my evos paint is flawless and i want to keep it from getting swirls, what would be the best way to do that?

 

Always use highquality microfiber, use the "two bucket" method of washing. Eventually you will get swirls but you can polish them out as long as they are not severe.

 

what tha hell is the two bucket method?

 

Use two buckets. Fill one bucket with soapy water and fill the other with clean water. Each time you’re ready to reload your sponge with soapy water, dip it in the clean water first, to rinse out the grit and contamination you’ve just removed from your vehicle. Then dip it in the soapy water and continue washing.

 

http://autogeek.net/exterior.html
Step three.
Dangit, beat me too it.

 

ok...... makes sense now

 

im going to get my self some high quality microfiber stuff now.lol

 

Also a good absorber towel will make it tons easier to dry your car.

 

bad *** link... THANKS

 

That site has tons of great how-tos.

 

From a professional detailer...use a clay bar on your car atleast once a year. Wash the car, clay it, wash it again, polish it, wax it.

 

what kind of polish do you think i should use?

 

Almost all of the "name brand" polished are the same. Granted they aren't as expensive as our professional products but I would recommend Turtle Wax, Mothers, Meguiars, any of those large names ones or if you could get your hands on some Ardex: http://ardexwax.com/Home_Page.html

They have great professional grade products but not common to find in the retail stores.

 

What you should do in the complete process is wash your car. If you have access to a heated pressure washer then you are in luck! If not use whatever you have. Presoak your car if you have any, I recommend getting some. Wash your car, while the water is still on the car, use the clay bar in 2ft long by 4-6in areas pressing hard back and forth until there is no friction and you can't hear the clay picking things us. If you are in a normal setting close the car, you can hear the clay at work. Make sure you rotate the clay so you don't clay with a dirty part. Then after claying to whole body, wash it again and dry it. Then polish(hand or orbital NOT HIGH SPEED aka "the wheel") If you are not experienced with the wheel you will create more damage to your finish because the wheel uses the friction and heat and polish to cure the finish. The wheel should only be used by a professional or experienced person for DEEP swirls and scratches only. Then after polishing, wax the car. Only use 1 coat. People believe that putting more than one coat helps. It doesn't do anything but waste your wax and make you need to buy more more quickly. If you have any other questions, just let me know! I'm always happy to help! P.S. If you find any of this info helpful, please pass me on to others and give credit where credit is due. Haha sorry but I've had people take advantage of my advice and claim it as their own.

 

you would you have to use a buffer to put polishes on?

if so whats the chance ill burn the paint?

 

You should use an orbital polisher, not a "buffer" or high speed under any circumstances! Hand polish would not be even close to that of an electrical or neumatic powered orbital polished. With those you WILL NOT burn into the paint because it does not go fast enough or create enough friction to cause a lot of heat. Once again the only way you would burn into your finish is with a high speed wheel and it should only be used on severe scratches and deep swirls! I DO NOT RECOMMEND using high speed EVER if you have no experience or just to basic polish your car. Orbital polishers can be bought for $20-$150. You can easily utilize the $20 one to polish you care safely.

 

so would some thing like this be good for a noob like me.lol http://store.summitracing.com/partde...art=MDS-PK7424

 

IMHO.. http://autogeek.net/po.html
^^If you can burn the paint with one of those... Well, you just shouldn't try to clean your cars.. lol

Also, if you don't want to go crazy expensive on the polish/ wax I love Poorboys and DP products.

DP:
http://autogeek.net/detailers-pride.html
I also use their total interior cleaner/ conditioner for the inside of my cars, works great and smells really good too.

Poorboys:
http://autogeek.net/poorboysworld.html

XMT Products are good as well: (Definitely recommed the XMT360)
http://autogeek.net/xmt.html


As far as cleaning the engine bay & removing bugs & tar.. I don't think there is ANYTHING better than this. (Do yourself a favor and get the gallon)
http://autogeek.net/amazingrolloff.html

Window cleaner & Tire dressing. Their Window cleaner is the best there is. Get the aerosol cans. Also their "more shine" tire dressing is GREAT. It gives a good matte shine that doesn't ever sling and looks awesome.
http://autogeek.net/stoner.html


Anyway, that's just a random run down of some of the stuff that I use. Get some good microfibers and a couple of "cobra, guzzler" waffle weave towels for drying the car.

 

This is going to be just about the best deal you're going to get for a P.C. the pads aren't cheap so getting them separate is a bad idea. This is actually the kit that I got when I bought mine too.

http://autogeek.net/porter-cable-7424-kit.html

 

That would be great it would get the job done real well, easy to handle except I have seen ones at Autozone for $30-$50 and they work just as fine as that one. You only need about 1800-3000 rpm on the orbital polisher. Look around, I'm sure you can find a lot cheaper and still good quality on eBay or other websites.

 

As a detailer, the best way to clean the engine is lightly spray(or don't its pure choice) a pre-soak onto the engine(P.S. MAKE SURE ENGINE IS COLD!!!!) After that use a heated pressure washer(if available) or pressure washer and wash it. Then let it air dry. Using can be harmful and "gunk" up in the long run. It will not look "shiney" but it will look very clean and not armorall'ed up.

As for the aerosol, I agree with Stoner Products. We use a special blend for the dressing and cleaner but we do sell and recommend Stoner products in our lobby!

Lastly I agree with the microfiber. Get a bunch of those. They are not too cheap or large but they do the job and they do it well! Waffles are good too but I prefer microfiber.

 

Yikes. Some bad information on here.

 

Not sure what kind of detailing you do, but I would never recommend using any high pressure in the engine compartment. Actually most pro. detailers actually recommend covering the alternator and other electricals with a plastic bag before doing any detailing under the hood.

I have always let the car get good and cool then sprayed the engine with degreaser (my brand of choice is Roll off) then let it soak for about 2 minutes, follow by scrubbing any heavily soiled areas. After that's complete I always start the car and use a garden hose with a low velocity sprayer nozzle to rinse the engine compartment.

Stoner's products are just flat out amazing. If you can streak a window with their window cleaner then there's something seriously wrong with you. lol

The waffle weave is simply and only for drying, you just lay the towel on the car and let it do the work. As with most drying techniques, you should never drag any kind of a towel or squeegee over the surface of the car as that will create marring or even possibly etch the paint surface.

Now something that I did forget to mention, for the interior dressing I go to Walmart/Target and get a large bag of cheap MF towels. The big bag costs less than $10.00 and you can wash them once or twice then just throw them away. DO NOT use the cheap towls on your paint though, it is a rougher pile of Microfiber and can create swirls.

Like...... ?

 

Like what you just pointed out, and using a 20 dollar orbital polisher.


As for engine cleaning, its best to spray the degreaser on a warm engine, breaks up dirt faster, easier and better.

 

thanks man, im going to look in to getting that.

 

If you aren't using a high speed buffer like the PC sectup for flex you name it, you will not get the imperfections out of the paint. No orbital is gonna be able to remove the imperfections in the paint.

There is no way to not get some swirls when you wash the car it does not matter how careful you are when washing the car. I do all the methods above and I still get them and so does everyone else. All you can do is minimize them as much as you can.

 

if an orbital wont get them out what would?

 

http://www.autopia.org/shopping/prod...otect-Kit.html

That is a good unit to start with because there is so much info on how to use it that a newbie can't get into much trouble if they take the time to research it and see how to correctly use it before ever opening the box.

 

nothing essentially gets them out it just fills them in with polish and the wax seals the polish in there. high speed would be the closest to getting them out but i dont recommend it unless you know what you are doing.

 

We do professional detailing. Cars including older cars such as a 1932 Duesenberg Coupe, all the way to a 2009 Ferrari F430. Obviously there are exceptions to power washing some engines but for an engine like a mustang it is very easy and VERY difficult to screw up if you know what you are doing. P.S. We cover electricals. High pressure is a very common way of doing it as long as you are careful and know what you are doing. The company has been doing it for 24 years with ZERO problems. Thats why we do it because we know what we are doing.

I guess a lot of the stuff we are talking about in this thread is personal opinion. I do what I have always done, and what I have carried over and learned for working in the detail shop.

We highly recommend stoner products. And as WNRacing said, stoner has THEE best glass cleaner hands down. Windex don't stand a chance!