Detailed Image

iTrader: (2)

We all know that its difficult to get lighter colored to pop and really jump out at you compared to a darker colored vehicle. In order to do so you have to properly prep the clear coat free of imperfections. First step would be to clay bar the surface if needed, then proceed to polish away the imperfections. The best polish I've found to reduce imperfections and finish down the furthest is Menzerna PO106ff.

G35 members have great things to say about this product...
Dogged, harley01, myself, and I'm pretty sure picus uses this as his favorite finishing polish.

One step I really like to do on lighter colored vehicles is add a glaze. A glaze will add a coat of oils and clay fillers to help hide imperfections that were not able to be buffed out. Menzerna Finishing Touch Glaze works great on lighter colored vehicles. This will add another layer of depth and gloss in the paint while temporarily making the paint look like its in better condition than it really is. This step helps add that wet look to lighter colored vehicles that is often difficult to achieve.

Afterwards, be sure to follow up with your favorite sealant and/or wax. I really like the look of Poorboy's EX-P and P21s Concours Carnauba Wax on white colored vehicles.

That would be my routine I would use on a customers white colored vehicle looking for a show car prep. I would add a second coat of the wax the following day to build upon the wet look.

If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

You're welcome! Thank you for the positive feedback.

I've also had great luck with the Poorboy's line of products, it was my go-to polish of choice for quite a while. I am hooked on this PO106ff though, its addictive!

Using the PC definitely helps get the results we are looking to achieve, I can't imagine not using one after detailing with one for so long.

George @ Detailed Image

SCoupe

iTrader: (1)

Thanks Canuck .... I'll check these out.

SCoupe

iTrader: (1)

Thanks George .... that's exactly the info I was looking for.
I'll contact you with help on locating these + the best pad set-up.

Garnet Canuck

Actually, I misread/misunderstood your original post. For some reason, I thought you were asking what to use to remove swirl marks/marring with your PC. My mistake. The Poorboys products I mentioned are abrassive polishes and are what I use (recommended by Picus) to remove swirl marks with my PC. For cleaning your paint, follow George's advice above........it's a good thing we have professionals here.

Detailed Image

iTrader: (2)

Thanks, I can give my pad and speed recommendations on the forum so everyone can benefit from them.

To effectively break down polishes with the Porter Cable, I suggest running at the buffer at least at speed setting 5 and work up to speed 6 if needed. I move the buffer no faster than 1" - 2" per second, and make at least 6 passes over each area, 4 passes with some pressure (not so much you bog the PC down but enough) and 2 passes with just a hair more than the weight of the PC. Since you said the paint is in good shape, I'd recommend either a white polishing pad or a black finishing pad for the PO106ff.

For the Finishing Touch Glaze, I usually work this product in around speed setting 4 to 5, since you don't have to work it in as much as a polish needs to be worked in. I'll complete 4 passes with this product and move around 2" - 3" per second (slightly faster). I use light pressure for this product. I'd recommend using a black finishing pad.

For the EX-P, I'd suggest working this product at speed setting 3 - 4, with our finest pad, the blue fine finishing pad. This pad is designed specifically to apply sealants and waxes and is extremely soft. For the sealant and wax steps, you are just looking for complete even coverage so a couple passes should be fine and you can move the buffer at a comfortable speed.

P21s uses a supplied hand applicator pad and should be applied with minimal pressure, thin thin coats are best with waxes. This jar should last you 15 - 20+ coats of wax at least when used correctly.

All products should be removed with a microfiber towel and there is no wait time for removal. Finish off the section you are working on and remove the product.

If you have any other questions on anything, please do not hesitate to ask.

GC - I think you made great recommendations.

I just pointed him in the direction of one of the finest finishing polishes since he said it was in good condition. It would be similar to recommending the SSR1 from the PB's lineup, but even finer. A lot of times lighter colored vehicles can benefit the most from using polishes like Poorboy's World or Menzerna polishes because they have the tendency to be able to hide a lot of imperfections that would be such an eye sore on a darker colored vehicle. Over time those swirls and imperfections add up and take away from the finish, just like on a darker colored vehicle. To really make the light colors "pop" you want to spend as much time prepping the surface free of contamination and rid as many imperfections as you can remove safely.

Great info from everybody, this is shaping up to be a great thread!

George @ Detailed Image

Meth68

Hi George, awesome thread with a ton of great information. I have a question.

I normally had my car washed/detailed at a car dealership only because I work at one. It unfortunately finally came back to haunt me and they ruined all 4 of my after market rims. So needless to say no more for me. I plan on washing my car now, but I am interested in a full detail here and there. By anychance does your place do group house calls? I may be able to round up 2-4 cars each visit? Just an idea.

Garnet Canuck

Now that you will be washing your car yourself, make sure you use the two-bucket system. This will drastically reduce swirl marks.

TwoBucketSystem

icab

George, you should get your own subforum here! (hint hint mods/admins).

I've read this entire thread and there are so many recommendations (and different situations) that I'm unsure of what to get now. Here's my situation and goals:

- 03 red g35 coupe. It's my daily driver and I live in IL. The paint is in average condition, but not in excellent condition or show car condition. It has swirl marks. It has one scratch on the rear bumper (only on clear coat) that I can live with.

- I am looking to polish and protect the car. I have never polished it. I am not a huge car enthusiast, but I do like a nice, clean looking vehicle. I also don't want to spend $200 on a orbiter + all the other stuff, so I am planning on doing it by hand. I want to use good products while not spending a lot, so what products do you recommend?

I already have everything to wash, clay, and wax (meguiar's gold class) the car.

The Poorboy's products seem to be within a good price range, but I'm not sure if they are meant to be used only with an orbiter.

PP&P bundle #21?
* 1x Poorboy's Professional Polish 16oz
* 1x Poorboy's EX-P Sealant 16oz

PP&P bundle #25?
* 1x Poorboy's Pro Polish 16oz
* 1x Poorboy's EX Sealant w/ Carnauba 16oz

Part of the PP&P bundle #14? (I don't need the wax)
# 1x Poorboy's Super Swirl Remover (SSR1) 16oz
# 1x Poorboy's EX-P 16oz

Meguiar's ScratchX?

Some other brand or combo? Argh, so many choices! :-)

Thanks!

icab

By the way, I'm worried that doing it by hand will create uneven polishing of the clear coat. Will it be "bad" or will it simply be that some of the swirls simply won't be removed (ie, a cosmetic thing versus unevenly removing a layer of the clear coat)?

SCoupe

iTrader: (1)

No prob bud .... hadn't had time to check into anyways - but as you can see got a great response from George. Gonna save me a lotta time & second guessing.

Detailed Image

iTrader: (2)

Meth68 - Thank you for the positive feedback, it is always appreciated. Unfortunately Detailed Image got out of the service side of detailing this past year in order to concentrate our efforts on providing higher quality customer service with our online store and the creation of Detail University. I can put you in touch with Kevin, the person we trained and sold our service side of the business to, who is now a high quality mobile detailer using similar products, processes and techniques that we used. Let me know if you would like his contact information. Where abouts are you located?

I am on my way out at the moment, I'll be on later tonight to reply to the rest of the messages.

Thanks,

George

Meth68

George I am located in northern new jersey. I am sure I can probably get a couple people for him depending on timing and pricing everything from my coupe and friends denali, scion xb, supra and a couple others.

Detailed Image

iTrader: (2)

I completely agree GC! I do however see a few things with the Autopia write up that I do not recommend. One is using a blade to dry the vehicle, even if you are in a rush and two is to not use brushes on the paint. Ideally you want to avoid as much possible contact with the paint when drying the vehicle, especially using a tool that you drag over your paint. It doesn't take much to scratch or swirl a clear coat, I just like to minimize my risks. Same with the brush, I'd rather use a quality wash mitt, than push the dirt around with a brush. Other than that, it looked like a great write up.

One great washing and drying tip, they seemed to neglect that I find very valuable is to sheet off the water. After you have rinsed off your vehicle for the final time, remove your spray nozzle. Flood the surface of the vehicle from the top down. The flooding creates a "sheeting" effect that will self dry the vehicle. What I do is start from the top of the vehicle and move left to right with the hose. On the way back, right to left, lower the hose to the point where the water is falling and proceed to "catch" the falling water from your initial pass. Continue this method until you reach the bottom of the car.

Enjoy your vehicle with a majority of water self removed

icab - I'm glad you took the time to research some things and I'll do my best to help smooth out the decision making for you. You'll often find that my approach is not the same as other detailing vendors. I don't always recommend the same products to every customer. I really try to assess the needs of the detailer, condition of the car, color of the car, detailing frequency, budget, etc. I will almost always have a different recommendation for a dark colored car as I would a light colored car because I have come to find out what works best from personally detailing 100s of cars with the products we offer.

On to what I think would work best in your situation...

I'd rule out Poorboy's Pro Polish if you are trying to remove some imperfections by hand. This is a non-abrasive formula and will not benefit you as much as a light abrasive polish would.

If I were to choose only 1 polish under $20, I would definitely pick up Menzerna Final Polish II as my one and only polish. It is pretty easy to work with and finishes down finer than any other polish I've tried for $20 or less (PO106ff would be my choice of polish if money not a constraint). I think you'll get better results with the FPII than the SSR1 in this situation.

Now to protecting the paint. I think you had the right idea with the Poorboy's EX-P as your sealant. I personally think it looks wonderful on red colored vehicles. Afterwards you can top it off with the wax you have to give it some more depth and gloss. I'd recommend the EX-P over the EX especially if you will add your own layer of carnauba wax over the sealant, better results this way.

If you wanted to add another step in there, you could apply a glaze between the polish and the sealant to help hide some of the imperfections that were not able to be buffed out with the Final Polish II. If you wanted a suggestion on a glaze, I'd recommend the Menzerna Finishing Touch Glaze. Keep in mind that this is only a temporary fix of the swirl marks, not permanent like the Final Polish II would be.

It sounds like you are on the right track to getting better results out of your detail. Make sure once you give it the complete detail, invest in the proper washing and drying tools so that you minimize adding more imperfections in the future.

As far as the hand polishing vs. the buffer polishing, if your arm is strong and have a lot of time and patience, you should be fine. The problem of uneven polishing comes in when you are applying coat after coat of polish and you begin to run out of steam. When you polish (by hand or with a buffer) to remove imperfections, some pressure is needed. Typically when you apply by hand with say a terry cloth, foam or microfiber applicator pad, you are only exerting pressure with your finger tips, which is a fraction of the size of a buffers large 6.5" circular pad. Think of the time and energy it will take to polish the entire vehicle when you are only utilizing 1" x 3" (roughly) of pad space. Multiply this over many coats and factor in hand removal of each step and you have 1 sore arm and many hours that have passed. If you are committed to doing a quality job by hand, it definitely is doable. If you really want to save time and energy and get better results, you eventually will want to consider picking up a Porter Cable. A lot of our customers end up purchasing the PC right after they experience going thru the entire process by hand. In my opinion the time and energy it saves makes it a no brainer, the better results is icing on the cake =)

Let me know if you have any other questions or would like me to clear anything up for you. I think you'll be very pleased with the Menzerna Final Polish II and the Poorboy's EX-P. If you haven't already, sign up for Detail University and use the $10 gift voucher to save on your purchase! Once you register there will be a welcome PM sent to you and a link to PM Detailed Image for the discount code, do that and you're on your way to getting some quality products at a great price.

Keep us posted on what you decide on and how you make out.

George @ Detailed Image

kraqcommando

how hard is it to paint match a repaired car, is being upset about the new paint on a repaired panel having too dense of a metallic paint unreasonable, i know this isnt about detailing but perhaps you would have some insight

SCoupe

iTrader: (1)

Glad you brought that up George. I was considering Final II before I asked my question .... but now I have another.

Does PO106ff have more abrasives than FPII ?