Help me get started! (Lot of questions inside)

[Coderedpl]

Hi there!

I'm doing some research on getting some basic tools and products to use on my car and my brothers. Planning on using the

same products on both. For now I would want to use what I have and down the road hopefully figure out which of the pro-

line products I would need to acquire.

There are some products which are non-meguiars but after they finish up I want to eventually transfer over into full

assembly of Meguiars.

What I already have:
- 1 bottle of Ultimate Compound
- 1 can of rubbing compound
- 1 bottle of NXT GENERATION® CAR WASH
- 2 bottles of Meguiars Gold Class Wash
- 1 SMOOTH SURFACE® CLAY BAR (the re-stocking kit)
- 1 bottle of Ultimate Quik Detailer
- 1 bottle of Quik Interior Detailer
- 1 bottle of Exterior Quix Wax
- 1 can of NxT generation insane shine
- 1 bottle of invisible glass
- 1 mothers mag and aluminium polish (for exhaust tips)
- Craftsman 2700 PSI pressure washer (with delicate mode safe for cars)
- 1ea Lexol Shampoo & Conditioner for the leather seats

- 3 Microfiber applicator pads from advanced auto
- Bunch of terry towels and microfibers from advanced auto


- I'm also planning on buying the Meguairs g100v2 from ads (using the special)while not going bankrupt. I was looking to

picking out 3 finishing and 3 polishing pads.
1. Do i really need more? do i need the cutting pad?


So i've come up with a few questions and some things i want to clarify, for both interior and exterior.
Interior:
2. Is the Quik Interior detailer the weapon of choice for general cleaning of the interior and keeping it nice and fresh?

3. Would Quik Out® Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner be good for headliners and the carpets under the floormats?


Exterior:
4. Yellow pad with ultimate compound?
5. Finishing pad with wax?

6. Do I need to have multiple of the same pads? If so, why?
(i'm guessing because they get dirty?)

7. What product would i need for the plastic trims on the outside of the car?

8. Do i need to put on a polish after say compounding the car? (such as the deep crystal) and then wax?

9. What should the general process be? Wash -> Clay -> Compound -> wipe down with exterior detailer -> wax ?

10. Is there any major differences in the quik ultimate detailer or quik detailer?

11. Would any microfiber towel work for wiping the compound after applying?

Forgive me if all the answers can be found on the forums but there is just so much to go through. I want to learn and possibly eventually move up to making some profit (considering that the gallon sizes are not cheap)


Last question:
What do you guys use to keep all your stuff organized? IE: Towels and such? Boxes or just racks and shelves?

[Murr1525]

Re: Help me get started! (Lot of questions inside)

1. No, don't need cutting. A cutting pad and a MF bonnet is a nice way to remove wax.

2. QID is a duster basically. Spray it on the cloth, and wipe around on the hard surfaces. It will leave a little protection, and may get a little heavier dirt, but not really meant for either thing. Can get some Odor Eliminator to mist on the fabric if you wanted. I use some on the seats/foot-wells every few months, seems to be staying fresh.

3. Yeah, it can be. What sort of stains are you dealing with? If you just need a general cleaner, one of the APC's may be better.

4-5. General speaking, yes and yes. Although I noticed you do not have a milder product like SwirlX or #205 listed. UC is pretty strong, how bad are the cars?

6. The new pads are washable, but of course they need time to dry, so good to have a spare. However, when it comes to paint cleaning, the pad can start to get over-saturated with product, and lose cleaning ability, and make the machine work harder, etc. So it can be good when doing a fair bit of defect removal to change pads once or twice along the way. With wax, or just applying a mild cleaner, it isn't quite as critical.

7. You can use something like APC or #39 to clean it. Then All Season Dressing or Ultimate Protectant would be good choices to dress it.

8. A pure polish would be optional.

9. Wash->Clay->Clean->Polish->Wax

Cleaning could be a strong cleaner, mild cleaner, both, just have to see what is needed. Polish is optional, and for wax, two thin coats are best.

10. The UQD has some water repelling polymers to help water run off. UQD is not for claying. Both can be used to remove light dust, bird droppings, etc.

11. Well, nice to get some decent ones. Supreme Shines are nice of course, the Vroom ones from Target seem good.

12. Boxes, bins, baskets, shelves, rolling carts, bars to hang spray bottles....

[Coderedpl]

Re: Help me get started! (Lot of questions inside)

Thank you for the quick reply. My response also consists of questions towards your answers.

2. Is there an actual "cleaner" I can use for some heavier grime on door panels? Would the APC come into play for heavier stuff and quik interior detailer for a wipe-down when i get some dust?
What about protectant?

3. Just regular dirty fingerprint marks on the headlines, some tire marks (was transporting some) and general dirty.
Would apc work here or the quik out?
What applicator?

4-5. Both are pretty bad, mine is a little worse, it's pretty much filled with swirlmarks left and right so after careful reading and consideration i decided to go with the UC at this point, although I will possibly need a few passes. Down the road i will step it down for general up-keep.

7. So again APC can work for both interior and exterior?
Protectant wise I see a few:
Supreme shine protectant
Ultimate protectant wipes
And Natural Shine

9. Would ultimate quik exterior detailer work for the cleaning portion?

10. So I guess Quik detailer works along-side the clay, correct?

New questions:
The apc only comes in gallon size, correct?
Is UC safe to use on windows to get rid of say rain watermarks?

[fzr confused]

Re: Help me get started! (Lot of questions inside)

If you are getting 6 pads I would get 4 polishing and 2 finishing pads. Like said above, while using UC and the like it will get saturated and switching out is a good thing to do, as well as cleaning on the fly. I would get 2 finishing pads so you can wax your car, wash your pad and not have to wait for it to dry before you can wax another.

UQD and m135 is far superior to QD. The shine is much nicer with the UQD and also the water runs sooo nicely off the car with it

[Murr1525]

Re: Help me get started! (Lot of questions inside)

2. Yeah, APC and a soft brush, MF/terry kind of thing is good for heavier dirt on steering wheels, panels, etc.

You could use the Ultimate Protecant inside as well, though I have not tried it yet. I have used the Natural and Supreme Shine sprays, and both are nice. The Supreme is not too glossy if you have a textured dash. #40 is an option also.

3. Yeah, could certainly try APC first. I would dampen a terry cloth, spray on some APC, and dab the headliner. You do not want to soak, or over to it. Best to apply some ( a few applications, remove with a clean damp terry, dry, and apply again.

4-5. May want to post a few pics if possible, just to confirm everything.

7. Yeah... APC pretty much does everything. Tires, wheel wells, carpets, dash, shoes, suitcases, vinyl sheds/fences, some pet stains....

For the exterior, the you'll want something more durable than the Supreme/Natural Shine. As mentioned above, Ultimate Protectant, ASD, or #40 would be most durable (#40 the lesser of the 3).

9. The QD sprays (QD, UQD, SD, LT, FI) are more or less dusters, like the QID, just made for paint for paint instead of vinyl/leather.

The cleaning step refers to a deeper cleaning, removing dirt from the pores of the paint, and a stronger cleaner can also remove defects.

Similarly, washing just gets the big loose, easy to remove dirt. Claying removes the bonded on stuff. Then cleaning get the pores / defects.

10. In the Consumer Line, QD will be best for claying. UQD could be considered optional, and use UQW after future washes.

11. Well, more or less. You could order a sample size from ADS, but no reason to avoid a gallon and a spray bottle on that one. APC foams a bit more, APC+ does not foam for extractor use, and has a hint of degreaser in it. Wont go wrong either way.

12. Yeah you could try it. You can wash, clay, UC if needed, then use a glass cleaner to clean off the residue.

[Coderedpl]

Re: Help me get started! (Lot of questions inside)

I'm at the point at almost narrowing it down.
2. APC for interior "cleaning" with either Natural or Supreme Shine for protection.
Protectant wise: I'm guessing Supreme shine is more towards the shiny side and Natural Protectant is more towards the matte look?

3. Since I'll already have APC for the interior plastics and such I'll try it for the headliner too.
4-5. I'll try to get some close-up shots under light later today.
7. Is APC safe for "all" surfaces? Some Engine bay too?
Exterior protection wise: Ultimate protectant for the trims and maybe the other "pro-line" products if i have spare change

9. What would you recommend for a stronger cleaner rather than a quick "duster"?

10. I use UQW on the front "nose" section of my car after giving it a wash and it give it a nice shine so that's satisfying.

11. APC+ sounds better to me

Just noticed ADS has other Meguairs DA specials, not just the six pack special.
I'm leaning more towards the Polisher Express Kit which consists of 3 pads, two polish and one finish. Considering as I will be working one car at a time I think i should be fine with that, what do you think?

I loaded up the shopping cart and with the Express kit, Meguiar's Ultimate Protectant Kit (includes mf + two pads & ultimate protectant), Meguiars Natural Shine Protectant for the interior, 1 Gal APC+, APC+ bottle & Trigger sprayer comes out to 204.66$

Is that a good deal?

Thanks for all the help so far!

[Murr1525]

Re: Help me get started! (Lot of questions inside)

2. Yeah, pretty much. My dash is textured, and Supreme Shine isnt too glossy, just right.

7. I dont do much engine detailing other than a little wiping, but yes it would be safe. If it is strong enough, etc, I dont know. There have been a few engine detailing threads you could look up.

I prefer to apply dressings with a cheap MF towel. But those applicators and towels are good, getting a couple more of each wouldnt hurt.

9. That is getting into the paint cleaners, like #9, #80, #205, SwirlX, and then going stronger into ScratchX 2.0, then UC, #105.

As long as you dont drop any pads, etc, or need to use more than one cleaner, yeah, probably ok. Not hard to apply a pure polish by hand if wanted.

Well, you probably dont need APC and APC+, one or the other should cover everything.

ADS is usually solid prices, and Rick is a good guy to deal with, so wouldnt expect anything too different elsewhere, unless a random sale were on.

[fzr confused]

Re: Help me get started! (Lot of questions inside)

i would look at getting more polishing pads in the near future. i say this because you should have dedicated pads for each cleaner, or at least a dedicated pad prior to wash at the very least. if you are doing test spots you need 1 pad for each product you test.

[Coderedpl]

Re: Help me get started! (Lot of questions inside)

My package is finally slated to arrive tomorrow. Can't wait