Water spots...

It's just mix 'n match of products I've tried over the years.

The Meguiar's does it's job in removing fine scratches.

The Lucas Slickmist works wonders for quick panel polishing,
(I tried it after getting annoyed with other spray polishes that come out like a pasty gunk)

Lucas Slickmist sprays on like a mist of clear water and buffs up a nice shine.

plus it smells great !!!

yup by hand, panel at a time, in the shade.


On my LS when I first got it, it had light black over-spray on the hood and top of fenders.

I tried to get it off but I'm not real big on adding just any chemical to painted surfaces to see what might happen.

Brought it to a friends bodyshop and he wet sanded it all off, compound buffed it back to mirror perfection shine.

I'll let professionals operate the orbital tools.

I've seen someone cry over a ruined black paint job that got all swirly.
(just really the clear coat that needed compound polishing)
 
Stopsign,

In that youtube video above, pay particular attention what they guy
starts talking about around the 8 min. mark.

he's finished compounding the clear coat and then he's going to go
over it with a fine swirl remover polish.

this is a professional at work ....
he completes this task in many stages to get it to his perfection.


~ that orbital polisher that was given to you, might aswell throw it out.

If you are planning on just putting wax on with that thing, you will be
leaving swirl marks all over your beautiful black LS.

Professional polishing of any paint really is a method of compounding the
clear coat to a mirror shine in several steps, with a professional grade tool.

Please be careful ... specially on black paint.
 
All of this is the reason when my LS's paint is ready for some TLC I'm gonna sched some time with Pektel!!
 
BigRig, you don't own/use a machine polisher? I would NEVER hand polish an entire car. A machine polisher will yield much better results with less time invested.

I own/use/love my Makita 9227 rotary. I also have a PC7424, but I've found that after you learn the technique of properly using a rotary, it will correct faster.
 
Yeah I'm not sure if I'm going to get into polishing or not. There is a company around here that has pretty good reviews. They will do this for $140;

Hand Wash
Clay Bar
3-Step Machine Polish
Clean Windows
Tar Removal
Clean Tire Rims
Tire Cleaning and Dressing
Wheel Wells
Bug-Off Treatment

I wouldnt mind doing that once a year. So maybe Ill do that route. The polishing seems pretty intense. I like waxing and all but I would be worried about fin' something up with wet sanding/polishing.
 
$140? Wow, that's cheap. I charge $75 for an exterior detail without polishing. Polishing adds a LOT of time, and a lot of cost. I wonder if they are using filler based products... the saying "you get what you pay for" applies here I'd wager.
 
Sounds like a rip off service/package to me...

Places like that list as many "services" that dont take any extra effort for people dumb enough to think they're getting something special

Stopsign002 said:
Hand Wash
Click to expand...
any good detail shop will
Stopsign002 said:
Clay Bar
Click to expand...
Good
Stopsign002 said:
3-Step Machine Polish
Click to expand...
what does that mean... no sealants, waxes, etc.... If they clay bar they better do something...and if they consider "polish" to cover all "paint" conditioning, not sure i'd trust them
Stopsign002 said:
Tar Removal
Bug-Off Treatment
Click to expand...
will be handled with the clay bar... no real extra service there
Stopsign002 said:
Clean Windows
Clean Tire Rims
Tire Cleaning and Dressing
Wheel Wells
Click to expand...
REALLY?!?!?

Advice is to watch out for detail scams... Nothing beats doing it yourself, but if your not, dont get suckered...
 
Stopsign002 said:
Yeah I'm not sure if I'm going to get into polishing or not. There is a company around here that has pretty good reviews. They will do this for $140;

Hand Wash
Clay Bar
3-Step Machine Polish
Clean Windows
Tar Removal
Clean Tire Rims
Tire Cleaning and Dressing
Wheel Wells
Bug-Off Treatment

I wouldnt mind doing that once a year. So maybe Ill do that route. The polishing seems pretty intense. I like waxing and all but I would be worried about fin' something up with wet sanding/polishing.
Click to expand...

Another note:

Everything included in that above list except the polishing is considered standard for a proper exterior detail. But there are things left out as well. Off the top of my head: I don't see any paint protection (Sealant/wax as pointed out by Grell), proper glass treatment (applying a sealant or a product like Aquapel), sealing wheels, applying a dressing to the wheel wells, polishing exhaust tips, cleaning door jambs.

Also, hopefully they have the proper tools. A detailer is only as good as his tools. If they are not doing a proper two bucket method wash, or are using cheap towels to dry, can have negative effects on the final product.



Very rarely do people wetsand daily drivers. The Porter Cable 7424 is a very safe machine. I would, however, worry about screwing up paint if you just grabbed a rotary and went to town on your paint without research and practice. "practice" can be done on a scrap panel. Just call up an auto body shop. They always have junk panels.
 
Yeah I noticed some of those seemed like they were redundent, but really I would be paying for the polishing. I can take care of basically everything else. Idk, I would definitely need to research what kind of products they use. I would like to do it myself but it definitely seems like its a bit dangerous so I'm kinda turned off to it at the moment
 
I mean I'm pretty handy with tools (currently restaining a coffee table, i do lots of wood working stuff) but idk. I'll check it out
 
The nice thing about a Porter Cable 7424 is it's damn near impossible to burn through the clearcoat, whereas a rotary can burn through in seconds if sitting in one spot. A rotary generates a decent amount of heat; a random orbital polisher does not.
 
Yeah that thing looks good. Would definitely make me more comfortable with polishing my car. Ill probably start seriously looking into it later in the summer/fall
 
I spend $200 every 3 months to have my detail guy do a full detail with polish. That includes the wash, clay bar, compound, sealants, wax, polish, leather care, shampoo, etc. The polish isn't a car-show quality job but it's fine for a daily driver. To give it the extra polish is another $100. I had it done once and the car looked like a sparkly silver mirror instead of just a shiny silver metallic car. Lasted for maybe a few weeks before the elements down here got to it.

$140 does seem cheap depending on what they are doing. But maybe that's just a simple polish like what my guy does. Can't hurt to ask to see what they are doing.
 
pektel said:
$140? Wow, that's cheap. I charge $75 for an exterior detail without polishing. Polishing adds a LOT of time, and a lot of cost. I wonder if they are using filler based products... the saying "you get what you pay for" applies here I'd wager.
Click to expand...

I have used a local detail shop off and on for over 15 years. They charge $125 for a FULL detail. Wash, polish, wax, steam the enginebay, shampoo the carpet and floor mats, etc.... They do EXCELLENT work. Its a steal for $125.
 
Sounds like a great money making opportunity. Buy them out, pay them $125 per car, charge $400 or more.
 
I bought that kit a year or two ago thanks to pektel, worth every penny! Its dummy proof and it gives you the confidence to really get into giving your car better care and making it look great without going to a pro. I never got around to do all the polishing stages, but just with one quick pass, i saw great results.

+1 on that kit and the pc
 
Lol apparently I've got problems. Went over to my dads today. He saw my car and say "Sweet Jesus that thing is f*cking shiny!" to which I say "Meh.." He looks at me funny and I turn around to look at it and realize its a freaking mirror. Could perfectly see all the reflections of the clouds and nearby buildings lol. I need to learn to just step away and enjoy the damn thing. I've become ubsessed with the little tiny barely visible scratches. Gotta chill the f*ck out haha
 
Stopsign002 said:
Lol apparently I've got problems. Went over to my dads today. He saw my car and say "Sweet Jesus that thing is f*cking shiny!" to which I say "Meh.." He looks at me funny and I turn around to look at it and realize its a freaking mirror. Could perfectly see all the reflections of the clouds and nearby buildings lol. I need to learn to just step away and enjoy the damn thing. I've become ubsessed with the little tiny barely visible scratches. Gotta chill the f*ck out haha
Click to expand...

No, nothing wrong with you.

Yes, to the average person, a wash and fresh coat of wax is enough. Looks good from far, but far from good. I'm overly picky about a car's appearance. The times it bothers me the most is under the lights at the gas station at night. You can see everything under those. I bought one of those lights, and it's hanging in the garage for me to spot defects.

You can have "good enough," and you can have "amazing."

I was going through arby's this afternoon for lunch. Had the windows down (damn hot today), and a passenger in a passing car yelled out the window, complimenting the LS. Exact words were sonething like "I love your car!" followed by a cat call lol. Silly girls :rolleyes:
I pull up to the window to get my food, and the kid at the window says "the manager was admiring your car. What is it?"

It's moments like those where I remember how much I love my car. Normally a love/hate relationship. Today is a love day. Although I have to order a couple front tires and a drivers side wheel hub/bearing.
 
I wouldn't notice those small scratches until I began to look through the paint, not at it.


Try looking at a reflection of a light bulb, like ones in your garage ceiling, at night. You'll be able to see all the scratches on your paint. You can actually get your paint to get an almost perfect mirror reflection, like pektel got once he wetsanded his car.


swirl_after.jpg


washpics3.jpg
 
Man, I remember when I kept my car that way, but that was before I had kids over 20 years ago. My black 72 Skylark was so shiny that it was almost stealth. When under a blue sky, I had a blue car. It was beautiful, but took hours every week to maintain. These days, I'm just happy if the glass is clean enough to see through.
 
I purchased the Brough and Howarth's Definite Wax Marble i while back, it contains refined natural fruit oils, locally sourced beeswax, and imported carnauba wax from northern Brazil. IF you can find it, there's nothing better :cool:
 
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