[newuser]

Thanks for the reply wede! I decided to take the day off after reading this thread. I think I like cleaning too much. I use SG on almost everything else so I just wanted to check.
Thanks again.

[d32169]

I noticed that some buffer pads are rated "ppi". Is this meaningful? What are the ppi ratings for the Lake County green, blue, black pads? 60-80? Thanks.

[Detailed Image]

Originally Posted by d32169

I noticed that some buffer pads are rated "ppi". Is this meaningful? What are the ppi ratings for the Lake County green, blue, black pads? 60-80? Thanks.

PPI measures the pores per inch, basically the coarser the pad, the less pores it has, the softer the pad the more pores per inch. I don't have the LC measurements, but they should be similar ranges of the other pads you've looked at.

[knivez]

I plan on getting foam cannon and I was wondering if there is a good wash/wax combo that I can use. My main goal is trying to get a quick wash every week just by spraying the car with some foam and rinsing it. Is there any solution for this?

Thanks!

[d32169]

Does wax wash off with a mild shampoo? If not, is it okay to apply a fresh coat without completely removing the older coat? How do you remove the older coat without removing the sealant?

[Detailed Image]

Originally Posted by knivez

I plan on getting foam cannon and I was wondering if there is a good wash/wax combo that I can use. My main goal is trying to get a quick wash every week just by spraying the car with some foam and rinsing it. Is there any solution for this?

Thanks!

Using a foam gun or cannon and rinsing isn't going to give you the most effective wash, but it will help remove a light dusting and some light contamination.

What you'd want to use is a good foaming shampoo that is designed to be gentle on your coats of protection. Something like Chemical Guys Maxi Suds II would be a great option for you to use.

To get the best results for the technique you plan on using, stick with a wax that offers tight water beading, so that when you rinse off your vehicle, most of the water sheds right off. If you perform a proper sheeting technique, with a high tension wax, such as one of the Dodo Juice Waxes, maintaining your vehicle will be pretty easy.

Keep us posted on what you end up going with and how things turn out for you.

Originally Posted by d32169

Does wax wash off with a mild shampoo? If not, is it okay to apply a fresh coat without completely removing the older coat? How do you remove the older coat without removing the sealant?

A mild shampoo designed to maintain your coats of protection will not degrade the protection your wax is giving you. After a maintenance wash, it's common to apply a new coat of wax over an existing coat. Layers of wax can stack on top of each other, so you don't have to remove the previous coat of wax. If you were to strip everything down, you'd be removing the sealant and wax. I don't know of a way to just remove the wax and keep the layer(s) of sealant in tact.

Let me know if there's anything else I can help with.

[Dakren12]

I have both the maxi suds II and the citrus wash with gloss... I tried to use the citrus wash to do a prep, and the lather was very... slick and a bit tougher than the maxi sud II to remove, is this normal?

[Detailed Image]

Originally Posted by Dakren12

I have both the maxi suds II and the citrus wash with gloss... I tried to use the citrus wash to do a prep, and the lather was very... slick and a bit tougher than the maxi sud II to remove, is this normal?

I never really found the Citrus Wash & Gloss was hard to remove. It's a slick shampoo that's for sure, like you said. Make sure you are vigorously shaking the Citrus Wash & Gloss as it has a tendency to separate quite easily. I'm sure this could easily alter how easy or hard the shampoo was to rinse off if you didn't shake it up good enough. Maxi Suds doesn't have the issue of product separation. Also, I'm sure you used 4x + more product with the Citrus Wash & Gloss to prep the paint compared to simply maintaining it with the Maxi Suds II.

You can try to add a quick detailer of your choice during the drying process to help aid with the removal of residue left from the CW&G next time around to see if that helps. Simply mist it on while the car is still a little wet and dry as normal.

Hope this helps.

[joyride08]

Just a quick question about the new Lake Country pads.

I've already used the Orange Light pad and finished it off with the Black Finishing pad. Now the question is, my Orange Light pad his torn from use so i'm wanting to replace it, but I don't think i will need something that aggressive. Would the Tangerine Ultra be a nice balance as a replacement? Seem like it would, but I figured i'd ask in case others wondered the same.

Thanks!!

[Detailed Image]

Originally Posted by joyride08

Just a quick question about the new Lake Country pads.

I've already used the Orange Light pad and finished it off with the Black Finishing pad. Now the question is, my Orange Light pad his torn from use so i'm wanting to replace it, but I don't think i will need something that aggressive. Would the Tangerine Ultra be a nice balance as a replacement? Seem like it would, but I figured i'd ask in case others wondered the same.

Thanks!!

The Tangerine Hydro Tech pad would probably be a good fit for what your describing. I'd put it somewhere between a white polishing and green light cutting pad, but has the ability to finish down finer than a traditional white or green pad. So it sounds like that would fit the bill for what you're looking for quite nicely.

Let me know if there's anything else I can help with.

[D_o_S]

Is it OK to use exterior MF towels to clean the interior? (After washing them, of course)

[Detailed Image]

Originally Posted by D_o_S

Is it OK to use exterior MF towels to clean the interior? (After washing them, of course)

Yep, shouldn't be any problems there as long as the towels are clean. I typically use either our all purpose towels or the ultra plush towels on interiors.

Let me know if there's anything else I can give you a hand with.

George

[d32169]

Is this rippling in the paint or a result of a polisher? Can it be removed?

[Detailed Image]

Chances are what you are seeing is factory orange peel, very common on just about any vehicle. The only way to effectively remove it is to have some properly wet sand your vehicle, which I wouldn't recommend. Wet sanding can leave you with little to no clear coat and can cause more problems down the road if you remove too much clear. Some higher end cars that are hand painted usually will have very little orange peel, but it's pretty much the norm on production run vehicles.

Hope this helps.

George

[zenderm3]

George,

I'm trying to get my windows really really clean - But the water is quite hard here in QLD, Australia.... I currently have a few water marks (little dots) over the rear window - I have a great streak free window cleaner - but it doesn't seem to be enough to remove all of the water marks - any recommendations?

I'm using a microfibre window cloth.

[Detailed Image]

Originally Posted by zenderm3

George,

I'm trying to get my windows really really clean - But the water is quite hard here in QLD, Australia.... I currently have a few water marks (little dots) over the rear window - I have a great streak free window cleaner - but it doesn't seem to be enough to remove all of the water marks - any recommendations?

I'm using a microfibre window cloth.

If you have a chemical polish, or an all in one product, they usually work well at removing water spots on glass. You can also try a mix of distilled white vinegar and water mix to help remove the mineral deposits.

Hopefully one of those does the trick for you.

George

[MKParris]

Hello, can you please give me a little advice...

I purchased a 2008 Sparkling Graphite 335i back in Oct 2008 that had sat on the lot for a few months and acquired a few spots of bird dropping etching.

In addition, the car has some light swirl marks and rain/sprinkler drop spot etching.

I have a PC 7424xp, but have not purchased any polish or pads for it. What would you do (with what pads and polish) in order to remedy these deficiencies and then protect the car?

Thank You!

[Detailed Image]

Originally Posted by MKParris

Hello, can you please give me a little advice...

I purchased a 2008 Sparkling Graphite 335i back in Oct 2008 that had sat on the lot for a few months and acquired a few spots of bird dropping etching.

In addition, the car has some light swirl marks and rain/sprinkler drop spot etching.

I have a PC 7424xp, but have not purchased any polish or pads for it. What would you do (with what pads and polish) in order to remedy these deficiencies and then protect the car?

Thank You!

I'd recommend starting off with a medium cut polish and see if it yields the results you are looking for before jumping to a more aggressive solution. If you don't have any pads or a backing plate, I'd suggest picking up the Meguiar's W67DA backing plate and some 5.5" pads for maximum results.

For more of a mild combo, I'd suggest going with Menzerna Power Finish on green pads and follow up with some Menzerna PO85RD using black pads.

A more aggressive option that will do better on deeper etching would be Meguiar's M105 using orange pads followed by Meguiar's M205 using white pads.

Here's a good read on properly using the M105/M205 combo with a PC if you go this route.

Keep us posted on what you end up going with and how things turn out.

[paulcheung]

hi George
it looks like you have a lot of knowledge and was wondering can you help me out
i just purchase a 2010 BMW 335i Sapphire black and i had the dealer wax it and its been about 4 weeks now and i have been seeing swirls and some lite scratch marks and was think about purchasing products from Zaino, i have heard many people get great results from this sealant and was wondering is there better products to use and should i use wax instead becuase i just purchase this brand new car and want to use the best product for it

Thanks

[MKParris]

thanks so much, Ill put my order in soon!

Originally Posted by Detailed Image

I'd recommend starting off with a medium cut polish and see if it yields the results you are looking for before jumping to a more aggressive solution. If you don't have any pads or a backing plate, I'd suggest picking up the Meguiar's W67DA backing plate and some 5.5" pads for maximum results.

For more of a mild combo, I'd suggest going with Menzerna Power Finish on green pads and follow up with some Menzerna PO85RD using black pads.

A more aggressive option that will do better on deeper etching would be Meguiar's M105 using orange pads followed by Meguiar's M205 using white pads.

Here's a good read on properly using the M105/M205 combo with a PC if you go this route.

Keep us posted on what you end up going with and how things turn out.

[RDHTran]

Hey George,
I was claying my bros new camry he has a dark graphite color and after I was done I noticed it was scrached up more then before. I figured it was me because I like to go in a back and forth motion and it was clearly scratched up that way. I just Meguiars quick detailer as a lub and had the extra water from the wash still on the car. The only part I didnt clay was the roof and it barely had any scratches on it. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks!

[jopa489]

Originally Posted by paulcheung

hi George
it looks like you have a lot of knowledge and was wondering can you help me out
i just purchase a 2010 BMW 335i Sapphire black and i had the dealer wax it and its been about 4 weeks now and i have been seeing swirls and some lite scratch marks and was think about purchasing products from Zaino, i have heard many people get great results from this sealant and was wondering is there better products to use and should i use wax instead becuase i just purchase this brand new car and want to use the best product for it

Thanks

If your dealer is like most dealers, they probably used a filling glaze to make the paint appear pristine. Once the fillers wash off (generally after a couple of weeks), the true condition of the paint is revealed and it is often noticeably worse. By and large, dealer detailers are hacks and almost always seem to do more harm than good.

Zaino makes good products, but there are plenty of other alternatives out there (which are as good or better). To repair the swirls and light scratches, you're probably going to need a one or two step polish with a Porter Cable. You can then follow up with the sealant of your choice, followed by wax if you chose. Sealant protects the paint and adds some gloss; a carnauba wax offers some protection and adds tons of gloss. Using both is great, but you will likely be satisfied with just the sealant if your car is a daily driver.

Avoid the dealer detailing services in the future, and also ask them not to wash the car when you go in for service. Avoiding traditional tunnel washes will keep your paint looking good for longer periods of time - touchless washes are generally fine. Of course, the best thing is doing it yourself.

Originally Posted by Rtran

Hey George,
I was claying my bros new camry he has a dark graphite color and after I was done I noticed it was scrached up more then before. I figured it was me because I like to go in a back and forth motion and it was clearly scratched up that way. I just Meguiars quick detailer as a lub and had the extra water from the wash still on the car. The only part I didnt clay was the roof and it barely had any scratches on it. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks!

You probably used too much pressure or too little lube (or a combination of both). Hopefully the scratches are repairable.

In the future, use the lube very liberally with very little (if any) pressure. You essentially want to run the clay over the paint - the weight of the bar and your fingers is plenty. Let the clay do the work.

Also, what kind of clay bar did you use? Your technique may not have been bad, but perhaps you used a bar that was too aggressive for a brand new car (and no subsequent polish).