Scythe

Hey, i know the simple washing and waxing, but after reading these forums and other car sites i've realized there is much more to that in order to keep your car looking new. I've always thought that polishing and waxing were the same thing, until i've noticed people talking about separate products for the different ones, and debating which to do first...

can anyone help me out with the differences between polishing, waxing, compounding, buffing.. and are the methods for each different? or just different products

edit - also, i hear alot about claybars.. any help on those?

flipicanez

iTrader: (1)

Polish is to take out minor swirls and enhance color and shine.

Waxing is there to protect the finish and add some more shine.

Compounding is for taking down oxidation and medium to severe scratches that can still be buffed out.

Polishing as a verb is a process of constant rubbing to make things shiny.

Every spring I would wash my car with Dish Washing liquid. This will remove wax and other surface contaminants. There after I would use a surface cleaner (Meguires Scratch X, a very, very light compound) to rub off deep contaminants. From there I will buff the surface down with a good polish (Meguire's Mirror Show Car Glaze). After that I will leave a light coat (the lighter the better) of a base wax(3M Carnuba Wax) to protect the paint and polish. From there I will use another light coat of soft wax (Meguire's NXT) to enhance shine. All this using separate cloths and applicators for each step. During the rest of the warm season the car gets hand washed with a gentle car wash gel (any one will do).

As for what is the best product, I really couldn't tell you. I have used these products faithfully for years.

Vi-Tuyen

how long does this take to do the complete car wash? 2hr?

PaPaHoFF

iTrader: (19)

HAH! for a full detail, it can take up to 8 hours depending on the condition of the car and all of that good stuff. Polishing takes time as you are supposed to do one panel at a time.

eyezack87

iTrader: (4)

Haha, if you just started out with machine polishing and the pad melted on you () expect a long time. So far hand is much faster for me haha, but due to circumstances I couldn't control hehe

Around 8 hours is the norm for a real full on detail though

Vi-Tuyen

wow. that alot of time.

tuan92129

There are some useful forums on detailing. Autopia has a nice one, and Meguiars has one too.
BTW once you get into detailing...its addicting

I use Meguiars products, i think its a good system to start with for beginners.

1st. Prep the paint surface.
Wash the entire car with car wash soap (and make sure you get the door jambs, and gas cap/trunk area.
If you really want to, you can degrease the wheel wells, and clean the engine bay and power wash the undercarriage....

Then dry off and use meguiars smooth surface clay bar kit ($15 at autozone)
Follow the directions..spray the lube, and slide the claybar across the paint to remove contaminants. Your paint should feel pretty slick...and you'll wonder what you've been doing without one

Then, comes polishing. That means using either a PC or a rotary buffer to remove defects like scratches and oxidation in the paint. Polishing basically takes off a small amount of paint (clear coat) to level out scratches.
This needs a lot of practicing , especially with a rotary because if you don't remove the paint evenly, or leave the rotary on one spot too long, you'll burn the paint, or cut right through the clear coat. If you buff too much, you'll end up with clear coat failure and have to repaint.
Anyways... You start off by testing different products, starting off with the least aggressive product on a panel to determine what steps you need to use. M83 and M82 normally do the job for swirling. Then follow up with meguiars swirl remover.

Once you've done the whole car, its time to add a glaze, like Meguiars Show car glaze.
This creates a deep, wet look, especially on darker colors.

Then, its finally time for the wax.
There are two types of surface prtectants. Wax and sealants.
Sealants are man-made and last longer than waxes, but they sometimes lack the depth and shine of the traditional wax (Meguiars nxt 2.0)
Waxes are made from caranuba wax (Meguiars yellow wax)
First, apply a thin even coat of a sealant over the whole car wait 24 hours, then apply a coat of wax.

Then, theres protectant you need to use to protect the exterior plastic trim and tires. If your headlights are hazy and yellow, you can polish those with meguiars plastic cleaner/polish.
Then there are the metal parts on your car..like the exhaust tips which you can polish using metal polish.....

flipicanez

iTrader: (1)

Now you get that in there. Clay bars are killer and if you can find them without the quick detailer stuff, you are golden! I generally use clay bars every other wash and during the wash (I wash once a week, weather dependent). All it really takes is some soapy water, I find it works better. But never use it on the surface dry.

Do you remember the pore strips you put on your face and when you pull it out you have trees? I have almost the same fascination when you rub it on the surface and you see dirt pop up on the bar.

I only do that heavy detail twice a year, spring and end of fall. Usually one day on the outside, then another day on the interior. Normal car wash and dry will take 30 minutes.

Scythe

wow lots of good stuff in here thanks =) yeah i'm sort of obsessive washing my car.. i usually finish when the sun goes down and i cant see anymore =p, but theres only so much you can do with wash and wax

but now can i use all (Polish, Wax, Gloss, Sealant) with the Porter cable?? or are some better by hand and some by machine?

tuan92129

Use a machine to remove defects like scratches.

Waxes and glaze are easy to apply by hand.

Washing and Waxing are only part of the equation...theres more to a detail.
You can polish and wax your rims, clean out the wheel wells and apply protectant on those...Engine bay cleaning...