Mr Detailer
Member
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- 99 Protege LX 5spd
p5power said:1.) To do a complete run-down of the car, what are the steps you would need to take? I have waxed my car in the past...about a month or two ago.
The steps needed for a "full detail" on the exterior would be in this order:
Wash
Clay (To remove embedded contaminants in the paint like metal brake dust particles and other airborne pollutants that have settled on your paint)
Polish (if you have swirls in the paint that you're looking to get rid of)
Paint cleaner (to bring back the true color of the paint)
Sealant or wax. Or both, sealant first.
2.) Your suggestions for specifc products would be cool (looking for stuff you can pick up at the auto parts store...plan on doing this this weekend).
I don't have many store bought products, but I can recommend a few products that I have used, that are available locally.
Mothers California Gold Clay Bar Kit. It's pricey, at $15 per kit, but you'll love how your paint feels after using it. It will also prevent tiny specks of rust from appearing all over your car. You may already have some of these specks, particularly behind your front wheels. Go ahead and check...get up real close and look (after washing the car of course).
Since I don't know whether you have any swirls to remove, I don't know whether you're looking for a polish to remove them. But if you are, I'd recommend...well...honestly I can't think of any products in the store that will actually remove swirls. See, many of the products in the local stores (whether it be waxes or polishes) will claim to remove swirls, when all they do is hide them with temporary fillers. The swirls will reappear after a few weeks. The general public wants a product to do everything in one quick step, so the manufacturers try to combine the benefits of every step into one product. Every step is then compromised though.
Speaking of one-step products, if all you want is to bring back the gloss of the paint and protect it, you can just go out and buy a cleaner wax. Meguiars Gold Class and NXT Tech Wax are both cleaner waxes (no they don't actually say cleaner wax, but they are) and are both decent products. I prefer NXT over GC, but it costs more so it's your call. They will both clean the paint (remove the oxidation that is causing your cloudiness/fading) and lay a coat of wax over the paint to protect it in the future. Be aware that GC only lasts for maybe a month, and NXT for ~8 weeks under optimal conditions. NXT is more of a sealant, since it contains polymer protectants rather than natural carnauba wax like most products.
3.) What kinda of steps should I take to try and clear up that clouding/fading on the bumpers...it's starting to bother me.
As I said above, the paint cleaner removes the clouding caused by oxidation from the sun's UV radiation. A cleaner wax would also do the trick. Doing two steps, a paint cleaner and then a wax, would be the best way to do it. If you have a "1-step" product, it's often a compromise between the two steps. The cleaners aren't that strong, and the wax isn't very durable. Your best bet is to get a dedicated paint cleaner, and a dedicated protectant, whether it be a polymer sealant or a traditional carnauba-based wax. The cleaner wax will work, but not as well as two dedicated steps. You could do multiple applications of the cleaner wax to clean the paint better, or better yet use a *quality* orbital buffer to apply it with. The results from using an orbital buffer/polisher will be far superior to cleaning the paint by hand.
Just wondering if I could take advantage of having some of the resident detailers to comment.
I'm sure this would really help the rest of the care care noobs out there like me.
Well I think I covered everything. If you've actually taken the time to read my whole post and have more questions, I'm here for ya...fire away!
Thanks!
Questions answered in bold above... ^
