I've been reading up more on your site, and things are becoming more clear to me. Just from what I have read so far, I'm thinking of the Wolfgang Sealant above, and then topping with Pinnacle Souveran (liguid or paste, not sure yet). I would go with the Wolfgang Fuzion, but that is a bit steep in price for me. Besides, I am not expecting results as good as on your site as my Bimmer is Aspen White and I'm not sure that a white car is ever going to show those sort of results. Hopefully I am wrong and then I can maybe justify the higher pricetag. Thanks for all the information.
KevKaos
BMW CCA MEMBER 419290
Matt Hi I have a 08 the finish is in great shape . Its has about 4000 miles on it and its always been garaged
No swirls scratches on it .
I had a diamond gloss sealer put on the paint and then Iapplied a hand wax to it .
I ordered some pinnacle carnauba from the site along with a wheel sealant poorboy's Is this the best way to keep the cars finish looking good or would you recommend anything else that i should be doing or doing differently . I have been considering a power tool for polshing but I have been afraid of doing damage to the finish with it . Mabey I should practice on my daughters boyfriends car with one first ?
Regards
Roy Kennedy
LOL @ the daughter's boyfriend's car comment
Pinnacle and Poorboy's make very nice products, you really can't go wrong with either. If your car is already in great shape then Pinnacle is definitely a great wax to use to maintain the finish, so you made a good choice.
Matt Hi Thanks for th last reply . I was looking at one of the california dusters will they put fine scratches in paint after a while ?
When and is it safe to use them ?
Regards
Roy
I like the OXO dusters better, but the California dusters are still great. As long as you use them properly (only when the car is slightly dusty), and with NO pressure, they will not scratch paint.
Do M3 front struts fit a 1998 328?
Thanks!
"Is that a shark down there? Perhaps I've jumped too far."
hey i just picked up a 97 technoviolet M3 sedan. Paint is near immaculate, no scratches or dents.. only problem is that it was cleaned a bit too often and at times improperly.
It has some very light swirling that you can only see in direct light but covers the whole car. The paint has already been cleaned, clayed and used Nu Finish swirl and scratch remover and it didnt do a darn thing. The paint is smoother than glass and pretty reflective but the super light swirling all over the car annoys me and dulls the paint down a bit.
any suggestions on how to completely remove the swirling? I already tried mothers/meguires pure carnuba and meguires/nufinish swirl, scratch remover..
This kit contains all the answer to your questions
http://www.autogeek.net/wolfgang-por...l-remover.html
I'm considering buying this kit: http://www.autogeek.net/wolfgang-por...l-remover.html as it seems to be recommended so much.
After i'd put the sealant on, that would be it, right? No need to wax? And say I buy the kit and use everything and have the paint looking great, what do you recommend for upkeep after that?
Great information so far, Matt, thank's a lot I've been reading a lot because I'm still pretty new to detailing, and I have a plan I'd like for you to have a look at and some questions I'd love for you to answer if you'd be so kind.
I already have all the products listed in my plan, and I'm on a very, VERY tight budget, so I'd really like to not have to buy any more products unless you think it's really necessary for my paint. I WILL, however, be picking up some guzzlers for you and whatever you suggest per my 7th question My car's white with just over 200k miles on it. Paint is pretty neglected, lottts of swirl marks and even some minor scratching. Also, I recently had to clay part of my fender for about 20 minutes (don't ask), and when I was done, I noticed the area that I'd been claying was literally a lighter shade of white than the rest of the car. What does that say about the condition of my paint, and what should be used to restore the original color?
Here's my plan so far. I'll be working by hand because I don't have the money for a power polisher, and I know my paint needs a lot of work so I plan on doing a panel per day over like 13 days or whatever:
1. Wash with P21S Bodywork Shampoo
2. Clay with Meguiar's Aggressive red clay
3. Clean paint with P21S Paintwork Cleanser
4. ??? (see questions below)
5. Polish with Klasse All-in-One
6. Seal with Jetseal 109 (sorry, I know you guys don't sell this one, but I've heard amazing things)
7. Wax with P21S Carnuba Wax?
And my questions:
1. Is the P21S Paintwork Cleaners basically just a cleaning polish? Will it do anything about swirl marks?
2. The "???" step is because I think I'll need something else to take care of all the swirls and minor scratches. Is this where I'll need another polish designed for that, like ScratchX, Meguiar's 105, Wolfgang TSR 3.0, or something else? Recommendations, please
3. I'm not sure about the Klasse All-in-One. Being an all-in-one, I understand that it includes ingredients that act like a sealant in addition to the polish. Should I be using that if I plan to Jetseal, or should I just do steps 3 and 4 and move to sealant?
4. Is it really worth the time and effort to wax on top of a sealant? Is the difference that noticeable?
5. How often does the car need to be resealed?
6. When I want to reseal, do I need to use something to remove the previous coat of wax and sealant? Do any of the products/steps I already have listed above achieve this?
7. What should I use to apply and, when necessary, remove each of these product if working by hand?
8. I've heard that circular strokes cause swirl marks. Any truth here? Should I stick to straight, back-and-forth strokes?
Thanks in advance for helping me out, you guys are awesome Really looking forward to making my car look like new again.
Yes, P21S is just a chemical cleaner with no abrasives. It will not remove swirls.
For #2, Meg's 105 gets my choice hands down.
If you're polishing the paint, there's really no need for AIO. After all that work, I'd probably just go straight to a sealant. Topping the sealant with a wax will provide minimal increases in shine; whether or not it's worth it is up to you. I usually just stick with one step these days since it's mostly in the prep work.
It will need to be resealed whenever your sealant wears off. I've never used Jetseal so I can't comment on durability. When beading and slickness diminish, it's likely time to re-apply. I'll usually just wash and throw another layer of sealant on for up to 6-8 months before using a cleaner again. At that point you can use AIO to clean the paint, then re-apply your sealant.
For working by hand, I prefer to use plain old foam wax applicators.
I prefer to use front/back, side/side, diagonal strokes for swirl removal, and Mike Phillips of Meguiar's recommends this as well. As far as circular motions, you will only be putting swirls in the paint if you're abrading the paint in some way. If you're not abrading the paint, no marks will be left behind regardless of the motions used.
Yes, that's all you need. For upkeep, I would get 2 buckets, 2 grit guards, some mitts (sheepskin, LC sponges, Edge ShMitt all work great), Daytona Speedmaster wheel brush, P21S Wheel Cleaner, shampoo of your choice (Wolfgang, Duragloss, DP, Meguiar's are all my favorites), and some WG Instant Detail Spritz to maintain the sealant.
Last edited by Matt@Autogeek; 06-03-2009 at 01:42 PM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
Thank you for the info! Just a couple more followup questions:
- You said use the AIO to strip off previous sealant, but would the P21S do the same? If not, shouldn't I add something between washing/claying and cleansing to strip off any old wax/sealant?
- What about restoring the paint to the lighter shade I discovered after rigorous claying? Is that something the P21S cleanser should take care of?
- Would you use a finishing polish after the #105?
- Could you please link me to applicators on your site that you'd recommend for the cleanser, polish, and sealant?
- Finally, is the lineup of products I've listed pretty decent? I know I can't expect top of the line, professional results, but should that combination yield a good finish? Any other steps or products I really need to add for ideal results?
Thanks again!
Also, anyone else want to throw in a vote for Meg's 105 or another polish for taking out moderate swirls by hand?
Last edited by Substream; 06-03-2009 at 05:28 PM.
You could go with Ultimate Compound (and SwirlX as the finishing polish), which is their consumer line equivalent of M105/205 and may be more friendly for hand use. And yes, I do recommend the finishing polish. These are the applicators I'd use (nothing fancy) - http://www.autogeek.net/paof6pifowax.html
AIO and P21S have about the same cleaning power, but I prefer AIO since it leaves behind a layer of acrylic sealant. It sounds like your paint is a little oxidized and the clay restored some shine, so yes, the cleaners in AIO and P21S will take care of this, and so will M105 or Ultimate Compound.
Your product choices are great IMO. Just remember, it's all in the prep work...polishing out a car by hand is a TON of work, so just keep that in mind and remember that patience is key.
Hi Matt, I have been reading a lot more and learning a lot, but I think I may be hitting overload and getting a bit confused. Maybe you can get me back on track so that I can get started. I have an Alpine White 98 540i with a great body and paint. The only issue is very light swirls that can only be seen in bright sunlight.
Here are the tools and products I have to use or not use depending on your guidance; Porter Cable 7424 with starter kit of regular Lake Country pads (not CCS). I have a Meguire claybar kit, Meguire SwirlX, XMT polish 1 and XMT polish 2 (both from Autogeek) and I have Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant3.0 (also from Autogeek). I also have an assortment of microfiber towels for buffing off products by hand, or am I better off using the PC with a buffing pad?
Where I am getting confused is which pads to use for which products. I am guessing that you are going to tell me not to waste my time with the SwirlX since I have the XMT 1 & 2. I wonder if since my swirls are so light, and being a white car, if you would recommend not using one of the polishes and just going with the lighter polish. Biggest problem is figuring out what polish to use with what pad. And lastly, how many pads of each type would you expect to use for a detailing on something like a midsize vehicle? Like am I going to need 10 orange cutting pads and 10 white finishing pads, etc or just a couple of each type?
I know it was a lot of questions in there, but maybe others could learn from your answers as well.
Last edited by KevKaos; 06-05-2009 at 04:20 PM.
KevKaos
BMW CCA MEMBER 419290
I can help you out...
If you have very light swirls you probably can tackle them with XMT #2 using the Lake Country White Pad, if you clear coat is hard then you might and only do this after trying with white pad... you can use XMT #2 with the orange light cutting pad. Nice thing with having a selection of different polishes and pads is you can change them around a bit to get a little more bit out of the polish when needed.
Polishing a car that is in decent shape usually will take two pads to do the job. Let us know what else we can help you with...
- Meghan
Meghan@autogeek.net
** 10% off @ Autogeek.net- PinnacleWax.com -Wolfgangcarcare.com - Coupon Code = clubmember
Well, my first time venturing into the detail forum....
There's plenty of information in this thread alone about the exterior of the car. But, do you guys have any suggestions for the interior? Any recommended products? At the moment, money is running tighter than usual, so I cannot go out and buy some of the more expensive products, so if you can recommend something that I can go pick up at the autoparts, then it would be greatly appreciated. Aside from the cheaper products, can you recommend products that you absolutely love despite the price? This will give everyone an idea of how to set their budget, kind of like what I'm trying to do.
My tan carpet in my vert is stained with what appears to be coke in the rear and is a little faded in the front. I'm sure that I would need some sort of dye for the fade but I'm more concerned about the stains. What products can I go out and buy that will help me out with cleaning up the mess or at least make the stain not as obvious? What products would you highly recommend for a job like this? I want to get two sets of pricing; the quick cheap way, and the thorough detail way. For now I want to alleviate some of the mess but I will eventually try to clean it up as much as possible before I need to recarpet my interior. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Just want to get some things straight. Wash, dry, clay....
when do you use a glaze sealant wax cleaner? how many coats of each and any time to wait in between?
So, I have two completely different cars, a Red Jeep Wrangler and an Dark Blue (Orientalblau) BMW 325i. Both have swirl marks, although I think the BMW has slightly worse problems than the Jeep. I want to buy a kit that will service both, relatively well. I'm looking at these two kits, plus a pinacle claybar.
http://www.autogeek.net/wolfgang-porter-cable-combo.html
http://www.autogeek.net/pitwpocaspof.html
What are the differences? Seems like they are pretty similar to my untrained eye!
Also, would TW ICE be ok to finish off with or should I pick up an actual wax as well? If so, which one?
Thanks in advance,
Tom
If you want very cost-effective interior products, check out DP Total Interior Cleaner and Total Interior Protectant. They can each be used on anything but glass (that means carpet/upholstery, leather, vinyl, plastic, rubber, etc).
wash, clay, polish if necessary, glaze, seal, wax. I'm not sure what you mean by glaze sealant wax cleaner as those are 4 different products combined into one term, so if you have a specific product you're inquiring about, let me know and I can further assist you.
The kits are the same with the exception of the polishes being different. IMO Wolfgang polishes are of higher quality as they are formulated by Menzerna and work well on all finishes.
HOWEVER, the Pinnacle Advanced Swirl Remover is a stronger polish than Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover. IF your Jeep is in pretty rough shape, I would go with the Pinnacle kit as it will be more effective on a rougher finish.
Last edited by Matt@Autogeek; 06-09-2009 at 03:28 PM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
OK, another question.. haha sorry
Do the numbers in polishes stand for anything? Do they like represent how severe the polish is or something?
No. Each company uses different numbers. For example, XMT #1 through #4 are in order from least to most abrasive....Griots #1 through #4 are in order from most to least abrasive....and the Meguiar's numbers are just all over the place
Haha this is why I'm so confused. OK, so you say Ultimate Compound and SwirlX are the consumer equivalents to Mirror Glaze #105 and #205, respectively? How do they compare to each other? Because there's quite a price difference between them. Is it worth spending more for the Mirror Glaze line?
Thank you!
Hey I have a few Q's about what products I should start out with. I am planning on ordering a Porter 7424 from autogeek, and I am wondering what products should I start out using to get our swirls, scratches, etc. And also I don't know which sealant to get, Klasse's sealant or Optimum Opti-seal, which one is best for a beginner? I don't have alot of time to wait for the sealants to cure, so which ever one cures quickest is a huge factor. But would you recommend this Menerza kit as a good starting point,http://www.autogeek.net/menzerna-polish-bundle3.html ? Thanks
IMO you can't go wrong either way. The products are based off the same formulas and will get nearly the same results. 105 may have SLIGHTLY more cut than Ultimate Compound since UC is part of the "consumer" line. But they both utilize the super micro abrasive technology and will get awesome results.
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