I'm thinking about getting into claybarring and automotive detailing as a side hobby (for both personal and maybe even friend's cars). Any product recommendations for claybars, sealants, and waxes? I've used Turtle and Mothers brand waxes and Mothers for interior detailing in the past and I've been satisfied, however, I was curious if there were any other recommendations on products I could use (that can be picked up locally rather than online order only).

5/20/2009 8:35:16 PM

Head over to a forum such as autogeekonline.net or autopia.org and read read read.

As far as local, your mostly looking at Mothers or Meguiars or Duragloss. Claybars are only made by one company in the world, so just pick the cheapest and follow directions. As far as polishes, I like Meguiars new Ultimate Compound and Swirl-X available from Wally World. NXT 2.0 is also a great sealant, and Duragloss #105 is the King of sealants IMO. Duragloss #951 Aquawax is a great spray wax type product.

Other than that, just go to forums and read up. Here is an article I wrote a few years ago for one of my forums. Should give you a decent head start.

http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forums/detailing/78805-how-to-correctly-detail-your-auto/

5/20/2009 9:20:41 PM

i would stick with 3-m microfinish and then glazing if you are using a da polisher

5/21/2009 7:48:11 AM

I use walmart claybar ,menzerna IP, menzerna FP, and klass aio . I use s100 as a final wax.


I do it once a year. I think i am going to stop.


If you cant properly dry and wax a car don't do anything at all. The swirls you will introduce are worse than a dirty car.

5/22/2009 8:22:18 AM

Quote :

"If you cant properly dry and wax a car don't do anything at all. The swirls you will introduce are worse than a dirty car."

Kinda like building a turbo single cam

D16FTL

5/22/2009 8:56:58 AM

Quote :

"If you cant properly dry and wax a car don't do anything at all. The swirls you will introduce are worse than a dirty car."

Tips on preventing them?

5/22/2009 9:02:55 AM

dont wipe in a circular pattern?

5/22/2009 9:04:00 AM

Lol, i know how to wash and wax just fine. I don't have swirl issues (except on the Porsche, the clear coat is almost absent and it takes a second coat to remove the swirl marks. )

5/22/2009 9:25:55 AM

Quote :

"Kinda like building a turbo single cam D16FTL "

You believe everything you read on the internet dont you

5/22/2009 6:26:05 PM

http://autopia.org
http://detailingworld.co.uk
http://detailingbliss.com

I use Sonus Green clay,

Jeff's Werkstatt Acrylic Jett/ Optimum Opti-Seal/ FK 100p for sealants,

And about 10 different nuba's.

5/22/2009 7:09:08 PM

second coat to remove swirls?? you wont be getting my business...





OH and Duragloss FTW

[Edited on May 22, 2009 at 7:11 PM. Reason : detailing nerds are worse than RX-7 nerds]

5/22/2009 7:10:26 PM

^Truth.

5/22/2009 7:22:35 PM

^^ Look, I'm not worried about "going into business." And really, it doesn't matter. I think it's impossible not to have swirl marks if doing it by hand, but whatever. Troll

5/22/2009 9:15:36 PM

You can wax a car without introducing swirls. You need good towels and good light. Make sure the car is clean as hell before even starting. I usually use a stroke (lol) pattern where I will know when/if I introduce scratchs.

If adding a 2nd layer of wax makes your swirls go away you failed. The only way to get them to go away forever is to sand down to the lowest depth. It's pretty simple. I dont see how anyone could do damage with a generic porter cable 7424.

5/23/2009 7:27:32 PM

Quote :

"If adding a 2nd layer of wax makes your swirls go away you failed. The only way to get them to go away forever is to sand down to the lowest depth. It's pretty simple. I dont see how anyone could do damage with a generic porter cable 7424."

Hell, I challenge any of you to try to do better by hand on the 944. When it's all said and done, I usually get outstanding compliments on any of the cars I have and I put an helluva lot of effort into them all (it's a good work out routine :beautup: ) With that said, I've always been too cheap to buy a buffer. I might go out and get said ^ buffer and maybe try it out to see how I do. I can practice on the 944 before moving on to the Lexus. I've heard horror stories about over-buffing and flattening the paint

[Edited on May 24, 2009 at 10:48 AM. Reason : psi]

5/23/2009 9:18:02 PM

I wouldn't even touch a car as old as the 944. You're just lucky to have paint on the car!

If you were to press down hard and hold the thing in one spot and fall asleep you could do damage. It's not a rotary and it takes forever to get anywhere. Use a white pad and something minor as far as cut and start on your lexus. It really isnt bad. My largest fear was always something getting in the pad and then me spinning it all over the paint. My buffer has a really weird wobble and I can only get it to balance with a 3-4" pad. I can let you borrow it and see what you think.

5/24/2009 7:01:59 AM

Swirls are easy to avoid as long as you ditch the shitty towels. Any bath towel that a lot of people use because of how soft they feel will introduce swirls if it has polyester stitching. i dry my truck by means of a backpack blower. i don't care if a product says it won't scratch, it will. don't use a chamois to dry the car. synthetic chamois' will scratch and real chamois' actually remove the wax. if you don't have a blower be sure to use a 100% egyptian cotton towel with no polyester or use a high-quality microfiber towel. funny i suggest microfiber because it's made entirely from polyester but the threads are so fine that they won't scratch. the microfiber cloths from walmart are fine but they just won't last long if you are properly maintaining them. be sure to wash microfiber towels by themselves using a gentle detergent (i use woollight). i recommend buying the higher-quality m/f towels. they can be had from http://www.griotsgarage.com. my truck is now almost 2.5 years old and still not one swirl mark or spiderweb. i wash it weekly and add protection twice a year. when i add protection, i'll wash it, clay bar it, wash again and dry it, apply a coat of zaino z-5 and follow up with 2 coats of zaino z-2 with their gloss enhancer spray in between coats.

5/24/2009 11:01:08 AM

just get a da buffer

6/13/2009 7:54:03 PM

i let a mobile guy wax and polish my car at work, he's done some coworkers for years so I said okay.

now the car has swirl marks from the machine polish, not scratches just weird patterns that you can only see with polarized glasses (so i guess some thin film interference from the wax/polish).

how do i remove these, do i just need to hand polish it to remove the machine patterns? car isn't old and paint is in good condition.

1/17/2015 2:59:20 PM

Sounds like they left some ghosting in your paint. Depending on the 'level' of it, some very light polish (e.g. meguiar's 205 and a green pad) would do great on a polisher and be more than enough. Not sure a hand polish will take care of it but you can give it a shot. If using M205, I think it has some oils in it, so be sure to wipe down after work w/alcohol or wax to ensure the marks are gone.

[Edited on January 17, 2015 at 3:43 PM. Reason : Ghosting in paint = ghosting in clear coat*]

1/17/2015 3:43:15 PM

cool, I'll try that

who does everyone recommend these days? the wifes car needs some TLC before we sell it and so I want to spend some money and get it detailed by someone good (i.e. i'm too lazy to deal with hers)

1/17/2015 4:15:37 PM

I'm very new to the machine polishing but I'm having great results using m205 on things that are in decent shape already. It's got just enough cut to remove minor stuff

1/17/2015 5:23:31 PM

I'm just getting into this for my own cars... I don't know if i really have the mindset for it, but here is my setup

I used a coupon as well spent around $50 bux for my DA polisher
http://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-57-amp-heavy-duty-dual-action-variable-speed-polisher-69924.html

5 inch head for my dual action polisher. I use the pats at HF and this head works fine with them...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003CH3Z8W/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

HF Foam Pads
The pads themselves are okay quality, but i've had a few self destruct (backing rips off pad). I spend about $4 a pad on sale
http://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-CompoundCutting-Foam-Pad-60311.html

My clay bar... Dropped this fucker, worked fine until then
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0081OSRT8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Meguiar's D151
This is an all in one, lets me do a car quickly and bring it to a nice shine... I tend to think of it as a supercleaning wax... It will take scratches out as well
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002J7RDZM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Meguiar's D156
This is a quick spary wax... Great stuff to touch up after above, or if you just want to make a car look shiny after running it through the power wash. Smells awesome as well
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005JPJMI2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Meguiar's G7164 Gold Class Car Wash
Use this stuff for regular washes... Dawn when I want to strip the wax
http://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-G7164-Class-Shampoo-Conditioner/dp/B0009IQXFO/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1421852025&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=meguards+gold+class


[Edited on January 21, 2015 at 9:54 AM. Reason : dd]

1/21/2015 9:41:53 AM

Sad, wish I still detailed. I get 2-5 calls weekly needing a high end guy.

Call Chris at Nth Degree in Cary. He's expensive and he's busy, but he's the best.

1/27/2015 8:34:29 PM

^ fuck. I was hoping to have you do a thorough and desperately needed detailing of the s2000 before I sell it.

1/27/2015 10:17:29 PM

^^happen to know any good guys in Greenville sc?

1/28/2015 11:43:15 AM

^^^agreed on all accounts.

1/28/2015 1:21:32 PM

just used some S100 Wheel Cleaner and S100 Total Cycle Cleaner on my motorcycle.

Holy shit this stuff is awesome. Seriously, go on Amazon and buy some right now. At least the wheel cleaner. If you have a motorcycle, buy both. It is unbelievable.

4/5/2015 8:54:27 PM

[Edited on April 5, 2015 at 8:54 PM. Reason : dbl post]

4/5/2015 8:54:27 PM