't detailed my car. That, and i think it has too much dirt on it, would would result in dirt build up under the wax.

 

bump for amy... it been such a long time..its isaac

 

i've read over this a few times, and am still working on getting my supplies to do a full-blown detail on my car, then I already have family members wanting theirs done. I plan to do mine and my wife's first, though, so I make mistakes on my own vehicle first, lol..regardless, it seems that the course of action will be:

1-clean interior glass
2-remove front seats
3-shampoo/clean carpets and seats
4-wipe interior down w/ cloth/toothbrush
5-interior "conditioner"
6-clean engine bay
7-spray wheels/bug and tar areas & razor blade windows if needed
8-wash car from the top and move down
9-dry car
10-clay
11-rinse
12-compound
13-mask
14-polish
15-glaze (if needed)
16-wax

I know I may have messed up something in there, but let me know. Also, if it's not a big deal, can you tell what you use for the compound, glaze, polish, and wax stages? I'd like to get as much "over the counter" at auto zone as possible, but if some things need to be ordered, so be it. I plan to maybe order a Cobra kit from Autogeek, so I could order a couple more things from them when I do that. Do you use liquid or paste wax? I'm a complete noob to this stuff, so please bear with me...

 

the best over the counter stuff as for compounds/polishes is megs 105 followed by 205. but these do not have diminishing abrasives so be careful.

are you using a da/orbital? if you havent, i would pick up a pc 7424 unless you have the money get a flex. dont forget the pads as well. get some ccs pads.

i would skip the cobra kit and go to pakshak and get their towels, they are cheaper and about ten times more plush

autogeek is a great site. if you want the most user friendly polishes, get menzerna sip and 106ff. these have diminishing abrasives. they are a bit pricey but you will not be disappointed.

i would actualy skip the glaze if you are going to spend all this time in paint correction. get a nice carnuba paste wax. i prefer nattys blue past wax since its cheap and makes dark cars look absolutely amazing. not sure what color of cars you plan to do. if you want a little bit more durable wax, get a sealant like poorboys workd exp sealant with carnuba.

also between each step of compounding/polishing, wipe the whole car down with 50/50 alcohol/water to remove anything left from the compound/polish

 

Okay. Good advice first of all. As I posted this in the hand detailing post, I plan to do hand detailing. I know this will not provide quite the "result" that using a da could, but I don't really have the money for a da at the moment. I might after I do a few family member's cars, and then it'll take me a bit to learn how to use it w/o ruining the finish, lol. I've heard about the pakshak stuff, so I'll check it out. I'll also check out that menzerna stuff. My car is black, my dad's is a forest green, my wife's is black, and my in-laws' car is burgandy, so I'll try that natty's stuff and see how it works. I haven't heard the deal of 50/50 alcohol/water wiping, but it makes sense.

 

yeah i totally understand. i cannot give you any advice with hand detailing when it comes to compounds and polishes, other than buy some redbull and some icy hot for your arm, haha. i am not sure which polishes/compounds you can get decent results with by hand. do not get menzerna due to these needing some heat to breakdown the abrasives.

if you do have the money for a pc7424, just go to ebay. they are priced well on there. i screwed up and bought mine from autogeek.

a da with menzerna you really cant screw up to be honest. and you will get great results, just have to take your time and might have to go over a few spots twice/three times.

yes please check out pakshak if you are looking for some high quality mf towels.

when getting the nattys, make sure its the nattys BLUE, not just the nattys, its cheap. actually all the poorboys world stuff is cheap and very nice. i recommend their trim restorer as well for tires, exterior trim as well.

for the engine/undercarriage/fenderwells, get some simple green/amazing roll off, clean and wash it really good to remove all the dirt, then get some cd-2 from like autozone and follow the instructions. that stuff is not silicone based and it dry to the touch so wont attract more dust and leave a like new finish.

 

i notice megs has a new version of 105 that is a da/hand version. just remember this has a lot of cut, but just wanted to let you know.

 

what do you guys think of the sonus line of products?

 

here's what I have to work with...The finish seems to be in decent shape. You can notice some "3d" stuff going on on the hood. Looks like maybe somebody burned it a bit w/a da or something? regardless, I gave the car a VERY quick wash and interior cleaning today, and here's what I got...

 

yeah just clay bar it and start polishing it. i cant tell how severe/minor the swirls are but just start off with a less aggresive cut and work your way down

 

lol...here's a good one for ya...when i clay it, and the clay gets on trim and such, will it just wash off? When I say I'm new to this, I MEAN IT! I sold some stock and made a few hundred bucks, so I plan to get everything I need MINUS a DA. I'm going to get a nice 14 gallon 5.5 HP wet/dry vac, some mf towels, and all my chemicals. When I used the Walmart Viking stuff today, I DID notice that all the towels seemed to come very clean when wringing out, which I guess is a good thing. I know some cheaper mitts and such will retain gunk in em, and that isn't good. The Blue MF mitt that came with this kit came very clean every wringing. I used a "soap" bucket and a "rinse" bucket. For the interior, which was already fairly clean, I just basically used the mf towels that came in the kit, which had some good static and got a TON of dust. The drying towel that came in the mf kit was marginal at best. I plan to buy some waffle weave drying towels from Pakshak or Cobra that I'm sure will perform better. I think the best way to "attack" the wagon will def. be to do a full interior detail one weekend, and a full exterior the next. I start college tomorrow (I'm 25, lol), and also am a category 2 bicycle racer, so I have to use what little free time I have to spend with family, but my classes end at lunch, so I usually have Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays that my son is being watched that I can detail. Sorry for the long message...I guess that's it for now. OH YEAH...what is a good hand polish that's fine? I read a lot of articles on Autopia, but he talks about pre-waxing. Is that the same as polish? The local Slacks has a LOT of Meguiars and 3M Polishes. Are those good? What should I look for in the title? Also, Autozone has that NXT Meguiars Liquid Paste and Gold Class, but I thought I might just get some of that Natty's Blue Paste since you recommended it. NOW THAT'S ALL!!! I PROMISE!!!

 

posting to keep an hold of thread

 

yeah clay will most likely wash right off.

good wash method. two bucket method is the way to go.
check excel detail for sheepskin mitts if youd like. their heavy ones are badass.

pakshak waffle weave is by far the best mf towel i have used along with all their other plush mf towels.

like i mentioned megs 105 is a good hand polish and has quite a bit of bite, just be careful. make sure you get the new formula that is designed for hand and da use. follow it up with 205. there are not much choices for hand use. also 3m has one called ultrafina or ultrafine. very badass last step polish but not sure how it will do with hand use.

as for wax, i see your car is black. i really recommend nattys blue, but i know a lot of people have had good results with the nxt liquid wax (not the paste). if you want gold class, ill sell you practically a full bottle for 5 shipped, haha. its good but im in love with nattys blue (20 bucks).

if you wanna go into it a little more, get poorboys world ex-p sealant with carnuba and top it with nattys blue. that makes black look like a freakin mirror its so deep.

have fun man, let us know if you have any other questions.

if you do place an order at autogeek, might wanna get some optimum no rinse for the clay lube unless you already have something.

 

I can't find the Meguiar's one on their site?

if this stuff was hand-polishable, it looks good...

http://www.poorboysworld.com/poorboys-polish-blue.htm

 

http://www.autogeek.net/meguiars-mir...-compound.html

poorboys polishes are very user friendly as well, but i am not sure how well they will work with hand application

 

how hard is it to screw up my paint w/ that meguiars? any application tips as far as technique and equipment goes?

 

to be honest, by hand your going to have to be on crack to screw up paint. i really dont know how well it will work, i just know the new formula of 105 is da/hand approved. sorry i couldnt be more help.

as far as technique, i would use the same technique by hand as with a da: work a 2x2 foot area going back/forth and up/down overlapping 50% each pass and moving about 1-2 inches/second going in a circular motion.

the 105 abrasives do not diminish so thats the key to be careful. menzerna polishes use diminishing abrasives that breakdown and flash. 105 will just flash but still be cutting if that makes sense.

 

I think the local Autozone has the mirror glaze #3 or something. I'd have to look again, but It's def. not the one ur talking about...the local Napa on the other hand...I'd have to check there...they have a ton of Meguiars pro stuff...tons of 3m pro stuff as well...i had heard something about a 3m polish finese-it II or something...they have that at my Napa...regardless, I have all my interior stuff that I need up till right now...i'm dorky and took pics of all my stuff...the last pic is my pride i got today, lol...oh ya...my mom's leather in her 4runner is cracked and dirty...i thought about going with that Leatherique stuff that has the rejuvinating oil that you leave overnight followed by a cleaner, but i wanted to see what experience with bad leather you guys had...





if you guys see any chemicals you disagree with, just let me know...i can take any of that stuff back minus the blue magic leather stuff and the meguiars stuff...

 

Great writeup! I like it!

NOFX, great detail pictures.

 

I see one problem he said do the wheels last granted this is way back in the day but I couldn't disagree with him more. The wheels and wells are one of those areas they should get a pretreatment and cleaning first.

 

Later I tell you to wash the wheels and then the wheel wells after you've touched the paint since I don't want to drag dirt onto the paint.

This is a backyard wash for fairly normal people, not a professional detail.

I see nothing wrong with using wheel cleaner first, rinse the wheels off when you rinse the car for the first time, then wash the wheels after you've washed the car.

If you're suggesting you use wheel cleaner, wash the wheels, get rid of that cloth and then wash the entire car, you're basically saying to do what I said to do, only a little different.

Most cars aren't dirty enough that washing wheels after you wash the paint will damage the wheel finish. Most wheels don't have such a sensitive finish that would make you want to use a brand new cloth with them after washing a car that's not too filthy.