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Confused Entry Level Detailer

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  • #1

    Confused Entry Level Detailer

    Hi chaps,
    As per the title, I'm slightly confused and am a very entry level aspiring detailer. From the years as a teenager always taken pride in having a clean car, only recently learnt how to actually wash a car properly (thanks to youtube). It was from there I learnt about Meguiars. So when I got given gift vouchers at xmas I went a bit crazy and brought the following:
    Gold Class Shampoo
    Gold class carnauba plus liquid wax
    Ultimate wash and wax
    Wash MIT
    Water magnet
    Supreme shine microfibres
    Ultimate compound
    Endurance tire gel
    Ultimate liquid wax
    Quick Detailer and Clay Bar
    I have a 11 year old metallic black polo and a 7 year old metallic black Audi A3. The wife wont let me buy any more Meguiars products. Cannot buy the DA and have to make do with the above for a few months until she see's the benefits.
    The plan is to wash and then clay bar entire car, not sure what to do next:
    1.Should I only ultimate compound areas where there are swirls, minor defects/scratches or should I UC the entire car
    2.Can I immediately apply wax after UC or should I wait
    3.As I have no DA, all would be done by hand, if for some reason I run out of time, can this be done over a few days, car is always parked on drive and not in garage
    4.Does clay bar remove wax from a car
    I had loads of other questions which I have forgotten, but think the above few would be great if someone can help with and any other tips would be most welcome. There is so much information its confusing me.

    Thanks guys
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Confused Entry Level Detailer

    Welcome to MOL!

    1. It's up to you really, but for an 11 year old car, you may find the bits you've polished with UC are much shinier than the rest of the car, so it would look bad if you didn't do the whole car.
    2. Yes, apply wax immediately. Just to clarify, you would apply the UC to one section at a time and remove straight away from each section. Then when the whole car is polished, you can apply wax immediately.
    3. Yes, you can do it slowly if you like. Since the car will be parked outside, you will have to wash, clay, UC, wax just a few panels at a time. Then next time, wash, clay, UC and wax a few more panels etc.
    4. Yes
    Originally posted by Blueline
    I own a silver vehicle and a black vehicle owns me. The black one demands attention, washing, detailing, waxing and an occasional dinner out at a nice restaurant. The silver one demands nothing and it looks just fine. I think the black vehicle is taking advantage of me, and the silver car is more my style. We can go out for a drive without her makeup and she looks fine. If I want to take the black one out, it is three or four hours in the "bathroom" to get ready.

    Comment

    • #3
      Re: Confused Entry Level Detailer

      I've just had another look at your product list. You have two waxes and no finishing polish.

      I know you said you can't buy any more products, so is there any chance you could take the GCCP wax back and replace it with Ultimate Polish or M205?
      Originally posted by Blueline
      I own a silver vehicle and a black vehicle owns me. The black one demands attention, washing, detailing, waxing and an occasional dinner out at a nice restaurant. The silver one demands nothing and it looks just fine. I think the black vehicle is taking advantage of me, and the silver car is more my style. We can go out for a drive without her makeup and she looks fine. If I want to take the black one out, it is three or four hours in the "bathroom" to get ready.

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: Confused Entry Level Detailer

        Originally posted by davey g-force View Post
        Welcome to MOL!

        1. It's up to you really, but for an 11 year old car, you may find the bits you've polished with UC are much shinier than the rest of the car, so it would look bad if you didn't do the whole car.
        2. Yes, apply wax immediately. Just to clarify, you would apply the UC to one section at a time and remove straight away from each section. Then when the whole car is polished, you can apply wax immediately.
        3. Yes, you can do it slowly if you like. Since the car will be parked outside, you will have to wash, clay, UC, wax just a few panels at a time. Then next time, wash, clay, UC and wax a few more panels etc.
        4. Yes
        This pretty much covers it.

        Originally posted by davey g-force View Post
        I've just had another look at your product list. You have two waxes and no finishing polish.

        I know you said you can't buy any more products, so is there any chance you could take the GCCP wax back and replace it with Ultimate Polish or M205?
        Agreed. Ultimate polish or M205 will refinish the paint even better. Also black loves polish. See if you can at least get a bottle of ultimate polish. Just don't tell your wife .
        99 Grand Prix
        02 Camaro SS

        Comment

        • #5
          Re: Confused Entry Level Detailer

          Another Gold Class fan! My advice for non-DA "waxing":
          • Two-Bucket Wash
          • Clay All Surfaces
          • Spot Compound Very Carefully!
          • Wax As Normal


          Even without a DA, you can get awesome results. After this effort, you will then simply wash as needed and use quik products (quik detailer/quick wax) with micro-fibre towels to maintain the finish. This hand-waxing routine should not be done too often, and when you eventually move into to using a DA, you'll understand more why your prep work must be protected and maintained, because it's a lot of work.
          Non-Garaged Daily Driver, DAMF System + M101, Carnauba Finish Enthusiast
          4-Step | Zen Detailing | Undercarriage | DAMF Upgrade |           First Correction | Gallery

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: Confused Entry Level Detailer

            Gold Class Shampoo
            Gold class carnauba plus liquid wax
            Ultimate wash and wax
            Wash MIT
            Water magnet
            Supreme shine microfibres
            Ultimate compound
            Endurance tire gel
            Ultimate liquid wax
            Quick Detailer and Clay Bar
            I have a 11 year old metallic black polo and a 7 year old metallic black Audi A3. The wife wont let me buy any more Meguiars products. Cannot buy the DA and have to make do with the above for a few months until she see's the benefits.
            The plan is to wash and then clay bar entire car, not sure what to do next:
            The Ult. Wash and Wax and the Gold Class Soap are a bit redundant, but the UW&W is nice when in a hurry.

            1. Wash
            2. Clay
            3. Clean - Ult. Compound
            4. It would be nice to have a milder product in here, like Ult. Polish, or a cleaner/wax. And then would be used for the regular detailing in the future, not UC every time.
            5. Wax - Up to you which you would like to use since you grabbed two.
            6. Wax - 2 thin coats is best.

            7. Maintain - Ult. Quick Wax would be nice to use while drying after future washes.

            1.Should I only ultimate compound areas where there are swirls, minor defects/scratches or should I UC the entire car
            Being the first time working on it, I would assume to UC the whole car. Even if not worked in as much on the better areas.

            As noted, a something like Ult. Polish, or even a cleaner/wax after would be nice, and then for the regular use in the future.

            2.Can I immediately apply wax after UC or should I wait
            Right away is fine.

            3.As I have no DA, all would be done by hand, if for some reason I run out of time, can this be done over a few days, car is always parked on drive and not in garage
            Yeah, doing a panel or two a day if a lot of work is needed is fine. Or just detailing in general, and taking your time. Just wash or QD to clean the surface before working again.

            4.Does clay bar remove wax from a car
            Somewhat at least, so best to assume yes.
            2017 Subaru WRX Premium - WR Blue

            Comment

            • #7
              Small note: If you're doing it over a span of a few days and decide to wash the panel prior to getting started, it's best to choose Gold Class shampoo over Ultimate Wash & Wax and/or Quik Detailer over Ultimate Quik detailer. The hydrophobic finish the "Ultimate" line leaves isn't ideal b4 compounding/polishing.

              Comment

              • #8
                Re: Confused Entry Level Detailer

                ^^ That's news to me!
                Originally posted by Blueline
                I own a silver vehicle and a black vehicle owns me. The black one demands attention, washing, detailing, waxing and an occasional dinner out at a nice restaurant. The silver one demands nothing and it looks just fine. I think the black vehicle is taking advantage of me, and the silver car is more my style. We can go out for a drive without her makeup and she looks fine. If I want to take the black one out, it is three or four hours in the "bathroom" to get ready.

                Comment

                • #9
                  Wanna hear a funny story? This past Sat. at the 101 class, while watching Jason Rose prep a 2010 black Camaro for the DA he demonstrated proper technique on using UWWA. But once he got the hood clean he said "hmm, that isn't exactly how we wanted it though" reffering to the "just waxed" finish the UWWA had left.. So he surprised [me at least] and reached for a can of glass cleaner, yes, glass cleaner, and sprayed it on the hood and wiped away. Lol. I was like "I've never heard of doing that"
                  But hey, we're standing there watching Jason freaking Rose. So needless to say, no one asked twice if the Megs perfect clarity foaming glass cleaner was ideal to remove wax prior to polishing. I guess you could say it's a "trick of the trade" from Mr. Rose. The man is among the pro of pros.

                  He's a real nice guy as well. Dude's got jokes. Lol.

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Re: Confused Entry Level Detailer

                    Ok good news guys (or maybe great news), I have managed to borrow Ultimate Polish from a friend who had it gathering dust in his garage. Found it in there when I went to borrow another bucket (two bucket approach). Its hardly been used!
                    So with this in mind, would you recommend I use the ultimate polish instead of the ultimate compound as I understand UC is a lot stronger. Which plan of action would you recommend to a novice:
                    Wash, clay, polish, wax or wash, clay, UC, polish, wax
                    I will be doing this all by hand (bicep workout)
                    I'm planning on doing this on the weekend coming up, so just getting everything ready.
                    Thanks for your comments so far btw, am really impressed out how quick I got a response

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Re: Confused Entry Level Detailer

                      Glass cleaner is the same idea as alcohol to remove wax, since it is mostly the same. Just a pricier option...
                      2017 Subaru WRX Premium - WR Blue

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Re: Confused Entry Level Detailer

                        You didn't mention a lot about their condition, but I would think some UC would be good this time, even if not worked in with as much effort as you would for defect removal.
                        2017 Subaru WRX Premium - WR Blue

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Re: Confused Entry Level Detailer

                          My $0.02 worth here. I suggest you do a test area (2 x 2 ) with the polish and then evaluate the results. Your eye will make the decision for you. Does the surface look like you expected after doing the test area ( scratches gone , or did you really need to work hard to get the scratches to go away )? Perhaps compound the paint first if so. Do a test area using both products, which met your goals?
                          BMW ZSCCA Area Rep SoCal

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Re: Confused Entry Level Detailer

                            ^^ Totally agree with this.

                            Also, after your compounding test spot, go over the same area again with UP. If you can notice a difference, that will tell you if you would need both steps, or if you can go straight to waxing after UC.
                            Originally posted by Blueline
                            I own a silver vehicle and a black vehicle owns me. The black one demands attention, washing, detailing, waxing and an occasional dinner out at a nice restaurant. The silver one demands nothing and it looks just fine. I think the black vehicle is taking advantage of me, and the silver car is more my style. We can go out for a drive without her makeup and she looks fine. If I want to take the black one out, it is three or four hours in the "bathroom" to get ready.

                            Comment

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