Mother of all detailing threads...

[NitrousG35]

Originally Posted by ro.sniper

Ok I think I understand most of the terminology here but i still have a few questions. I have an 08 Sedan so the paint is still in pretty good shape.

I am buying the UDM (ultimate detailing machine) is this a good choice?

The way I have been detailing:

1. Wash
2. Clay
3. Wax

I'm missing the glaze and seal steps. I really like meguiars products so I would like a recommendation from their line.

Which glaze should I use and could I apply it with the UDM?
Which sealant (most durable one) should I use for the winter (when winter's back)?
Could I apply NXT 2.0 after the sealant or use a caranuba wax?

Another question... one of my girlfriend's friend banged a high heel shoe against the side of the car and notice the scratch in spring (yes i still remember when she did it) the scratch is relatively deep... could I use scratch x to repair? Is scratch x more abrasive then an abrasive polishing compound?

Hmm that's all i can remember for now

Thanks for your help guys

As for the glaze, I would use Meguiar's #7 Show Car Glaze. Simply the best. It will nourish your paint and give it incredible depth. It can be applied with your machine.

As for the sealant, I use Jet-Seal. It is for heavy duty airplane and trucking use as well as cars. It leaves a fantastic shine as well. Held up all winter for me.

If you use a synthetic polymer sealant, do not use Meguiar's NXT 2.0 as that is a synthetic polymer as well. Instead, use a good carnauba wax.

As for the scratch, try the Scratch X first. You can do it by hand, or with a pad that has a slight cutting power to it. You may have to use a more abrasive like Meguiar's 80, 82 or 83. A lot depends on the depth of the scratch, so I would go with Scratch X before trying the other stuff I mentioned. Scratch X is very mild and has a very nice polishing quality to it without worrying about marring the paint.

One more thing: check out the first post I did in this thread. There are pictures and explanations of each product.

[ro.sniper]

Thanks a lot for your help! Very nice and detailed answer, that's exactly what I'm going to get... I just need a starting point.

[NitrousG35]

^ Bro, always glad to help out. Car detailing in part is just knowing the correct products to use and the steps to do them in. The other part is the actual application, which comes with experience. The good thing is that waxing is pretty straightforward as is sealing and glazing. The only time people can get into trouble is when they are polishing with a machine and using aggressive pads and compounds. Post up pics of your ride when you are done!

[RaskyR1]

Originally Posted by NitrousG35

^ Bro, always glad to help out. Car detailing in part is just knowing the correct products to use and the steps to do them in. The other part is the actual application, which comes with experience. The good thing is that waxing is pretty straightforward as is sealing and glazing. The only time people can get into trouble is when they are polishing with a machine and using aggressive pads and compounds. Post up pics of your ride when you are done!

Hey Bill,

I just ordered a bunch of new stuff to try out...had to take advatage of the discount.

2 BIRTHDAY 15% Autogeek Online Birthday Discount -66.28
1 LC-78-24650DA CCS 6.5" Orange Light Cutting Pad 10.99
3 LC-78-64650DA CCS 6.5" White Polishing Pad 24.99
2 LC-78-94650DA CCS 6.5" Blue Finessing Pad 19.98
1 MEN-PO106FFQ 32 oz. Menzerna Nano Polish PO 106 w/B 49.99
1 MEN-PO83Q 32 oz. Menzerna Super Intensive Polish 39.99
1 MEN-PO85RD Menzerna Polish PO85RD W/ Free Bonus 39.99
1 PIN-315 16 oz. Pinnacle Liquid Souveran Wax Ne 34.99

[NitrousG35]

Originally Posted by RaskyR1

Hey Bill,

I just ordered a bunch of new stuff to try out...had to take advatage of the discount.

2 BIRTHDAY 15% Autogeek Online Birthday Discount -66.28
1 LC-78-24650DA CCS 6.5" Orange Light Cutting Pad 10.99
3 LC-78-64650DA CCS 6.5" White Polishing Pad 24.99
2 LC-78-94650DA CCS 6.5" Blue Finessing Pad 19.98
1 MEN-PO106FFQ 32 oz. Menzerna Nano Polish PO 106 w/B 49.99
1 MEN-PO83Q 32 oz. Menzerna Super Intensive Polish 39.99
1 MEN-PO85RD Menzerna Polish PO85RD W/ Free Bonus 39.99
1 PIN-315 16 oz. Pinnacle Liquid Souveran Wax Ne 34.99

Chad, sounds great. I was going to bring my Menzerna Super Intensive Polish to the meet to let you try it out. I am wondering how the Menzerna will stack up against Meguiar's. I now have both.

I just got an order from Griot's. I bought three of their polishing pads and their #1 and #2 polishes. I like Griot's stuff. It is easy to use and seems to be designed so that the average detailer won't get into trouble.

[RaskyR1]

Originally Posted by NitrousG35

Chad, sounds great. I was going to bring my Menzerna Super Intensive Polish to the meet to let you try it out. I am wondering how the Menzerna will stack up against Meguiar's. I now have both.

I just got an order from Griot's. I bought three of their polishing pads and their #1 and #2 polishes. I like Griot's stuff. It is easy to use and seems to be designed so that the average detailer won't get into trouble.

Well now you can bring the Griot's stuff.

I'm sure Menz and Meguiars will be very similar....I'm starting to think I need help. I have a compulsive detailing product disorder! I can't stop spending money on different products!

Is there an "AA" type of group for people like us?

[audibleforce]

I have a ASM Si with 60,000k and have not gone past spray wax which I did about 30,000k miles ago. So it's basically been just the normal wash with Meguirs Gold Shampoo for most of my Si's life and I've been wanting to really clean my paint and interior for a while now.

My car has some tree sap and bumps, but no bird droppings or anything like that. I think I'll need to do the clay bar thing now, but do you recommend me going through all the steps in the OP's original post? Also, what would make a ASM civic really really shine? My friends keep telling me that you cant really notice the shine on Silver cars no matter how much wax and shine you put on it but I just cant believe that so I want to prove them wrong and just do this for my car since it deserves it.

[RaskyR1]

Originally Posted by audibleforce

I have a ASM Si with 60,000k and have not gone past spray wax which I did about 30,000k miles ago. So it's basically been just the normal wash with Meguirs Gold Shampoo for most of my Si's life and I've been wanting to really clean my paint and interior for a while now.

My car has some tree sap and bumps, but no bird droppings or anything like that. I think I'll need to do the clay bar thing now, but do you recommend me going through all the steps in the OP's original post? Also, what would make a ASM civic really really shine? My friends keep telling me that you cant really notice the shine on Silver cars no matter how much wax and shine you put on it but I just cant believe that so I want to prove them wrong and just do this for my car since it deserves it.

I would say you need to clay and use at least some sort of cleaner polish. as far as wax on different colors here is a post made on anohther thread...

Originally Posted by kicker_jace

rasky... i have a galaxy grey fg

whats ur recomended steps with my color? as of now i have nxt wax.

Originally Posted by distrbd

I also have the same colour Civic,I recently detailed my car and the result I got has been the best ever.
After a wash clay ,polish, I used CG's Jetseal 109,then CG's EZ creme ,again Jetseal 109,then after 24 hours I applied a couple of layers of DP's Max Wax.
If you are familiar with the method "spit shine" applying a carnuba wax using this method would give Galaxy Grey the most amazing shine.

The steps should be the same for every color. If you think about it you are actually working on clear and not the color itself. Darker colors are just better at showing gloss, depth, reflection...So someone who says brand "x" works great on lighter colors but sucks on dark colors is actually incorrect. What they really mean is that it works poor on dark colors and you really can't see the difference on the light colors.

Since lighter colors tend to be harder to see the benefit from using a pure polish like #7 I usually say to skip that step unless you have the time and want maximum shine.


Hope this helps.

Rasky

[NitrousG35]

Originally Posted by audibleforce

I have a ASM Si with 60,000k and have not gone past spray wax which I did about 30,000k miles ago. So it's basically been just the normal wash with Meguirs Gold Shampoo for most of my Si's life and I've been wanting to really clean my paint and interior for a while now.

My car has some tree sap and bumps, but no bird droppings or anything like that. I think I'll need to do the clay bar thing now, but do you recommend me going through all the steps in the OP's original post? Also, what would make a ASM civic really really shine? My friends keep telling me that you cant really notice the shine on Silver cars no matter how much wax and shine you put on it but I just cant believe that so I want to prove them wrong and just do this for my car since it deserves it.

Bro, check out the thread done by EvilSardine. He has an ASM FA5. I helped him with products and procedures for his new Si. The results speak for themselves.

Clay+NXT+hours = pretty.

As for all the steps I did, no you don't have to do them all. I am extremely anal and OCD about my Si's appearance, so I will go the extra mile to get the shine, depth and gloss I want.

As Rasky said, clay your car, use a cleaner polish to remove contaminants and maybe a synthetic polymer wax like Meguiar's NXT 2.0. You should be good to go.

[audibleforce]

Nevermind, just saw Boosted G35's reply. Thanks.

[inyong1988]

Thanks G35 and Rasky.
couldnt be happier if you guys didnt help me out.

[RaskyR1]

^NICE!

Looks SOOOO wet!

[NitrousG35]

^^ That goes double for me. Talk about "wet look" paint. You did a fantastic job. There is great depth and shine. You should be very proud of the outstanding job you did!

[inyong1988]

Thank you guys, Ill post up better pics when I get chance

[NitrousG35]

Originally Posted by inyong1988

Thank you guys, Ill post up better pics when I get chance

You are most welcome. Please put more pictures up. The picture you have is quite good. I would just like to see more from different angles, especially the hood. You really have a stunningly beautiful car there my friend!

[djdisturbed]

OMG.... i just got finished detailing the Mugen, started at 7:45 this morn finished at 1:15. and DAMN does she look sexy now. I would put up pict of her, but my back wont let me get off the couch just yet (being out of shape, and the first time I have spent this much time cleaning a vehicle in over 5 years)

steps i did,
-Spray degreaser on bottom half of car and the whole backend
-Wash/dry car,
-Drive to the local (self)car wash b/c i dont have a covered area at my place)
-took a quick run though the touchless wash (just to get off anything that might have gotten on the car on the way over)
-Dry her again
-Clay bar
-DC1 cleaner
-#7 glaze
-NXT2.0 for great protection
-DC3 final to give that deep look
-Vinylex on plastic/rubber parts
-Black Magic Gel on tires (I love shinny tires, but i need to get better stuff)

All done by hand, no DA polisher yet.

I will try to get some picts as soon as the meds kick in:SHOCKED: if it does not rain (b/c you know it ALWAYS rain right after you deside to spend alot of time washing and waxing ).

[djdisturbed]

ok got picts

[inyong1988]

^beautiful mugen

[djdisturbed]

Originally Posted by inyong1988

^beautiful mugen

TYVM

[RaskyR1]

FBP just looks electric when it's all done up! Nice job bro!