Detailing Thread [For Newbies][ARCHIVED]

[madkatz]

*LPGasboy: pm me your contact details, i might know someone that is interested.

[madkatz]

Just want to share, its been one and a half month since i removed the tree sap etchings and stains from my paint along with the swirls and layered on 3 coats of Chemical Guys M-seal and a layer of 476. I was out during the week end and i had to bring my Innova out to Mt. Makiling to cook for my Girl Scout students. When i got to the campsite, unfortunately the place was filled with trees which only reminded me of how bad things went during my last trip in Canyon Woods, so i felt confident bringing along a small spray bottle filled with Meguiars Last Touch with 3 pcs Microtex Plush MF cloths thinking this time IM PREPARED!! hahaha thats our motto BTW.

First off, i picked up my friend in Valenzuela and took off at 5:30am, sped thru Edsa and got to the huge Shell Station and got my Starbucks fix at around 6am, i checked my tire pressure and sped off again and reached UPLB by 6:30, so thats about 1 hour from Valenzuela to Los Banos, it was one of my fastest drives since there was not much cars and it was a steady 150 to 160 in most times, i know thats still slow for some of the more skilled drivers here and i know its slow because i saw a number of cars passing me even at 150, a porsch even passed me like i wasn't moving, who knows how fast that guy was speeding. Then we noticed bugs splattering on my windshield, so we did a sort of speed test hehe, we noticed that if you are running at around 100 to 120 you won't get bugs splattering all over your car, 120 to 140 you get some, but at 140 to 160? be sure to clean up some mess hahaha.

When i got to the campsite, i can't find any spot to park that is far from trees so i parked it next to where i was setting up my tent, before i set up my tent, i check my cars condition and it was full of insect juice, i then i though that i would just set up my tent and have B-fast first before i clean the car since by then it won't do as much damage yet, so i set up and made B-fast. Two hours later after laying all my things and cleaning my utensils, my car was already filled with tree saps! I took out my Microtex Plush and Megs LT and cleaned the whole car and damn was the smell awful because of the bugs. Towards the afternoon when we got back from hiking and going to Flat Rocks i checked my car again and it was again filled with saps, so same thing, put out a fresh Microtex Plush and QD'ed the whole car again but since the Spray bottle i brought was only about 150ml i was running low and thinking that i'll be spending the night and what horrors might await me the next morning, i decided to drive out to Robinsons and get myself some TW Platinum Detailer since its the best they have. Towards the end of the day when the sun was setting i decided to QD again just to be sure, but since there wasn't any much stains i only did those portions that had stains. I spent the night over and lo and behold the next day my car was filled with tree saps again and not to mention that i woke up late at 9am already where the sun have already baked my car, so this time its TW Platinum and my last Microtex Plush, since the students were packing up i decided to take pictures of my car after my QD wipe down but i had to supervise them so it took some time before i was able to take shots at around 10am, i tried to take some reflections shots but the sun was still covered by the trees.

here are the pics

[madkatz]

Some more pics, i took them at 2 different settings so that it won't be too bright since too much light might increase reflectivity which might falsely improve the gloss.
















So i guess added layers of sealants really does help in protecting your car, im sure there were tree saps that landed on my car right before we took off to hike and the hike took a good 6 hours from 9am to 3pm where the sun was the brightest, here im sure some tree saps landed on my car and baked there for a good 6 hours, i was already scared of the thought that i might have to polish the car again and this time i might not be able to visually remove them, but when i got back and QD'ed the car, there were no spots or stains or etchings whatsoever. Its either Chemical Guys M-seal is better in protecting your paint compared to KSG, OR constant QDing will really reduce the stains and etching OR layering multiple coats really does help in preventing stains and etchings. We're going to have our next training camp at the same place again this April, and this time im planning on putting on 3 layers of KSG before i go there to check which one is better, so its KSG vs Chem Guys M-seal.

Thanks for reading hehe

[jozep]

nice photos madkatz, thanks for sharing.

[Starex_Gold]

madkatz, i hate your car. ang kintab eh! :hysterical:

Then we noticed bugs splattering on my windshield, so we did a sort of speed test hehe, we noticed that if you are running at around 100 to 120 you won't get bugs splattering all over your car, 120 to 140 you get some, but at 140 to 160? be sure to clean up some mess hahaha.

naiintindihan ko na kung bakit ang daming bugs sa bumper at windshield ko

[Chikselog]

*madkatz
Eto lang masasabi ko sa pics.. :jawdrop:
Ang kintab! :| siguro pag sa malayo parang may glossy coating ang itsura ng innova mo hehe. Grabe, nice paint!

BTW, what camera did you use with those shots?
And also, bring a car cover para tipid sa QD

[Starex_Gold]

EOS 450D or 500D yung camera ni madkatz. Canon DSLR

[jmpet626]

hey guys AG has a promo now that gives out 15% discount with free shipping at 75$ and up

*jon: does AG usually give these coupon codes? im planning on getting more stuffs mid this year and you think they would give out the same promo again?

Meron sila promo ngayon agbucks na coupon code. 20$ off sa 150$ and up na orders. I think hanggang Feb 28 na lang siya. Just ordered another set of CCS pads and collinite waxes.

*Madkatz

anong promo code for the 15% off and free shipping?

[jmpet626]

*jmpet626: hmm as of how AG rates it, XMT #2 has the same cut as Mothers Power Polish, and when i've used Power Polish with the white pad it did also leave me with some swirls, i was only able to tackle the swirls when i used the orange pad with the Power Polish and i also noticed that you might have to work the product a little longer to completely remove the swirls. So i guess using the orange pad would also make sense since it has more cut. What green pad did you use? the softer or the coarse? Because i think if you have the green polishing/finishing pad its correct that you use S&G with this, but if you have the normal green pad, its actually more agressive than the white pad. So it would be green coarse with XMT and white with S&G or your correct with white with XMT and green finishing with S&G.

Thanks. I used the green soft finishing pad.

[jmpet626]

madkatz, i hate your car. ang kintab eh! :hysterical:



naiintindihan ko na kung bakit ang daming bugs sa bumper at windshield ko

Hahah mas grabe sa SCTEX pagka gabi at ikaw lang yung car kahit 100kph lang takbo ang daming bugs na attracted sa headlights.

[Starex_Gold]

jmpet ikaw ba yung nag post sa teamFD nung blue jazz na detailed?

[jmpet626]

jmpet ikaw ba yung nag post sa teamFD nung blue jazz na detailed?

Yes sir dun sa detailing thread nila

[jonjon_u]

-Yung hood ng Jazz 09 hinati ko into 2 sections.

Seems ok. But before you use a more aggressive pad, you could try shrinking to work area to around 12". x 12". Check if that works with XMT#2 and the LC white pad.

- Speed is set to 5

If you're using a PC, then 5 is ok. But speed 6 "could" also help.

- Slow over lapping passes.

If you're referring to 1" per second, then that's just ok.

- 1 peso sized drop per section

In my experience, I think I get better performance from the pad and polish combo if I place 4 small dots near the edge of the pad. Once the center of the pad is soaked with polish, I then change to a clean pad. That's just me though.

- medium pressure (not sure kung enough)

As long the polisher doesn't bog down when you apply pressure, then I guess you're still doing fine.

- Around 4 to 5 mins per section

This depends on the polish. From what I know, the abrasives of the XMT2 need to be broken down before you stop polishing a section. If the XMT's behavior is similar to the Mothers PowerPolish, then you could stop once the polish appears to be almost clear.

The non-diminishing abrasives of the Meguiars Ultimate Compound, SwirlX, M105, etc., on the other hand, require a different approach and technique.

Hope this helps.

[jonjon_u]

hey guys AG has a promo now that gives out 15% discount with free shipping at 75$ and up

*jon: does AG usually give these coupon codes? im planning on getting more stuffs mid this year and you think they would give out the same promo again?

From what I have observed for the past years, they regularly give various promos, so I guess by the time you're ready to get some supplies, there would most likely be one.

(note to self... I'm nearly out of ONR, I better save up for the new ONR formula - hehe)

Great work on the car by the way.

[madkatz]

*SG: hahaha i guess you're also one of those people that would pass me by at the highway, but im really amazed at the difference in bug splatter by just increasing your speed by 20kmph, im using a 1000D hehe its much cheaper and a lower version than both 450 and 500d, thanks for the compliment hehe

[jonjon_u]

*SG: hahaha i guess you're also one of those people that would pass me by at the highway, but im really amazed at the difference in bug splatter by just increasing your speed by 20kmph, im using a 1000D hehe its much cheaper and a lower version than both 450 and 500d, thanks for the compliment hehe

Hi. I have a question.

I was thinking of testing the performance of the Glass Science Gel vs. bug splatters during several evening trips at the SCTEX. I never got to finish the experiment; for some strange reason, there were no flying insects during those times.

Were you able to apply some Glass Science Rain Clear Gel on the windshield? If yes, then I was curious as to whether or not the bug splatter was easy to remove when you used your wipers and washer, or whether or not it still left some hard to remove smudges from the windshield. What was your experience?

Thanks.

[madkatz]

*chickselog: its a canon 1000d DSLR, thanks for the compliment, hows your detailing coming along BTW? finally got your SwirlX? Im checking out and researching for a car cover but i still can't make out which brand is the best since i've read some really horror stories about them scratching your paint.

[madkatz]

*jmpet626: its feb15, did you have your items shipped here directly? or did you have it shipped to someone you know and have it balikbayan boxed here? yeah i noticed that too when it comes to SCTEX but before i thought its because of the lush fields beside the highway that gets a lot of bugs on your car but now that you mentioned bugs attracted to the light i think thats a better explanation, and to think im going to subic pretty soon hehe

[madkatz]

*jmpet626 and SG: you guys should post pics of your details as well, im sure it would be a great way of inspiring people to take better care of their cars.

[madkatz]

*Jon: i have a question, i've tried the Megs 105 and 205 as well as SwirlX and Ultimate compound, and at some point they also become clear, does that mean it has reached its cut? or can i still go on and it would still provide me some more cut? Now that you mentioned about SMATs and traditional polishes becoming clear when broken down, i was just wondering if SMAT becoming clear would also mean it has reached its cut limit? I've used 105 and 205 on an old BMW and based on how i look at it i think it also looses cut after sometime, but the good thing i noticed was even if its clear already you could still polish with the residue to produce a great gloss, same things with UC on a PC.