Steps to detailing?

[riced]

Hey all, I've searched the forum numerous times and I couldn't find anything that would just simple explain the steps...

So, my situation is I've got a black car and I want to know the exact steps in simple order starting from washing the car and drying it... if you guys could maybe throw in some products that i could pick up at canadian tire or something that would be great also.

see I'm confused about if i should wax first, or polish first and what kind of cloth or material do i use to do it?
im new to this, its all so confusing... anyways thanks

[Slashin_]

....took painting course dunno if i can help but u can maybe lightly sand it....clear coat it then buff it then wax

[kaput]

.

[hash]

autopia.org is a pretty good site to check out as well.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Here is what you need to do for proper detailing on any car - I too own a black car.

1) Wash car normally, then take off the hose nozzle and run the free water over the car as to decrease drying time - alot of water will sheet off
2) Dry car with a very soft terry towel or something like that
3) Use a clay bar on your vehicle to remove paint contaminents
4) Depending on how many swirls and everything, polish your car with a good 2 in1 polisher like the porter cable 7424 and a good polish like Menzerna intensive polish and a orange or white pad. Buff off by hand with a super soft terry towel or microfiber towel.
5) Polish car with a good finishing polish like Menzerna finishing polish and a white pad, buff off with a super soft terry towel or microfiber towel.
6) Optional Step: Apply a glaze to the car, Menzerna's glaze is awesome, buff off with soft terry towel or microfiber towel.
7) Wax or seal the car - you now can either wax the car or apply an acrylic paint sealant like Menzerna FMJ (full moleculer jacket). If you like wax, blitz is supposed to be excellent. Your swirls and minor scratches should be gone and your paint will look AMAZING/
8) Go to bed, because 8 hours have passed.

Any more questions just PM me or reply to this, I have researched this stuff fairly extensively as I just bought myself all the stuff to do the whole process.

Mark

[Jed Bouscal]

Looks like you have a good process here Mitsu3000gt, except I would point out that no matter how soft your terry towel is, because of the fibre size, it will cause swirling. A qualtiy microfiber waffle-weave drying towel is the easiest and safest way to dry your car without inducing further swirling.

Also, FMJ stands for Full Molecular Jacket, and it is a polymer sealant, not an acryllic sealant like Klasse Sealant Glaze. It is a great product!

There is no reason why you shouldn't apply a carnauba wax over your sealant if you really want to make it pop!

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by Jed Bouscal
Looks like you have a good process here Mitsu3000gt, except I would point out that no matter how soft your terry towel is, because of the fibre size, it will cause swirling. A qualtiy microfiber waffle-weave drying towel is the easiest and safest way to dry your car without inducing further swirling.

Your absolutely right, I just did not bother to make the distinction because 99% of people likely don't care enough. (I do!). I only use microfiber cloths and I own waffle weave special drying towels and won't touch anything else. You should also dry your car in the direction the wind goes over it.


[i]Also, FMJ stands for Full Molecular Jacket, and it is a polymer sealant, not an acryllic sealant like Klasse Sealant Glaze. It is a great product!.[/B]

Right again - that's what its called, I just accidently wrote acrylic instead of molecular - very tired. It is however acrylic I think....the touch up procuct says "contains the same acrylic......as Menzerna FMJ" It is still polemer based though and that is why it sticks so well.


Mark

[Tik-Tok]

If your washing at home, get the Mr.Clean Autodry washer.

Don't get the kit with the craptastic products, but just the gun. That thing works like a charm (all it is, is a filter in the gun so there's no contaminents on your car when you rinse it, you'll need to change the filter every 4-5 washes because of Calgary's extremely hard water, but hey, you want a nice clean car don't you?)