[brian]

As I'm new to detailing, I've been reading a little about machine correction and polishing and I'm seeing lots of comments about using product x with this pad or that pad. Adams Polishes has color coordinated their product line to their recommended pads (white glaze = white pad), however this will only work if you are using their products.

So how do we know what pad to use with which product? Are all "orange" pads the same no matter who made it? What if we are applying products by hand? Is there a difference between a sponge type applicator vs. a microfiber one?

 

[eRic]

Oh I thought this was about brake pads

 

[DreamDetail]

I don't know exactly how Adams has their pads coordinated as I have not used their products. Pad colors are not the same from different manufacturers. Even Lake Country varies their pad colors depending on the series. My favorite pads for non-Rupes DA machines are the Lake Country Low-Profile Hydrotech pads mated to the Meguiar's W67DA backing plate. For heavy cutting, Meguiar's Microfiber pads may be required.

Also keep in mind that modern Fords have Ceramic clear coats which make them much harder than typical clear coats. The Ceramic portion of the clearcoat is within the top 6 microns of paint, this does not give you a lot of playing room at all if you plan on polishing multiple times throughout a car's life. This is a reason why protective nano-coatings are valuable when protecting ceramic clear coats.

Ford's are also coming from the factory with very unclear paint, lots of orange peel & hazy. Here is a picture of my ST showing the clarity difference before & after polishing. The car had about 40 miles on it at this point.

 

[brian]

Interesting stuff on the ford! I'm planning on buying a fiesta st in the near future and this knowledge will defiantly come in handy.

The meguires backing plate is on my "buy this" list!

I'm still reading up on all the different coatings that are out there.

Thanks for your help!

 

[wash]

Well I did my uninformed version of a detail job last night for a car show I'm going to attend/enter in a few hours.

Unfortunately I have the same blurry reflection problem as your before photo. My wash/clay bar/wax job using Maguire's products didn't seem to change that at all. My warning sticker/SiriusXM sticker removal with Goo Gone worked well but my Winded/RainX cleaning and treatment seems to have left a slightly smudged appearance too. I haven't seen it in sun light yet so maybe it won't be noticeable?

Any way, I'm interested to know what you did to un-blur the reflection in your paint. Tips on making glass look good would be nice too.

One last thing: damn that thing generates some brake dust.

With slightly over 400 miles, my wheels were a mess, front and rear. I had a foaming wheel cleaner and a scrub brush which worked well and fairly quickly but I don't want to do that every five days.

 

[DreamDetail]

Well I did my uninformed version of a detail job last night for a car show I'm going to attend/enter in a few hours.

Unfortunately I have the same blurry reflection problem as your before photo. My wash/clay bar/wax job using Maguire's products didn't seem to change that at all. My warning sticker/SiriusXM sticker removal with Goo Gone worked well but my Winded/RainX cleaning and treatment seems to have left a slightly smudged appearance too. I haven't seen it in sun light yet so maybe it won't be noticeable?

Any way, I'm interested to know what you did to un-blur the reflection in your paint. Tips on making glass look good would be nice too.

One last thing: damn that thing generates some brake dust.

With slightly over 400 miles, my wheels were a mess, front and rear. I had a foaming wheel cleaner and a scrub brush which worked well and fairly quickly but I don't want to do that every five days.

Concerning windows: For rainx, if there is still residue remaining, water or a windows cleaner with a microfiber towel should remove any left over residue. The best way to clean windows is with a dry waffle weave towel. If there is excess residue on the glass, use a dedicated glass cleaner first with the waffle weave towel and then a dry waffle weave to remove everything else. These are my favorite but shipping from Hawaii isn't always the best:
http://pakshak.com/waffle-weave-micro-fiber-glass-towel-16x16-1.html

As far as the paint goes, proper machine polishing flattens the top of the paint to create the more mirror like surface. I spent at least 20 hours on the paint alone before applying a protective coating. I will soon be stripping the original protective coating in favor of a new color-matched coating:

For the wheels, protective nano-coatings make cleaning much much easier. Brands like Polishangel, 22ple, CarPro, & Max-Protect all make good protective coatings. With a stream of water the vast majority of brake dust comes of, which means you won't need any special wheel cleaners, just a mild soap. The application for these products is more complicated than applying wax or sealant. For the wheels you might be alright by yourself but to the cars paint I would really recommend having a professional doing it.

 

[wash]

Do you know anyone you can recommend for the polish in the San Francisco bay area?

 

[DreamDetail]

Do you know anyone you can recommend for the polish in the San Francisco bay area?

Sorry I missed this post. I'm sure I could find a reputable detailer in that area. However, in this situation many detailers want to just perform a 1-step correction as that would remove the majority or all swirls on a new car. To achieve this paint leveling, at least 2 steps would be required, the first, compounding step would have to be done carefully to not remove the ceramic portion of the clear and heavy enough to level out the paint. I have a hard time trusting anyone else to perform work to my standards which is why I have no plans of ever hiring anyone.

 

[CarefreeAZ]

Well I did my uninformed version of a detail job last night ...
One last thing: damn that thing generates some brake dust. With slightly over 400 miles, my wheels were a mess, front and rear. I had a foaming wheel cleaner and a scrub brush which worked well and fairly quickly but I don't want to do that every five days.

Ha, after 1000 miles the first week, you could have sworn I ordered the Rado Gray wheels and didn't get the red calipers. The brake dust was that heavy. Not gonna worry about it though...got other things to do.

 

[wash]

I still would like a recommendation.

If the SF area is too limiting, I may go to LA and Las Vegas on a road trip.

 

[DreamDetail]

Ha, after 1000 miles the first week, you could have sworn I ordered the Rado Gray wheels and didn't get the red calipers. The brake dust was that heavy. Not gonna worry about it though...got other things to do.

There's no real way to stop brake dust from sticking to the wheel. Wheel waxes are really a joke IMO as they don't last long enough. Silica based coatings that form a covalent bond are the way to go as they reduce the risk of brake dust or rust damaging the paint on the wheels and make cleaning much easier. You'd never need more than a mild soap and water to clean them.

btw, 1000 miles in a week? that's a lot of driving!! My Focus ST, which i received in December, has just hit 3k miles.

I still would like a recommendation.

If the SF area is too limiting, I may go to LA and Las Vegas on a road trip.

Doing some research now on detailers in that area.... initial results aren't so promising

 

[9]

There doesn't seem to be much in the Reno/Carson City/Tahoe area either. I may have to DIY.

 

[DreamDetail]

How bad of a drive is Sacramento?

Sent from the Dream Detail Studio

 

[wash]

Sacramento I can do.

 

[DreamDetail]

Sacramento I can do.

Sent you a PM a couple days ago.

There doesn't seem to be much in the Reno/Carson City/Tahoe area either. I may have to DIY.

How bad of a drive would Sacramento be for you?

You could always get a group together and fly me out there to do some new-car details.

 

[9]

I can probably do Sac.

 

[DreamDetail]

PM'ing you info on the detailer.

 

[wash]

Thanks for the pm.

I will get in contact with him this week hopefully.

 

[TWDM]

If you know any good detailers in the Seattle area can you pm me?