Detailing Thread [For Newbies][ARCHIVED]

[jmpet626]

Meron na bang nakapag try ng Red & yellow na lake country pad? May difference ba sila? Sa description kasi nila sa net from Black to blue to red na pad sabi pwede for Waxes and sealants.

[Chikselog]

*chickselog: Just measure it using small measuring cups or small containers, what i do is i use a measuring cup and fill up 1 liter containers at home with the different dilution ratio's that i use which are the 3 i've mentioned, and then when one plastic liter container is finished i just move the spray bottle head to the next.

I asked some of my friends that are in the car scene and some if not most of them just have the wiper parts repainted and this time with a thick coat of clear coat, they say its not expensive and it looks really nice way better than having it re-dyed where if you have it re-dyed chances are it would become white again, but thats what they said

As for the tires question my votes would definitely go to the Tire Cream, its not that big actually but its enough to cover a lot and i mean a lot.

Alright..! Many Thanks again!

[madkatz]

*jmpet626: i have tried them already, its more like black and blue for applying sealants and waxes, and you could also use these pads for jeweling the paint using finishing polishes, where red and gold is softer and could be used to jewel the paint by using ultra fine finishing polishes and applying waxes and sealants. Its more like Red and Gold are just softer versions of Black and Blue where they are a lot safer at the process of jeweling as compared the their black and blue counter parts, sadly it looks like red and gold are mainly effective if used by rotary as compared to DA's. I've actually compared the results i had before during my trial paint jeweling, done without that much guides and knowledge BTW, i actually had better results with the blue pad with a rotary as compared to the gold pad with a pc.

Basically the black blue and red pads are actually pretty much the same for me, i really can't even differentiate any significant difference, the gold in a way is slightly and noticeably softer. the black, blue and red pads are basically good for finishing polishes since they have very minimal cut and using these pads with finishing polishes will still remove paint but on a very very low cut level already, as for the gold pad i guess its the same with the red blue and black but lets just say that the gold has a very long working time. with a rotary it already takes a long time to burnish the paint to a high gloss what more with a PC, it took me a long time to completely work my finishing polish with a PC and getting the right amount of polish along side with the area to be worked with was also something i had to learn the hard way. Honestly right now im so happy just with the black pad and its performance that its all that i used since mid December, One thing i noticed from the red blue and gold pads are that they actually tend to hold a lot more wax or polish inside the foam, so better be careful in applying too much cause any increase in pressure might release polishes that are not broken down completely and these might even cause an uneven surface gloss for you. If i get to my jeweling project and i still don't see that much difference i just actually might sell my blue red and gold pads since so far i don't see any big difference with the black pad.

[madkatz]

found some sites to help you with your questions

http://www.lakecountrymfg.com/applicationguide/

then DL the pad application guide, you would notice that in the guide white pads are for polishes and black are for glazes, both blue and red fall in the same category and fall under polishes again so i guess it doesn't make that much difference, and the gold falls under pure waxes and sealants

and in here

http://www.pinnaclewax.com/lakecount...er-how-to.html

you would notice that the black red and blue all fall under one category which falls under final finishing so i guess its safe to say they really are pretty much the same, and as far as i know i haven't seen any final finishing or ultra fine finishing polishes available locally, and the only ones i have are Optimum polymers and Menzerna's which are all from the US. they didn't even classify gold in their page, so i guess gold is purely for applying waxes and sealants only and maybe buffing it to a high gloss, but then again you still have to follow this up with a MF, and one last tip, if you plan on jeweling your paint using the gold pad, always check it for dried waxes and sealants that cake or powder after each panel, this is the only problem i've encountered with the gold pad, since you have to work it longer chances are by the time you're done with one panel some pores have already started to harden or build up and these builds up can cause swirls yet again.

but again for me from black to gold, all of them are the same for me, try to check out jon's detail on the CRV using the black pad, the one when he used power polish and followed with reflections, the result was already like he jeweled the paint, its so clean and glossy.

[jmpet626]

*jmpet626: i have tried them already, its more like black and blue for applying sealants and waxes, and you could also use these pads for jeweling the paint using finishing polishes, where red and gold is softer and could be used to jewel the paint by using ultra fine finishing polishes and applying waxes and sealants. Its more like Red and Gold are just softer versions of Black and Blue where they are a lot safer at the process of jeweling as compared the their black and blue counter parts, sadly it looks like red and gold are mainly effective if used by rotary as compared to DA's. I've actually compared the results i had before during my trial paint jeweling, done without that much guides and knowledge BTW, i actually had better results with the blue pad with a rotary as compared to the gold pad with a pc.

Basically the black blue and red pads are actually pretty much the same for me, i really can't even differentiate any significant difference, the gold in a way is slightly and noticeably softer. the black, blue and red pads are basically good for finishing polishes since they have very minimal cut and using these pads with finishing polishes will still remove paint but on a very very low cut level already, as for the gold pad i guess its the same with the red blue and black but lets just say that the gold has a very long working time. with a rotary it already takes a long time to burnish the paint to a high gloss what more with a PC, it took me a long time to completely work my finishing polish with a PC and getting the right amount of polish along side with the area to be worked with was also something i had to learn the hard way. Honestly right now im so happy just with the black pad and its performance that its all that i used since mid December, One thing i noticed from the red blue and gold pads are that they actually tend to hold a lot more wax or polish inside the foam, so better be careful in applying too much cause any increase in pressure might release polishes that are not broken down completely and these might even cause an uneven surface gloss for you. If i get to my jeweling project and i still don't see that much difference i just actually might sell my blue red and gold pads since so far i don't see any big difference with the black pad.

Thanks Madkatz.. Very informative!!!

[mau2485]

About sa new products ng microtex... sana magkaroon ng microtex jelly blade

[madkatz]

*mau: sorry to burst your bubble but thats not whats coming up. although i've already suggested that to the owner since im very unhappy with the micromagic blade, but there's something that surprised me, at first the california jelly blade is softer as compared to the micromagic water blade, but after some uses the micro magic actually became much much softer as compared to the california jelly blade i have, so you might want to look into that one.

[Chikselog]

I've just recently bought 2 pieces of Microtex Terry Towel at sinabay ko na rin ang pagbili ng TW Platinum QD....

Actually I was forced to do so because natalsikan ng putik kaninang umaga habang nasa byahe from an L300 na dumaan sa lubak na may tubig but gabi na nung winipe out ko to.. Ang hirap tanggalin with just an MF towel dahil tirik ang araw sa parking ko and natuyo na talaga yung putik..

Anyway, the terry towel is nice and it is just like the back of the Microtex Plush.. Buti na lang sale pa nung binili ko.. P95 each, pwede na completely natanggal yung putik

*madkatz
Hello po, I have another question again ..Suppose that I have now the Megs SwirlX and I'm about to detail, are these steps correct?

Wash
Clay and Asphalt Removal
Wash again (if necessary)
SwirlX
Moms Step2 and 3
TW Platinum or Moms Showtime QD for finishing touches

By hand po lahat ng applications.. Wala pa po akong polishing machine eh..

And what do you recommend po with either Microtex Plush, Microtex Terry, ZWipes MF (yan lang po mga MF towels ko) when it comes to:

Buffing off applied waxes?
Applying QD?

TIA po!

[madkatz]

*chickselog: haha yup the orange towels really are a steal especially when still at promo price, my friend can't even find them in Ace North Edsa so i told him to grab some at San Lazaro. Lucky me i got mine for free hahaha but i had to put up a nice review for the owner of Microtex.

Your procedure is correct as long as you remove asphalt first before you clay, as i've said kerosene can work wonders, you could also try some body solvents if you're not comfortable with kerosene, using these two to remove asphalt will prolong the life of your clay.

10 tips

1. If you're doing the whole car, down to every corner and nook and cranny then it might be a good idea to tape off your car's rubber plastic and other non paint panels. This would prevent you from cleaning these hard to reach area's after detailing and this would prevent polish and wax stains after.

2. When working the SwirlX be sure to do it on one test area first before you cover the whole car, this would preferably be the bottom part near the wheel well or some other part of the car where the paint is least seen or noticed at the same time with some of the defects you want to remove. I sometimes do the test spot on the bottom part of the rear bumper or on the inconspicuous part of the panel hehehe.

3. When working SwirlX be sure to use a small product on the test area and work it with light pressure, once you feel the hard paint dead on between your finger tips or with your hand and the paint then you are already pressing too. Work SwirlX for a good 2 minutes and remove it with a MF towel to see if the correction done was already sufficient and if you are satisfied with the results. If the correction was done, then just duplicate this on the entire car. If the correction wasn't done, then re-apply the product again with light pressure, if its still there, re-apply it again this time with moderate pressure, but take note its always better to do multiple light passes as compared to few heavy passes, this way you only remove a minimal amount of clear coat from your paint, and by doing multiple passes you would remove just the right amount of clear coat that needs to be removed.

4. Things to note about SwirlX, SwirlX uses SMAT abrasive technology, its meguiars' new abrasive technology, it doesn't have Diminishing abrasives that slowly loose its cut upon working the product, rather SMAT technology requires a lot less time in working the product to remove the defects since this product virtually no longer needs to be broken down. So when you buff you paint with SwirlX the cutting action is already constant and you will would end up with a nice finish already, so what you could do is work a panel with SwirlX and just swipe a small area to see the results, if its still not enough you could just continue on buffing the panel without applying more product as long as you don't dry buff. Also when using SwirlX, when done properly there might be a chance that you won't need to do Step 2 anymore since it finishes up nicely, but you could still proceed with this step for added shine and for added gloss by refining the paint further.

5. Always have a handy toothbrush on hand, after each panel always check for polish build ups and for solid particles and remove these by using the toothbrush.

6. When applying SwirlX, if you're gonna stick with my idea of doing light passes, be prepared to work the car for a long time, in-between working panels you could always take a break to reduce muscle fatigue, you wouldn't want to start without finishing at the end of the day, resting would also allow your muscles enough time to rest, rested muscles produce a more uniform pressure while working the product, and uniform pressure through out the whole car would probably also yield uniform results.

7. Always work SwirlX in small area's, this way you have a better control over the pressure as compared to covering large area's. Working in small area's also allow you to work the product in that small area faster making the chances of dry buffing a lot less as compared to working larger panels where the chances of the product drying also increases.

8. Once done always inspect the panel with a bright light and on different angles, its always better to do things right the first time around, and its also a lot harder when you're already on step 3 and you notice you didn't work one panel properly.

9. After each of your steps, namely SwirlX, Step 2 and Step 3, always mist some QD and wipe the whole car, this way you could check the panels thoroughly and make sure there is no product cross contamination, you shouldn't apply too much QD since the paint would be smooth at this point and you're just gliding the MF anyway.

10. Always check your MF for polish build ups, it would be nice if you could grab some Microtex Terry for this and just fold them in half twice, this would give you 8 sides to cover the different panels of the car, just distribute these 8 sides to the different panels of your car, i always change sides after every panel.

You might want to ask jon for some extra tips in hand polishing and detailing.

As for your MF towel inquiry. i would normally suggest you go from toughest to softest. You could use the orange terry towels for step 1 since you're using SwirlX, it stays wet longer so the chances of contaminating your MF with polish build ups is a lot less, if it were other polishes i would recommend you get a softer towel, when i was training in Megs and was working on polishes, the polishes i used were still those with the diminishing abrasives technology and these usually tend to clump and dry up faster so i had to use a softer MF here much like the Microtex Plush, but since its SwirlX, orange cotton terry would do. As for you Step 2, if you're planning on applying it to the whole car before you buff it off then you might want to use Zwipes MF here since this is basically dried ultra fine polish and glaze, and lastly plush for your waxing stage.

For buffing off waxes no doubt i would recommend Plush, and same goes for QD. My reason would be that i usually use QD to remove contaminants other than dust so its a lot safer to use the softest towel i have. When i reach my step 3 and remove it with a plush MF towel chances are i don't need to use all 8 sides of the 2x 1/2 folded MF towel especially if i apply my waxes really thin, this would give me a few more unused parts of the MF towel for the QD wipe down after.

Try to post before and after pics!

Hope this helps!

Good luck on your detail!

[asmdriskell]

Good tips and information!

[Chikselog]

*madkatz

once you feel the hard paint dead on between your finger tips or with your hand and the paint then you are already pressing too.

What do you mean by "hard paint"?

You might want to ask jon for some extra tips in hand polishing and detailing.

I do hope he chimes in

8. Once done always inspect the panel with a bright light and on different angles, its always better to do things right the first time around, and its also a lot harder when you're already on step 3 and you notice you didn't work one panel properly.

I see..What light do you use? We have two flashlights here, an LED and an ordinary one, isama na natin yung fluorescent light in the garage..

Also, other questions po:

1. Paano nyo po nililinis MF towel ninyo? hand wash po ba? kasi pansin ko parang may mga nakadikit pa rin sa MF towel na parang maliit na kahoy that probably came from the car or the surroundings..

2. What Applicator pad would you recommend? I can't decide between these three..
Blade Applicators
Megs Applicators
SM Arnolds Applicators

I don't know talaga kasi pag Megs, P88 each pero di sya yung tipong tatagos hanggang sa kamay mo yung wax IMO.. While the SM Arnolds they come in fours at P260 only, cheaper than the Megs BUT, parang manipis yung foam niya..

3. Per panel po ang the best way to apply SwirlX di po ba? Buff off po ba agad kapag apply ng SwirlX?


4. Lumang kerosene na po yung nandito sa amin..Mahigit 6 months na ata to hehehe pwede pa ba gamitin to for asphalt removal? Medyo may pagka yellow na kulay niya

THANK YOU po and sorry for my questions na pagkarami rami..

[jmpet626]

Pagkatapos ma work ang Swirl X buff mo na kaagad. Effective naman yung sa Blade na Applicators yan gamit ko pang tanggal ng scratches using Scratch X. 250 pesos yata yung 4 pcs sa blade.

Wag mo lang siya gagamitin sa pang apply ng Rain Clear, nalulusaw yung pad

[madkatz]

*chickselog: i mean the paint, when you feel the paint against your finger tips pressing hard, sort of you feel like there's no more buffer between your finger and the paint.

as for your lights question, its actually already ok to use fluorescent light as long as its bright enough to uncover the swirls or the defect that you are removing, i personally use 3 different lights, halogen bulbs for detecting moderate swirls and scratches as well as water marks and some stains, i use fluorescent light and bulbs for detecting light swirls and most of the stains since white light its best to bring out the difference in colors, white light is also best to check for gloss and to check if the paint still has clear coat. As for very light swirls and scratches my weapon of choice would be mercury lights, these have the same color and effect on paint as the orange street lamps, this light will bring out even the smallest of swirls but this light is also dark that the only thing you can see are really just swirls hehe

For the MF towels, i soak them in medium hot water, not too hot ok? just hot enough that it feels nice on your hands somewhat relaxing and the i just give them a nice soak for like how many batches of soaking, the heat on the water will help soften and loosen the oils and waxes in the MF, then when i rinse them an i no longer see any oils or waxes floating on top, i use warm water again with Joy to remove the oils, i usually just soak these for about 1 hour, and then finally i put them in the washing machine ( i use our old one since i don't want it to contaminate my clothes ) put on the lowest setting and wash using Perla, this way the MF doesn't become too hard when it dries. You could also try using Dawn dish washing liquid, i was fortunate to see some on SM hypermart last time, its very effective in removing waxes, its sort of weaker counter part is joy.

Any of the 3 would do, actually i think what blade sells is just the repackaged SM Arnolds Foam Applicator pads, they all pretty much the same actually, but yeah i guess Megs would outlast and outperform SM Arnolds but in just small ways.

Yes you do it per panel and yes you buff it off as soon as your done with the work area you are doing, leaving the polish would sometimes cause polish build ups and sadly these are hard to remove depending on the polish and in some polishes you even have to use polish to remove the polish build ups, so better remove them as soon as you're done or else that would spell bad news hehe

Better have a new batch of kerosene hehe, its better safe than sorry, normal kerosene should not change its properties in a span of a few months, we have a rest house that has a 5 gallon container of kerosene which we use to light bonfires and i think the kerosene is already 5 years old and it still looks pretty much like the normal kerosene. but hey like i said better safe than sorry, and besides 1 liter of kerosene would already be enough for removing asphalt for your car twice already and it only costs like 49 per liter?

No problem with the questions, keep them coming, its better to have an active board than a dead one right? and answering your questions now will also share important information to people that are reading this thread. And im pretty sure you would also do the same when you gain experience and someone asks you these questions, and its always nice to help.

Don't forget the pictures and Good luck!

[indiej]

will it be alright if the wax applicator is left unwashed, assuming that it is clean except for the wax? parang sa ccd ang labas niya.

[jeff]

puwede ko ba gamtin sa buong auto yung TW scratch and swirl remover? kasi pinacarwash yung auto tapos pagbalik puro swirl marks na yung buong auto ang lalaki kitang-kita kapag nasinagan ng araw, saka madami narin scratches ng pusa.

[Chikselog]

will it be alright if the wax applicator is left unwashed, assuming that it is clean except for the wax? parang sa ccd ang labas niya.

IMO it might induce light swirls because of the hardened wax dragged onto the paint when it is used again.. Better to wash it before you use it

puwede ko ba gamtin sa buong auto yung TW scratch and swirl remover? kasi pinacarwash yung auto tapos pagbalik puro swirl marks na yung buong auto ang lalaki kitang-kita kapag nasinagan ng araw, saka madami narin scratches ng pusa.

Pwede naman sir..Just make sure you wash the car first before applying and don't put too much pressure when applying..


*madkatz
Thanks po muli..!

Regarding sa kerosene, sabagay sa bandang ibaba ko lang naman gagamitin yun dun sa part na malapit sa wheels..And also sa wheel wells na rin siguro ang dumi na eh..

Regarding applicators naman..Hmm, pero kung papipiliin po kayo, which of the two (SM Arnolds & Megs) would you choose? Medyo nakatutok na ako sa Megs eh kahit pricey ng onti..Pakiramdam ko kasi tama lang yung sukat niya at yung softness ng foam kasi yung SM Arnolds medyo malaki and IMO baka mas better ang control ko sa pag apply kapag Megs gamit ko.. Pero what I will use still varies on your inputs about this..

BTW, pics will be posted syempre hehe.. Kaso maybe in the next few weeks na ako makapag-detail dahil prelims week namin starting tomorrow hehe..Ipon-ipon muna para makabili na for my detailing project..

Again, thanks po uli..!

[madkatz]

*indiej: its better to wash the foam pads after you use it, just like what chickselog said, hardened wax might induce swirls on your paint, and another thing to note is that hardened wax is a lot harder to remove.

*jeff: yes you can use it for the whole car, but before you cover the whole car, do a test spot first and check if you are satisfied with the results, TW scratch and swirl remover is actually a bit aggressive IMO, its texture is pretty much like some compounds already so in using this product be sure to use light pressure only, and as far as i know this product does a decent job in removing scratches and swirls but it does not finish to a high gloss finish so you have to follow it up with a cleaner wax or with an ultra finishing polish, you could use Moms or Megs Step 2 to enhance the shine of the paint after your application of TW Scratch and Swirl Remover.

*chickselog: im leaning towards the Megs Applicator pad i guess because of the slight added thickness in the foam property, i believe adequate foam thickness would help in reducing hard buff marks.

Alright Good luck on your prelims, be sure to study well and just take care of the detailing after your exams! My sister is also taking her prelims in UST this monday wednesday friday and saturday hehe

[jeff]

*indiej: its better to wash the foam pads after you use it, just like what chickselog said, hardened wax might induce swirls on your paint, and another thing to note is that hardened wax is a lot harder to remove.

*jeff: yes you can use it for the whole car, but before you cover the whole car, do a test spot first and check if you are satisfied with the results, TW scratch and swirl remover is actually a bit aggressive IMO, its texture is pretty much like some compounds already so in using this product be sure to use light pressure only, and as far as i know this product does a decent job in removing scratches and swirls but it does not finish to a high gloss finish so you have to follow it up with a cleaner wax or with an ultra finishing polish, you could use Moms or Megs Step 2 to enhance the shine of the paint after your application of TW Scratch and Swirl Remover.

*chickselog: im leaning towards the Megs Applicator pad i guess because of the slight added thickness in the foam property, i believe adequate foam thickness would help in reducing hard buff marks.

Alright Good luck on your prelims, be sure to study well and just take care of the detailing after your exams! My sister is also taking her prelims in UST this monday wednesday friday and saturday hehe

kahapon lang kasi ako namili ng gamit yung TW scratch & swirl remover and TW super hard shell lang ang binili ko sabi ko na nga ba dapat kumuha rin ako ng TW carnauba cleaner wax.

btw ok lang ba na pranela gamitin ko pang apply nung scratch & swirl remover?

[Chikselog]

*chickselog: im leaning towards the Megs Applicator pad i guess because of the slight added thickness in the foam property, i believe adequate foam thickness would help in reducing hard buff marks.

Alright Good luck on your prelims, be sure to study well and just take care of the detailing after your exams! My sister is also taking her prelims in UST this monday wednesday friday and saturday hehe

Hehe thanks.. I guess I'll have to get Megs too hehe.. Hopefully the weekend after my prelims I can start detailing na..

BTW, I saw this Mr. Clean applicator pad sa Ace Hardware sa SM Valenzuela yesterday (not the mr. clean soap logo, kulay yellow and black ang kulay ng package/logo niya).. AND, it only costs P99.75 for 3 applicators!

But heck, it's softer than the SM Arnolds! Not worth it IMO.. Konting kurot mo lang with your thumb and index finger pisa na agad.. Baka pag ginamit mo yun tagos agad ang wax sa kabilang side ng applicator..:bwahaha:

Here's a pic of it.. 3 pcs. yan, close up lang yung pic.. cellphone cam lang

[mau2485]

IMO the Microtex Terry (orange cloth) is not as good as other MF but that just me. It is too soft that if you flatted the cloth, easily deforms when you drag it into your car. Ive use it with my QD. I can’t recommend it as a buffing cloth for wax. But for 90 pesos it had done its job for avoiding your car to have some scratch. I will still go for the plush for buffing
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