Lost KJ West Jeep Club at Meguiar's!

[Mike Phillips]

Meguiar's would like to welcome members of the Lost KJ West Club

[Mike Phillips]

You don't want to take this Jeep to the mud bogs!

[corvetmike]

Mike & Tim,

Thanks for a great day filled with information that I can now use to detail my autos correctly using the right products and tools. I wish everyone on the forum could attend your seminar. With your vast knowledge of Meguiars products and applications you made it very simple to understand in lay terms. Keep up the great work.

Mike Murphy

[drivnmstilli]

Thank you Mike and Tim for a wonderful class. It was very well done. You made it easy to understand even with the amount of products you were covering. I'm glad I was able to attended, and would like to do it again.

Thanks again,

Annette

[Desertliberty]

Thanks from KJ West

Mike and Tim, You guys are awesome! That has to be one of the most informative product classes I have ever attended! The quality of your product and your knowledge will never go overlooked! Keep up the great work! Thanks again from the KJ West group of So-Cal!

Brian

2002 KJ Limited

[LuckeyDuckey]

thank you so much for a fun day--it was definitely worth the drive from san diego. i can't wait to get all my goodies in the mail and try them out!

and thank you for not passing out when i said i only wash my wrangler about once a year

where will you be posting the photos taken?

thanks!

[kirkcrawford]

Thanks

Mike Thanks for all your help and tips on my Jeep.

Here is a stitched picture of our group:




Click it for the full sized version.

Ill post a question in one of the other forums looking for someone who can remove my scratches and pinstriping.

-kirk

[Mike Phillips]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by LuckeyDuckey
thank you so much for a fun day--it was definitely worth the drive from san diego. i can't wait to get all my goodies in the mail and try them out! [/b]

We really appreciate you're passion for your hobby and driving so far to spend the day with us!

and thank you for not passing out when i said i only wash my wrangler about once a year

where will you be posting the photos taken?

thanks!

Tomorrow afternoon is when I usually sort through the photos and start adding them to the thread.

[Mike Phillips]

Before the classroom portion of any class starts, we ask for questions and write them down on our white erase board and then see if these questions aren't answered through the course of the Power Point Presentation, then we do our best to address them during the Question & Answer Time after the presentation.

[Mike Phillips]

After the classroom portion we did our Walk by and evaluated the condition of each vehicle's finish and discussed the current car care procedures the owners are using and what they would like to do to better maintain their car's appearance.







One member mentioned that his Jeep is parked outside all of the time, so we wiped the hood down with some Quick Detailer to remove any light dust and other airborne contaminants and the we all took turns evaluating the surface with our sense of touch to check for Above Surface Contaminants.





Sure enough, we found them! So although white doesn't typically make for a good demonstration vehicle, we chose this Jeep Liberty to provide an excellent learning experience for the importance of claying your car's finish to safely remove the bonded contaminants and restore a smooth as new glass finish.

[Mike Phillips]

After choosing two Jeeps to work on, we drove them into Meguiar's Garage and everyone joined in to wipe the outside to remove any light dust or airborne contaminants using Meguiar's Quik Detailer and Meguiars' brand new Supreme Shine Microfiber

[Mike Phillips]

After wiping the Jeep down, next up was a lesson on how to clay using Quik Clay System.



First students are shown how to knead the clay bar into a round wafer somewhat like a small pancake. Then, both the clay and the paint are misted with Meguiar's Quik Detailer, which is used as a lubricant between the clay and the finish. This allows the clay to glide over the surface while at the same time removing the contaminants off the clear coat.



After misting the clay bar and the finish, the clay bar is rubbed over the finish with light pressure. Because this Jeep is parked outside, it not only has above surface contaminants that you can feel, but we could actually see different colored specks and dots on the clear coat because the white basecoat under the clear coat made them easily visible.

[Mike Phillips]

After demonstrating technique, the hands-on portion of the class kicks in. Anyone that has never used a clay bar to remove above surface contaminants is encouraged to join in the fun and help to clay the entire Jeep Liberty.






After claying for a few moments, take a moment to wipe the finish down and check your results. The finish should feel as smooth as new glass.

[Mike Phillips]

During the Power Point Presentation, we learned Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle , which includes;

• Step 1 Washing - Removes loose surface dirt
  Step 2 Surface Prep - Claying to remove above surface contaminants, and using Paint Cleaners to remove below surface defects.
  Step 3 Polishing - Restores clarity and creates brilliant gloss
  Step 4 Protecting - Adding a coating of wax to act as a barrier-coating to protect the finish from attack and deterioration
  Step 5 Maintaining - Using products like Quik Detailer and Quik Wax to maintain a Just-detailed-and-waxed-look.

When we evaluated the condition of the finish, we found some serious scratches on the top of both sides of on the hood. After claying the finish and removing the above surface contaminants, the next thing to do is to use a paint cleaner like ScratchX to remove swirls and scratches by gently abrading the finish and removing small amounts of paint in an effort to level the surface to the lowest depths of the swirls and scratches.



We taped-off an area between the longitudinal scratches so that everyone could more easily see the difference between before and after.



The technique for getting good results with a hand applied swirl and scratch remover is the manner in which you apply it. We learned in the Power Point Presentation that ScratchX is not a wipe-on, wipe-off, but instead is a product that must be applied to the finish and then worked against the finish with a little passion and enthusiasm.

[Mike Phillips]

After demonstrating technique for removing below surface defects by hand, we then demonstrated how to remove defects using Meguiar's G-100a



The scratches in the finish were fairly deep and while both methods removed the lighter scratches and improved the overall look of the paint, many of the scratches are too deep to safely remove or will require the use of a rotary buffer by a trained professional.