The order of waxes and polishes

[Alextab]

I needed to know how to properly apply the wax and polishes to a car.
Currently I've done it this way.

1. Cleaner wax or Polishing Compond
2. Scartch remover polish
3. Hand glaze or nu finish polish
4. Normal carnuba wax.

Now I thought I had it down, until i looked deeper into restoring paint.
Having trouble with the term glaze, and all these differnt polishes.
Also I never heard of a sealent until about a week ago. I feel like im going
crazy with all the stuff they have out.

And as far as applying and removing wax I would use terry towels, and buff out with wool.

Please help, or if theres and good book on this stuff, I would love to know.

[GregCavi]

Here is the step by step

Wash
Clay
Wash
Paint Cleaner if needed
Polish
Lighter Polish if needed
Pre wax Polish in needed
Glaze
Sealant if needed
Wax

There are alot of steps there but you can skip some of them. For polishing alwasy start with the least abrasive product and if that doesnt cut it , haha, then step up to a more abrasive product or pad combo. A glaze is a product that contains oils and fillers. glazes tend to leave a deep wet shine on the paint and hide minor defects. For product removal You can either use a high quality MF towel or use MF bonnets. I prefer MF towels becuase they are just as easy as Bonnets and much quicker IMHO.

Greg

[bigron62]

I use just two products ....... YEP HERE THEY ARE

[joyriide1113]

they should have a list f terms and their definitions as a "sticky" and put up on the "welcome" section. excuse me if one is already available and i didnt notice.

all we need is someone to write it up and include more things like wha a da polisher is, pads, clay, ect... if u think down there arent that many things to write about...

joy

[Beemerboy]

ALEX

Welcome to the site!! car products and the process are all personal preference. What color is your car,year and how do you store it?

Greg, hit it pretty well but I'd like to know the above question this will help in the step by step process that will help you.

I also assume that you are doing all this by hand?

[Focusedonsound]

Originally Posted by Alextab

I needed to know how to properly apply the wax and polishes to a car.
Currently I've done it this way.

1. Cleaner wax or Polishing Compond
2. Scartch remover polish
3. Hand glaze or nu finish polish
4. Normal carnuba wax.

Now I thought I had it down, until i looked deeper into restoring paint.
Having trouble with the term glaze, and all these differnt polishes.
Also I never heard of a sealent until about a week ago. I feel like im going
crazy with all the stuff they have out.

And as far as applying and removing wax I would use terry towels, and buff out with wool.

Please help, or if theres and good book on this stuff, I would love to know.

Things change with the different manufactures! I know with Meguiars they have a Scale that they use to show how abrassive a product is! Most other companies dont. Poorboys world uses #s in there SSR line to show abrassiveness.

Like Greg has stated that would be a pretty good rule of thumb as to the steps you would take in paint repair. But you are asking some other general questions. In general WE here at detail city wouldn't let terry cloth touch our cars! We use towels that are much softer and work a lot better (Micro Fiber) you will see a lot of people refer to them as MF

As suggestion you should read Detailing according to Jngrbrdman It gives you a good overview of some of the basic tools and such that you should have in your arsenal!

[Beemerboy]

Originally Posted by Focusedonsound

In general WE here at detail city wouldn't let terry cloth touch our cars!

I'm using some terry towel and have for years. MF is fairly new for the most part, and for some a bit expensive to buy for a guy that is just cleaning his own car. For the weekend guy working on his own car good plush cotton terry towels are more than fine IMO
I do agree that most here are using them but then we are mostly addicts anyway :rolling :rolling :rolling

[mikemacdonald]

I have read through this thread with great interest, and appreciate all of the information given here. I jumped over and read "Detailing according to Jngrbrdman " as well, and it's great.

I would like to ask:

I have an 8 year old van, which was cleaned in carwashes until recently. So, it has swirl marks and basic surface scratches all over it.

I have the PC 7336, and used Meguiar's Swirl Remover 2.0 (#9) on the paint. After completing a couple of sections, I then waxed with Meguiar's Cleaner wax. It looked great. Until I saw it under the street lights, which then showed me that the swirl marks were all still there.

I figured I needed a more agressive polish, so, I purchased Meguiar's Fine Cut Cleaner (#2). Both of these products are listed in that great article I jumped to and read.

I went through the same process with this product, and again, was pleased with the results. This time I used a more agressive pad on the PC and lightly went over the section of the hood twice. Waxed again, and admired the results. Fantastic looking, compared to before.

However, again, under the street lights, the scratches and swirls are still there.

The pictures in this thread lead me to believe I can remove these marks, it's just that I'm not sure why I haven't been able to get rid of them so far.

- Is it that I'm not going over the paint for enough time with the "cleaner"??
- Do I need to move to a more agressive product to achieve the results I want?? (Wife thinks I'm nuts, and should stop now, I'm not happy yet)
- The Meguiar's fine cut cleaner is ranked at abrasive #5, and there are lots more agressive products available.
- Am I asking for too much? Can it be done??

Feedback would be appreciated please.

[The Woob]

Mike,

Welcome to DC! Nice to see a detailer from Vancouver (where I will be attending soon...) After reading your post I think you've found that your finish most likely that its swirled pretty well (8 years is alot) more then you expected. and that you need more passes and possiblly more aggressive products. Do you have a picture? I suggest you try Fine Cut again, and work with some powerful lights such as 1000 w Halogens or Fluorescent lights. Enjoy & Keep working