Okay I understand that I wash the car before I begin all this, but between each step, do I have to rewash the car? Or do I just say, wipe off the cleaner with a clean terry cloth, and then go about applying the glaze, etc.??? Like no washing in between the steps??? Any help would be appreciated...

Jonny

 

Oh boy you've got a lot to learn. But here's the simple answer NO. Here's a step by step program to start you off with. It's what I do in short but add on what you like or modify it to suit your needs.

1 - Wash car with quality car wash soap, top to bottom and use a different sponge/tool for your wheels then you used on the painted surface.
2 - Dry car with micro fiber towel or absorber cloth, don't use cotton towels. I use an old 100% t-shirt to dry my rims
3 - Apply step 1 cleaner with a clean applicator for the cleaner only
4 - Dry to haze and remove with 2 100% cotton terry towels, shake out and refold offten
5 - Apply step 2 with a different clean applicator pad, allow the glaze/polish to set on your car for approx 20-30min to allow it's oils to be absorbed into your paints clear coat and paint surface. While this is setting you have time to detail your tires, rims, exhaust and dash. Remove again with 2 different 100% cotton terry towels
6 - Use an old tooth brush around trim, emblems, lights and seams to remove excess cleaner, glaze or wax
7 - Apply step 3, the wax, with again a different clean applicator pad. Allowing to dry to haze buff off with again 2 different clean 100% terry towels.
8 - Buff entire car with detailing towels, the yellow ones, till you see a brilliant shine.
9 - Touch up with a quick detailer spray anytime afterwards with a seperate clean 100% terry towel to prolong the shine.
10 - Repeat this every 2 or 3 weeks depending on your schedule, give yourself about a 4 hour window to finish this process.


I keep all my applicator pads in labled zip lock bags, never sealed too, so I never apply wax with the cleaner pad. Cross contamination is bad. I also lable the edges of all my towels with a letter to correspond to the product it's used for C-cleaner, P-polish, W-wax, Q-quick detailer, sharpies will last even with washing them too. Again don't want to cross contaminate. I may sound **** but once it's set up it's real easy to do. I also change my applicator pads out about every 2 to 3 months. $4 to replace them beats using old ones that may create swirl marks. As for the towels I try to wash them with liquid detergent and NO fabric softener monthly to keep them fluffy and dirt free. And it all fits in a plastic tub that I keep in my trunk.

And don't ever GRIND the applicator pads on your paints surface or your going to get swirl marks. Just work it on gently.



See it works like a charm, and that's a 96!! Anyone else have some tips for this newbie???


[Modified by Civic242, 1:33 AM 7/5/2002]

 

if your talking about the meguiars 3 step crystal wax thing


just wash the car with dish soap, to strip the old wax

then follow the directions!! use different terry clothes for each step, and if you drop that rag DONT RE-USE IT untill you wash it


have fun

 

Well I'd only strip your car totally with Dawn(blue kind) at most twice a year, doing it more often can lead to damage to your paints surface. Dish washing soap dries out the oils in the paint and clear coat. I only suggest doing this just before winter to start with a solid base to wax on and then do it in the spring going into summer so again your have a solid base to build up on for summer month protection. Other then that I'd only use a quality car wash soap, like Mequiars Gold Class, to keep your car looking great.

 

What kind of applicator pads do you guys use?

I use the yellow foam pads by Turtle Wax that I found for application.

For removal I use old white flannel sheets that I had laying around. Very soft, and seems to come out better than the 100% Cotton Terry Cloth towels I went out and bought...they're not very absorbent or soft, I guess a different brand may be better if I try them again.

On my FBP '99 DX, I usually do my little system -

1- wash with some mother's soap and a wash mitt that I keep very clean
2- 3M swirl mark remover for dark colored cars OR Meguiar's swirl mark remover, 3- Sometimes I do this step with 3M Imperial hand glaze, but usually I go straight to
4- Blitz wax.

Now I would figure that this system would work well, but my hood always comes out with fairly visible swirls - well, actually they're straight because I use a back and forth motion - but when you look @ the hood you can see "streaks." This bothers me after I put so much work into it. What am I doing wrong?

I do the same system on my Rio Red '89 CRX and it's much more effective...the Meguiar's SMR is very effective on it's own, and I can still see swirls, but they are noticably reduced. I think it looks pretty good for being 13 years old!!

Help me out though - what can I do for my Black civic to get rid of the streaks? Could it be the wax?

Thanks for the help guys-

Alex

 

Here's my detailing kit minus the wash bucket stuff and 7 way Martha Stewart spray nozzel and garden hose.

 

i suggest trying another wax. turtle wax seems to do the trick for me, but everyone seems to have their own favorite.

here are the steps i take after washing the car:
1. move the car into the garage
2. dry any water on the car with a big cotton towel
3. appy meguire's cleaner wax with a terry cloth
4. remove the residue with a different terry cloth
5. [if i have the time] apply polish and remove residue with different terry cloths
6. appy turtle's car wax with a terry cloth
7. remove residue with a different terry cloth

 

Dish Soap is bad for the paint.

 

No one is saying to use dish soap everyday. Just once or twice a year to strip the old wax off.

 

dish soap once or twice a year is ok

Polish/glazes can not, and will not absorb into the clearcoat of your paint. This is a marketing trick. Paint does not need to be fed oil.

You can buff off the polish as soon as it touches your paint, because it just leaves oils on the surface.

Instead of using a cleaner wax, try a true paint cleaning compound. You will get better results. Cleaner waxes are made for people who only want one step, clean/wax. It doesn't clean, nor protect very well.

P21S Gloss Enhancing Paintwork Lotion, Klasse All in One, Pinnacle Paint Cleaning Lotion, Meguiars fine cut cleaner <- all good paint cleaners.


[Modified by StyleTEG, 5:46 PM 7/5/2002]

 

I've gotten the same info that you should leave polish on your car for about 30min from professional detailers. So far I do believe my gloss and luster is much deeper after letting my Glaze #7 set for 20-30min. And everyone does things and have processes that works for them. This works for me.

As to the "cleaner wax" reference, opps my bad I was refering to the Mequiars Deep Crytal Step 1 Paint Cleaner and not the actual Cleaner Wax product. That's a typo FO SHO!


What I listed in any of my post isn't the WORD of GOD, it's just what I do. Take from that what you will and like.

 

Wax on, wax off.

 

i have tried this method recently.
let me know if this would be harmful [i only did it once so far]

wash, with turtle wax soap brand.
polish - meguiars [step 2]
compound - 3M compound [to get out the swirls and dings and scratches]
wax - meguiars [step3]

and all this was with diff applicators and polishing towels.

i didnt use a terry cloth towel tho to wipe off the polishe and wax.
should i? or is the yellow type polishing towel good enough?

 

The yellow detailing towels will work but they don't have the deep nap that the terry ones do. You'll want this to trap the dirt and particals deep inside and not have them on the surface of the towel where they may damage your surface while rubbing the towel across the paint.

I'd switch the 3M Swirl Remover and Polish order or just eliminate the Polish. The polish is a lighter compound then Swirl Remover. Both smooth out imperfections in the clear coat and fill in swirls and scratches, it's just the 3M works for deeper swirls and regular polish is okay for very light swirls.

 

From what I have heard, compounds are usually very abrasive, depending on which one. Is that what it's actually called, 3M Compound? Never heard of it...

But anyway, normally compound, being the most abrasive, would be used first, then the polish, then the glaze, then the wax and then you're done.

That's the only error I can see in your method, just reverse the order of the Compound and polish.
*EDIT* Guess someone beat me to it!! DAMN YOU!!!! j/k
Alex


[Modified by Quik89Si, 5:47 PM 7/5/2002]

 

ok cool, yeah its a 3M compound.
ill take a pic of it.

it works wonders.

 

Unfortunetly there is an excess of poor quality professional detailers out there. So I have a hard time taking any advice souly based on "I got this from a professional detailer". You should see what the professional detailers at the local acura dealership did to my car just from washing it.

The fact that those detailers are using a glaze makes me wonder, since glazes are mainly designed to hide paint imperfections instead of fix them.

Polishes are abbrasive compounds used to level out swirls, orange peel, and remove oxidation.
Glazes are the oily products you are describing.

Paint doesn't need to be fed oil, and you can't put "oils" in the paint. That I have learned from automotive paint experts. If the oils do get into the pourus of the clear, it can cause structural troubles and weaken the clearcoat overtime. The oils were never ment to be in the paint, putting them in will cause problems.

Hope this helps people


[Modified by StyleTEG, 5:59 PM 7/5/2002]

 

I bought 3M Liquid Glaze. **** works REALLY good. Just the wax alone got rid of all my swirls marks.

Does anybody use an orbital machine?

 

Goto your local Pep Boys they carry a full line of 3M products.

 

I've actually got a few of them (3M products)...IHG, Swirl mark remover, and I was going to pick up the wax...but I think I'm going to try Meguiar's on my Black Civic next time.

Alex