Quote:
Originally Posted by Subzero2003
Sure,
I should start off by saying i'm no detailing god or anything, but i have had a good interest in detailing for the past few years so know a little bit.
Autoglym SRP is a fantastic "polish" for the masses. It'll make you car gleam. However, it isn't *really* a polish. SRP has lots and lots of fillers in it, which basically fill in very minor swirls and light scratches. These minor swirls/scratches don't look like anything much from close up, but they give a really really detrimental look to the entire car when you stand back 5 meters. SRP will fill these very minor swirls and give a much better overall look. The more you work the polish in, the more swirls you will fill. SRP is all about how well you work it in - so the more elbow grease you put in, the more shine and filling you do. I'd on a 2x2ft area, i'd recommend working it in for 2 or 3 minutes 3-5 times. This will give fantastic "correction". SRP also contains a light sealant in it which will give you cool beading afterwards:
However, this masking of swirls will not last. The fillers get washed away fairly quickly and after a couple of washes they will be all but gone, revealing all those swirls again.
But all is not lost! GTechniq P1 is a proper polish. So it will give you 100% genuine correction without having to resort to cheating by using fillers. The obvious benefit of this is that once you have corrected the paint - that's it. With softer paints, GTechniq P1 is so effective, you can apply it by hand, but unfortunately, with our super hard German BMW paint, machine polishing is the only way to make any headway with it. Even then, you're going to need a wool pad (which are very coarse and provide maximum cutting into the paint). Obviously if using a wool pad, you need to be very careful due to how quickly they'll cut. I used a compounding foam pad (next down on the coarseness scale) and achieved about a 75% correction. I then followed up with some filler polish (like SRP) to give shine and to fill some of the remaining 25% of imperfections. GTechniq P1 is a brilliant polish and is a great all rounder.
My detail the other week was:
- Rinse with hose
- Wash with two bucket method
- Dry
- Clay bar with detailing spray as the lube (this is fantastic - the rear of the E92, due to it's aerodynamics, attracts dirt and crap like no other car i know of. The clay bar was essential for the back and removed so much)
- Quick wash and dry to remove any clay residue
- Machine polish with Gtechniq P1
- Application of Poorboys Blackhole (very filler heavy and gives lots of shine)
- Application of one layer of Collinite 476s with foam applicator pad
- Wait for next wash and apply another coat of Collinite (Collinite wax takes a while to cure fully)
- Wait for next wash and apply another coat of Collinite.
So, i removed lots of imperfections permanently with Gtechniq P1 and machine polisher, filled in some of the rest of the imperfections with PB Black hole, then used a few coats of Collinite to hold the fillers in and prevent them from being washed away. Overall result was lots of shine and protection for the next 6 months! |
Subzero,
Thanks for your detailed response on detailing.
I first ever used Autoglym on my previous car and using it on a regular basis I was able to virtually eliminate minor scratches, so I was well pleased with that. As you rightly say, it's a good filler.
I think I've left it a bit late in the year to do any serious paint correction to my present car; not that it needs that much doing to it, so positively Autoglym/SRP along with a few treatments of Collonite will help the paintwork through the coming winter, and when summer returns (hohoho) I'll invest in some Gtechnic P1 and a Meguiars 220 D/A polisher and really go-to-town on it.
Regarding foam pads, you mentioned that you use a compounding foam pad, so would it be safe for a novice to begin using this type of pad?