*Official* Ask A Detailer Thread

The pad washer looks awesome online... but $100 to clean pads and more space of another bucket... I plan to just do my truck, so don't clean that much in the future... I already have a grit guard and a 5 gallon bucket.. Wonder if there's a low tech way to clean the MF buffing pads I have from Meguiar's. Does spraying it with APC or using compressed air blow all the spent product out of the pad? Wonder if I can just use the grit guard and short bucket to clean the pads without the water pumping up?

 

Short answer, no. You never want the product to dry on your polishing pads. And DO NOT try to use compressed air to clean them. It will further embed particles in to the pad. Then every time you try to use them in the future you will do much more harm than good.

Using the grit guard is a bad idea as well. Just get a polishing pad brush and either pad cleaner or APC. Dose a bucket of water with pad cleaner and let the pads soak then scrub and rinse or just do the APC and rinse, again use the brush to clean them really well.

 

I saw in a video (auto geek) where they say use a pad brush or compressed air in between applying more product when detailing. So thought compressed air would be good for that for cleaning and then using APC. The fancy pad cleaner uses a grit guard and pad cleaning solution, but it has a spring/pump that pushes more water into the pad while the buffer is running. So why is the grit guard a bad idea if it's submerged in cleaning solution?

 

To use a grit guard style cleaner you have to have it still on the machine with the machine on. So you will take a big risk of electricution without the sides that the pad cleaner provide. Mainly the safety aspect of it. May be a common sense statement, but still wanted to put it out there.

 

The commercial bucket cleaner also have the polisher connected and running. It's just the pad and the grit guard submerged, not the full polisher itself. Thanks for mentioning it.

 

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Turtle-Wax-Quick-and-Easy-Dash-and-Glass-Interior-Cleaner/36610692

The Turtle Wax Dash and Glass works great with a microfiber towel. Safe on window tint also. I really like the stuff. No more worries about getting it on the windshield when you are spraying the dash or vise versa!

 

I never would have bought it for that price. I caught it on clearance for around $40. I couldn't pass it up at that price.

Before pad washer I would always spray with APC. Then next I would fill up a bucket with hot water and Dawn to let them soak some more. Then rinse.

 

what are these? Waterspots? I have them all over my 2016. How do I remove them. A good wash, clay, and pinnacle paintworks doesnt do the job.

 

Do you park under a tree or where there are a lot of birds? Can only guess, but if you already tried wash and clay... try a polish to see if you can remove it...if it's etched into the clear...if there's any clearcoat left... use a rubbing compound to buff it out...takes some clear coat with it. Idea is to go least destructive before removing clearcoat away.

If you applied some paint sealant or coating and didn't cure right...can also show defects in the dried state.

So if you washed the troubled area...then clay...then wash again...then use a solution of alcohol ...or use a commercial detailing product like eraser to remove the oils... using a polish compound with a DA polisher. If that doesn't work... use a light rubbing compound to cut the clear...once your done...depending on the system (product) you use...go straight to polish or if the cutting compound changes into a polish you are done.

 

Alright.
No i dont park under trees but i do park at work which is a steel factory and there is acid rain coming from smoke stacks. I clean the car every 3 days or so because of that crap.
It looks like spots burned right through the clear.
I will try your recommendation thank you

 

@sorgon82 since you are in that situation with the acid rain, you may want to look into a cover for your truck to protect the paint.

 

This. Or get a beater to drive to work.

 

Im thinking a dirt bike

 

I never tried this...but if it's through the clear...you might want to try paint protection film. It'll protect what clear coat you have left and maybe, but it might still show the defect...you can try to repair the clear what you have left and then use PPF against the acid rain. The PPF is more sturdy to abuse than the clear coat. If I had help, I would buy the PPF myself and do it myself. I tried to do the hood of my BRZ, but really needs another person to it right. I bought it precut and they sent me the wrong size and it because a big mess...finally paid pro to put it on...but was still cheaper than buying from them and doing at the shop. So if you are in that situation...I would buy PPF film and learn to apply it yourself. But you need color correction / polish the whole car before you apply the PPF unless you want it to look like that before you lay it down.

 

I actually tried to put some black 3m vinyl on with my girlfriend and wasted a bunch of it so now im paying someone to put it on, but thats only the roof of the cap, cab and partial hood, I still need to correct the rest of the blemishes. All my windows have heavy water spots on them also, I took a razor blade to a small portion and it worked (vinigar didnt work) but the razor is so time consuming.

 

Ok, made the mistake of going through an automatic car wash. Now I have small spots of excess wax all over my truck. What is the best way to remove that?

 

Swirl city automatic car wash. If you want to completely strip wax away...use liquid dawn solution and it should remove strip everything.

Are you sure it's wax versus water stain? If I go to a car wash where I wash myself, I use the spot free rinse cycle to make sure I don't get water stains. I doubt any automatic car wash will have DI water so the regular water will leave spots.

 

You can learn how to polish and compound if you have a dual action random polisher pretty hard to damage paint or hire a pro detailer and get their opinion on the condition of your paint and whether it's correctable or not. Your work place sounds nasty... I would get a beater to work in that kind of environment unless it's a long commute. A hood or roof shouldn't be too hard if you look at enough video...I would have done okay except one or two spots I would have had an air bubble, but they gave me the wrong precut pattern so it was a mother to work on and remove. If I had help and to do it again...it wouldn't be too bad at all...I had the whole BRZ hood myself...just bad luck I had bad pattern sent to me. If it's a small piece...would be easy to learn except don't do the bumper..it's tricky. I plan to try it on my mountain bike.

 

Yeah I think it is wax, it is all over my headlights and windshield, and feels like wax.

 

I have this simonize 10" random polisher
And Pinnacle paint works and wax. The Paint Works product is meant to strip away old wax before re-applying. What would a descent "compound" polisher product be in order to attempt to buff these marks out? Im not familiar with compounds and by the sounds of it, they will deminish my clear coat.