Detailing photos/discussion

[lester622]

Best thing to do would be to use either an old tooth brush or go get a stiff bristled one. I use rubbing alcohol (70% not 90)and work it with the brush then wipe it clean. The lower trim on the windows is a real biznatch to get buffer marks off I still have a small one. I think it would be best to just get new ones from lmc.

all base/clear paints are the same so being black doesn't change anything. What sucks is black shows the scratches and swirls easier so you would need to use something more aggressive to get results you can see.

for black cars I usually start with a micro fiber correction pad and compound with my DA buffer and see how effective it is. If its not cutting the clear fast enough ill whip out the rotary buffer and a wool pad with some meguires 105 and follow after with the micro fiber correction system.

if you don't know what your doing don't use 105. I think the one you should use is called diamond cut, a much safer compound for learning yet still gets you results, just not as fast and using more product.

I am going to give the alcohol a try, I have read peanut butter works but I don't want to have that all over everything.

 

[SkyHighColorado]

So pardon my ignorance but I've never used a buffer in my life.....embarrassing I know. All the cleaning I've done has been by hand for the exception of a Mother's powerball. My '03 was waxed twice last year and got a clay bar treatment once. I'm going to the beach in May for a huge muscle car show and cruise and will not be taking my car because I'm looking for an LS to swap. I'd still like my truck to be damn near perfect for a 12 year old daily driver.

Any direction you can point me in regarding buffers or what to use specifically? I'm a fan of Meguiar's products and never understood the "glazes" or "sealants". I'm focused more on my paint than bumpers or wheels. The bumpers clean up with some chrome polish and the wheels look alright with some Mother's aluminum polish.



EDIT: Any tire shines you recommend too? I'm pretty sold on the Meguiar's endurance tire shine (gel) with a foam applicator but I didn't know if there was anything better out there.

oh yeah tire shine: Hot shine (I like to get the spray bottle one so I can spray it onto a tire sponge and not the rim.


Don't get a cyclo that thing is worthless. I like adams, I pretty much have to since they are about 40 mins away from me. Porter cable makes a good random orbital, but I must warn you right now that you have to use a heavy duty extension cord 12 gauge minimum else you will burn it up. I use all kinds of buffers constantly all day for sanding, compounding, polishing and waxing/sealing and burn them up pretty fast no matter what so for a random orbital I just use the harbor freight one for less than $50, it isn't as smooth but definitely durable and good quality weirdly enough.

I am certified by Meguire's and highly recommend you use the micro fiber correction system with a random orbital / Dual action buffer. correction compound is very safe and effective at taking out moderate scratches and swirls with the xtra cut pads.

honestly I could go on for ever about detailing tools and products so just trust me, if you buy a buffer make sure its either a harbor freight one or a porter cable.

You will need to get a 5.5 inch backing plate for the porter cable. this will allow you to use 6" pads. If I remember right, the harbor freight one comes with a backing plate.

 

[SkyHighColorado]

Came in to answer a question and ended up reading the whole thread LOL! I'm laying the frame work for a detailing business, should have it under full operation in another month. I absolutely love it! It's work, but the end result and the customers reactions (oh, and the money!) make it well worth it. I recently made the switch to using 100% percent Adam's products. They give the best results and are easy to use. Only problem is they're fairly expensive, which keeps my rates fairly high.
Here is a 2011 Range Rover HSE I do bimonthly

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Don't have a ton of photos from other cars, most are on my GoPro.

nice job on the strange rover. Detailing is constantly evolving as fast as the clear coat technologies. I just got a rupes that ill be testing, just by looking at it today I can tell its pretty much the same thing as the flex and therefore I have a lot of doubt that it will stand up to my non stop daily use.

here is the new zo6

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[SwampHound]

nice job on the strange rover. Detailing is constantly evolving as fast as the clear coat technologies. I just got a rupes that ill be testing, just by looking at it today I can tell its pretty much the same thing as the flex and therefore I have a lot of doubt that it will stand up to my non stop daily use.

here is the new zo6

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[emoji33] [emoji33] [emoji33] Dude that's awesome! Probably the nicest/sportiest one I've done so far was a 2011 Jaguar XLJ.

 

[SwampHound]

Would you mind talking a little about the certification process? Would be interested depending on what's required in order to qualify.

 

[97Bowtie1106]

I prefer Adams, Shine Supply, and sometimes chemical guys. They are a pricier than over the counter products but you get what you pay for when it comes to detailing. In the body shop I work out I do some paint corrections with 3m products and they arent near the quality of the other three I mentioned but it does get the job done. Clears are evolving so much that just because one combo works on one car, doesn't mean it's going to work on another so spend your time in a 2x2 area to find that perfect combo of compounds/polishes. If your'e doing a full paint correction I STRONGLY recommend putting a good sealant on top when your'e done to get more longevity out of your'e correction. Iv'e lost most of the pics from my personal corrections but I've got a couple. Im about to do my white truck so Ill be sure to take plenty of pics when I do it. The paint is mostly perfect on it but it has some light swirls that I will address.

This was my old 96. Paint wasn't trashed at all but it had swirls and all that good stuff. This was also about 4 years ago and Ive learned so much more since these pics were taken. So here's what I gave it
-strip wash
-clay
- Adam's SSR, SR, Fine Machine Polish, Machine Sealant, and a Glaze on top

Before

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50/50

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After

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And this was a Ford Edge I did. I used a DA to wetsand with 2000,3000, and 5000

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[SkyHighColorado]

I prefer Adams, Shine Supply, and sometimes chemical guys. They are a pricier than over the counter products but you get what you pay for when it comes to detailing. In the body shop I work out I do some paint corrections with 3m products and they arent near the quality of the other three I mentioned but it does get the job done. Clears are evolving so much that just because one combo works on one car, doesn't mean it's going to work on another so spend your time in a 2x2 area to find that perfect combo of compounds/polishes. If your'e doing a full paint correction I STRONGLY recommend putting a good sealant on top when your'e done to get more longevity out of your'e correction. Iv'e lost most of the pics from my personal corrections but I've got a couple. Im about to do my white truck so Ill be sure to take plenty of pics when I do it. The paint is mostly perfect on it but it has some light swirls that I will address.

This was my old 96. Paint wasn't trashed at all but it had swirls and all that good stuff. This was also about 4 years ago and Ive learned so much more since these pics were taken. So here's what I gave it
-strip wash
-clay
- Adam's SSR, SR, Fine Machine Polish, Machine Sealant, and a Glaze on top

Before

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50/50

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After

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And this was a Ford Edge I did. I used a DA to wetsand with 2000,3000, and 5000

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that looks good. I DA sand as well but I don't have 5000 grit. I can buff out 1500 grit with meguires 105 on soft clear. I don't think I have ever needed more than 3000.

as far as the certification goes I just got lucky and happened to hear about this training seminar about how to use to new micro fiber systems and the old products also. I had to pay to attend the class and they basically do a presentation and you have to take notes if you don't know what your talking about else you will fail. Then they basically scuffed up a panel on a black Tahoe with steel wool and asked everyone to show them how you would fix it and they provide input to perfect your technique. Only thing they could pic up on me was my body posture is not correct while buffing, oh well. It was simple and easy for me but some people find it hard. They will teach you how to buff with a rotary buffer as well.

Your best bet would be to email customer service and ask for your states regional representative info and he should know when the next time they put on one of these seminars is. Usually they only happen in major cities to if your out in texas somewhere I doubt you will ever get the chance.

 

[SkyHighColorado]

I am going to give the alcohol a try, I have read peanut butter works but I don't want to have that all over everything.

I went and got peanut butter once and tried it. The oils in it does darken the plastic but doesn't fix the problem. Its mostly the bristles in the brush that get in the pores of the plastic to remove the white crap.

 

[RyanMerrick]

I prefer Adams, Shine Supply, and sometimes chemical guys. They are a pricier than over the counter products but you get what you pay for when it comes to detailing. In the body shop I work out I do some paint corrections with 3m products and they arent near the quality of the other three I mentioned but it does get the job done. Clears are evolving so much that just because one combo works on one car, doesn't mean it's going to work on another so spend your time in a 2x2 area to find that perfect combo of compounds/polishes. If your'e doing a full paint correction I STRONGLY recommend putting a good sealant on top when your'e done to get more longevity out of your'e correction. Iv'e lost most of the pics from my personal corrections but I've got a couple. Im about to do my white truck so Ill be sure to take plenty of pics when I do it. The paint is mostly perfect on it but it has some light swirls that I will address.

This was my old 96. Paint wasn't trashed at all but it had swirls and all that good stuff. This was also about 4 years ago and Ive learned so much more since these pics were taken. So here's what I gave it
-strip wash
-clay
- Adam's SSR, SR, Fine Machine Polish, Machine Sealant, and a Glaze on top

Before

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You must be registered for see images attach

50/50

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You must be registered for see images attach

After

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You must be registered for see images attach

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And this was a Ford Edge I did. I used a DA to wetsand with 2000,3000, and 5000

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Wow, great work. I wish I had those skills.

Do you have any recommendations on a cheap place online to buy detailing products/towels/etc? I'm tired of overpaying locally.

 

[77Concours]

If you're looking for a rotary buffer, get something halfway decent. Like a porter cable or a cylco from Adam's Polish's.
If you're wanting to get it show ready, I would do a clay bar, followed by a polish (shouldn't need anything to aggressive, a medium or low grit polish should suffice) then either 1-2 coats of a paste wax, or 2-3 of a liquid carnauba wax. For tire shine, I'm gonna do another plug for Adam's and say use theirs. It goes on easy, looks great isn't greasy and best of all, won't sling.

The cyclo looks cool but damn....$380 for one of those. I do some car cleaning on the side (other than working at a car wash) and I'd buy something like that but with finishing up college and going to the police academy I just can't throw that kind of cash. I'll follow your steps for sure though! Adam's comes to car shows at the local fairgrounds so I might grab some of their tire shine in spring to give it a try since I'm almost out of my Meguiar's stuff. Thanks for the info!

oh yeah tire shine: Hot shine (I like to get the spray bottle one so I can spray it onto a tire sponge and not the rim.


Don't get a cyclo that thing is worthless. I like adams, I pretty much have to since they are about 40 mins away from me. Porter cable makes a good random orbital, but I must warn you right now that you have to use a heavy duty extension cord 12 gauge minimum else you will burn it up. I use all kinds of buffers constantly all day for sanding, compounding, polishing and waxing/sealing and burn them up pretty fast no matter what so for a random orbital I just use the harbor freight one for less than $50, it isn't as smooth but definitely durable and good quality weirdly enough.

I am certified by Meguire's and highly recommend you use the micro fiber correction system with a random orbital / Dual action buffer. correction compound is very safe and effective at taking out moderate scratches and swirls with the xtra cut pads.

honestly I could go on for ever about detailing tools and products so just trust me, if you buy a buffer make sure its either a harbor freight one or a porter cable.

You will need to get a 5.5 inch backing plate for the porter cable. this will allow you to use 6" pads. If I remember right, the harbor freight one comes with a backing plate.

I have used the Meguiars Insane Shine tire coating and love it. I have a can of the spray. If it wouldn't sling this would be my choice of tire shine until I die. The odor gives me a nasty headache after doing all 4 tires but the look is amazing. At first I thought you were talking about the polishing system that attaches to a power drill. For some reason that struck me as cheap looking and I can't justify the "car show special" of $100. I will look in to the porter cable orbital. Thanks again!