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Ask a Professional Detailer...

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Posted by: Detailed Image

As a new member of LincolnvsCadillac.com Detailed Image would like to open up a thread where you can ask us about anything relating to detailing. There is a lot of good and bad information out there about how to detail properly, so we want to provide you a place to get clarification on your detailing questions. While we don’t know everything, we do have a lot of experience with a wide variety of products that can provide you with meaningful insight. We specialize in helping people clean, shine and protect their vehicle’s interior, exterior and engine bay. We have hand-selected each product on our site that will help give you top quality detailing results.

Below we have posted some before and after pictures of work Detailed Image has done products on our site. These results can be achieved by anyone who is willing to learn about detailing properly with the right combination of products. We can help you pick out a detailing package that best fits your vehicle’s particular needs. We also offer 10% OFF to all LincolnvsCadillac.com members but it excludes buffers, vacuums and specials. Just type in "10offLC" and you'll get the discount when checking out.

Before - Notice the house in the background through the haze?

After – Notice the deep and glossy finish

Before – Picture of Jaguar Hood

After – Full Detail on Jaguar Hood

Don't be afraid to post up any questions that you have no matter how simple or complex it is. We’ll do our best to provide you a detailed and timely response. If you’d like to contact me directly feel free to e-mail me at greg@detailedimage.com. Thank you and we look forward to starting up some great dialogue!

Greg
Owner - Detailed Image
www.detailedimage.com

Posted by: Joeychgo

Thanks for coming over Greg - Mucho appreciated.

LVCr's -- Greg is an expert detailer and can help you learn how to make your car look fantastic.

Posted by: Detailed Image

Thanks! We're here to help anyone who has questions.

Greg @ Detailed Image

Posted by: JoshMcMadMac

I have a question about sealants. From what I have read, there are waxes and then there are sealants. Some sealants, like liquid glass, can be built up, while others cannot. It seems that most believe that the sealants offer an excellent gloss and depth while also offering much greater protection and a lot less elbow grease. Would you please provide more input on this?

I would also like to know more about the make-up of clay bars. What makes them different, especially what is the difference from any clay you can buy at a craft shop for a few dollars?

Thank you.

Posted by: Detailed Image

Josh, thanks for the great questions, I'll do my best to answer them. Sealants are made in labs to replicate what waxes do, but better. This is done by taking the molecular composition of wax and removing elements that don't add to greater shine, durability, etc. In general sealants give you a longer lasting shine and better protection than natural waxes. For best results make sure you have taken all the necessary preparation steps to clean and smooth out the clear coat (wash, clay, polish). The cleaner and smoother the clear coat is, the better the sealant will bond to it. The very high melting point of sealants makes them more durable and resistant to nature’s elements, abrasions and harmful contaminates. Contaminates have a more difficult time bonding to the clear coat, through the sealant, therefore its easier to remove contaminates during the washing process. Sealants typically give you full protection for 3 – 12 months depending on the sealant you select and how many coats are applied. It will also enhance the looks of the vehicle by providing a more reflective surface. I think waxes offer a deeper gloss and more of the "wet" look, therefore I often top my sealant with a carnauba wax. One of my favorite carnauba waxes is the Poorboy's World Natty's Blue Paste Wax. This wax adds lots of that deep gloss for a show car finish. However I really like knowing I have the underlying protection from a sealant.

As for layering sealants it depends on what sealant you have. Sealants can be mixed with chemical polishes (Klasse All In One and Poorboy's World Polish w/Sealant), carnauba waxes (Poorboy's World EX) and some are just pure sealants (Poorboy's World EX-P, Klasse HGSG, Menzerna FMJ * My personal favorite). Generally speaking you can't layer sealants with polish in them. The cleaners in the polish make it hard for this product to layer, while there may be exceptions here. Pure sealants and sealants with carnauba wax in them should be able to be layered. However some of these sealants need more time to cure. Once they have cured or reached their flash point, they become hard and can have more layers put on top of them. You can layer a sealant before it cures but you'll loose some of the durability, from not letting the bottom layers fully cure.

I also find sealant far easier to buff on and off, especially with the Porter Cable 7424 or other good buffers. The Menzerna Full Molecular Jacket (FMJ) is so easy that I've had customers call me and ask if they were doing right. I assured them that it was supposed to be that easy and slick when you remove it. I also remove a lot of sealants after buffing 1 - 3 panels, they tend to cure relatively quick. To get 100% sure full cure you may need to wait a little longer.

As for clay bars versus generic clay I'm not sure that I can explain there molecular differences. I think some general observations I have is that clay bars for automotive use are rather firm and tight together. This helps pick up contaminates as opposed to having the clay stick to the contaminates on the clear coat. Some manufacturers make a softer clay bar like Clear Kote Clay Bars. While Clay Magic makes a much firmer bar. Both work great in my experiences. I have yet to try generic clay, so I don't have any user experience. Maybe you could try it and let us know how it goes. Sorry I don't have more specific information.

Thanks again for the great questions. Feel free to ask more, we're here to share our information with the LVC community.

Greg @ Detailed Image

Posted by: JoshMcMadMac

Awesome information, thanks Greg. What about glaze? Is it something I should do between polish and sealant? What's the difference between polish and glaze? And will the sealant still build up properly on top of a glaze?

I will have to give the cheap clay a try and see what I can figure out.

Posted by: NickLS

WOW

!! That's all I can say about that answer Greg!

WELCOME ABOARD!!

Posted by: Detailed Image

Quote:

Originally Posted by NickLS

WOW

!! That's all I can say about that answer Greg!

WELCOME ABOARD!!

Thanks for warm welcome. Hope to see more posts from you in the future!

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoshMcMadMac

Awesome information, thanks Greg. What about glaze? Is it something I should do between polish and sealant? What's the difference between polish and glaze? And will the sealant still build up properly on top of a glaze?

I will have to give the cheap clay a try and see what I can figure out.

Good luck with the clay, I'm interested to hear what you think. A glaze should be applied after polishing and before a sealant or wax. Its also important not to use a sealant or wax with a polish in it (aka cleaner wax, paint cleanser, All In One products, etc.) because they will remove the glaze. Glazes are difficult to label because its a word thrown around so much by mfgs. Some companies label products hand wax glazes, etc. While any wax or sealant will naturally fill in some imperfections a true glaze is designed to cling to imperfections and enhance the gloss of the paint. A true glaze like Menzerna Finishing Touch Glaze has kaolin oils, that cling to imperfections and reflect the surrounding paint. This helps give the illusion of flawless paint and sealants can still adhere to this glaze. Although I do think glazes slightly reduce the durability of sealants. For example the Menzerna Finishing Touch Glaze does a great job of allowing the Menzerna Full Molecular Jacket (FMJ) bond to it. I expect FMJ to last 4 - 6 months, if I apply the glaze before it may fade 1 - 3 weeks earlier (ball park estimate)

The difference between polishes and glazes is significant. Polishes are generally chemical or abrasive/cutting. Abrasive/Cutting polishes are essential to remove swirls in the clear coat permanently. Chemical polishes just help clean the clear coat. Both help clean and shine the clear coat, remove oxidation and leave nothing behind. Glazes will leave a very light amount of product behind. Glazes will not remove oxidation, swirls or anything from the surface (generally speaking). If you're deciding between products I think cutting polishes provide the most noticeable results. They are a little harder to apply because they need to be worked in really well, but well worth it!

In summary glazes are great if you want the absolute best shine. It's not essential, but certainly a nice step to add to your routine. Glazes are also relatively easy to apply and remove.

There is more in depth information about each step in the exterior detailing process on DetailedImage.com in our How To section. Thanks for asking more great questions, let me know if you have any follow up questions.

Greg @ Detailed Image

Posted by: rmac694203

Hi Greg. Recognize you from Trailvoy. Nice to see you here on LVC.

Posted by: Detailed Image

Good to see you here too! Hopefully you can help get some good posts going on here as well!

Greg @ Detailed Image

Posted by: LSVIPDEMON

I have a question....what would be the best fill for the plastic Lincoln McLaren grille emblem space and also, what would be the best method of painting it by hand?

Thanx....

Posted by: Detailed Image

I'm sorry to say that I don't consider myself a touch up expert so I often try to not give out professional advice in this category. I've done some touch up work but its not something I do commercially. In summary I don't know the best method to your question.

Greg @ Detailed Image

Posted by: LSVIPDEMON

Well thanks anyway and realy good work for beeing non profesional, realy good.

Posted by: MarkVIIIcominsoon

I have a question, about a month or two ago my ex Keyed the side of my car and the scratches go all the way to the metal is there anyway to buff them out or get them less noticable.

Posted by: LSVIPDEMON

Ok heres one,

Since everyone thinks that was such a good job with the pics you have shown, how about telling us the exact products and steps you used?

I can do a realy good job that dont last long at all out of just useing the selfserve carwash and turtle wax ice spray deatail but it looks realy great. I think I am about to go ahead and go all out for a nice spring cleaning and try to get rid of some of these fine swirly scratches that you can barely tell are there. Those pics just look realy, realy good to me.

Posted by: Detailed Image

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkVIIIcominsoon

I have a question, about a month or two ago my ex Keyed the side of my car and the scratches go all the way to the metal is there anyway to buff them out or get them less noticable.

If it's through to the primer than you'll probably need some touch up work for it to look near perfect again. You can minimize this by polishing, but it will still probably be visible. I'd recommend you try the Poorboy's World SSR 2.5 and SSR 1.0. The SSR 2.5 is a medium cutting polish that you should apply with good pressure around the scratches. Then follow it up with the SSR 1.0 which is a light cutting polish. This will help further reduce the scratches and brighten the clear coat. After this you can apply a glaze in there as well. The Menzerna Finishing Touch Glaze uses kaolin oils to fill in imperfections. These oils help reflect the surrounding paint color. Again this won't totally hide the scratches but just make them less noticeable.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LSVIPDEMON

Ok heres one,

Since everyone thinks that was such a good job with the pics you have shown, how about telling us the exact products and steps you used?

I can do a realy good job that dont last long at all out of just useing the selfserve carwash and turtle wax ice spray deatail but it looks realy great. I think I am about to go ahead and go all out for a nice spring cleaning and try to get rid of some of these fine swirly scratches that you can barely tell are there. Those pics just look realy, realy good to me.

As for the exact process I used during those details, each one was a little different. Each vehicle has some variations in it that I might use slightly different products on. I'll outline my process that I most commonly recommend for restoring your clear coat. You don't have to do all these steps but cars like the green Jaguar and black Mercedes above really needed it. These are also many of the same exact products I use on my own personal vehicles.

Wash/Dry
Clear Kote Clay Bar
Menzerna Intensive Polish (Applied by Porter Cable, Speed 5 - 6)
Menzerna Final Polish II (Applied by Porter Cable, Speed 5 - 6)
Menzerna Finishing Touch Glaze (Applied by Porter Cable, Speed 4 - 5)
Menzerna Full Molecular Jacket (Applied by Porter Cable, Speed 4 - 5) (*My personal favorite sealant)
Poorboy's World Natty's Blue Paste Wax (Applied by hand)

Thanks for the compliments on the pics again. When I stated I wasn't a professional before I was referring to touch up work only. I would consider myself a professional detailer in the sense of cleaning, protecting and enhancing vehicles appearances.

I think I know what you are referring to in the beginning of your post. I believe what you were stating was that you can get some great results after a fresh detail but you'd like a more permanent shine. Removing swirls, oxidation and fine scratches from the clear coat allows for more light to pass through the clear coat and give you a deeper reflection. Before I outline a recommendation I wanted to know if you have a buffer? If yes, which one and with what pads? If no, would you be interested in learning more about the Porter Cable 7424. This is the buffer that has really revolutionized what weekend detailers can do, while still being a very safe and easy tool to use. A buffer is a key asset when trying to polish effectively, while you can do it by hand it's difficult to replicate the heat and pressure of a buffer.

Once I know your status on the buffer I'll complete my recommendation. I also wanted to know if you'd like a recommendation on a sealant/wax. Sealants are like waxes but designed in labs to do what waxes do, but do it better. They typically protect for longer periods of time and are easier to use. Sometimes after applying a sealant I'll add a carnauba wax for that show car gloss and depth. Let me know if these products interests you and if you'd like a recommendation.

Thanks for posting, I look forward to helping you restore a bright and vibrant clear coat.

Greg @ Detailed Image

Posted by: LSVIPDEMON

LOL....you sound way to profesional...kinda like a advertising bot....BUT I KNOW YOUR NOT!!!

Well I ummmm I use a power ball....I got good reviews but I'm kinda iffy...

All the other times I use the self serve cars wash ( without the brush of death) and some Liquid Ice Spray....I made sure I did a good enough job with that tho,once in a while as recommended I used some wax exploring different brands....

I can acheive a awsome shine but i still get the spider webs that can only be seen when your face is smashed against it....and it definitly dont shine like those pics...I want the shine of that black car...is that a Benz?

Posted by: Detailed Image

Obviously following the routine I did above would provide outstanding results. If you're up for it that is a routine that is well known for producing a show car shine. To remove the swirls the most essential step is the polishing part. I'd highly recommend you take your time and really work in the Menzerna Intensive Polish and Final Polish II (which is also our March home page special). This will significantly help restore the clear coat to be bright and vibrant. This will not remove all the imperfections, but significantly improve the overall quality of the clear coat.

After polishing I really like to seal the paint for maximum protection. My personal favorite is the Menzerna Full Molecular Jacket. Other great sealants you might want to consider are the Poorboy's World EX-P or Polish w/Sealant. After this I love to apply a carnauba wax like the Poorboy's World Natty's Blue Paste Wax. This carnauba wax is known for giving off a deep and glossy finish that really turns heads. Everyone who uses this product seems to really love it because it's the perfect finishing touch.

Let me know if you'd like more information on any of these products, or if you'd like other recommendations. I'll be here to help you through the entire process if you decide to really take back that deep shine in your paint.

Greg @ Detailed Image

Posted by: LSVIPDEMON

What do you think of the power ball?...

Posted by: Detailed Image

To be honest I have not used it so I can't say from personal experience. Is the powerball designed to be a buffer on the paint or clear coated surfaces? I thought that was for cleaning wheels, but I'm not sure.

Greg @ Detailed Image

Posted by: shogun

I have a pearl white car and I realize that it is impossible to make a white car look as good (deep shine) as a dark color. But do you have any tips for making a white car look as good as possible?

Posted by: Detailed Image

Quote:

Originally Posted by shogun

I have a pearl white car and I realize that it is impossible to make a white car look as good (deep shine) as a dark color. But do you have any tips for making a white car look as good as possible?

White can be a difficult color to get that deep shine from, however with the right products and technique you can get some pretty good shine. I'd recommend at least a finishing polish to help brighten the clear coat, sealant to protect and shine and then a carnauba wax for extra gloss and depth. If you do this three step process I think you'll be impressed with the results.

I'm going to outline what products I would ideally recommend, we can adjust the package later if needed. First off I'd apply the Menzerna Final Polish II to remove some fine imperfections, oxidation and other imperfections in the clear coat. Removing these imperfections allows light to more readily pass through the clear coat for a deeper shine. Next I apply a sealant for maximum protection like the Poorboy's World EX-P. This is a pure sealant designed to protect your paint for months to come. Now here comes the finishing touch that really helps add some serious gloss and depth. A good carnauba wax like the P21S Carnauba Wax is perfect for white colored vehicles. This wax is one of the few carnauba waxes I've used that really helps white paint look it's best. It won't make the paint look like a vehicle with black paint but the gloss is pretty remarkable. If you complete this process I think you would be very happy with the look of your paint. Please let me know if you have any questions or if you'd like more information on any of these products. I enjoy the challenge of working with owners of light colored vehicles and helping them getting great results.

Another tip is to clean up the trim, tires, wheels etc to help create a nice contrast between the white paint and the rest of the vehicle. Let me know if need any help cleaning or shinning any of those surfaces. Again if you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me.

Greg @ Detailed Image

Posted by: shogun

I just put the 3 products that you recomended in my cart and the 10offLC code doesn't seem to be working....I have a total of $63.97 before and after applying the coupon.

Posted by: Detailed Image

Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I apologize there may have been a problem with the code. I went through our system and fixed it so the code should work fine now. Sorry for any problems this may have caused. Please let me know if you have any other questions or problems.

Thank you for supporting Detailed Image, we appreciate it!

Greg @ Detailed Image

Posted by: devilchild

hopefully i can still get some info...

whats the best way / product to use on stainless exhaust to remove tar and grime without scratching the stainless and get it shiny as possible??

Posted by: Detailed Image

Cleaning while not adding scratches can be challenging. The key is having a good metal polish and making sure you don't grind in contaminates. I really like the deep polishing power of the P21S Finish Restorer. I would apply this with one or multiple clean microfiber towels. If tar or contaminates become embedded in your towel you need to use a fresh surface so you don't grind in the contaminates. Multiple clean towels is usually key to doing anything safely when detailing. I prefer microfiber towels for polishing and really any kind of cleaning. Let me know if you have any other detailing questions I can help you with.

Greg @ Detailed Image

Posted by: Ricksquickviii

you use the Porter Cable 7424 to apply waxs and polishs, what type of pad does it come with?

Posted by: 21stcenturygadgetguy

Here is a question for you: How can I make sure that my local detailer is qualified to make my Mark look as good as possible? I have heard horror stories about detailers that make mistakes during the buffing process, and actually make the paint worse, not better. Is there a industry standard I should be looking for? Thanks!

Posted by: stang99x

There really is no way to know the quality of the work without seeing it first hand. Ask for references and see if someone who had extensive work will let you inspect their car's finish. There are a ton of crappy detailers out there who claim to know it all. When they skimp and do a halfassed job, you may not see it for weeks thereafter as a good coat of wax will cover up most botched jobs. Typically, in my experience, the dealer doesn't normally have its own detailer, they outsource to someone else. Your best bet is to go to a professional detail shop that specializes solely in wash/detail services. And always remember that white and very light colored cars, like silver and whatnot can be done by just about anyone because they had poor work. The darker the color, the more you'll be able to see deficiancies. What color is your car and what are you lookin to have done?

Posted by: Nova Prime

Hi, I've been looking at a lot of your products and packages, I was wondering what the difference between waterless carwash and instant detailer was: pros and cons of both and also do they really work. Thanks for your time.