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Quezzy
04-11-2011, 02:54 PM
1. "Best" is subjective when it comes to waxes and sealants. Too many variables for there to be a single, all around best wax or sealant. Do you want durability? Sharp reflections? Super wetness? Incredible depth? Is your car a daily driver? Garage queen? Do you have acid rain/fallout issues where you live? What is the annual rainfall in your area? Average temperature? How harsh are your winters? How hot are your summers? Do you have to park under trees?

2. No one knows how many passes with a machine it will take to remove your defects. It takes however many passes it takes. Even those of us who do this for a living can't look at a car right in front of us and know how many passes it will take and it can be different from panel to panel.

3. Similarly, we don't know what pad/polish/speed combo it will take to correct your paint either. Even the same cars, painted the same day will respond differently. Many a time, I've had a stack of pads and several bottles of polish sitting next to a car trying to find the right combination.

4. It is spelled "Meguiar's", not "Meguire's". Learn it, love it, live it.

5. There is no one single person here who knows everything about detailing. Focusing on what just one person does or uses will limit your knowledge.

6. Stop wet sanding or heavy cutting without the proper experience and then asking is this damaged, when you know it is.

7. I would like to add, if you're just starting out - KISS, as in keep it simple stupid, if you go out and try to buy every product, 1 you'll be broke and 2 you'll never get good at anything.

Definitely agree. Stop making detailing hard and complicated, it really isn't.

1. Evaluate
2. Clean
3. Evaluate again
4. Correct
5. Check work carefully
6. Protect.

8. When you polish your car and whatever you are using isn't working to your satisfaction, don't run to your computer and make a post about not being able to get the swirls out and then ask "should I use a more aggressive polish/pad?". Here is the answer- "yes". Now you don't have to get mad when 3 hours later your post doesn't have any replies.

Please use a little common sense. Assuming you are using proper technique (use speeds of 5-6 with a DA buffer, enough pressure to lightly slow the spinning-then letting up just enough for the speed to pick back up, and moving the buffer about 1-2" per second in 50% overlapping passes) if you aren't removing the swirls/defects you need a more aggressive polish, pad or both.

9. It is BRAKE dust, not BREAK dust.

dboz
04-11-2011, 03:13 PM
WOW, come strong or don't come at all.

Sequence
04-11-2011, 03:29 PM
If someone commits suicide, I blame you!

Carruthers
04-11-2011, 03:39 PM
Will there be a mulitple choice test following this thread? Can we have a brake time in between?

kge0003
04-11-2011, 03:48 PM
Vent complete. Haha

dboz
04-11-2011, 03:51 PM
Will there be a mulitple choice test following this thread? Can we have a brake time in between?


This may make the OP go postal. LOL

ZLAYER
04-11-2011, 05:09 PM
Everyone knows, a chainsaw is the only way to really achieve that mirror finish.

total0wnage
04-11-2011, 11:21 PM
Vent complete. Haha

hahah seriously i was thinking the same thing

FJF
04-12-2011, 12:07 AM
A little background on the OP's post. It was copied and pasted from Autopia, where it's a sticky. Scottwax, the original writer, does sound a bit rough around the edges here, though he's not, but everything he wrote is true. For example, notice point #3. This is what I was talking about in the price of detail thread. In order to really hit the paint, you need to find the right pad/polish combo and it takes time. Similarly, polishing - I mean effectively - means hitting a ~1x2' area at a time, breaking down the polish or working it down to a given level, removing the oils/fillers left by the polish, inspecting the area under different kinds of light (or direct sunlight) and correcting as necessary. Again, time.

The post, itself, sounds like something found on a car forum and it doesn't really justice to the community. I've been on the 'net for ages and the detailing folks (on Autopia and TID) are the friendlies, most helpful individuals I've come across. Everyone tried to be positive. I don't know how many times folks offered to send me samples of a particular product that was being discussed. Something as common as trading samples rarely goes without something extra being tossed into the box. It's almost unbelievable in this day and age.