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FAQ- New To Detailing & Care Care
This is a more updated simple version of the 5 Step Car Care Cycle. I decided to create this thread for the new members on MOL that all seem to have the same questions and similar situations. This is just a basic summary of many other threads and topics into one. This is made for a “newbie detailer” to understand, or for anyone who wants to become a detailer in the future…
Care Care Steps & Procedure:
1. Wash
To Properly Wash a car and to keep from instilling additional swirls into your paint you must use:
-2 Five Gallon Wash Buckets (1 Wash, 1 Rinse)
-2 Grit Guards: The Grit Guard is an insert for your bucket designed to limit grime from re-entering the Mitt and keeps the dirt in the bottom of the bucket.
You can learn more about this technology and purchase this at www.gritguard.com
You can also purchase this at: www.autodetailingsolutions.net
-Wash Mitt:
Today there are several types of wash mitts. From natural to synthetic. You want to use either a Microfiber/Chenille type or a natural Sheep’s wool type. These are very absorbent soft materials that will properly pick up dirt off the finish without scratching.
-High Quality Car Wash
You must use a high quality soap to remove all of the dirt and grime on your vehicle. Meguiars offers several Car Washes which are great for your car. They clean and deliver a high gloss and shine at the same time.
Below are Car Washes made for Consumers:
-Deep Crystal Car Wash
This is an entry level consumer line car wash designed for people who want a basic upgrade from a Dish Soap. It is the lowest costing but not the most popular among detailing enthusiasts.
NXT Generation Car Wash
This is the newest wash made by Meguiar’s. It is very popular and known for its suds and very high gloss and deep shine. This has synthetic lubricating oils and water softeners to avoid water spots.
Gold Class Shampoo & Condtioner
This is a rich luxurious formula from Meguiar’s. This uses more conditioners to remove grime and deliver a high gloss shine. It is THE MOST popular among detailers at MOL.
For more Info watch this: How To Wash Your Car Show Car Style
2. Claying
Washing your car can remove loose contaminants, but there are many bonded contaminants on your paint surface that you may not know about. Before moving on to the next step, you need to clay your paint surface. Clay bars are safely designed to remove bonded grime without scratching the paint at all. If your car’s paint surface doesn’t feel like smooth glass, then it’s time to clay:
Prepare the Clay bar
They work in a few easy steps:
1) - First you mold the clay bar into a pancake-looking flat wafer
2) - Second you lubricate the finish with a spray lubricant like Meguiar's Quik Detailer
3) - Third you then rub the clay bar back and forth across the paint (somewhat like a bar of soap against your arm)
4. When bonded grime appears in the clay you need to continue to knit and reform and unfold new clay to use on the finish.
Clay needs to be replaced after it gets too filled.
We recommend:
Meguiar’s Smooth Surface Clay Kit
When you run out of clay, you can purchase the new replacement kit:
3. Paint Cleaner/Polish
(When Doing Any Of The Below, Always Do A Test Spot Of The Product)
After claying the surface, you need to use paint cleaner to remove below the surface contaminants. There are a wide variety of Paint Cleaners offered from Meguiar’s. These will remove light scratches, swirls, oxidation, etc.
Most new members have a Daily Driver that is covered in swirls (Light Scratches in the clear coat). Most members just focus on this and want to rush on to this step. This takes the most time, effort and patience to do the job right the first time.
There are two ways you can remove Deep Scratches and Swirls from your finish, By Hand or By Polisher.
The easiest, most efficient way to remove them is by using Meguiar’s new Dual Action Polisher (G110).
To use the G110 you need to read up on some of the below articles on how to use the machine:
Next, you need to purchase it along with at least 2 Soft Buff 2.0 Polishing Pads and at least 1 Finishing Pad. Using these will remove most if not all of your paint defects. Meguiar’s doesn’t recommend the Cutting Pads for most users and cars.
Meguiar’s has recently released two new machine polishes that work excellently well together when using the G110. The First is M105. This is the initial removal of swirls. After removing the swirls you need to follow with M205 to restore gloss and clarity.
Apply M105 using a polishing pad. After applying vehicle or section, remove and then apply M205.
The other way to remove swirls is by hand. Meguiar's has just released several new products designed to make scratch removal much easier by hand. The Products to use by hand are SwirlX, ScratchX 2.0 and Ultimate Compound.
First Apply Ultimate Compound to the car. You have to use passion behind the pad and work it into the paint until it has broken down. Then remove.
Next Apply SwirlX. You also have to work this product into the paint, then remove.
ScratchX 2.0 is a great product for spot work and Scratch Removal:
Now it’s time to:
4. Wax
Waxes are the most important step because they are what protect the paint from the surrounding environment. Meguiar’s is known for some of the best waxes on the market. The most popular sealant from Meguiar’s is:
NXT 2.0 Tech Wax
This product is very easy to apply and to wipe off. It leaves an unbelievably amazing shine and gloss that lasts a long time. The water beading and sheeting makes rain fun as well.
A Carnauba Wax specially formulated for dark colored cars is The Gold Class Wax. It is not as popular and is not as easy to apply/remove but is also an amazing product. There are also other professional line waxes, but for the beginner, let’s stick with the basics.
5. Maintaining
Now that you have a show car finish all shiny and sealed, you actually have to maintain that condition. This is the fun part.
Now you have to treat your paint like a baby.
You don’t want to induce more swirls into the paint.
So follow the proper washing techniques as stated above.
Between Washes and Waxes, Meguiars has several products made for “quik” detailing and waxing that boost the wax and add additional protection, gloss, and water beading while lightly cleaning and removing dust.
The most popular quik detailer is: Ultimate Quik Detailer
The most Popular Quik Wax is: Ultimate Quik Wax:
Basically:
1.Wash
2.Clay
3.Polish
4.Wax
5.Maintain
For more in depth and specific info, refer to:
List O' Links 2.0
The Numbers
Thank you for reading, I hope this can be some help!
Interior, Wheel, Engine, Glass, and Plastic Versions will come soon
Care Care Steps & Procedure:
1. Wash
To Properly Wash a car and to keep from instilling additional swirls into your paint you must use:
-2 Five Gallon Wash Buckets (1 Wash, 1 Rinse)
-2 Grit Guards: The Grit Guard is an insert for your bucket designed to limit grime from re-entering the Mitt and keeps the dirt in the bottom of the bucket.
You can learn more about this technology and purchase this at www.gritguard.com
You can also purchase this at: www.autodetailingsolutions.net
-Wash Mitt:
Today there are several types of wash mitts. From natural to synthetic. You want to use either a Microfiber/Chenille type or a natural Sheep’s wool type. These are very absorbent soft materials that will properly pick up dirt off the finish without scratching.
-High Quality Car Wash
You must use a high quality soap to remove all of the dirt and grime on your vehicle. Meguiars offers several Car Washes which are great for your car. They clean and deliver a high gloss and shine at the same time.
Below are Car Washes made for Consumers:
-Deep Crystal Car Wash
This is an entry level consumer line car wash designed for people who want a basic upgrade from a Dish Soap. It is the lowest costing but not the most popular among detailing enthusiasts.
NXT Generation Car Wash
This is the newest wash made by Meguiar’s. It is very popular and known for its suds and very high gloss and deep shine. This has synthetic lubricating oils and water softeners to avoid water spots.
Gold Class Shampoo & Condtioner
This is a rich luxurious formula from Meguiar’s. This uses more conditioners to remove grime and deliver a high gloss shine. It is THE MOST popular among detailers at MOL.
For more Info watch this: How To Wash Your Car Show Car Style
2. Claying
Washing your car can remove loose contaminants, but there are many bonded contaminants on your paint surface that you may not know about. Before moving on to the next step, you need to clay your paint surface. Clay bars are safely designed to remove bonded grime without scratching the paint at all. If your car’s paint surface doesn’t feel like smooth glass, then it’s time to clay:
Prepare the Clay bar
They work in a few easy steps:
1) - First you mold the clay bar into a pancake-looking flat wafer
2) - Second you lubricate the finish with a spray lubricant like Meguiar's Quik Detailer
3) - Third you then rub the clay bar back and forth across the paint (somewhat like a bar of soap against your arm)
4. When bonded grime appears in the clay you need to continue to knit and reform and unfold new clay to use on the finish.
Clay needs to be replaced after it gets too filled.
We recommend:
Meguiar’s Smooth Surface Clay Kit
When you run out of clay, you can purchase the new replacement kit:
3. Paint Cleaner/Polish
(When Doing Any Of The Below, Always Do A Test Spot Of The Product)
After claying the surface, you need to use paint cleaner to remove below the surface contaminants. There are a wide variety of Paint Cleaners offered from Meguiar’s. These will remove light scratches, swirls, oxidation, etc.
Most new members have a Daily Driver that is covered in swirls (Light Scratches in the clear coat). Most members just focus on this and want to rush on to this step. This takes the most time, effort and patience to do the job right the first time.
There are two ways you can remove Deep Scratches and Swirls from your finish, By Hand or By Polisher.
The easiest, most efficient way to remove them is by using Meguiar’s new Dual Action Polisher (G110).
To use the G110 you need to read up on some of the below articles on how to use the machine:
Next, you need to purchase it along with at least 2 Soft Buff 2.0 Polishing Pads and at least 1 Finishing Pad. Using these will remove most if not all of your paint defects. Meguiar’s doesn’t recommend the Cutting Pads for most users and cars.
Meguiar’s has recently released two new machine polishes that work excellently well together when using the G110. The First is M105. This is the initial removal of swirls. After removing the swirls you need to follow with M205 to restore gloss and clarity.
Apply M105 using a polishing pad. After applying vehicle or section, remove and then apply M205.
The other way to remove swirls is by hand. Meguiar's has just released several new products designed to make scratch removal much easier by hand. The Products to use by hand are SwirlX, ScratchX 2.0 and Ultimate Compound.
First Apply Ultimate Compound to the car. You have to use passion behind the pad and work it into the paint until it has broken down. Then remove.
Next Apply SwirlX. You also have to work this product into the paint, then remove.
ScratchX 2.0 is a great product for spot work and Scratch Removal:
Now it’s time to:
4. Wax
Waxes are the most important step because they are what protect the paint from the surrounding environment. Meguiar’s is known for some of the best waxes on the market. The most popular sealant from Meguiar’s is:
NXT 2.0 Tech Wax
This product is very easy to apply and to wipe off. It leaves an unbelievably amazing shine and gloss that lasts a long time. The water beading and sheeting makes rain fun as well.
A Carnauba Wax specially formulated for dark colored cars is The Gold Class Wax. It is not as popular and is not as easy to apply/remove but is also an amazing product. There are also other professional line waxes, but for the beginner, let’s stick with the basics.
5. Maintaining
Now that you have a show car finish all shiny and sealed, you actually have to maintain that condition. This is the fun part.
Now you have to treat your paint like a baby.
You don’t want to induce more swirls into the paint.
So follow the proper washing techniques as stated above.
Between Washes and Waxes, Meguiars has several products made for “quik” detailing and waxing that boost the wax and add additional protection, gloss, and water beading while lightly cleaning and removing dust.
The most popular quik detailer is: Ultimate Quik Detailer
The most Popular Quik Wax is: Ultimate Quik Wax:
1.Wash
2.Clay
3.Polish
4.Wax
5.Maintain
For more in depth and specific info, refer to:
List O' Links 2.0
The Numbers
Thank you for reading, I hope this can be some help!
Interior, Wheel, Engine, Glass, and Plastic Versions will come soon
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