*Official* Ask A Detailer Thread

I concur, shit is awesome. Father in law uses it for everything on his boats, (yes Plural). Works great for mold, grease, you name it. Any surface. Just rinse after done and apply protectant. Totally Awesome. I use it for any general cleaning, safe as hell and biodegradable. No need for rubber gloves here.
I used it on my Monte Carlo doors light color fabric on the door to get out oil/grease. No discoloration on 30yr old fabric.

 

The stuff eats my 55 year old hands up. Back 25 to 30 years ago I could wash my hand in bleach and it not bother me. Hell to get old.

 

Not far behind ya.

 

You don't have birds dropping bombs on your truck out in VA.? Just the dust, grit blowing on my truck sitting in the parking lot builds up on my paint in 1 week. I can really feel it when I hand wash it. No way could I go a month without washing mine.

 

so is wash, claybar, polish, then wax the best "at home detailing" ? plan on doing those steps this weekend or so

 

What do you mean by the best?

 

What size pads do you guys use? Bought a bunch of detailing stuff this week and accidentally got 6.5" pads. I normally use 5" pads. Am I better off with the bigger ones?

 

I have a 5" backing plate on my Griot's DA & I use 5.5" pads.

 

Get an acrylic sealant on there for protection and you can layer carnauba wax or spray wax after every wash moving forward.

 

I'm looking for a good quality pressure washer and foam cannon. Durable, but not really professional grade.

 

Hey folks, newbe clay question. I wash my truck weekly and keep quality sealant and wax on it. Being retired I don't put on a lot of mileage and was wondering how often should I clay it. It's 7 weeks old and has been clayed once. Thanks for any comments. Dave

 

Mine is 21 months old and has never seen a clay bar. I wash my truck weekly and wax it twice a year.

 

I clay 2x a year. Once before my spring detail and once before winter. Usually overkill to clay more than that unless you have to to get shit out of your paint. But proper protection should prevent most contaminants.

Always plan to clay before polishing and sealing though.

 

Didn't want this comment to get buried. I use this polisher, and it works well for me. Haven't tried any of the other recommended polishers yet (like the Porter Cable), but I like mine from HF.

But one tip: get good quality pads! The HF pads aren't the greatest, but they will get the job done if you're on a budget. They're also roughly half an inch bigger than the backing plate, so the edges of the pads often deteriorate while you're still polishing, and can make a mess.

 

Use and like that product a lot!


So any preferences from you experts on paint sealants?

 

Good 'ol Collinite wax is great. SUPER durable stuff. Good for our offroad trucks!

https://www.autogeekonline.net/foru...e-845-definitive-how-guide-legendary-wax.html

 

Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid Wax is a sealant.

 

Thanks for the tip, got two off Amazon. Currently on sale at 16.97 per 16oz. Wondering if a newer product is coming out or something. Maybe it'll go cheaper. Love my slickdeals, get the app if you don't have it already and be sure it's the one made by slickdeals.

 

You will like how easy Meguiar's Ultimate liquid wax is to work with. I'm putting it on my bumper cover, tailgate handle, and around the mirrors next time I wax. Just got a little on those things a couple weeks ago and it has a darker shine to it. (the black plastic)

You got yours cheaper than I got mine at Walmart. Mine was $22+ change. There web site had the wrong price but I had it in my mind I was going to wax my truck the next day so I bought it.

 

^^^ What Scooter said.

"Sealants" are simply synthetic waxes, but Meguiar's calls its ULW a "wax" so consumers don't think it's some totally different product. Even though it's technically a "sealant," it's still a wax. Now ceramic sealants/coatings....that's a topic for someone else.

Here are a couple of good ones, albeit on the pricey side.

$45 Wolfgang Concours Series WG-5500 Deep Gloss Paint Sealant, 16 fl. oz, Black

https://smile.amazon.com/Wolfgang-W...6873327&sr=8-20-spons&keywords=menzerna&psc=1

McKee's 37 MK37-200 Paint Coating, 4 fl. oz.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B01ITEZBXY/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I19RHKKZ108G6W&colid=3F0MKOVE4MJ38