Detailers Unite

[yunvi]

+1 to SayNoToPistons
Those scratches look like washing scratches to me. Very, very common on black cars because they show up so well. You need a buffer and need to learn how to use it. I'm betting on how it has been washed - dirty towels, dirty wash water or commercial wash.

Thanks CX. yeah...lots of learning to do still.

 

[SayNoToPistons]

Thanks NoPistons.. they were definitely left after my claying attempt (first for what its worth).

Use more lubrication next time around and make sure the surface is spotless. If the clay is dropped, it is useless as it picks up grit.

I personally prefer not using quick detailing spray as lubricant. I use the wash solution in a spray bottle or via the wash mitt while the car is still wet after the clean rinse during the wash. It also keeps the surface cool, which is beneficial for claying.

Check out detailing forums for proper detailing procedures. Detailingdomain, autopia, and autogeek forums are very valuable references. Once those swirls and scratches are corrected, the flawless surface can be maintained for many months. It is especially important for dark cars like our Black Mica's. Black reveal flaws much more than other colors.

 

[yunvi]

Use more lubrication next time around and make sure the surface is spotless. If the clay is dropped, it is useless as it picks up grit.

I personally prefer not using quick detailing spray as lubricant. I use the wash solution in a spray bottle or via the wash mitt while the car is still wet after the clean rinse during the wash. It also keeps the surface cool, which is beneficial for claying.

Check out detailing forums for proper detailing procedures. Detailingdomain, autopia, and autogeek forums are very valuable references. Once those swirls and scratches are corrected, the flawless surface can be maintained for many months. It is especially important for dark cars like our Black Mica's. Black reveal flaws much more than other colors.

Thanks much for the info.

I bought a "clay" package from a local store which included two clay bars, a micro fiber cloth and an instant detailer which was supposed to be the lubrication. The package is called mothers clay bar system.

I gave the vehicle a wash with some turtle car soap then rolled into the garage and dried by hand.

Once all dried I applied the back to black and then....
Sprayed the whole hood with the lube then went to work with the clay bar, and then dried the excess lube with the micro fiber cloth, and continued in sections of the vehicle as per the instructions.

So I probably missed something. Either way. More reading for me. Thanks again.

 

[Surfsup]

Thanks NoPistons.. they were definitely left after my claying attempt (first for what its worth).

Claying won't remove scratches, RIDS, etc. You need to polish as SayNoToPistons said. Was the clay bar dirty when you used it? That is quite an unusual amount of swirls for a newer car.

 

[yunvi]

Claying won't remove scratches, RIDS, etc. You need to polish as SayNoToPistons said. Was the clay bar dirty when you used it? That is quite an unusual amount of swirls for a newer car.

well it got dirty as i went along. but i kept on kneading it which is what you're sposed to do i gather. but i hear what youre saying. ill get'er buffed

 

[SayNoToPistons]

Be careful with "buffing". Learn its uses and procedure before attempting it. 95% of car wash station "detailers" will incorrectly compound/polish a car. I know I'm generalizing, but I have yet to see a non-professional mobile detailer perform a good job. When it is done incorrectly, it can do more harm than good. Compounding and polishing a car involves abrasives and heavy friction as mentioned before. That means an X amount of clearcoat WILL be removed. Once it is removed, it cannot be replaced.

Keep in mind that claybars not only remove contaminates; it also removes all protection such as wax and sealants. So it's best to get something on there soon.

 

[runtohell121]

Did you ever drop the clay bar? If you did, it might scratch the car...

You can try polishing yourself, just look up procedures to detailing your car on autogeek, autopia, and others. Not sure if "Rapid Fire" (Blackfire Total Polish and Seal + Blackfire Crystal Seal) can do much at this point.

 

[Felt_Rider]

Use more lubrication next time around and make sure the surface is spotless. If the clay is dropped, it is useless as it picks up grit.

I personally prefer not using quick detailing spray as lubricant. I use the wash solution in a spray bottle or via the wash mitt while the car is still wet after the clean rinse during the wash. It also keeps the surface cool, which is beneficial for claying.

Check out detailing forums for proper detailing procedures. Detailingdomain, autopia, and autogeek forums are very valuable references. Once those swirls and scratches are corrected, the flawless surface can be maintained for many months. It is especially important for dark cars like our Black Mica's. Black reveal flaws much more than other colors.

Camping out on those detailing sites with reading and watching videos is priceless. I have learned a lot in a short time and yet much still to learn. I watched youtube videos produced by Chemical Guys regarding the different pads, what they are intended to do and when to use them. Also how to use the buffer so the paint is not burned and which pads to avoid.

I was strapped on time washing and sealing my wife's car last weekend so I mentioned combining claying with using the foam sprayer. I had actually washed the car twice with the foam sprayer and soft clean mitt before using the clay bar in order to remove as much loose grit as possible. I also kept a clean bucket of soapy water to clean off the clay bar every few seconds. Even though the cautious process turned out well on her car this is one of the reasons I am thinking about going to the nanoskin because it seems like it may be easier to keep clean. I will also say as a newbie that what you say about keeping the car cool and highly lubricated seems very important to using clay especially if one has little experience like myself. With using the foam sprayer and keep spraying while claying small sections at a time kept it gliding smoothly on the surface and not letting it get the least bit sticky.

__________________

Mainly I was happy to do all my experimenting on my wife's 07 instead of the CX5 Fortunately it turned out really nice.

 

[yunvi]

Did you ever drop the clay bar? If you did, it might scratch the car...

You can try polishing yourself, just look up procedures to detailing your car on autogeek, autopia, and others. Not sure if "Rapid Fire" (Blackfire Total Polish and Seal + Blackfire Crystal Seal) can do much at this point.

Hey Run,

no I didnt drop the bar at all. perhaps i didnt knead it often enough ? Or as Pistons said earlier i didnt lubricate the sections enough ? Really couldnt be sure.

For what its worth from what I recall, I kneaded it about twice per section. Hood, front right door, front right door frame, back right door etc.

 

[mentalcase]

I spent the entire day detailing and I have to say I'm throughly impressed with Prima's line of products.

Here was my recipe:

-Wash with Chemical Guys honeydew snow foam, power washer, and a foam gun.
-After drying I hit the entire car with my PC7424, a black pad, and Prima Amigo.
-Used Meguiars Ultimate Black on all the black trim.
-Cleaned up the paint from the ultimate black and then went to town applying Prima Hydro Seal
-Gave her a spritz of Prima Hydo Spray just because I could afterwards.

I gotta say applying the Hydro Seal was super easy and really made the car pop. I'm excited to see what the shine looks like tomorrow!

I also polished and waxed the piano black trip piece afterwards. No more micro scratches.

 

[Felt_Rider]

Yea I plan to use just SF4000 on my CX5 when the time is right (next spring/summer). Right now the finish is pretty good, just minor swirls. Nothing overly noticeable. TBH, I notice the orange peel more. The orange peel on the CX5 Soul Red is horrible imo. A shame since when cleaned up it is striking. I've had many people ask me about the color when they see me near the car since I got it.

Did my spring cleaning this afternoon. It came a bit late, but I did not want to spend that much time until after our vacation travel. It took quite a while to clean the bugs off the front after the long travel but after washing it twice with the foam sprayer and soft mitt. I noticed I had a lot of those orange/rust colored looking spots mostly on the top. It took a lot of effort with a clay bar to get the most of it removed, but that is when I decided to go ahead and give the SF45000 a try. I was going to wait a bit longer before using it, but it is very mild polish and took those spots off a lot easier than the clay. Nice product

After using the SF45000 with a blue pad and then applied Wolfgang 3.0 sealant by hand and then a second coat with the PC and black pad. I wish I could have taken better pictures but I had to move it into the garage because of an afternoon storm came through.

This sealant seems to last for months so now that the hard work is done (about 5 hours invested in this cleaning) the paint should be protected for a while. Next weekend I will work on the interior and exterior trim and glass. It should be easy to wash and put some carnauba wax on a couple times until I do this again late fall.

 

[Rhizome]

I'm new to this level of car detailing, but has been practicing. How many of you tape up the plastic trims prior to polishing or sealing?

For my new CX-5, here is my plan: wash, clay, tape, PC7424 with AIO with a polishing pad, then Klasse sealant applied by hand.

 

[SayNoToPistons]

Most sealants won't stain trim. Polishes and compounds will. So I tape accordingly.

FYI, if you didn't already know. K-AIO does not have any abrasives or correction abilities. It can also be used on plastic trim and glass because of it's strong cleansing abilities. Just make sure you wipe away ASAP.

 

[Felt_Rider]

Most sealants won't stain trim. Polishes and compounds will. So I tape accordingly.

I haven't seen anyone else state they use Wolfgang 3.0 sealant, but I do want to say for this particular sealant it will turn white on the trim after a couple of weeks and it is a beast to remove. I was under the impression that sealants would not stain trim so I tested an spot last fall and found out the hard way that the Wolfgang does. I bought Wolfgang because of great reviews for being long lasting and high gloss, but maybe when I run out of this bottle I may try something else.

I did not tape yesterday but in a couple of weeks I may be wishing I did. This was the reason I applied the first coat by hand trying to run close to the edge of the trim. The second coat I used the polisher away from the trim in the open areas. I am sure I got some sealant on the trim.

I will look for a better way to remove the sealant from the trim. Last fall I used Mother's Back to Black and a small scrub brush to work it into the plastic. With a good amount of effort it finally removed the sealant.

 

[Rhizome]

I think AIO can correct fine defects such as swirls, etc. My CX-5 has some minor paint defects after delivery. After its first wash, I took AIO to the paint area by hand using a towel. The paint was restored to a mirror shine afterward. I also used it on an older TL with black paint and it restored most of the shine.

 

[Rhizome]

Felt, what kind of scrub brush did you use? The black plastic trim on another car is stained (white) with AIO after my last polishing attempt. I want to remove it, but not looking forward to the effort. Also, not sure what to use.

 

[Felt_Rider]

It was not a car specific brush. It was in my garage and had not been used, but it was about the size I needed with fairly stiff nylon short bristles. It was firm enough that I thought I might scratch the plastic, but it actually worked well.

I am very new to car cleaning at the next level as well. I am reading a lot on detailing forums and watching videos.

Big thing for me is just do a better job keeping our cars clean and maintained.

Edit: doing some more reading this morning and thought it best to state not to use a stiff bristle brush like I did. I was fortunate that it did not scratch the trim. I hope to look for a better way of removing sealant and cleaning the trim. I am sure the best thing to do is to tape it off and just not risk getting wax or sealant on the trim unless it is one of those that does not stain.

 

[SayNoToPistons]

I think AIO can correct fine defects such as swirls, etc. My CX-5 has some minor paint defects after delivery. After its first wash, I took AIO to the paint area by hand using a towel. The paint was restored to a mirror shine afterward. I also used it on an older TL with black paint and it restored most of the shine.

No, KAIO cannot correct defects like swirls. It will remove stains (or oxidized single stain paint), but will not correct the paint itself. It is either your towel did the correcting or some sort of glazing affect that is temporary.