How to detail and maintain your cars paint
Hey guys and girls
Heres a guide about protecting your beloved vehicle. We all know that swirls, scracthes and water marks look terrible on your paintwork. This guide helps you to get rid of those unsightful annoyances in your paint and how to restore, maintain and keep your ride looking like it just rolled onto the showroom floor.
Products used:
Meguiars Soft Wash $7 from Supercheap Auto
Meguiar's Soft Wash Gel - 473ml - Supercheap Auto
Ryobi 750W Random Orbital Sander (Polisher) $112 from Bunnings
Ryobi - 750W Random Orbital Sander Kit
Lake Country pad set $80 from Car Care Products
Car Care Products / Lake Country / Car Accessories / Buffing Pads / Four 6.5'' Pad Kit
Mothers Clay Bar System $38 from Supercheap Auto
Mothers Clay Bar System - Supercheap Auto
Duragloss Pre Cleaner No.2 $20 from Car Care Products
Car Care Products / Duragloss / Exterior / Polish / Pre-Cleaner no. 2
Meguiars Ultimate Compound $21 from Supercheap Auto
Meguiars Ultimate Compound - Supercheap Auto
Mothers Sealer and Glaze $21 from Supercheap Auto
Mothers California Gold Sealer & Glaze - 473ml, Step 2 - Supercheap Auto
Turtle Wax Super Hard Shell Wax $10 from Supercheap Auto
Turtle Wax Super Hard Shell Wax - 473ml - Supercheap Auto
Other items:
Sponge, Many many microfibre towels (use good quality ones), Buckets
Process:
To begin with its important to wash your car with a good wash using the two bucket system. This system uses the ideas of washing your sponge as you wash your car. The procedure works as follows:
1.Pour your favourite car wash liquid into a bucket following the directions of how much to add
2. Add water and let mixture foam up
3. Pour fresh water into a second bucket, this bucket is going to be used to clean your sponge as you do a panel at a time. This prevents build of dirt, and other containments on your cars paint from scratching the surface, causing swirls and other problems.
4. Do a PANEL at a time. Its important to wash slowly and methodically. Dont rush the process as this can cause swirls from pushing dirt around; take your time and clean your sponge regularly with the second bucket of water.
5. Rinse off spuds from car
6. Dry with chamois or other towel of your choice
After washing your car its important to dry it very well; absence of drying can lead to a build of minerals on your cars surface causing water etching (spotting) and can be very hard to remove. Move your car into the shade so we can begin to get rid of those blemishes in the surface.
Once dry, its time to check out the surface of your vehicle. Run your hand across the top of it, does it feel smooth like glass? A better way to demonstrate this is to get yourself a plastic bag and place your hand inside it. Run it along the top of your paint work and you will feel small bumps, and imperfections in the paint. This is due to a build of dirt, tar, industrial fall out and other contaiments which arnt removalbe from regular washing. To remove these imperfections in your vehicles finish we use a clay bar system.
Clay bar was developed for high end vehicles and professional detailers. Today it is now widely avaliable to the humble enthusiant who wants to maintain his rides paint. Clay barring is a simple process (although alittle tiring!) and makes your cars paint surface feel as if it were new. The idea behind a clay bar is that the specially designed clay will "pick up" the contaimnets and other imperfections on your cars paint which cannot be taken out via regular washing. For myself, I bought a Mothers Clay Bar System from Supercheap auto (see Product list for more) but there is a number of different brands which will do the same thing. Get in contact with the people at Car Care Products (Car Care Products / Car Care, Car Wax, Car Polish, Car Covers, Detailing products & more ...) as well if your looking for high end, top notch service and the best detailing advice for your vehicle.
Clay barring is as follows:
1. Start off with a placing your hand inside a plastic bag and run it along the vehicles paint. If it feels unsmooth and rough its time for a clay bar. If it feels smooth you can continue on to the next step or go straight to waxing your vehicle
2. Remove the clay bar from its wrapper and flatten it in your palm
3. Use the Quick Detailer, in this case Mothers Showtime, to lubricate the area you wish to work on. This is done to provide a connection between your paint and the clay bar. Without this, the clay bar could marr your painting making it even more unattractive then it once was
4. Hold the clay in the palm of your hand or with your fingers. Move up and down along the panel you are working on, making sure to continually lubricate the area as it becomes drier. You may feel some resistance as you move, this is normal as you are removing imperfections from the area.
5. As you move up and down your area, knead the clay readily to make a new cleaner area avaliable to the paint. You dont want the clay to be clogged up with containments so kneading is a must. It also stops you from spreading dirt around swirling your paint.
6. Check your clay. It should have tiny dots like this in it
This means your process is right, your removing the stuff you dont want to be there!
7.Wipe the area with a clean microfibre cloth making sure to turn over as the build up of lubricant becomes apparent. Reach for that plastic bag again and repeat step one. Has it made the surface nice and smooth and clean? If so its now time to correct those nasty swirls and scratches. If not repeat the process until your finish is nice and smooth.
Use a quality microfibre to remove the lubricant
So now its time to correct your paint. As you can see my paint has seen better days and has some bad swirling and deep scratches in the surface of it.
These look horrible in the sun and can easily be ridden of by the right tools, technique and alittle bit of patience.
To begin with your going to want to purchase yourself a Dual Action Polisher or a Random Orbital Sander (Polisher). I have purchased the Ryobi 750W Random Orbital (see Products list).
Car Care Products also have the DAS-6 polisher which I highly recommend you having alook at as well.
Car Care Products / Car Care Products / Detailing Kits / All Categories / RO Polisher DAS6 Kit - Lake Country
Random orbit polishers combine almost the speed and aggressiveness of a belt sander, with the ability to produce a finer finish than that available from a standard, slow speed, orbital finishing sander. The random orbit is produced by simultaneously spinning the disk and moving it in an ellipse, which ensures that no single part of the disk travels the same path twice.
To start with, its a good idea to tape up the areas which you do not want to polish. These include rubber surrounds, seams and badges which you dont want to polish or get product into. Use a good quality tape (not masking tape as this is hard to remove when finished!) and ensure these parts are covered.
When connecting your DA or RO to the power point its a good idea to have an extension cord so you can move around the car more freely. Also when Polishing or Waxing place the cord OVER your shoulder to stop it from hitting the car and causing damage to your surface.
My first product which I used was Duragloss Pre-Cleaner No.2. This stuff is very good and cleans the paint and gets it ready to do some light cutting or polishing of your choice. I used a Orange Lake Country Pad to apply which gave it some cut and to see if I could get some more depth out of the paint.
Attaching the pad
When applying the product onto the pad, criss cross it making an X as shown
Have an idea of how much area your going to want to cover. I use the example of this large microfibre cloth as a guide to know how much area I want to cover. To little and youll have product build up which clogs the pad, to large and the product is wasted over a wider area. The area shown is a good size area to go by.
When applying the Duragloss I set the Ryobi RO onto speed E (Speed 5). This is an optimum speed for polishing as the tool has enough power to cut while also still being able to be moved easily. When polishing and waxing, move in a up and down motion in passes. This is ensures you cover your area completely. Overlap each up and down pass by about 50%. Depending on how much cut you wish to apply you can place pressure onto the RO. To much pressure however will stop the movement of the RO, which isnt a good thing, so make sure its still spinning. Dont apply to little pressure that the RO is so light that your just spreading the product around. Apply a medium pressure and let the tool do the work, that is of course what you bought it for!
Due to your movements the product coverage should look similar to this
Dont allow your polish to dry. Its PARAMOUNT you dont do this because it just makes it harder to remove. If product drying occurs apply a small amount of product back onto the pad and start the process again.
Removing the polish is simple, just a clean microfibre cloth. Fold it into 4 sections and wipe away, flipping over as it gets clogged.
Inspect your surface, has your process done anything? Has it done what you expected? Place the car under some lights to get a good look at it, or even use a torch at an angle to look along your vehicles paint work. If theres still swirls and marks in it, its time to step it up a notch, if not its time for some sealer and wax.
So your cars paint hasnt come up as good as you expected by just Pre-Cleaner. No biggie, time to start cutting alittle into the paint to smooth it out. Cutting you say? Isnt that alittle dangerous? Not really, unless your cutting huge amounts out of your paint then it is safe. Some people will see paint starting to come off into the pad and panic. This isnt a bad *thing* in moderation but can be used to get rid of those swirls and scratches we dont want. For this step of the process, I used Meguiars Ultimate Compound (see Product list). Car Care Products also have a list of polishes to suit your application at: Car Care Products / All Brands / Exterior / Polish
Again im using a Lake Country Orange Pad from Car Care Products to give me a light cut.
Criss Cross the product onto the pad
Repeat the above steps, remembering to overlap each up and down pass by about 50%. Depending on how much cut you wish to apply you can place pressure onto the RO. To much pressure however will stop the movement of the RO, which isnt a good thing, so make sure its still spinning. Dont apply to little pressure that the RO is so light that your just spreading the product around. Apply a medium pressure and let the tool do the work, that is of course what you bought it for!
Your overlapping should look similar to this
Again, remove the product with a FRESH and CLEAN quality microfibre towel.
Again inspect your surface, has your process done anything? Has it done what you expected? Place the car under some lights to get a good look at it, or even use a torch at an angle to look along your vehicles paint work. If theres still swirls and marks in it, after youve done your pass do another one. I had to do 3 passes until I felt happy with the results I was getting. If after 2-3 passes your not getting your results you are getting then it may be one of the following things.
1. Your technique is wrong. Slow down, make the tool do the job and dont rush your process.
2. The product is too weak. If your using Meguiars UC this is fairly strong stuff. I wouldn't be going out looking for a stronger product then that as it can seriously do some damage in the hands of a novice. DO NOT after going over your inspection and seeing nothing happen go out and buy the most powerful chemical you can find!
3. Your pad isnt giving you enough cut. It may be your not pushing enough into your pad, or its not the right one which will give you the results your looking for. Car Care Products have a range of pads to look at for your application:
Car Care Products / All Brands / Car Accessories / Buffing Pads
Coming to the conclusion your paints looking pretty good its time to clean your pad. This part is fairly easy. Fine an old towel (CLEAN) and press the RO into it. Turn it on to its lowest speed (Speed A for the Ryobi or Speed 1) and let it work for 5-10 seconds. This process is getting rid of any excess product you have in your pad, stopping it from clogging up.
If your finish looks something similar to this, its time for sealer and wax.
Sealer is a product which hides imperfections (although we dont have any anymore!) and is suitable for any vehicle. It also adds a little protection to your cars paint from the elements although what crosses into a wax is debatable. I have choosen for my vehicle to use Mothers Sealer and Glaze and Turtle Waxs classic Super Hard Wax combined with a Blue Lake Country pad.
To apply these products it is exactly the same as that of the polishes, however we use a different pad which is lighter and softer than that of the cutting tool.
As you can see the Blue Lake Country pad is alot less firm than that of the Orange Lake Country pad used for cutting.
Again apply a criss cross pattern onto the pad of sealer to begin with.
The area should look similar to this
NOTE, when applying a wax or sealer we do not want to cut into the paint. This is why we use a softer pad then that of the previously shown orange pad. We are spreading a thin layer of sealer or wax to the surface to protect your surface from the elements. Dont push into the car, turn the speed down to a reasonable level, such as Speed C (Speed 3) on the RO. Dont apply alot of pressure (alittle more then just the tools own weight) and spread the product over the surface.
Sealer and Wax need to dry before removal, thats what makes them slightly different to polishes which need to be removed straight away. So how do we determine when a sealer or wax is dry? We use the swipe test.
This test is simple and effect. Place your finger in the middle of your area and quickly swipe it. If the product is dry you will leave a smear free finish, and its time to remove the product. If its still wet, leave it alittle longer (5-10mins depending on product) and try it again.
Repeat this process for your choosen wax to give long lasting protection to your paint.
Here are a few pictures of my finished product
Your car has now a smooth, imperfection free finish and looks like it just came out of the show room. With regular care, following a simple 5 step process of
1. Washing
2. Claying
3. Correction
4. Polishing (if needed)
5. Protection
Your finish will remain perfect for many years to come
Hope this guide has given you inspiration to have a crack at your own vehicles paint. Check out Car Care Products website, and ask a few questions in there forum. These guys are the best in the business and will point you in the right direction for your vehicle.
Thanks to
Car Care Products / Car Care, Car Wax, Car Polish, Car Covers, Detailing products & more ...
Meguiar's Online
Jellycalais
Last edited by jellycalais; 07-11-2010 at 10:18 AM. Reason: Added more pictures
how much for you to come do my car lol
Obese Commodores
this thread is full of win. deserves a sticky
great writeup ill be using your tips for sure.
need boost...
Full of win indeed. I'll definitely re-consider doing it myself now, I was just going to get it done somewhere but you make it look so easy lol.
nathans VY Calais - 'Calais 2.0' | VT Equipe | VS Calais **SOLD!**
Thats what I was trying to show, how easy it is to do by yourself with alittle bit of patience and care. Theres alot better products, tools and equipment out there that you can use to achieve even greater results in your finish then mine. Hope this guide was helpful to youOriginally Posted by nathanVS
Nah mate this guide should inspire you to give it a go yourself! $300 (+ or -) will enable you to do the same. I say give it a go!
Thanks buddy, I hope it gives you abit of insight into protecting your cars finish.
Thanks mate, glad it helped
Forced to be Fast
yep ill be giving this a go very shortly thanks for the wright up
Check out my ride here >>>>My VX Raptor
say NO to chev badges
Wanted To Buy=>> Mace 12mm or 25mm Manifold spacers - VX SS Headlights - VY handbrake complete set up
For Sale=>> vt/vx Berlina/Calais chrome window surround PM me for more details
3.5mm oscillation isn't really enough for good correction. And why would you use a glaze after correcting paint? Glazes are designed to fill imperfections. Whilst you do have some good info I would discourage anybody from washing with a sponge or a Chamois. Microfibre wash mitt will be much safer than a sponge (several would be better) and a waffle weave drying towel much safer than a synthetic or leather Chamois.
Its not so much the size of the oscillations but the amount of time which it takes to correct. I agree that 3.5mm is abit small to do correction, thus will take you longer and more energy to do but it *CAN* with patience and time, produce similar if not the same results as RO or DA with a 5mm throw. I added a glaze for extra protection and also to hide anything which I may of missed; its really up to personal preference if you want to add it into your method of cleaning. Your correct in saying a sponge isnt the most effect weapon to use when washing your car, I agree a microfibre wash mitt would be safer. Using a chamois to dry the car after is a valid option but again using a waffle weave drying towel will of course be better. What this guide is for is to show how easy it is to detail your car with out breaking the bank. Thanks for the feedback
Aussie N Proud!
Well done mate, thanks for the guide.
Your very welcome, hope it inspires you to have a crack at your own car!
great write up! I will try do this once I find a flat with carport!
just a couple of points to add to this write up.
if your car is clear coated and you get colour appear on the pad. STOP!!!! this should only happen on solid colours. if this happens on clear coated paint you have cut threw the clear.
if the clear coat is bubbling, peeling or missing do not polish this section, work around it.
avoid excessive cutting/polishing on seams/creases and panel edges as this is where the paint is thinest.
work in small 50cmx50cm sections as the products dry out in warmer weather. 4 pea sized drops of polish is all that is required to do a section this size, any more is a waste and may not break down the abrasives before the product hazes.
always work in the shade out of direct sunlight
the duragloss pre cleaner 2 used in this thread wont be needed on all cars. if the paint is clayed and has a clear coat it should be contaminate free and will not be needed. if the paint is not clear coated and the paint is hevily oxidised then the pre cleaner can be used to remove the oxidisation.
me personally, i would skip the sealer and glaze and leave the turle wax aswell. instead i would go with duragloss polish bonding agent 601 and duragloss total performance polish 105 (this is really a very good sealant). this system can see up to 6 months protection where as the wax will wear off in under a month. these 2 products will cost $47 from car car products and will do at the very least 10 coats. so it is very ecconomical when you look at it that way
all in all this is a good write up jelly!! should give some punters the confidence to have a go them self. if you are still unsure, car care products have a very good how to section on there website which includes video's
Thanks for the tips Toey! Should really of mentioned about the clear coat beforeI suppose my Calais is 17 years old, any clear coat on it would be very minimal anyway.
Thanks for the feedback
Jellycalais
Hi guys,
My issues include scratches & dull/stained paint (bonnet) on my VT Comm. Firstly my daughter decided to help dad by cleaning a couple of marks off the boot lid with what I can tell was a kitchen scourer (Pic 1). As you can see they left light swirling scratch marks which I thought would need to be repaired by a panel beater until seeing this thread. Secondly, my bonnet is peppered by water marks & all round dullness even after a good washing. (Pic 2/3). My question is what would you suggest for each issue. I dont have a orbital polisher so I am looking for any methods/products that would do the job with a bit of elbow grease if at all possible. Thanks for any incoming help/suggestions.
Update: Purchased Orbital Polisher (special at Supercheap $35)
Meguiars Ultimate Compound
Mothers Sealer & Glaze
Might start tackling this after lunch & see what happens. Will see if I can get some good before/after pics.
Never done anything like this before so anything could happen lol.
Light scratches from daughter "helping" dad. lol
Dull/stained bonett. Not pretty.
I am not expecting miracles but I am hopeful I can get it back to looking pretty good.
Last edited by Tentpeg; 26-12-2010 at 05:16 PM.
The red car will need to be polished with a rotary and a good chance it will need to be wet sanded too as those marks look nasty. I know this because I have my sisters turismo blue vz sv6 in the driveway that was scrubbed to remove bugs n tar with a green scourer.
The black car seems to have bad water etching but a good clay then machine polish should sort that out. Hope you have a finer polish to use between the ultimate compound and glaze as otherwise there will be holograms/marring left from the compound. The glaze may hide them but as the glaze washes out they will reappear.
Don't forget to post some after pics
Hi Toey,
The pics are all from the same car, bonett shots were done without flash. The scoure marks look bad but they dont feel deep or anything. As for the bonett, what do you suggest in between the Compound & Glaze? Open for suggestions. Didnt have time to start today so am glad I waited on some advice. Will post some better before pics tomorrow morning.
Rob.
Probly go with a swirl remover from the meguiars professional range. Try something around 3-4 on there cut scale.
For the pics take them out in the sun, taking some pics looking directly at the sun, this will show how bad the swirls are. For the scratches take the pics in the sun but not looking directly at the sun. Both these methods should show up the etched water marks and oxidization aswell.
Also forgot if you can catch your fingernail on the scratches it's generally too deep to polish out.
What pads are you going to use for the jobs. The lake country pads are well priced. I'd go with an orange to cut, white for swirl remover, and blue of sealant. You can pick them up from either car care products (my main supplier) or waxit. Just google them and have a look on there websites. Ccp has a great how to section complete with vids too
Hi Toey,
Ok have taken new pics as best I could, currently very overcast here in Brisbane. These pictures were taken just after I washed car so you can see the sort of condition the bonett is in. I looked online for the pads you mentioned at most of the popular auto shops near me, but couldnt find them anywhere. I will just have to use the pads that came with the machine. (pic included). I will use the compound first & see what sort of results I get. If swirls appear wil lgo grab the Meguiars Swirl remover as suggested. I watched the video you mentioned on the Car Car Product website so atleast I know the basics of the method required. The scratches on the boot must be very fine as I couldnt feel any ridge when running fingernail over them.
Will start once the car is completely dry so in a few hours I should see some resuts, hopefully.
yep, you are right the bonnet does look bad. it can come back from that but will take alot of work and im not sure the polisher you have will have enough power but i could be wrong.
as for those pads i suggested, i dont think they will work with that polisher as they are a 6.5" velcro backed foam pad and i dont know how the pads attach to that polisher, is it a velcro backing plate??
if you want them pads they are not availible at any auto store, only threw specalist detailing shops, waxit have a store somewhere in brisbane but both car care products and waxit both mail out all there gear
Hi Toey,
Just got back from Supercheap after deciding to get a more conventional polisher seen in most How Do videos. New polisher has velcro backing plate.
Ok, time to get started. Post any results here later. Thanks for the advice.
Well after a couple of hours I must say I am pretty pleased wth the outcome. :-)
Is the paint perfect now?...nope, but its appearance now is thankfully nothing like the above before photos. The scourer marks aren't obvious anymore (cant see them unless you get right up close), so I guess thats the best I can hope for. Maybe my polishing technique needs some work? The white marks in the pics are obviously chips (I do a lot of highway driving), so I guess thats the next "How Do" topic I will be looking up. Any novices like myself who may be a little dubious in giving this a try...have a go, I didnt destroy my paint..I dont think :-)
Big thanks to the OP Jelly Calais and the advice from Toey. I am pretty happy !!
looks a damn side better now
just need to refine it and remove the holigrams that can be seen in pic 1,2 and 5. use the finishing polish on the rotary first then do it again on the random orbital. this should see the holigrams disapper
Posting Permissions
1Likes
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Reply With Quote
