Questions of a Beginner Home Detailer

[mrspartanz10]

Hi folks, I recently discovered detailing and decided restore my car so I bought a bunch of stuff. My plan is to de-grease the entire car and get rid of the old wax, clay, compound, polish and lastly put a ceramic coating on my car. However, although I have done a ton of research, I still have many many questions that I would like to ask. So in no particular order:

1) Should I use Maguiar's wash plus for the initial strip wash? I have heard a lot of good things about it but I am still unsure if I should invest in a bottle of the stuff as it's quite expensive where I am from. Should I get it for the initial decontamination or is it better to just stick with the traditional way. Also, if I do use the wash+, is it possible that I can skip the claybar step as the wash+ itself has abrasives in it. I'm curious to know what you guys do when when you want to strip wash your cars.

2) How effective is a clay towel? I recently bought both a clay towel and clay bar to use on my car. I'm curious to know the kind of results that you guys are getting when using the clay towel vs a clay bar. Should I use the clay towel on the whole car or still clay bar the heavily contaminated areas. Also, I'm wondering how long a clay towel really lasts. I read online that its pretty reusable but how many times can I actually use it?

3) Has anyone tried a cheap ceramic coating before? Seeing how cheap it is, I bought a couple bottles of the 10 dollar mrfixit9H coating from alixpress. I would never use it on my more expensive cars but I am seriously considering putting 3-4 coats on my daily driver. Any one have any application tips and tricks for applying a ceramic coating?

4) Is it useful to put a layer of wax on a ceramic coated car? I have a bottle of ultimate wax and a bottle of paint protect and I'm wondering if it makes a difference at all to put these products on a ceramic coated car. From what I heard, waxes and sealants on ceramic coating does not last long at all. What do you guys think?

5) Is paint protect more of a coating or is it more like a wax/sealant? I am really confused as the way you apply it and how long it takes to cure is awfully similar to a ceramic coating. Also, does it add any kind of gloss and shine to the paint at all or is it just strictly a hydrophobic thing?

6) How do you know if you've gone too far during the Compounding/Polishing? Are there any signs at all that you can see/feel at all if you are close to burning through the clear coat? I am using ultimate compound and polish with a clover ct9000 21mm DA polisher (Cheap rupes clone).

7) How much defects can polishing remove? To save some time, I plan on only compounding the really bad areas and polishing the whole car but I am wondering if the polishing can remove any defects at all or is compounding absolutely necessary to remove swirls. How do I know if I only need to polish and not compound? On a side note, how much of the polish/compound do you go through per car and how long does a bottle usually last?

8) How do you tell pads a apart? Ok, so a friend of mine recently gave me a set of 3 pads. One cutting, one polishing and one finishing pad. The only problem is that he has no idea which one is which. He has no idea which brand they are. The only thing I know that its not a set of cheap Chinese pads. Two of the pads are foam while one looks like a microfiber/wool? One of the foam pad is orange and the other is a dark brown color. My friend swears that the one that looks like a microfiber is finishing but I am not so sure. Is there a texture visual indication of which one is which or is it impossible to tell at this point? If I post a pic is possible for you guys to determine which one is which?

9) What should I do after polishing, re-wash or IPA wipe down? After compounding/ polishing, I see some guys re-wash the car and others just IPA the whole car to remove the oils. What do you guys recommend/do prior to applying a coating/sealant? I am curious to know.

10) Do you really need to use an Iron remover? To me it seems like washing, claying, polishing and compounding would be enough but a lot of people that I see online are using some sort of iron remover. Is it really necessary?

11) spray wax confusion. I have been eyeing the 1 gallon xpress spray wax as its priced really well. What do you guys think of using it as a drying aid after maintenance washing? I also am wondering if I can use as an emergency spray detailer for removing bird poop and stuff off the car while I am out. I know meguiar's do sell a standalone detailing spray but I hate to buy 2 different products for different purposes.

So that is all the questions I have. I am really sorry for asking so many questions but I am really exited to detail my cars and some help would be amazing! Sorry for the rambling post. Its my first time posting here. Thanks guys! I appreciate the help!

P.s. If you guys have any beginners advice, be sure to let me know. Thanks again!

[snozan]

Re: Questions of a Beginner Home Detailer

1) i use a schampoo without wax

2) Clay as clay, should be equal as "standard clay"

3) Cheap is just what it is, cheap. There are things from Meguiars that are better then cheap ceramic (see #5)

4) Nope, cermaic is a LSP

5) Use Ultimate fast finish and be amazed

6) You can do too far with that machine. it has a oscillating pattern

7) Time is all you need. If you have time you can make wonders. A common mistake is that you dont take your time with a panel, instead you rush it just to be done. Use least aggressive first (like polish) if it dosent work, go for Ultimate compound.

8) Normal would be Yellow is for polish and black is for wax, however i never use machine for wax. For compound it can vary, orange, red and so on

9) I never IPA or anything. I only use Meguiars Ultimare products, so in my book you shouldn't need it. It will bound anyway

10) Seen it to, but you use clay so that should remove everything. Seems like a sales thing to me

11) Bummer, only question i have no clue about But i use Ultimate detailer for bird poop and then some Ultimate quik wax. But you can also use "quick wax", (redish bottle)

[The Guz]

Re: Questions of a Beginner Home Detailer

See my comments in blue.

1) Should I use Maguiar's wash plus for the initial strip wash? I have heard a lot of good things about it but I am still unsure if I should invest in a bottle of the stuff as it's quite expensive where I am from. Should I get it for the initial decontamination or is it better to just stick with the traditional way. Also, if I do use the wash+, is it possible that I can skip the claybar step as the wash+ itself has abrasives in it. I'm curious to know what you guys do when when you want to strip wash your cars.

Wash+ is nice but it is optional. You can accomplish the same thing with all the prep work which includes chemically and mechanically decontamination and polishing along with a good wash that has no wax in it.

Claying removes the above surface contaminants. Polishing removes the below surface defects (swirls, scratches). Clay if needed especially to prep the surface for a ceramic coating so it bonds and lasts longer.

2) How effective is a clay towel? I recently bought both a clay towel and clay bar to use on my car. I'm curious to know the kind of results that you guys are getting when using the clay towel vs a clay bar. Should I use the clay towel on the whole car or still clay bar the heavily contaminated areas. Also, I'm wondering how long a clay towel really lasts. I read online that its pretty reusable but how many times can I actually use it?

A clay towel is just as effective as clay. Do a side by side comparison to see which you prefer. The benefit a clay towel has is that if one were to drop a clay bar then it has to be thrown away. With a clay towel it can be rinsed off.

Nobody can tell you how long it will last but it is reusable for a few times. You will know when it is time for a new one.

3) Has anyone tried a cheap ceramic coating before? Seeing how cheap it is, I bought a couple bottles of the 10 dollar mrfixit9H coating from alixpress. I would never use it on my more expensive cars but I am seriously considering putting 3-4 coats on my daily driver. Any one have any application tips and tricks for applying a ceramic coating?

I have not used a cheap ceramic coating but 1 coat is good enough. A second coat will ensure even coverage and you may get a little more protection. But that additional protection is minimal. You will not build up a thick layer.

Also be aware that a coating will not prevent swirls or scratches.

4) Is it useful to put a layer of wax on a ceramic coated car? I have a bottle of ultimate wax and a bottle of paint protect and I'm wondering if it makes a difference at all to put these products on a ceramic coated car. From what I heard, waxes and sealants on ceramic coating does not last long at all. What do you guys think?

No necessary to top a ceramic coating. A wax will mask the hydrophobic properties and the self cleaning effect the coating offers. If you need to top it with something then stick with a silica spray sealant to maintain it. A ceramic coating takes more prep than a sealant.

5) Is paint protect more of a coating or is it more like a wax/sealant? I am really confused as the way you apply it and how long it takes to cure is awfully similar to a ceramic coating. Also, does it add any kind of gloss and shine to the paint at all or is it just strictly a hydrophobic thing?

Paint Protect is a paint sealant. Nothing like a ceramic coating. Application for PP365 is wipe on wipe off. Back of the bottle states a 24 hour cure time but it's been mentioned on this site that after 5-7 days it will cure to get it's maximum performance prior to washing it. But it will not form a hard layer like that of a ceramic coating.

A majority of the gloss will come from polishing.

6) How do you know if you've gone too far during the Compounding/Polishing? Are there any signs at all that you can see/feel at all if you are close to burning through the clear coat? I am using ultimate compound and polish with a clover ct9000 21mm DA polisher (Cheap rupes clone).

I recommend you perform a test spot with the least aggressive combination and evaluate the paint from there. I also recommend watching the video on Autogeek's youtube channel with Mike Phillips going over the topic of paint correction.

7) How much defects can polishing remove? To save some time, I plan on only compounding the really bad areas and polishing the whole car but I am wondering if the polishing can remove any defects at all or is compounding absolutely necessary to remove swirls. How do I know if I only need to polish and not compound? On a side note, how much of the polish/compound do you go through per car and how long does a bottle usually last?

See my above statement. Those polishes are abrasive and you are essentially abrading the paint and removing paint. So yes they remove defects such as swirls and scratches. Also google RIDS as those are deeper imperfections that one has to live with.

You do not need to use the entire bottles. Also do not let the compound and polish dry on the paint.

8) How do you tell pads a apart? Ok, so a friend of mine recently gave me a set of 3 pads. One cutting, one polishing and one finishing pad. The only problem is that he has no idea which one is which. He has no idea which brand they are. The only thing I know that its not a set of cheap Chinese pads. Two of the pads are foam while one looks like a microfiber/wool? One of the foam pad is orange and the other is a dark brown color. My friend swears that the one that looks like a microfiber is finishing but I am not so sure. Is there a texture visual indication of which one is which or is it impossible to tell at this point? If I post a pic is possible for you guys to determine which one is which?

It is hard to answer unless the manufacturer is known. Finishing pads are soft and cutting pads are coarse. A polishing pad is in between. Then there are microfiber pads. You will need more than 3 pads to get the job done.

9) What should I do after polishing, re-wash or IPA wipe down? After compounding/ polishing, I see some guys re-wash the car and others just IPA the whole car to remove the oils. What do you guys recommend/do prior to applying a coating/sealant? I am curious to know.

Dust is going to happen when doing paint correction. More dust occurs when compounding. Compressed air works great to remove compounding dust.

The thing about washing after polishing, is that there is a small chance of marring the paint during the wash. Which means working backwards and fixing those small defects.

When using a ceramic coating it is recommended to do a prep wipe with IPA or a prep spray that is offered by the coating manufactures. IPA does not have a lot of lubrication so that can potentially marr the surface. The prep wipe will remove the polishing oils in order for the coating to bond to the painted surface. By not doing so, the coating will fail sooner than expected. Ultimate Polish contains a good amount of oils so you may need to wipe down the paint a couple times to ensure they are all gone.

With a sealant one could use it right after polishing without worry of polishing oils.

10) Do you really need to use an Iron remover? To me it seems like washing, claying, polishing and compounding would be enough but a lot of people that I see online are using some sort of iron remover. Is it really necessary?

It is not necessary. It is optional but it does help remove the iron contamination that has found it's way on the surface. Claying sort of shaves those iron particles off while an iron remover will dissolve them from the paint. Chemically decontaminating the paint helps remove a lot of the above surface contaminants which will make it easier to clay which will mean less clay marring.

11) spray wax confusion. I have been eyeing the 1 gallon xpress spray wax as its priced really well. What do you guys think of using it as a drying aid after maintenance washing? I also am wondering if I can use as an emergency spray detailer for removing bird poop and stuff off the car while I am out. I know meguiar's do sell a standalone detailing spray but I hate to buy 2 different products for different purposes.

Spray waxes are typically not designed to be used as a quick detailer to remove light dust or bird droppings. For this purpose a detail spray works better or a waterless wash. I would recommend carrying a quick detailer or waterless wash in the car for those times when you need it.