Detailing help

[acdrag]

Hi guys, wondering if you guys can help a complete newbie when it comes to detailing. I'm looking to detail my car as I would like to keep it in pristine condition but I'm a bit confused how to approach this.

Going by Meguiars:
1-Wash
2-Surface prep (clay bar)
3-Polish
4-Protect (sealant+wax)
5-Maintain

Because Meguiars offers an extremely wide range of products, I'm not sure what to use where in each steps. Please offer me insight or if I'm doing this wrong (note my car is White).

1-Wash / Automated car wash (I do not have access to a hose to manually clean the car myself)
2-Surface prep / Meguiar's Smooth Surface Clay Kit
3-Polish / Meguiar's Ultimate Polish
4-Protect / ???????????????? (too many different products, what sealant and wax do I use?)
5-Maintain / ????????????????? (Quik Detailer??? or Quik Wax???)

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[inv4zn]

Automatic car washes will never fully clean the surface from crap, so if you use a claybar right after an auto carwash make sure you use tons of lubricant, or you'll be doing more damage than good.

You can look into those "waterless" carwashes, although I personally can't fathom how they work...but lots of people have had good experiences.

For sealant/wax you can try NXT 2.0. I've used it on my cars and it's super easy to apply, doesn't cost as much as a tank of gas like some other waxes out there, and does a good job.

Maintain would be just washing it regularly. Quick detailer works but again, you're supposed to use it on a car that's already been cleaned.

 

[acdrag]

Automatic car washes will never fully clean the surface from crap, so if you use a claybar right after an auto carwash make sure you use tons of lubricant, or you'll be doing more damage than good.

You can look into those "waterless" carwashes, although I personally can't fathom how they work...but lots of people have had good experiences.

For sealant/wax you can try NXT 2.0. I've used it on my cars and it's super easy to apply, doesn't cost as much as a tank of gas like some other waxes out there, and does a good job.

Maintain would be just washing it regularly. Quick detailer works but again, you're supposed to use it on a car that's already been cleaned.

well for the wash process, the automated car wash is just to clean most of the gunk off the car, will do another wipe down with microfiber cloths before claying

i've read online about using sealant and then waxing, NXT is just wax?

 

[inv4zn]

The point of a claybar is to remove contaminants that are stuck to the clearcoat, and to remove any previous wax residue. There's nothing chemical about it, claybar is pure mechanical. So if you have grime on the car leftover from the shitty wash, claying the car with said grime is just you rubbing the grime into the paint. You can use a quick detailer + microfiber but I guarantee you you will screw the paint. Automatic carwashes never get all angles of the car, no matter how much.

You should look into going to a self car wash that allows the 2 bucket method, and wash it like that the time you're going to clay/polish. Subsequent washes can be auto, but the wash you're going to give the car before any treatment should not be automatic.

I've tried sealant before and it's just an extra PITA step. Wax it every few months and I wouldn't worry about the sealant, but that's just my opinion.

 

[DetailSector]

Just wanted to add that bringing your car to an automatic car tunnel wash is the single most damaging thing you can do to your paint.

It will create hundreds of dollars worth of scratches and swirl damage that a detailer like me charges $400-$600 to completely fix.

If you're not worried about the little white circles in the sunlight then I guess it doesn't matter. You're just scraping pieces of clear coat away driving through those things.

 

[inv4zn]

Touchless car washes are better, although one could argue the chemicals are harsher.

I thought it was common knowledge by now to never go through a brush wash if you care a bout your paint.

 

[BobbyG]

DetailSector, you have offered some pragmatic advice since you joined last week. Thanks. Keep those cards and letters coming.

For folks who live up on the tundra, it's often a choice between living w/ the road salt, dust and grime or settling for a brushless automatic wash that also sprays the under carriage. Trade offs, unfortunately, until we can break out the garden hose and bucket in April or May. Self service spray washes can be brutal in the cold.

 

[acdrag]

as noted in my first post, i do not have access to a hose to spray and rinse off the car hence the automated car wash, and of course it will be a touchless one which i forgot to mention. main purpose is to get rid of most of the heavy gunk thats on the car then will do another clean down afterwards using a cleaner and microfiber towels.

after that i guess i can clay, polish, then wax.

im still a bit confused on the sealant and wax portion. I want to use sealant before waxing but i dont see any products from meguiars as a sealant, they're all waxes. am i missing something here? and which is the better application for wax...liquid or paste?

 

[DetailSector]

im still a bit confused on the sealant and wax portion. I want to use sealant before waxing but i dont see any products from meguiars as a sealant, they're all waxes. am i missing something here? and which is the better application for wax...liquid or paste?

In my honest opinion, waxes are now obsolete.

With sealants and the introduction to ceramic coatings, it's hard to justify putting something on the car that will only last 3 weeks or so.

My favorite sealant is Optimum Opti-Seal. It can be used on paint, trim, windows, wheels, and interior plastics. Basically seal your ENTIRE car in 1 product. One spray per panel and this goes a long way.

An 8oz bottle easily does like 15-20 cars for me.

 

[DetailSector]

DetailSector, you have offered some pragmatic advice since you joined last week. Thanks. Keep those cards and letters coming./QUOTE]

You're welcome!

My goal is to help educate. There's a lot of information out there that isn't right and a lot of people who like their cars don't know the proper way to maintain them.

My name is Jon by the way

 

[Notmighty]

I also asked the dealer not to touch my car when I bought it, and they did exactly that! so I took the following steps, and with all store bought(Walmart) products I was very impressed with the results.

1-Pre soaked, pressure washed, dried with Mequiars wax-and_dry Spray
2-Very minor clay baring
3-Meguiars ultimate polish 2- coats, removed all swirls, hazing and a few minor scratches.
4-Meguiars Ultimate liquid wax 1 coat, and 1 coat Meguiars Ultimate paste wax-probably didn't need it but I had both so I used them.
5-Maintain, there is thousands of methods but as stated I used products that were readily available. I presoaked the car with warm water and 1 cap full of Meguiars Ultimate car wash soap in my pump sprayer, pressure washed it and proceeded to wash by hand with microfiber mitt. Dried it off with Meguiars waffle towel and compressed air, then used Meguiars detail spray and microfiber.

I am going to detail again with the same steps after winter, however I think I'm going to try one of these new ceramic coatins from carpro-us.com I'm still unsure about this whole ceramic thing but from what I've read it's the future in paint protection, aside from full on clear wrap film.

 

[DetailSector]

however I think I'm going to try one of these new ceramic coatins from carpro-us.com I'm still unsure about this whole ceramic thing but from what I've read it's the future in paint protection, aside from full on clear wrap film.

If you have any questions about ceramic coatings I can amswer them for you. My entire detailing business revolves around coatings.

 

[dc2turbo]

www.reddit.com/r/autodetailing

 

[charlesatx]

Chemical Guys! They make the best stuff IMHO.

They've got a youtube channel with tons of great vids.

Chemical Guys YouTube Channel

 

[bluegreencheese]

Hi OP, I had similar problems as yours and figured out how to keep my car looking good with the least effort eventually.

First is the wash, I put the car through an automatic wash, but this will not fully clean the car. I follow up with Chemical Guys ecosmart waterless wash and wax which takes under 10 minutes since the TOUCHLESS automatic wash takes off the heavy stuff. Don't be stingy with the microfiber towels though, I bought one of those big Walmart packs and use 1 per panel, 2 for large panels like the hood. There are YouTube videos by CG on how to easily and effectively use their products. I have had very good results with this product.

When using the waterless wash, I just do the wipe on step, not the wipe off. This way it is still wet ish when I'm done. I then spray each panel in the same order I cleaned them with megiars ultimate quik wax, wipe on with a microfiber towel and then turn to the clean side of the towel and buff off. It's spray on and instant wipe off which saves a lot of time.

Watch a couple YouTube videos of chemical guys or megiars where they use these products so you can get an idea of how to fold the towels, when to turn over the towel etc as these are the most important things for best results. I follow this routine twice a week and my car beads for days in the rain and has excellent gloss.

Of course these spray waxes and stuff aren't optimal for protection against harsh conditions so I do have a detailing service do the whole clay bar decontamination, polish, seal and liquid wax for me once a year for $120. They use CG jet seal and CG butter wet wax which I find with my regular upkeep keeps my car looking great all the time. No I'm not advertising for them, their ads are pretty cheesy lol but their products are pretty good and Amazon has them on prime in Canada. I'll upload pics of my car when I get a chance.

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