some questions for a novice

[herr bmw]

read the thread that minimike started and got questions of my own

even i want to start asking questions now,as what my dad(god rest is soul) taught me was was with sunlight and polish with rally .
it worked on his cars,now i dont use sunlight but car shampoos as well as the rally.
wife bought me a polisher ,shield product 110w(yellow colour) and there you get a bottle of polish in it,tried it but prefer the rally,like when it rains and the water beads up and runs off the car.also got a kracher high pressure unit,used it on the quad and when the bakkie is really dirty

tried mequires before,but found the car lost its smoothness(as i call it ) after a week and a half and ended up polishing again.

now ive read legacys,mikes and crazy detailers threads,claying,#85 collonite wax sealant etc,etc and to be honest am quite scared to use this methods as i dont want to damage the paintwork and go for a respray.

if you guys want i can take pictures of what i have and post and if you could guide me from there,would be good.i like mikes work,but its a bit far for him or me to get him to do my cars,and have a look at the paint work,and my camera isnt the best of the lot,small kodak i bought for my son,but i seem to be using it more than he does.

so any help would be appriciated.and sorry for the long post

thanks herr(colin)

 

[frikkieh]

110kW ? Pretty powerful polisher :rollsmile:

Paints nowadays are "eco friendly", so I suspect they will receive different treatments.

I have not polished / waxed before due to the very same reasons. I follow those threads with interest, and would like to learn more about the process before I attempt this.

Perhaps test on a small part to see the results.

 

[herr bmw]

110kW ? Pretty powerful polisher :rollsmile:

Paints nowadays are "eco friendly", so I suspect they will receive different treatments.

I have not polished / waxed before due to the very same reasons. I follow those threads with interest, and would like to learn more about the process before I attempt this.

Perhaps test on a small part to see the results.

sorry frikkieh,110watt

 

[andrewbuch]

Herr, I removed your posts from the other thread just to clean it up a bit seeing as they are posted here..


Now some input from another noob at detailing..

I decided end of last year that I need to start treating our cars to more than just a wash by the Gardener.

So for a few months I thought about what products I would need in my kit.. This is where the shopping Cart function on CD's web site came in handy as I added some products there, asked some guys about products and removed ones and added others over a 2 month period..

As I don't have a DA polisher machine & have no hope for getting one anytime soon, I just got some products that I could use by hand. The best advice to keep your cars scratch free is correct wash method.

So I ended up with some Decent car wash (maxi suds II & Chem Guys (CG's)Citrus wash & Gloss) a few different brushes and a few spray bottles for APC solutions. Then I also got some Smartdressing & CG's New car shine dressing and many application sponges, these are used to dress any black trim & dash & everything black under Hood & in car (besides leather) and also tires. Also picked up some Clay & lube to remove surface contaminants. For protection I got 2 Collinite Waxes the #845 & #476. I highly recommend them, as a good protection will save the paintwork. the #845 is so easy to apply & remove as well.

Don't be scared of Detailing, Paint is fairly strong (I remember seeing a video demonstrating how much effort it took to burn through paint, but cant find it now), But just be carefull & use correct techniques with the Polisher machine and it will all be good

The Megs consumer products are good but there are some better products available in my opinion. I used the Megs cleaner wax on the Corsa & its harder to apply & remove than #845 but did provide awesome beading the next few days after I applied it, but now this week about 1.5 Months after applying it the water was not beading anymore and the car had not been washed since I applied it but lives outside..

This last week I applied Colli #845 to the Corsa and will see how it holds up but I have been told I should see maybe 4 months of beading.

 

[herr bmw]

Herr, I removed your posts from the other thread just to clean it up a bit seeing as they are posted here..


Now some input from another noob at detailing..

I decided end of last year that I need to start treating our cars to more than just a wash by the Gardener.

So for a few months I thought about what products I would need in my kit.. This is where the shopping Cart function on CD's web site came in handy as I added some products there, asked some guys about products and removed ones and added others over a 2 month period..

As I don't have a DA polisher machine & have no hope for getting one anytime soon, I just got some products that I could use by hand. The best advice to keep your cars scratch free is correct wash method.

So I ended up with some Decent car wash (maxi suds II & Chem Guys (CG's)Citrus wash & Gloss) a few different brushes and a few spray bottles for APC solutions. Then I also got some Smartdressing & CG's New car shine dressing and many application sponges, these are used to dress any black trim & dash & everything black under Hood & in car (besides leather) and also tires. Also picked up some Clay & lube to remove surface contaminants. For protection I got 2 Collinite Waxes the #845 & #476. I highly recommend them, as a good protection will save the paintwork. the #845 is so easy to apply & remove as well.

Don't be scared of Detailing, Paint is fairly strong (I remember seeing a video demonstrating how much effort it took to burn through paint, but cant find it now), But just be carefull & use correct techniques with the Polisher machine and it will all be good

The Megs consumer products are good but there are some better products available in my opinion. I used the Megs cleaner wax on the Corsa & its harder to apply & remove than #845 but did provide awesome beading the next few days after I applied it, but now this week about 1.5 Months after applying it the water was not beading anymore and the car had not been washed since I applied it but lives outside..

This last week I applied Colli #845 to the Corsa and will see how it holds up but I have been told I should see maybe 4 months of beading.

thanks for the advice andrew,will start looking into the products you used:thumbs:

 

[Raybimmer]

I posted a thread a while ago and i think a lot of us guys want to wash , polish and wax our cars and have a lasting shine .
I remember the rally polish that when you finished polishing the car was shining and the rag was the colour of the car -now we know that doing this every 3 months will soon get through the paint on corners and edges .

@ Andrew it would be nice if we had a basic pack , intermediate pack and a detailers pack of shampoo , polish and wax . Guys can buy as per budget and personal preferences . Maybe CrazyDetailer can advise us further .

I bought Maxi suds 2 , Smooth Surface clay and CG Extreme all in 1 polish from crazy detailer and am happy so far , and have Meguires Deep Crystal Carnauba Wax . The 328i is white and the 540i is dark green , I suspect different polishes would be needed for light and dark colours .

@Colin what I do is I clean and polish the right rear panel and if I am happy I continue , I can see the reflection after polishing and then wax the panel , yes I suppose I could do the bonnet and then see if the water beads .

 

[Pravin@crazydetailer]

read the thread that minimike started and got questions of my own

even i want to start asking questions now,as what my dad(god rest is soul) taught me was was with sunlight and polish with rally .
it worked on his cars,now i dont use sunlight but car shampoos as well as the rally.
wife bought me a polisher ,shield product 110w(yellow colour) and there you get a bottle of polish in it,tried it but prefer the rally,like when it rains and the water beads up and runs off the car.also got a kracher high pressure unit,used it on the quad and when the bakkie is really dirty

tried mequires before,but found the car lost its smoothness(as i call it ) after a week and a half and ended up polishing again.

now ive read legacys,mikes and crazy detailers threads,claying,#85 collonite wax sealant etc,etc and to be honest am quite scared to use this methods as i dont want to damage the paintwork and go for a respray.

if you guys want i can take pictures of what i have and post and if you could guide me from there,would be good.i like mikes work,but its a bit far for him or me to get him to do my cars,and have a look at the paint work,and my camera isnt the best of the lot,small kodak i bought for my son,but i seem to be using it more than he does.

so any help would be appriciated.and sorry for the long post

thanks herr(colin)

Thanks for spliting the post herr :thumbs:

We all started with off supermarket waxes and sunlight liquid. I won't deny it. We didn't know better. But now with the internet, a quick google search and you will soon find out how to properly wash your car. Mike has done a great wash thread and if you look on the Crazydetailer site, there's also a guide for washing as well as claying.

With regards to being worried about damaging your paint work with a clay and polish. Let me put your mind to rest. It is VERY differcult to damage your paint working by hand. All you need is to read up a bit about techniques and you will be good to go. Practice on a fender first to get the feel of it. You will see it is not that differcult. And I am not saying this from a detailer perspective, it really is childs play.

The proper process is to wash first to remove surface contaminates. Then to Clay to remove BONDED contaminates. This the bit that makes the paint feel rough. Once that's complete, you follow up with a polish to properly clean and condition the paint. This normally brings back the sparkle and the shine. Unfortunately, this is where many people leave it. The problem with that is you are leaving the paint exposed. It will oxidise again and it will build up contaminates again. If you "seal" the finish after a polish, you will help protect your paint and your shine will last that much longer.

Like Andrew mentioned, your paint is much stronger than your think. It will scratch and swirl easily but to get actual burn though is very differcult.

@Raybimmer - We do have separate kits for different colours as well as kits for hand application and kits for machine use. The HighGloss kit is a great all rounder, the black diamond kit works magic on dark colours, and the sparkler kit is specific to whites and light metalics. All these kits are for hand application. The Menzerna kits are more for machine use. These kits were put together by me as I have tried and tested them. I KNOW they work. There is no marketing BS behind what we do so you can be sure when you buying you getting the right stuff, first time!

Guys I have to stress, detailing can be as simple as you want or as complicated as you make it. The basic principles always apply and when in doubt please ask. :=):

 

[herr bmw]

thanks for the reply.
what does the sparkler kit and menzerna kit consist of?and what would the prices be?

also would i be able to use my polisher or isnt a good make?
shield 110w

thanks

 

[andrewbuch]

Herr the Shield DA polisher is awesome

But I got a feeling you got the buffer thingy

Which I have not heard of many Detailers using...

 

[Pravin@crazydetailer]

thanks for the reply.
what does the sparkler kit and menzerna kit consist of?and what would the prices be?

also would i be able to use my polisher or isnt a good make?
shield 110w

thanks

The Sparkler Kit Contains:

Autoglym - Super Resin polish (325ml)
Smartwax - Smart Sealant (16oz)
2 x Polyfoam applicator pads
1 x Redline Plush polishing owel (40x40)
1 x Redline Ultra Plush finishing towel(40x40)

More info here


The Menzerna kit comes with a swirl remover and a finer polish for darker colours. Its aimed for people with dual action polishers or rotary polishers. BUT the finer polish can be used by hand for great results. You can check it out here for more info

The 110w waxer has a very limited effect on paintwork. The dual action polisher as per Andrews post, is the real deal. At around R1k more than the waxer, it really makes sense to invest in one of those. The risk of damaging your paint is very very low, as it is aimed at the home user.

 

[herr bmw]

But I got a feeling you got the buffer thingy

Which I have not heard of many Detailers using...
[/quote]

yep got that one

---

thanks for the reply.
what does the sparkler kit and menzerna kit consist of?and what would the prices be?

also would i be able to use my polisher or isnt a good make?
shield 110w

thanks

The Sparkler Kit Contains:

Autoglym - Super Resin polish (325ml)
Smartwax - Smart Sealant (16oz)
2 x Polyfoam applicator pads
1 x Redline Plush polishing owel (40x40)
1 x Redline Ultra Plush finishing towel(40x40)

More info here


The Menzerna kit comes with a swirl remover and a finer polish for darker colours. Its aimed for people with dual action polishers or rotary polishers. BUT the finer polish can be used by hand for great results. You can check it out here for more info

The 110w waxer has a very limited effect on paintwork. The dual action polisher as per Andrews post, is the real deal. At around R1k more than the waxer, it really makes sense to invest in one of those. The risk of damaging your paint is very very low, as it is aimed at the home user.

the sparkler kit can be applied by hand,correct?and will there be enough to do two cars?

will be contacting you come pay day.

 

[Philip Foglar]

I am going to be adding to this thread as time goes on. At this stage building up my collection of detailing products which is coming along nicely so far. Pravin, going to have to order a few things from you at some point! :rollsmile:

 

[Pravin@crazydetailer]

the sparkler kit can be applied by hand,correct?and will there be enough to do two cars?

Yip, it was put together for hand application. And yes there is more than enough product for two cars. With all of our products, LESS is more. If I have to work it out, Autoglyms SRP comes in a 325ml bottle. It takes about an average of 25-30ml per car. (Even that is too much for my E90, I use about half of that. :fencelook So that roughly gives you about +-10 applications. If you consider that you only need to polish once every 6 months, it almost equates to 5 years worth of product OR 2.5 years for two cars :rollsmile:

Same thing with the Sealant, a little goes a long way. It comes in a 500ml bottle as you generally apply a LSP more regular than the polish. Though the sealant will last approx 4-6 months anyway. I like to top it up at least every 3 months to maintain that shine. :inlove:

I am going to be adding to this thread as time goes on. At this stage building up my collection of detailing products which is coming along nicely so far. Pravin, going to have to order a few things from you at some point! :rollsmile:

Cool stuff, Philip. Give me a shout if you need any assistance. :thumbs:

 

[Yuvan]

110kW ? Pretty powerful polisher :rollsmile:

Paints nowadays are "eco friendly", so I suspect they will receive different treatments.

I have not polished / waxed before due to the very same reasons. I follow those threads with interest, and would like to learn more about the process before I attempt this.

Perhaps test on a small part to see the results.

LOL, its a 110W polisher, the Shield Orbital Polisher. i have 1 too, it works well for me if you dont wanna tire yourself too much! Comes with a 500ml Miraplate.

 

[Rooi_Willie]

I'm glad herr started this thread, BUT, as in all the other threads it's already starting to get too complicated for my little brain :flyfun:

Obviously we all want to protect our cars, and we want todo it the best way possible, and the cheapest (but I don't mean sunlight and rally cheap).

All I would love is for someone to shove something in my hand and say : "Use this to wash the car." and not end up with 100000 different oppinions on which is better #12 or #489 FFS :rollsmile:

So, according to this thread you need to do the following :

Step 1 - WASH
Step 2 - CLAY
Step 3 - POLISH
Step 4 - SEAL

Sounds easy enough.

Now I'm not going to invest R1.5k in another piece of electric hand machinery for my garage as I already have tons of it. I'll buy one if and only IF I get it for a crazy bargain. So it's a hand job for me :rollsmile:

Now, can someone please just suggest 2 products for each of the above steps. They don't need to be the best on the market, just good enough to protect and shine my car.

I'll go through the trouble of finding out how to apply everything, it's just the magnitude of different products out there that boggles my mind. :nonono:

I've already bought some stuff for the car, and certainly don't want to dump another truckload of $$$'s in the dumpster.

I'm sorry if this will be seen as a hijack, I just think me and herr are looking at this from the same perspective :thumbs:

 

[herr bmw]

I'm glad herr started this thread, BUT, as in all the other threads it's already starting to get too complicated for my little brain :flyfun:

Obviously we all want to protect our cars, and we want todo it the best way possible, and the cheapest (but I don't mean sunlight and rally cheap).

All I would love is for someone to shove something in my hand and say : "Use this to wash the car." and not end up with 100000 different oppinions on which is better #12 or #489 FFS :rollsmile:

So, according to this thread you need to do the following :

Step 1 - WASH
Step 2 - CLAY
Step 3 - POLISH
Step 4 - SEAL

Sounds easy enough.

Now I'm not going to invest R1.5k in another piece of electric hand machinery for my garage as I already have tons of it. I'll buy one if and only IF I get it for a crazy bargain. So it's a hand job for me :rollsmile:

Now, can someone please just suggest 2 products for each of the above steps. They don't need to be the best on the market, just good enough to protect and shine my car.

I'll go through the trouble of finding out how to apply everything, it's just the magnitude of different products out there that boggles my mind. :nonono:

I've already bought some stuff for the car, and certainly don't want to dump another truckload of $$$'s in the dumpster.

I'm sorry if this will be seen as a hijack, I just think me and herr are looking at this from the same perspective :thumbs:

so you also want the hand job:roflol:,sorry couldnt resist.

yep between mike and legacy(and pravin) i got so confussed about washing a carand polidhing it,thats why i started this thread and pravin has brought some light to the end of the tunnel for me.also andrew as well.

will be getting the sparkler kit come pay day.

pravin when i said two cars,one is an e90,the other a big navara:rollsmile:

once again thanks to the info from andrew and pravin,and will be getting in touch with you month end

 

[Pravin@crazydetailer]

All I would love is for someone to shove something in my hand and say : "Use this to wash the car." and not end up with 100000 different oppinions on which is better #12 or #489 FFS :rollsmile:

So, according to this thread you need to do the following :

Step 1 - WASH
Step 2 - CLAY
Step 3 - POLISH
Step 4 - SEAL

Sounds easy enough.

Step 1 - WASH
MaxiSuds II, Mothers California Gold
Step 2 - CLAY
AutoGlym, Crazydetailer Kit
Step 3 - POLISH
AutoGlym SRP, Mernzerna PO106FA (Dark colours)
Step 4 - SEAL
Collinite wax, Chemical Guys Sealant

yep between mike and legacy(and pravin) i got so confussed about washing a carand polidhing it,thats why i started this thread and pravin has brought some light to the end of the tunnel for me.also andrew as well.

will be getting the sparkler kit come pay day.

pravin when i said two cars,one is an e90,the other a big navara:rollsmile:

once again thanks to the info from andrew and pravin,and will be getting in touch with you month end

Glad you see the benifit herr :thumbs:

I thought this was the point of an open forum. To discuss the process and the options out there. If you unclear about anything, shout and I will answer it as best I can. My posts were not meant to confuse and I am disappointed that I've come across that way

I've been the oke in the supermarket car care aisle before. You are bombarded by an array of products with fancy packaging and wording. With limited time to decide which route to go, you choose a product and hope for the best. Sometimes you lucky and it does what you want but most of the time, it ends up sitting on the shelf.

With the internet and forums like this, like minded people can actually discuss what works for them and what doesn't. If something is easy to use and delivers the results you want, it makes the task of detailing so much more rewarding, and not the chore it used to be.

 

[andrewbuch]

Pravin I don't think herr was meaning you were confusing him. I think he meant with all the detailing guys posting their own opinions there were many opinions going around which confused him

 

[Pravin@crazydetailer]

Sorry my post was more in response to Rooi_Willie's post

I'm glad herr started this thread, BUT, as in all the other threads it's already starting to get too complicated for my little brain

...

All I would love is for someone to shove something in my hand and say : "Use this to wash the car." and not end up with 100000 different oppinions on which is better #12 or #489 FFS

I just feel discussing things like this on an open forum is far better than a salesman just pushing his products. On this platform, people can share their OWN experience. To me that carries more weight than marketing mumbo jumbo :idea:

 

[herr bmw]

andrew got it right,appriciate all the advice pravin