Taking up the hobby of detailing this summer. Going to use my elbow grease taking care of yamaha v-star and wife's 09 jeep liberty. When it comes to waxing, do I need to clay the surface before each application of wax? What is the best way to prevent swirl marks?
Clay and Wax
- Thread starter outoforder
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One Major part of detailing is know when to use certain product and following the process requirements for the paint your working with. I would invest in a GOOD Dual Action polisher. If the surface isn't swirled you can use a soft pad and apply your polish and wax and not get swirls. Polishes usually start on medium setting and then bump to a faster speed. I always apply wax with my DA on medium speed only. I NEVER get swirls on our black truck
I highly suggest a Flex DA
Claying is inbedded dirt in the paint. The best way to determine if this is needed is to wash and dry the vehicle. If you rub your hand on the hood and it feels anything less then glass it needs to be clayed. A mild clay is likely what you will want. Maguires kits work well.
Check out www.autodetailingsolutions.com
This where I get all of my supplies. You can pickup alot of info on you tube about methods with different product. Auto Geek has some really good vids.
If you spend time and money on good products, the right tools, and familiarize yourself with the process and products to use at what time you will get alot of enjoyment out of detaing.
Spend time on ADS's site and Autogeek and you will be just fine. more importantly Ask these guys questions. They will be more then happy to take your call and help you out.
I highly suggest a Flex DA
Claying is inbedded dirt in the paint. The best way to determine if this is needed is to wash and dry the vehicle. If you rub your hand on the hood and it feels anything less then glass it needs to be clayed. A mild clay is likely what you will want. Maguires kits work well.
Check out www.autodetailingsolutions.com
This where I get all of my supplies. You can pickup alot of info on you tube about methods with different product. Auto Geek has some really good vids.
If you spend time and money on good products, the right tools, and familiarize yourself with the process and products to use at what time you will get alot of enjoyment out of detaing.
Spend time on ADS's site and Autogeek and you will be just fine. more importantly Ask these guys questions. They will be more then happy to take your call and help you out.
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Anything special to dry other then a soft cotton towel?
I use microfibers myself. Soft and absobant will work great. You can get a boatload of microfibers at costco for a good price. They are pretty good to and hold up well
Originally Posted By: outoforder
Anything special to dry other then a soft cotton towel?
Waffle Weave Microfiber Towel and some sort of spray detailer. Don't cheap out on microfiber for the paint, or any materials for that matter. It can bite you in the butt later.
Anything special to dry other then a soft cotton towel?
Waffle Weave Microfiber Towel and some sort of spray detailer. Don't cheap out on microfiber for the paint, or any materials for that matter. It can bite you in the butt later.
What kind of wax do y'all recommend for a motorcycle?
Same wax for the Jeep. NXT 2.0 is really good by maguires.
The meguires line is hard to mess up when just getting started.
The meguires line is hard to mess up when just getting started.
What about those "water blades" or "absorbers".....any opinion on them? The "water blades" I've seen come in 2 different sizes, and are designed like a gas station squeegee, to get the water off the vehicle, at least that's how they make it sound on the package (taken with a grain of salt lol).
Not a good idea. Way to easy for something to get on it and scratch the paint. Minute amounts of dust and dirt can really swirl and scratch the paint. I get [censored] when someone lays even a finger on my truck.
Meguiar's #21 is extremely similar to NXT at a far lower price.
A Flex is a good machine but is on the expensive side at $300. Plus, it only takes a 6.5" pad which makes it less versatile than other options. A Meguiar's G110v2 may be a better choice since it allows you to use 5.5" pads.
You may want to consider an aggressive AIO such as Meguiar's D151 (applied via DA) to clean-up the paint before applying a sealant.
A Flex is a good machine but is on the expensive side at $300. Plus, it only takes a 6.5" pad which makes it less versatile than other options. A Meguiar's G110v2 may be a better choice since it allows you to use 5.5" pads.
You may want to consider an aggressive AIO such as Meguiar's D151 (applied via DA) to clean-up the paint before applying a sealant.
I don't really like the water blades. If you use the hose sheeting method as the final rinse, you won't have mush water to "blade" off. The one I tried left rubber marks on my roof (hard to remove).
I use the Absorber XL, and really like it. It's large, and has a waffle weave-type pattern. For ONR (winter) washes, I use MF drying towels.
Some people may claim product "A" may scratch your paint, or "B" one will, etc. If there is dirt or contamination on or under the item touching your paint, you will soon have swirls. This is the case with ANYTHING that touches your paint.
I use the Absorber XL, and really like it. It's large, and has a waffle weave-type pattern. For ONR (winter) washes, I use MF drying towels.
Some people may claim product "A" may scratch your paint, or "B" one will, etc. If there is dirt or contamination on or under the item touching your paint, you will soon have swirls. This is the case with ANYTHING that touches your paint.
Originally Posted By: kkreit01
Some people may claim product "A" may scratch your paint, or "B" one will, etc. If there is dirt or contamination on or under the item touching your paint, you will soon have swirls. This is the case with ANYTHING that touches your paint.
Great point. Any piece of grit will scratch your paint regardless of the drying medium. I've used water blades many times and never had a problem, but I don't use them anymore because it was just one more step in my routine I didn't need. All I do is trickle water along the car to remove droplets, and dry with a microfiber towel. Same result, less time and effort.
Some people may claim product "A" may scratch your paint, or "B" one will, etc. If there is dirt or contamination on or under the item touching your paint, you will soon have swirls. This is the case with ANYTHING that touches your paint.
Great point. Any piece of grit will scratch your paint regardless of the drying medium. I've used water blades many times and never had a problem, but I don't use them anymore because it was just one more step in my routine I didn't need. All I do is trickle water along the car to remove droplets, and dry with a microfiber towel. Same result, less time and effort.
If you really want a durable and long lasting sealant, try Zaino or Klasse sealant glaze. I clay the paint 3-4 times a year. only use quality microfiber wash mitts, drying towels, etc. A porter cable orbital buffer is great for polishing those swirls and imperfections. Autopia.org is a great resource to read up on how to perform all of this.
Originally Posted By: The Critic
Meguiar's #21 is extremely similar to NXT at a far lower price.
Where at?
Meguiar's #21 is extremely similar to NXT at a far lower price.
Where at?
Originally Posted By: outoforder
Taking up the hobby of detailing this summer. Going to use my elbow grease taking care of yamaha v-star and wife's 09 jeep liberty. When it comes to waxing, do I need to clay the surface before each application of wax? What is the best way to prevent swirl marks?
No. Wash your car, then clay (using a lube - if you buy a clay bar 'kit' it will come with detailing spray to use as lube). After you clay, you can wax on, wax off till your arms hurt. Do not clay again after the first time. The clay bar will remove embedded contaminants the first time, leaving the paint as smooth as a baby's bum for the wax application.
Taking up the hobby of detailing this summer. Going to use my elbow grease taking care of yamaha v-star and wife's 09 jeep liberty. When it comes to waxing, do I need to clay the surface before each application of wax? What is the best way to prevent swirl marks?
No. Wash your car, then clay (using a lube - if you buy a clay bar 'kit' it will come with detailing spray to use as lube). After you clay, you can wax on, wax off till your arms hurt. Do not clay again after the first time. The clay bar will remove embedded contaminants the first time, leaving the paint as smooth as a baby's bum for the wax application.
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You don't need to clay before each application of wax, but depending where you live, you may need to clay a couple of times a year. Cut the clay bar into 3 or 4 smaller pieces, depending on the size. This is for a couple of reasons. The main one is so that if you drop one of the pieces on the ground while claying, at which point that piece is garbage, literally, you'll have another to continue on without having to stop what you are doing and run out to buy another kit for another $15-$20. The second is so you don't use up one kit per vehicle clayed. 4 pieces will let you do 4 vehicles with the same clay bar.
Originally Posted By: DieselTech
Same wax for the Jeep. NXT 2.0 is really good by maguires.
The meguires line is hard to mess up when just getting started.
NXT looks nice, smells nice, goes on nice...and lasts about a week.
Same wax for the Jeep. NXT 2.0 is really good by maguires.
The meguires line is hard to mess up when just getting started.
NXT looks nice, smells nice, goes on nice...and lasts about a week.
^...and stains trim.
That too.
I want something that costs about $10 lasts forever and looks good....
So I use NuFinish until I find something better that fits my specs.
I refuse to be out messing with the exterior of my Jeep every 2 weeks.
I want something that costs about $10 lasts forever and looks good....
So I use NuFinish until I find something better that fits my specs.
I refuse to be out messing with the exterior of my Jeep every 2 weeks.
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