*Official* Ask A Detailer Thread

Every time I've seen glass polishing come up at Autogeek is how pain in the ass time consuming it is. Hand polishing is out the question and even a DA polisher could take a long time. The "forced rotation" machines are supposed to be a bit better at it like that Flex polisher. Carpro ceriglass polish comes to mind and rayon polishing pads.

 

Sorry to hear. I hate when people recommend steel wool for glass. There are safer options out there which you already found out.

 

Hmmm , I used the 0000 Steel wool method and my glass is amazing !

 

Some folks swear by it but my point it is....WHY???

 

I have only done it once on my 2008 . I wouldn’t do it all the time unless the glass was real bad . Like sap, bird shit and what not ! But it did a great job .

 

Every year I “deep clean” my windshield.

I wash the glass well.
Clay bar the whole windshield
Polish with a 6”, orange (cutting pad) microfiber pad and a cutting polish.
Buff off excess polish
Clean with invisible glass

I call it a deep clean because its darn near impossible to buff glass lol it really jusy scrubs it up.


0000 steel wool should not have scratched your glass. Its pretty hard to marr glass. Depending on the age of your glass it could just be greased up and you are seeing the marring in the years of oxidation and grime sitting on the glass.

 

^interesting, this issue started when a tar like substance showed up on the windshield after a 5 hour trip in heavy rain. Lots of trucks on the road. I was searching for totally cleaned windshield. Is there something that will safely degrease a windshield?

 

If there is a visible film of grase on a windshield I would use a degreaser or just Dawn dish soap (just on the windshield, not the whole truck).
I would then clay bar it and see where that gets you.

You may need to take a polisher to it to clean it up if you have oxidation or hard water spots that remain on the glass.

 

Welp, after reading about coatings taking a beating with automatic car washes even touchless and moving back to Chicago where I will inevitably need to use touchless washes in the winter I decided to just go the sealant route. Bought everything myself and gonna do it Saturday, just do the twice a year old school routine. Thanks for the advice, will be back I'm sure for more. Currently debating how to keep plastics looking new. Thinking monthly application of 303 Aerospace Protectant (already use on interior) but concerned about discoloration/runoff and fading. Cheers.

 

Yeah but the problem is... touchless car washes just strip sealers right off. They use harsh detergents that will take a sealer off in a single trip.

If you are in the city you are going to want to get yourself a moble detailing set up and your buckets with lids and drive to a self serve car wash and be sure not to use their soaps.

A ceramic coating is better for instances when you can’t self detail not worse.

Always avoid autowashes no matter what. Brushless doesn’t matter.

 

Damn it. Now I don't know what to do. I don't have the option with sub zero temperatures for weeks on end, salt, snow, etc. to wash myself. So I need a coating that can handle a few touchless washes during the winter. I may just go the ceramic pro route as its a 5 year warranty with annual check ups and it will be easier overall / more resilient than the sealant route.

Unless I can find a detailer in Chicago that hand washes in the winter.

 

Ok man... you and I both know Chicago doesn’t live in sub zero all winter long.
It’s 45 and sunny today LOL perfect day for a drop by the self wash.

I live in the midwest and only hand wash in the winter. If we have had salty days recently and its cold you can still just stop by the quater wash and just hose off. The salt will dissolve off.
The only time you need to wash stuff off paint is if its bugs, bird droppings, berries, tree sap etc.
Dirt can sit on the paint all winter long, its not going to hurt.

Ceramic coats can hold up to the touchless systems. They just swirl like paint.

In my area detailers charge about $35 for a hand wash. Honestly 2-3 of those each year in the winter is better than those touchless. Then you can use a sealer and just let the detailer know to use pH balanced soaps (which they should be anyways).

If you have a good coating or sealer you don’t need to panic and get salt off right away. 2-3 washes a year with a hose off on nice days to get rid of salt is just fine.

 

Fair enough, I guess I only remember when I went home for Christmas in 2017 and all week was single digits. When I move back home I wont have an available garage. Trying to figure out the best, easiest, most economical way to protect my truck.

Like you said in the winter I'll do hand washes when the temp gets above freezing or pay someone to hand wash / coin operated self wash.

With that being said in your opinion should I stick with just doing a sealant/wax 1-2 times a year or spring for a ceramic coating?

For me the pros of the sealant/wax are it's cheaper, I can do it myself (until later down the road when I may need some more extensive paint correction), I don't have to worry about having it removed if swirls develop like ceramic coatings, especially cermaic pro.

The pros of the ceramic coating is I love how easy it is to do my bi weekly wash, I feel the truck is better protected from UV / contaminants, costs more since I need to do paint correction, possible swirls or needing to be removed later.

 

In the future, when I have other more important financial priorities taken care of I will go with a ceramic coat.

It will protect the vehicle more and require less washing.

Also if you wash your truck bi-weekly you will not get a sealer to last very long. You’ll be lucky to get 3 months out of it. Thats in the realm of excessive washing. Like you will swirl your ceramic coat doing that. The point of coatings is to wash less not more.

If you have the money and other important life things taken care of go ceramic.

I’m not going ceramic until I’m much older and can throw coin around like its nothing. Right now I’m sticking with a sealer. I just don’t think the cost meets the benefit right now.

 

Good point on the over washing. I think I washed maybe once a month with my ceramic pro 9H+light/sport coating on my 17 and looked great still after a year and a half.

That's where I sit. I'm not 100% sure I'm going to own this truck forever, its a daily driver, and right now my priorities are saving up and getting ready to leave active duty here in July to attend grad school. I'm struggling with shelling out $1600 on paint correction and a ceramic coating, when I can just decontaminate / wash and seal it every 6 months. I just want to protect the truck and keep it looking its best.

 

A coating is a better option. During the winter i will use a pay and spray to get salt off with rinse only. Then will do a rinseless wash if temps are decent. Consumer coatings seem to be holding up ok.

 

So would you recommend investing in ceramic from the start? I already gave my guy a $250 deposit. I can either throw him another $1250 for paint correction and Gtechniq Crystal Light with Exo on top or just a full wash/clay/decontaminate/seal for just what my deposit was.

 

I would not pay that for a consumer coating. CSL topped with Exo is what I put on wife’s 4Runner. I like it so far. For that money you should be getting a pro coating.

 

My Ceramic pro guy offered me, paint correction, 2 layers of 9H and layer of light / sport for $1600. He’s just not local so I have to drive to Phoenix. Better option? Thinking about just going that route, since he does amazing work.

 

The Ceramic Pro is going to be more durable and last longer.