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I bought a new car a few months ago and I want to keep it looking nice and clean. So far I have a few 5 gallon buckets, a few microfiber mitts, some spare microfiber towels, and Deep Crystal car wash. What do I need to add to my detailing list of things? I'm planning on waxing the car relatively soon, and I'm sure that buying a clay kit won't hurt.
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Mar 26, 2012 00:30
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 01:21 |
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ratbert90 posted:Clay would be the number one thing I would recommend. Claying a car lets the wax bond to the surface of the paint much better than without claying. Other than that, spray on wax every couple of weeks and I rewax my cars once every 3 months or so with a dawn wash. What do you recommend for not getting water spots? Wax?
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Mar 26, 2012 01:38
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Can people compile a list of the stuff that they use? I think that people would like to know what people use in an easy list. Ex: Car wash/foam: Car wax/sealant: Rubbing compound: etc, etc
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Mar 26, 2012 15:19
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Washed my car today because the pollen has finally died down a bit and it was filthy. I tried the final wash trick where you don't use a nozzle on the hose and just let the water come off as a sheet after you're done washing the car. Result? No water spots!! Now I can drive my black car in peace.
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Apr 2, 2012 04:15
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Since I'm a terrible car owner, I finally got around to waxing my Mazda2 that I've owned since January 2012. The factory wax/sealant was long gone and I am too broke to go out and buy nice supplies. I'm kinda surprised at how much crap gets into the paint after 28k miles, but most of it came out. Did a 2 bucket wash with Dawn dish detergent and went to the store to pick up stuff to properly wax it. Picked up the Meguiars clay kit and their Gold Class or whatever liquid wax. I had some Turtle Wax, but I opted to go for the "fancy" wax. I dropped the loving clay about 4 times, so I had to use both bars to do the car. I have some scratches/swirls on the roof, but I don't have an orbital. I think it came out alright, but I still need to wash the wheels so I'll do that tomorrow evening. Today was 4 hours, tomorrow will be about 1 hour to pull off all four wheels and just wash them down and rotate. I still need to clean the interior. 
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Jul 1, 2013 02:36
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leica posted:So what does that mean then if it's a single stage? There's no clear coat and the pad will come back pitch black. http://www.ehow.com/about_5057339_definition-singlestage-auto-paint.html
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Jul 24, 2013 04:48
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Das Volk posted:Is there an accepted method for repairing scratches? A rock grazed my hood and I was thinking tiny paintbrushes, two stage touch up paint, and some wetsanding. Are there any guides out there? DRIVE/Clean had one a while back: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xi3xmeO6C4 There's also this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmEhsuO2cKY
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Oct 10, 2013 21:39
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Outside of having an approximate knowledge of detailing, I have no idea what to buy to start out. I know that a PC 7424XP is the go to and there's something called Meguiars 105 and it's the bee's knees, but that's about it. I know about the 2 bucket system, clay bars, and wax (I used Gold Class last time, oh boy); nothing about DA polishers and what I should and shouldn't do when I get one. I've seen that autogeek has a few kits, but I have no idea if they're worth the money or even have decent pads and whatnot. Reading the Griot's catalog didn't really answer any questions either. Budget: Sub $500 for almost everything Cars: Black single stage and black with a clearcoat Phone fucked around with this message at 18:24 on Oct 11, 2013 |
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Oct 11, 2013 18:22
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Alright, got the cheap part... Now for all of the expensive bits. $90 isn't too bad. Camelcamelcamel is showing that the PC 7424XP has only gotten down to $93 in the past (January 2011).
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Dec 2, 2013 15:45
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So far I'm thinking about picking up the following... Pads: a 6 pack of Lake Country pads CSS pads getting 2 yellows, 1 white, 2 blues, 1 red (or gold) Link Compound: Meguiar's 105 Link Polish: Menzerna SF 4500 Link Sealant: Menzerna Power Lock Link Am I missing anything?
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Dec 2, 2013 20:44
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What are people using for buffer pad cleaning?
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Dec 5, 2013 18:21
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I know I'm drinking the Kool Aid but holy lol at that $135 bucket. I just have a few more things to track down and my full kit should be good to go. Going to use my co-worker's car as my testbed for everything. Dawn wash Clay bar Meg's M105 cutting compound Menzerna SF2500 polish Menzerna SF4500 final polish Menzerna Power Lock sealant And then I'll let him put wax on it a day later if he wants Gonna make a black NB Miata shine.
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Dec 5, 2013 19:07
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That looks like it would be significantly faster to polish by hand.
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Dec 7, 2013 03:00
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I got all of my crap in today! Gonna go experiment on my coworker's car on Sunday. I hope you guys like Nexus 4 photos (they're dogshit)!
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Dec 17, 2013 01:55
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Well, things could have been a lot worse for my first time using my Griot's DA. I used my coworker's car as the test bed and we spent about 10 hours messing with it. I only made one pass of the M105, but I now know why people say that trying to do major paint correction with a DA is awful. The paint on his car was pretty bad, but I think we hit the right amount of effort for how crap the paint is. It's a 2000 Mazda Miata with about the past 5-6 years of it's life being a track beater. Fun fact: if it's metal, it has a clearcoat, plastics are single stage! Products used: Meguiars M105 Menzerna PF2500 Menzerna PF4500 (only on the hood, we couldn't see poo poo because it was like 10pm) Menzerna Power Lock sealant Before:    After:   
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Dec 22, 2013 22:20
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I would say learn how the M105 behaves on your 7424XP, and then buy a rotary immediately because using a DA with the M105 loving sucks. Only doing 1 pass on a Miata destroyed an Uber yellow pad. I need to see how bad the paint is on my Mazda2 and order a few more cutting pads. If I need to do any correction, I'll probably buy a small thing of Meguiar's Ultimate Compound, and then polish it with the Menzerna SF2500 and SF4500 that I have. I couldn't see it when I was working on it, but the very fine polish on a pad that can't cut makes a huge difference.
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Dec 28, 2013 03:54
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Single pass of the entire car. It started to tear a bit on the last panel.
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Dec 28, 2013 05:23
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I guess I was being too aggressive with the pad cleaning brush.
Phone fucked around with this message at 07:01 on Dec 28, 2013 |
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Dec 28, 2013 06:56
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Fffff apparently stainless steel racks from Target rust and now my green and blue pad have some surface rust. Oh well, I was hoping to wait for it to warm up a bit before tackling the 2.
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Dec 28, 2013 17:45
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Hi Trisk and Chinatown, I miss TF2.  Yeah, I'm kind of the same way seeing how decent microfiber is kinda of cheap.
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Jan 5, 2014 09:13
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If you use a clay bar, you'll remove the sealant/wax with the clay. Sealant lasts between 6 to 12 months. Wax lasts about 2 to 3 months. You shouldn't need to wash, clay, and wax every two weeks.
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Jan 7, 2014 20:33
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Use a yellow pad?
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Jan 11, 2014 05:42
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Just a heads up to ratbert90, the D103 has been discontinued. I hope that the D101 works just as well!
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Jan 11, 2014 19:10
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InitialDave posted:Sounds like you would benefit from giving the wheels a full-on clean and clay, and using a wax/sealant on them. Track wheels are consumables. That and I'm not sure if wax/sealant is good for non-ambient temps (if the tires are 150F+, uh....). e: I get to see how I did on my 2 since it's not not salted and frozen over! Yay. (followed by a week long rain) e2: Please excuse the lovely exposure, it's a combo of the Nexus 5's camera plus me being lazy and not downloading Photoshop/Lightroom yet on this PC    First time I've seen it in natural light, it's a bit dusty and I need to clean the interior and glass pretty badly. Phone fucked around with this message at 21:57 on Feb 2, 2014 |
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Feb 2, 2014 21:45
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Goo gone, but it's a petrochemical so be careful.
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Mar 27, 2014 16:42
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Repost from my project thread: I love single stage paint.    
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Mar 31, 2014 23:48
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This one is for you Rhyno (and Adiabatic): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ah9JTgv-5wAxdE1qWUl3VF90X2J3T3RrN2Fac00tT0E&usp=sharing Note: this is what it cost me, so yeah... Also, this looks like a really decent deal if you're looking to start assembling a kit: http://www.detailersdomain.com/Griots-Garage-6-inch-Random-Orbital-Polisher-Swirl-Remover-Kit_p_704.html Double also, Detailer's Domain has an S2Ki forum coupon floating around. Phone fucked around with this message at 00:22 on Apr 1, 2014 |
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Apr 1, 2014 00:16
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I posted one last week.
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Apr 7, 2014 18:32
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Black cars are the best.
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May 11, 2014 16:44
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Go make a project thread, you sperg. I'm probably going to polish Fatcow's NB2 before he takes it down to South Carolina. It's going to be the first non-black car I have detailed and I'll try to use my new camera to take pictures (versus relying on a camera phone).
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May 18, 2014 00:44
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I got a black camera to go with my black car. Black cars rule. 
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May 20, 2014 02:54
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It'll do a bad job and add a bunch of scratches.
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May 21, 2014 15:18
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blk posted:Is the Porter Cable buffer in the OP the way to go or can I get away with one of the cheap $30-$50 options on Amazon? Get the PC or the Griots.
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May 24, 2014 22:30
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The bumpers are single stage as well on the Miata. Blk: look at my previous posts in this thread. I have a pretty beat up NA Miata that I did some "paint correction" on.
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Jun 15, 2014 14:57
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I think you might have that backwards. I've done my 94 and my friends 00.
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Jun 15, 2014 17:01
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I'm trying to get my coworker to pay me a few hundred bucks to detail his Legacy wagon. The paint feel like 400 grit sandpaper. Hopefully I'll have some more black car porn (and some $$$) within the next few weeks.
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Jul 7, 2014 18:15
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Simple Green Extreme is safe for aluminum, but I wouldn't let it sit for an hour. This was just Simple Green Extreme + a crappy electric power washer:   It had like 3 months to dry out, though. 
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Jul 9, 2014 03:58
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Google Butt posted:Which porter cable bundle on autogeek do you guys recommend? Take a look at Detailers Domain. They have a Griots 6" kit with 5 pads, a bunch of microfiber, and 3 Menzerna products for $350ish. There's a few coupons floating around so you can easily get that knocked down to around $310 shipped.
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Jul 31, 2014 14:53
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I had to clean up some tail lights that are being shipped off tonight and decided to hit up one of the headlights with the same pad + compound combo. Just a quick 30 second pass with Ultimate Compound and a green Uber pad (polish, not very abrasive). Basically magic.   Going to hit them with a yellow pad, do a polish AND a super fine polish before I sell the headlights.
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Aug 14, 2014 02:53
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 01:21 |
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blk posted:So I'm putting a new bumper cover on the Miata and need to move the badge from the old one to the new one. I assume hair dryer + adhesive remover + floss for removal, but what about reapplication? How do I stick this sucker back on, and most importantly, do it straight and centered? There are two alignment holes and there's adhesive on the backside of the front emblem.
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Sep 13, 2014 19:25
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