*Official* Ask A Detailer Thread

I don’t have any experience with those products but run your fingernail across the scratches. If your nail catches it then a wet sand and buff would be beneficial

 

That's good to know! Thanks man!

 

What it sounds like you need is to polish the paint. If it truly has fine scratches over it you will do a significantly better and safer job using a machine to fix that. Even if there were no scratches the paint has been exposed to enough years that the paint will dull with time. Sure washing and using a gloss enhancing products (most soaps do this already) will get you some of the way there but nothing applied and wiped off will compare to the improvement of a polish. Do stick to the idea of claying first as this is the best way to rid the surface of embedded contaminants and will keep polishing pads from picking stuff up and dragging, creating more scratches. ScratchX is fine if going after a small scuff here and there, don't try to do an entire panel with it.

 

Thanks man! Good to know, What kind of machine should I use?

 

The Griot's Garage G9 is probably the best overall entry level machine. It's got a lifetime warranty so you should never have to worry about it. It's a random orbital so it's much safer than trying to polish by hand and infinitely more effective. There are many different liquid abrasives but I'd recommend getting ONE by the brand 3D. It's great because it can go after scratches with a "cutting" pad but also finish down with a "polishing" pad. So it's very pad dependent and the pad does a lot of the work when fixing scratches. Usually no matter the scenario you always want to test your actual paint with pads/liquid abrasive. Pick a pad line and get a variety of pads before you buy a handful more of the ones you need most. While the lightest polishing pad will make the paint look great, it will not remove most swirls or light scratches. So you'll want to have a cutting pad to go after those. You may find a medium pad will be the best of both worlds. DO NOT try to get rid of every scratch, particularly if you can catch it with a nail.

Check out Apex Detail on Youtube for tips on running a polisher as he is a wealth of knowledge and he also has a lot of 3D ONE content. He's got a lot of rotary videos too which is another type of polisher that takes a little more experience to get proficient at, don't concern yourself with those for now. Otherwise most of the other polishing videos will compare to whatever polisher you get. The Griot's machine is an evolution to the Porter Cable but with much more power.

 

Why do you recommend not getting rid of deep scratches you can catch with a nail

 

I guess I shouldn't say never but to tell someone with limited experience and tools it could lead to problems. To get rid of a scratch you end up leveling the surrounding area to hide it. With a 6" pad that can be A LOT of surface area that now forever has less clear coat than before. This can be problematic for both new or older vehicles. You're losing clear coat to the environment with it just sitting outside every year. So an old vehicle already has less clear coat than when it started and with the newest of vehicles they are getting a shockingly thin layer of clear coat on them. So if you plan on keeping the vehicle for many years you run the risk of clear coat failing prematurely. Think of all those Honda's from the last 10-20 years.

With the proper tools such as a paint depth gauge you can verify how deep you can potentially go. So if you've got plenty of clear to work with, have at it wet sand and then polish it out. However if you went after it with just a polish or even a compound/polish you'd likely knock the edges off a scratch enough that only you can pick it out in the right lighting angles. This preserves the clear coat longer and gives you the ability to polish that same area again. If you've completely removed a scratch you may never get to touch those areas again with a polisher. If you polish too far you end up compromising the UV protection which means just a matter of time before a repaint is needed.

 

You will be shaving the clear coat very thin at that point and it will start to fail a lot sooner.

 

Thanks dude!!

 

Fair enough I was thinking from the mindset of someone experienced, not someone brand new to the sport

 

You can do it as a pro you just have to explain the consequences of doing so. Most of the time you can minimize the appearance of the scratch with out taking off too much clear coat. You know take it from a 15 footer to a 3-4 footer.

 

Would like suggestions for healing gouges on interior plastic please. See: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...r-less-than-250.510424/page-194#post-22932179

 

Safe to clay bar headlights? I want to get my headlights good and cleaned up before I put some Jetseal on them.

 

Buy a replacement piece. Can’t put the material back.

Clay bar away.

 

Any idea of a fair price to pay for ceramic coating for a Tacoma double cab?

 

I purchased my 2020 last October, hasn't used it much (3K miles), it has been mostly inside the garage, I just washed the car yesterday and I would like to apply wax for the first time, I am looking for good protection for FL weather with minimal applyiing effort.

Based on reviews, I found Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Wax to be a good product, because I haven't wax the car before I am planning to spray it and dry it to create the base layer (according to the manufacturer's directions). Then I will do a second application by spraying and rinsing (wet method).

Do you have any other suggestion to maximize the paint protection, different product or an improved application method to maximize Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Wax effectiveness, thanks

 

Depends on coating and person doing it. I would expect anywhere from $800-$1200. Keep in mind a pro will do a paint correction before applying.

With you being in Florida, I would apply it monthly especially with it being fairly easy to apply. There are several other similar products out there. I personally like Gyeon Wet Coat or McKees Hydro blue. Both you spray on the vehicle when wet and rinse off.

 

Skip doing the wet application when starting with base layer. Any of the ceramic products are more or less watered down with this method and won't perform as well long run. Excluding the ones that are activated with a blast of water like hydro 2 or hydro blue. Otherwise upon follow up uses feel free to use as a drying aid as you're drying off post wash as you've already got a base layer.

As for recommendations that spray is probably as good as any of the recent sprays. Though check into some of Meguiar's more recent products. Think they've released better protection products since that was released a couple years ago. If that's the blue bottle one. For some reason m27 is coming to mind as the one of theirs to get.

 

whats goin on, been into detailing for a few years now started with 05 chevy single cab that i got from down south (super clean/rust free). just wanted to throw some products out there i use on my yota now and have stood by for a while.

Noxon metal polish - i dont have any chrome on yota but this stuff is some of the best out there green bottle. (tool box is gleaming)
mequiars ultimate quik wax + utlimate black restorer. ive been partial to lately for the "winter" months. (great hydrophobic)
Aero Cosmetics - Wash Wax all. (highly recommend)
Chemical guys - v07 (last application) , MAX guard wheel coat (green paste) , White Light Glaze/Sealant.
Stoner Glass products (give in)
Black Magic- Bleche Wite Tire Cleaner (no water needed)

 

Am I safe to say that Armor All and other brands interior wipes do not have any disinfecting capabilities to them? So what could I use that would disinfect my truck, but not be to harsh on places like the center console cover,Dash, doors, shifter area, seat belt and so on? We use Meyers all purpose cleaners in the house, so maybe some of that diluted?