[The_Real_Stack]

I quit my job this week. New job starts up in early June, and as part of quitting my job, I’m skipping a business trip that everyone else I work with is going on next week. So that means while I’m still technically on the clock, I’m not doing f’all. Kids are still in school. Wife is working. I have 40+ hours to fill next week.

So perfect opportunity to do some garage screwing around. On the agenda is my S, which is mechanically sound, but looking a little rough. I have, I think, many of the tools needed to make her a bit shinier, and now I’ll have the time.

Wash, then claybar, then…?

here are materials I have in my garage. I have to think that among them are most, if not all, of the things I need to do a nice paintwork freshening of amateur quality. I know I don’t need all of them. I don’t know how many of them I need, and in what order. Or if there is anything else I need. Advice is appreciated. If I need more stuff (I.e. more pads) I’d like to Amazon them sooner rather than later unless I can just run to Autozone and get them off the shelf. I need to get the claybar, and I have general wash stuff, what of this pile should I use, and what do I not need? Also, does this stuff go bad? It’s sealed and a couple/few years old, do I need to pitch it and get different stuff?

(Ignore that car wash soap leaked on the RO box, the RO is fine)

 

[OttaCee]

The Fisher Price of detailing kits - should do the job, you will learn alot, then adjust for the future
If you can swap "Best In Show" wax with a Ceramic Coating Kit, should be good investment on paint correction.
Make sure you have plenty of painters tape to cover trim bit you dont want to remove polish from.

 

[rich!]

I like the HEX pads better than what came with griots DA. Also pick up their hand pads too.

I've used sonax, chemical guys, and mothers ceramic (from sprays, gel wax, to 2 stage applications). I can't tell a difference to be honest.

I use Meguiars, 110, 83, 210, 7 glaze. if i have to wet sand then i'm using 3m perfect it on dewalt rotary

as claybar, chemical guys and various heavy to light. just wear a glove otherwise your hand will turn blue.

i also recently picked this up, which is helpful on final rinses.

 

[ValveCoverGasket]

depending on how rough the finish is, id plan on using a firmer pad for the harsher compounds, and that finishing pad you already have for the final step.

youll also need some kind of lube for the clay bar (griots speed shine is fine, or anything soapy) + clay bar
and amazon has the kirkland yellow microfiber towel packs which are inexpensive, and really durable. if they dont get jamemd with dirt or crud ive had good luck washing and reusing them multiple times. 1 or 2 packs is enough for a few years in my experience detailing a couple cars per year.

my usual process:

quick hose off to get anything huge and nasty off, or a wipe down if its not super caked.
speed shine or meguiars quik detailer w/ clay bar on all the horizontal surfaces especially, and quick touch of the sides
wipe off the speed shine/clay bar lube
hit the major spots with your more gritty compound
go back over the whole thing with a quick pass with your finishing compound
apply wax - with a wheel if its a big car, by hand if not
let sit for 10-15 minutes
wipe off wax
tires + trim black stuff if needed
finito!

edit - most of what i touch seems to be old cars with single stage paint so its really easy to make them pop and remove any glaring paint issues quickly using the rougher compound, but since your S has clear youll maybe wanna take more time with the finishing compound to really smooth it out.

heres an example on our G of pre and post using that process above, on a clear coat with solid underlying paint

before

after

im by no means an expert, but enjoy seeing the results

 

[dan of montana]

I just did the same things. Bought a bunch of Griots stuff. A couple things I learned.

1. Their youtube vids are helpful. So is the little card that comes in box with the polisher.
2. As with any car project, take the amount of time a pro says it takes and double it for your first go. Doing minor paint correction on my VW took me 10-12 hrs.
3. I had to push harder on the sides of the car. Makes sense given that I didn't also have the weight of the polisher to help on the sides.
4. Their 3-1 spray wax is actually pretty legit.
5. Using Griots speed shine to dry is amazing. Helps with water spots, and sort of lubes the towel to reduce swirls.

Here are my results for the VW (wash, clay, decontaminate, Boss micorfiber + griots compound, then griots sealant with finishing pad)

And the truck (boss micro with compound, then griots 3-1 spray wax) I only corrected the hood, thing is too big and gets drive through the woods all the time, not looking for perfect paint).

 

[dan of montana]

I really had never done more than wash/clay/wax before. I was pretty nervous about screwing up the paint, but I am really glad I took some time to learn some of the basics. It feels great to be able to address some swirls or paint marring at home. The PO of my truck clearly loved using the scrub brush at the car wash.

 

[guggles]

I would highly recommend reading this:

Clearcoats are thin by Mike Phillips

Clearcoats are thin by Mike Phillips The majority of cars being manufactured today and starting since the 1980's use what's called a basecoat/clearcoa

www.autogeekonline.net

if this is your first time, go with a mild pad and polish first. See if your happy with the results. If you don't know how much paint is on the car your kinda flying blind. Be warned.

 

[oidoglr]

View attachment 187468

I'd be really curious to see how much these effect the flow rate on a 3/4 or 5/8 garden hose.

 

[35thGLINoob]

Probably will get a bunch of heat for even saying this, but every car I have clay barred I have scratched....all over, and pretty badly. Brand new clay bars almost every time, never dropped. Always freshly washed, used clay luber....not sure if I'm just pushing too hard when doing it, but I've thrown in the towel trying it now.

 

[Jettaguynj]

I quit my job this week. New job starts up in early June, and as part of quitting my job, I’m skipping a business trip that everyone else I work with is going on next week. So that means while I’m still technically on the clock, I’m not doing f’all. Kids are still in school. Wife is working. I have 40+ hours to fill next week.

So perfect opportunity to do some garage screwing around. On the agenda is my S, which is mechanically sound, but looking a little rough. I have, I think, many of the tools needed to make her a bit shinier, and now I’ll have the time.

Wash, then claybar, then…?

here are materials I have in my garage. I have to think that among them are most, if not all, of the things I need to do a nice paintwork freshening of amateur quality. I know I don’t need all of them. I don’t know how many of them I need, and in what order. Or if there is anything else I need. Advice is appreciated. If I need more stuff (I.e. more pads) I’d like to Amazon them sooner rather than later unless I can just run to Autozone and get them off the shelf. I need to get the claybar, and I have general wash stuff, what of this pile should I use, and what do I not need? Also, does this stuff go bad? It’s sealed and a couple/few years old, do I need to pitch it and get different stuff?

View attachment 187443
(Ignore that car wash soap leaked on the RO box, the RO is fine)

Stack:

Been using Griot's stuff for 26 years. Had my MKIII painted 6 years ago with Standox. I've never used an Orbitol. After years of trying diff. stuff I came down to this:

Wash my car with Britemax by hand. Dry it thoroughly. Then clay the entire car with Griots clay bar and Speed Shine. Then I use Klasse kit. Polish car first and then apply Klasse sealer. Stuff is amazing and easy on and off. If you have an orbitol it'll make job faster but I'm sticking with my own program. Hope it goes well! Let us know how orbitol finishing goes. Griots is serious stuff and I swear by 99% of their stuff.

 

[ValveCoverGasket]

Probably will get a bunch of heat for even saying this, but every car I have clay barred I have scratched....all over, and pretty badly. Brand new clay bars almost every time, never dropped. Always freshly washed, used clay luber....not sure if I'm just pushing too hard when doing it, but I've thrown in the towel trying it now.

dont push
its just there to grab surface stuff. dont push. slide.

 

[4.OMG]

I understand not wanting to waste products you already have, but they're not necessarily well suited to your goals and they've been sitting, so I'd spend just a few bucks and get something you know will work.

First, is your paint single stage or base/clear? Everything below assumes you have clearcoat; single stage is a different animal.

Lake Country flat pads are cheap, easy to use and forgiving for amateurs (like me). I'd buy 6 orange and 6 white, which is enough to do a true 2-step correction if you want. The finishing pads you already have will be fine. In terms of paint correction products, I would recommend Sonax Cutmax and Sonax 04-06. Both are super easy to work with, finish down very well (including the Cutmax) and are easy to wipe off. 3D One is a good option for a one step enhancement/mild correction, and people seem to like it with Urofiber 50/50 pads. All this stuff is available on Amazon.

Always start with a test panel using your mildest combination (for example, the 04-06 on a white pad) and see how it does. A good place to try different combinations is somewhere low on the rear passenger side, so you won't have to look at it very often if you mess up. If you need more correction, try other combinations in order of increasing cut until you find what is giving the desired results. For a quick correction on a Japanese car (Hondas typically have soft paint), Sonax 04-06 on a white or orange pad may be all you need for most or all of the car (you can always use something different on isolated areas if you want).

My process would be:

1) contact wash using whatever soap, but preferably something that won't leave anything behind (i.e., no wash and wax products);
2) chemical decontamination (I use Optimum Ferrex, but Advance Auto Parts sells Adams products and their iron remover is good enough for DIYers);
3) mechanical decontamination (I prefer synthetic clay bars/mitts/towels because they won't get ruined if you drop them, just wash them and keep going). You can use quick detailer, soap or ONR for lube (I use ONR because I have it around, it's cheap and smells good).
4) Rinse and dry.
5) Paint correction (see above).
6) Clean all surfaces with diluted isopropyl alcohol mix to remove any remaining polish etc.
7) Paint protection. If you're not looking to do a ceramic coating, I would use a polymer sealant. Jescar Powerlock lasts for 6 months, provides a nice gloss and is idiot proof to apply. Also available on Amazon.

That's pretty much it. If you've never done it before, watch some videos from Apex Detailing on youtube for guidance on technique.

For microfibers, check The Rag Company store on Amazon. I would get a set of cheap edgeless towels for dirty work and a nicer set that you'll use exclusively to wipe and buff the paint during the correction stage.

 

[4.OMG]

Probably will get a bunch of heat for even saying this, but every car I have clay barred I have scratched....all over, and pretty badly. Brand new clay bars almost every time, never dropped. Always freshly washed, used clay luber....not sure if I'm just pushing too hard when doing it, but I've thrown in the towel trying it now.

That's because clay is an abrasive, albeit a fairly mild one. If you're scratching the car that badly, you probably have a lot of embedded contamination that you're dragging across the paint. Most professionals will tell you they won't clay any car they don't also intend to polish.

 

[BSM]

There are no pictures in this thread showing the paint of the vehicle in question, yet people are giving instructions on how to do a paint correction 🤨

 

[35thGLINoob]

That's because clay is an abrasive, albeit a fairly mild one. If you're scratching the car that badly, you probably have a lot of embedded contamination that you're dragging across the paint. Most professionals will tell you they won't clay any car they don't also intend to polish.

Happened even to a brand new car.

 

[Jimmy Russells]

dont push
its just there to grab surface stuff. dont push. slide.

and lots of lube

With that said, only clay when really necessary and typically before you polish.

 

[The_Real_Stack]

There are no pictures in this thread showing the paint of the vehicle in question, yet people are giving instructions on how to do a paint correction 🤨

Picture ****ty red Honda paint that’s 20 years old.

 

[Zillon]

The secret with clay is to use lots and lots of lubricant. I do a 50/50 mix of Meguiars Last Touch and distilled water when claying. No pressure, just glide the clay over the paint. If the clay starts grabbing the paint, you need more lube.

Also, Honda clearcoat is notoriously thin, so go as light as you need to on the polish/compound.

 

[oidoglr]

Happened even to a brand new car.

1. Larry Kosilla has shown that even Porsche GT cars that are hand built and haven't had the protective film removed yet come from the factory with paint imperfections
2. Cars get contaminants out on the lots or during transport.
3. Cars often get manhandled by underpaid and untrained dealership detailers with a wool pad and install scratches on brand new cars then they toss a cheap glaze on the top and you could be removing that glaze to expose scratches/swirls/RIDS with the clay bar.
4. Are you religious about kneading the clay bar after a pass of picking up contaminants? If you're paying close attention to the feel and sound, you'll notice when the clay picks up grit out of the paint. Don't make another pass without turning that clay over again otherwise you're just rubbing that grit against your paint. Even still, expect to be polishing any paint you're hitting with clay.

 

[Zillon]

Also, to expand on the polish - doing this between calls here at work so bear with me...

Here's what I use:
Meguiars Last Touch for quick detailer, cut 50/50 with distilled water for claying.
Meguiars 105 for heavy polish/cut
Meguiars 205 for regular polish
Prima Amigo for glaze
Prima Epic for wax

Pads, I use Lake Country SDO pads, blue for cutting/heavy polish, orange for regular polish, and black for final finish/wax/glaze.

Wash vehicle with dish soap to strip paint of all waxes, clay with Megs Last Touch 50/50, rinse, cut with 105 on areas that need more attention, polish whole car with 205, then finish with Amigo, and top it with Epic. Let the wax cure, buff to shine. While the wax is curing, treat your rubber gaskets and seals with Einszett gummipflege and clean the interior.

Last step: Treat matte black plastic trim with Aerospace 303 protectant on a foam applicator and wipe away any excess on the paint with a microfiber.

Also, back to clay: If you drop the clay, it's done. Throw it away. Knead it in your hands, work it over from time to time, spread it thin and use your whole hand to glide it over the paint.