[unjukeable]

Hey everyone I wanted to get your advice on what i'm buying to start detailing my car myself

I bought my Black 2008 335xi coupe in November. there were some swirl marks and scratches on it. I went to a detailer and paid for supposedly a heavy buff polish and 2 step wax... and while a lot of the light scratches were gone the swirl marks were still there. So i thought I might as well just detail it myself so I know its done right and have been watching a lot of youtube videos to help me but will also start on my sisters beat up honda accord first lol.

so now i parked my car at the garage at work yesterday this morning i'm getting into my car and notice a big scratch on the side pretty deep my fingernail goes into it.

here is the list of what I want to buy from detailed image any advice or input would be appreciated. Thanks

Flex XC 3401 VRG package:
3 pads of each
pad cleaner

Meguiars Polish Kit:
Finishing polish
Clay bar
ultra cut compound
sealant
quick detailer

Chemical Guys Radiant Finish

Chemical Guys 53 Wax

Misc things:
Microfiber drying towel package
Wash mitt
Foam gun?

[Detailed Image]

Hi unjukeable,

First off, sorry to hear about your experience with the detailer. I've personally had to fix some shady jobs, so I know customers always have a tough time finding the right detailer to trust with their car. Doing it yourself will take a little time and practice, but sounds like you've been doing your research and you have a "beater" car on which to practice, which is great! I'm sure your sister will get a nice looking improvement on the Accord even with just first time practice.

As far as the products go, here's what I would recommend for your paint (basically what I use in my business most of the time and what works well on black BMWs):

- Flex XC3401 VRG polisher
- Flex 4 3/8" backing plate (I like to use 5.5" pads with the 3401, so you can either buy this backing plate or cut down the one that comes with it. Otherwise, you can simply purchase 6.5" pads instead of the 5.5" ones I linked to below. Keep in mind though, the 5.5" pads will offer you more control and correction, but the 6.5" pads will definitely also work well)

5.5" foam and microfiber pads: Normally you need more pads for compounding than for finishing stages, so I would recommend buying at least 5-6 pads of the more aggressive ones, like Orange or microfiber and 3-5 of the less aggressive pads, such as crimson and black. You really won't know exactly how many of each pad you need until you start working, so you can either plan on buying a few more of each than suggested or if you buy too few, just clean them well as you keep going around the car.

- Rupes Microfiber pads (you will find this useful for some deeper swirls or scratches as it does in one pass what the orange pad below may do in 2)
- Orange Light Cutting (great for pretty much any sort of cutting stage, whether you use it with a more aggressive polish like M105 or less aggressive like M205)
- Crimson Finishing Pad (great finishing pad with basically any polish out there)
- Black Finishing Pad (slightly softer than the crimson pad and may be needed for very finicky black paint... I'd say 2-3 of these is good enough)

Polishes:
- Meguiar's 105 (still one of the best cutting polishes available and highly recommended)
- Meguiar's 205 (very versatile in that it can finish down really well with the crimson or black foam pads, but also has decent cutting ability for moderate swirl marks when used with the orange or microfiber pads)
- Optimum Hyper Polish (a bit finer and smoother than M205 so it works well on sensitive paints for finishing down to a nice and glossy paint finish)
- Sonax NTPC (This is an optional All-in-one product that you may find useful if your paint is a very sensitive/finicky/sticky black paint that just won't finish down well with an actual polish)

Protection:
- The items you have listed (CG Black Light Radiant Finish and CG 53 Paste Wax) are both great products and you can surely use them. You can use the Black Light after polishing and follow it up with the wax at a later date, or you can go with some paint sealant (I like Blackfire Wet Diamond or Menzerna Power Lock) after polishing for more durable protection, then follow up with the 53 wax at a later date. It's really all up to you, just keep in mind how each product works and in what order it should be used.
- Any quick detailer will work well, but I would advise not using it as a lot of people do... to remove dust, do a "quick wash" with it, or a wipedown if the car is sitting at a car show the whole day. This is just asking for trouble as it'll almost definitely create some swirl marks or marring in the paint. Rather, use it to touch up some water spots that may get left over after washing and drying, or simply as an "emergency bird crap remover" with a bottle of it always sitting in your trunk. One of my favorite QDs is Meguiar's Final Inspection M34.

Misc Supplies:
- Clay Magic Fine blue clay bar (in the case of heavy contamination, the Red Medium grade bar might be necessary)
- NanoSkin AutoScrub Fine Foam Pad (Great optional alternative to clay bar decontamination as it's much quicker and easier. However, it may be worth it only if you're using the clay bar multiple times per year or on multiple cars.
- Nanoskin Glide clay lubricant (great lubricant with either clay bars or the autoscrub pads)
- 3M Masking tape (the green/Performance version sticks a bit better but it's definitely not necessary for all trim)
- As far as pad cleaner goes, you can easily spray the pads with an all purpose cleaner (I like to use Chemical Guys Grime Reaper) when you're done, let them sit a few minutes then wash out by hand. Otherwise, the Lake Country Snappy Clean works well, just be careful if leaving the pads in a bucket for a long time as they might start to delaminate from the velcro backing.
- Microfiber towels for polish and wax residue removal

Wash items:
- 2-3 Sheepskin wash mitts
- 3-4 Waffle weave microfiber drying towels
- 2-3 Buckets with Grit guards (if you don't already have them)
- The Gilmour foam gun is a great tool to minimize swirl marks and marring during the wash process as it helps break down a lot of dirt that's on the car so it can simply be rinsed off instead of removed with the wash mitt.

I hope that helps in getting you started and gives you enough info to make a good decision on what you need. I'm more than happy to help with any further questions you may have or to put together an exact kit for you before ordering, so just let me know.

Thanks!
Ivan @ DI

[unjukeable]

Thanks so much for the response Ivan! I will def reach out to you in the next week... probbably just have you make a kit for me

I'm at work right now but i'll look at all those products after I get home from work.

[Detailed Image]

Originally Posted by unjukeable

Thanks so much for the response Ivan! I will def reach out to you in the next week... probbably just have you make a kit for me

I'm at work right now but i'll look at all those products after I get home from work.

No rush at all. I'll keep an eye out on the forums for your response, but feel free to PM as well. Thanks!

[Chuta]

[QUOTE=Detailed Image;15349088]Hi unjukeable,

First off, sorry to hear about your experience with the detailer...

==

Hi Ivan,

What do you recommend to clean wheels with a clear coat on them?

Thanks,

Chuta

[Detailed Image]

[QUOTE=Chuta;15350012]

Originally Posted by Detailed Image

Hi Ivan,

What do you recommend to clean wheels with a clear coat on them?

Thanks,

Chuta

Hi Chuta,

In the professional world, the favorites seem to be P21S Gel Wheel Cleaner and Sonax Full Effect, both of which work very well.

Personally, I have always been a fan of P21S as I find it foams a lot more than the Sonax and clings to the wheel, making it easier to clean with less brakedust slinging off.

I really like to use the following brushes when cleaning wheels...
Boar's Hair Wheel Brush (for wheel faces/spokes)
EZ Detail Brush (for inside the wheel barrel)
Mini EZ Detail Brush (I use it bent at 90 degrees for cleaning back of spokes)
Boar's Hair Detailing Brush (great around wheel bolts, in between spokes and valve stems)

Keep in mind though, brushes should only be used every few washes when there's some serious brake dust on the wheels. Usually, I'll dilute some P21S cleaner into a separate wheel bucket and just wash the wheels with a dedicated wheel wash mitt. This tends to thoroughly clean the wheels unless they're fairly dirty.

Hope that helps!

Ivan @ DI

[Chuta]

Ivan,

Great advise thank you. I never considered cleaning behind the spokes or inside the wheel barrel!

You must have a passion for details and detailing

Thank you,

[Detailed Image]

Originally Posted by Chuta

Ivan,

Great advise thank you. I never considered cleaning behind the spokes or inside the wheel barrel!

You must have a passion for details and detailing

Thank you,

Thanks Chuta, I have to have a passion to keep my clients happy and my knowledge up to date .

Here's a short article I wrote on Wheel Cleaning Supplies. You can see there how I permanently bend (I explain why in the article, but basically I bend it and keep it that way so the wire doesn't break) the smaller EZ Detail Brush in order to clean easily behind the spokes. This helps clean off a lot of the dirt and crud behind the spokes, but for a thorough cleaning you want to also grab a non-paint microfiber towel (towels that never touch paint, only areas like wheels, exhaust tips, jambs, etc.) and after the wheels are washed/brushed, simply wipe behind the spokes and wherever you can reach to remove any remaining dirt. Well, to really thoroughly clean them you want to pull them off, but I don't recommend going that crazy every wash!