Detailers Unite

[mentalcase]

I don't think that is a "polish" in the sense of a polish. That seems more like CarPro Eraser or Griots Paint Prep.

Shot of the CX5 Soul Red looking like a liquid Jolly Rancher...That's one layer of Collinite Fleetwax from a couple weeks ago, washed and dried yesterday with Prima Hydro. Ah yea...

That is some shine! After my wash and wax last weekend, I'm not content with the level of shine my meteor gray is showing. Probably needs some polishing after my next wash.

 

[Surfsup]

mentalcase, I am going to wait until next year to polish my CX5 - too early, paint is still pretty good though I am not happy with the orange peel on the Soul Red. If you want some gloss, get a bottle of Prima Hydro Wash and Wax. Use it and then go look at it the next day...it's good stuff...

What polish will you use? I plan to use Menzerna SF4000 next spring. I just used Menzerna's FG400 on a beat up old truck but the cut is too aggressive for a new car. Results are here:

<a class="navtab" href="http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/79369-menz-not-menz.html">Menzerna FG400</a>

I think the SF4000 will be perfect...going to make that red pop like mad...

 

[bamirault]

" Collinite Fleetwax. It's $15 at a marine store. "
I'm curious - with all the great car products out there why would you go for a marine product?

And he's not the only one to use this marine product. I have a fiberglass sloop which is out doors year round (although on the hard with the deck covered during Canadian winter). This wax adds a mirror finish that beads water and lasts into the next sailing season. I use it on the truck 'cause it works so well on the boat. I am happy with the result. I wax spring and fall and it looks fine in between.

Best wax you can buy? Not likely. It does meet my standards and I already stock it for the boat.

Brian

 

[mentalcase]

mentalcase, I am going to wait until next year to polish my CX5 - too early, paint is still pretty good though I am not happy with the orange peel on the Soul Red. If you want some gloss, get a bottle of Prima Hydro Wash and Wax. Use it and then go look at it the next day...it's good stuff...

What polish will you use? I plan to use Menzerna SF4000 next spring. I just used Menzerna's FG400 on a beat up old truck but the cut is too aggressive for a new car. Results are here:

<a class="navtab" href="http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/79369-menz-not-menz.html">Menzerna FG400</a>

I think the SF4000 will be perfect...going to make that red pop like mad...

Likely just going to go with what I have in the shed right now. Meguiar's ultimate polish with a black pad.

 

[Felt_Rider]

Interesting because I had been reading reviews on Menzerna SF-45 and ordered a bottle this morning to use on my wife's 07 Mazda 3. Looks like a good product and the SF version with the black pad should be a mild enough for the condition of the paint on the 3.

I do not want to use a true polish on the CX5 yet and will use a clay bar the DP that is called a polish on the label but is just a mild cleaner to use before applying sealant. Also in the order was a variety pack of polishing pads from Lake Country and Pinnacle Poly clay with Pinnacle lube spray.

 

[Surfsup]

Yea I plan to use just SF4000 on my CX5 when the time is right (next spring/summer). Right now the finish is pretty good, just minor swirls. Nothing overly noticeable. TBH, I notice the orange peel more. The orange peel on the CX5 Soul Red is horrible imo. A shame since when cleaned up it is striking. I've had many people ask me about the color when they see me near the car since I got it.

 

[mentalcase]

Change of plans. Went ahead and ordered Prima Amigo, Hydro, and the hydro spray for touch ups.

I felt Amigo would be the best choice now to prepare the paint as there virtually no marring.

 

[Surfsup]

Prima Amigo is similar in cut and finish to SF4000 and SF4500 but does filling if it is worked slowly. Looks like if it is worked faster and longer, the abrasives will do more work. I want to do an initial polishing on mine so I will stick to the SF4000 with the black or red CCS Lake Country pad. (but I won't be doing it until next spring). Post your pics when you're done. I am always interested to learn about new stuff. I love the prima hydro, so I'm sure prima amigo will be good!

 

[Felt_Rider]

Used the Menzerna SF4500 yesterday on my wife's 07 Mazda 3 as an experiment. No doubt the car could have used a bit more aggressive polish, but I bought the SF4500 for the CX-5 and used her car as the test subject. After a few hours of going through the whole process the polish worked nicely on the 3 using a Porter Wagner set on 5 and a Lake Country blue pad.

I also used an Autogeek foam sprayer for the first time and really like it.

1. foam sprayer pre soak with car shampoo
2. foam sprayer and wipe down with a soft mitt then rinse
3. clay bar with using the foam sprayer to keep the surface moist (had Pinnacle clay lube but did not use)
4. rinse
5. blow dry
6. polish with SF4500
7. Detailer's sealant prep, PW and black pad (applied by hand and removed with microfiber towel after 30 minutes)
8. Wolfgang high gloss sealant v3.0
9. In garage overnight for sealant to cure

Mostly done, but still need to go over the trim work and interior

Next up in a few weeks is the CX-5 after a road trip. I think I could use the Menzerna as it seems super mild, but I will still hold off this time. I just reached the 1 year mark with the CX-5 and with the XPEL film on the front all the paint still looks really good. It just needs to be cleaned, clayed and sealed.

All the above steps were me experimenting as a newbie to a more detailed cleaning. Pretty rewarding effort in the end. I walked down to the garage a few times to look at the results.

 

[Surfsup]

^^ Nice! Yea I admit doing that a few times (going down to the garage to get a whiff of the smell as well as check it out). Clay while foaming? Interesting...I need new clay and am debating the nanoskin. Building a house so my coating day will not happen until next spring when I'm done...

 

[Felt_Rider]

Yeah the clay with foaming would probably make a professional detailer cringe I was running out of daylight so I kind of mixed two of the processes. Interesting that you mentioned the nanoskin because I am thinking about that as well after this weekend. I noticed that the clay that I used had some slight grit probably picked up from previous use. I would not have used that particular clay on the CX-5.

I just read a few reviews and it sounds like it is a lot better than clay and can be kept clean.

Big thing was winning a lot of brownie points with my wife. While it was an opportunity to learn on her car it turned out nice and she is really happy with how it looks. "Looks better than when we got it new" was her comment, but in reality not near as good as a professional. I did learn from the experience and will hopefully get better.

 

[runtohell121]

Nanoskin is probably faster than clay. Well, I used the Nanoskin Autoscrub sponge and it was faster than using a clay for me on my smaller car (Honda Insight)

 

[mentalcase]

Well I attempted to fix the scratches after my door ding and ended up making a noobie mistake. You can barely see the scratches anymore, but I went through the clear coat after sanding in a small spot. I'll keep it covered with wax and have it resprayed once the clear starts failing. Otherwise I can deal with it instead of two large white scratches.

 

[Surfsup]

Interesting that you mentioned the nanoskin because I am thinking about that as well after this weekend. I noticed that the clay that I used had some slight grit probably picked up from previous use.

I hear the "fine" nanoskin is the one to go with...

 

[Surfsup]

Well I attempted to fix the scratches after my door ding and ended up making a noobie mistake. You can barely see the scratches anymore, but I went through the clear coat after sanding in a small spot.

Sorry to hear this...!

 

[mentalcase]

Sorry to hear this...!

Didn't take much to be honest. Be advised our clear coat is super thin. Afterwards my wife reminded me our comprehensive deductible is only $50. I'll be getting it re sprayed this summer.

 

[yunvi]

So i think read through this thread and thought i would give my ride some clay and back to black treatments...both from Mothers. The back to black worked beautifully....the clay...not so much.

I think I am going to need to give the cx5 a buffing, because there are all these streaks that are clearly visible after my wash yesterday.

Well...I hope buffing would take care of this. or even better, another hand wash maybe ? Hopefully ?

 

[SayNoToPistons]

Those are put there by improperly cleaning the car, or improperly claying the car. Basically micro-scratches that need to be removed and corrected by fine abrasives, such as polishing.

If those were put there after claying, it was probably due to a lack of lubrication while claying or the clay bar itself was dropped and full of grit.

 

[CXVille]

+1 to SayNoToPistons
Those scratches look like washing scratches to me. Very, very common on black cars because they show up so well. You need a buffer and need to learn how to use it. I'm betting on how it has been washed - dirty towels, dirty wash water or commercial wash.

 

[yunvi]

Those are put there by improperly cleaning the car, or improperly claying the car. Basically micro-scratches that need to be removed and corrected by fine abrasives, such as polishing.

If those were put there after claying, it was probably due to a lack of lubrication while claying or the clay bar itself was dropped and full of grit.

Thanks NoPistons.. they were definitely left after my claying attempt (first for what its worth).