Different Types Of Car Paint

[finest1]

sorry ! except you tigerfish!! i totally overlooked your GS !!

did you start off using maguiars, or were u using other products and then eventually settled for maguiars?

have you used any of their polish at any stage? if so what were the results like? or was using the clay good enough to forgo polishing?

thanks

rishi B)

[TigerFish]

sorry ! except you tigerfish!! i totally overlooked your GS !!

did you start off using maguiars, or were u using other products and then eventually settled for maguiars?

have you used any of their polish at any stage? if so what were the results like? or was using the clay good enough to forgo polishing?

thanks

rishi B)

No probs mate.

I started off with the megs stuff (with the Lex) as it seemed highly rated on here and was readily available compared to some of the others. I'm no detailing buff I'm afraid but I was always happy with the result and people would comment on it at work (although that probably isn't much of a testiment when you see the state of most of the other cars at work :shutit: ). A few from here have seen the car in the flesh at the last midlands meet but I've no idea what they thought of the finish. I saw quite a big difference after the claying and it certainly did smooth up the paint work no end. The minor swirls I do have I'm hoping might be sorted with the auto balm. I'll let you know what I find with it when I get my car back and the stuff has arrived. If the weather is good next weekend, I may give it the once over then.

[finest1]

im still lost with the auto balm

is it a wax or polish? the website is not very informative. i think its more catered to folks who have an idea about this stuff.

you're right with the Meguiars. the website have a wealth of info, the products are there, and people are happy with the results. thats what im after, good results after time spent

let me know about that aerial when you get a chance.

you ordering the auto balm this week?

[TigerFish]

you ordering the auto balm this week?

I ordered it today along with a new bottle of quick detailer.

[dgman]

im still lost with the auto balm

is it a wax or polish? the website is not very informative. i think its more catered to folks who have an idea about this stuff.

you're right with the meguiars. the website have a wealth of info, the products are there, and people are happy with the results. thats what im after, good results after time spent

let me know about that aerial when you get a chance.

you ordering the auto balm this week?

it seems to me that you are a little overwhelmed by the amount of imformation posted on this thread.you need to visit sites such as autopia or polished bliss to get a basic grounding about detailing,you will save yourself a lot of money on buying products that you don't need.your initial post was about removing the swirl marks,now unless you polish the paint by machine this will be unachievable.

[PJ S]

Quick recap and point of clarity - claying does not remove/hide/add swirls to your paintwork, what it does is get rid of bonded contamination.

Think of your paint as skin - then claying is an exfoliator, removing "dirt" from the pores (paint is actually porous when viewed under a microscope/magnifier).

Polishing would be akin to dermabrasion - removing a sliver off the top to leave perfectly good skin.

Wax/Sealant is the moisturiser, except paint doesn't actually absorb them - they merely fill the voids and pores, helping to keep the crap out, and add some more UV protection to the paint layer, to prevent it oxidising (red turning pink like you see on Golfs/Corsas/etc).

AB has more filling capability than SRP - so whilst Halfords can be handy to just get some stuff as and when, it's still no substitute for something much better.

Whilst you can use Menzerna/3M/Meguiar's polishes by hand with the likes of the German applicator, it'd be such an arduous task that you'll get fed up by the time you've corrected one or two panels.

As for Pro prices - that'll depend on how many hours the Pro has to spend on the paint. As Lexus is fairly soft, and if the swirls are relatively light, then you could be looking at as little as £150.

Most will use a rotary for quickness, switching to a RO/DA in tighter areas or areas where the paint measures less than ideal.

Bottom line, you don't have to be "into" detailing to appreciate the extra effort and money spent on excellent products rather than making do with mediocre ones, even after driving/delivery has been factored in.

Honestly, aside from a couple of products both AG and Meg's have in their consumer range, the rest are merely adequate - and that's something you'll never see from Bilt Hamber or a number of other brands.

By not mass producing and dancing to the tune played by Halfords, you will pay a bit more and have to order online - but that's neither here nor there when all is said and done.

If you trust me enough thus far - then go the whole hog and get the Auto Wash too. I'll practically guarantee you'll explode with excitement when you see how much suds and lubricity one (or two, if in hard water area) 5ml teaspoonful will generate with warm water in one of those 99p orange B&Q buckets 3/4 full.

Gold Class isn't half bad in fairness, but if you make it a bit strong, you'll kiss goodbye to your LSP - that's a guarantee I can make.

Right, a few pics from today's little clean, and machine polishing......

The 2nd before last image (wing bling) was quite heavily swirled - I'm very pleased with the outcome even though it's not 100% corrected, since I was testing a new polish I've had for a while, but not really been able to do much with for one reason or another.

I was also supposed to test a couple of pre-production sample products, but alas time got away from me, so they'll have to wait until next week some time.

As usual, clicky piccy for biggy.

[Frothey]

wax and polish are two totally different things - polishes "scrape" away paint to leave a smooth surface, which you then apply either a wax or sealant to, to protect the paint and to add a bit of depth/gloss/shine to the paint.

products like Klasse AIO, Autoglym SRP, etc, use a combination of abrasives and fillers of one type or another to help mask the swirls, and other chemical sealants to add to the finish. To say that SRP is a prestige product is stretching it a little bit! Thats not to say its not any good though.

If I do get the Lex I'm after, I'll do a full write up on detailing it so you can see the whole process, from start to finish showing the products used and why. There's no way the dealer will be going anywhere near the paintwork!

In the meantime, have a look at Dave KG's guides on detailingworld - all you ever need to know.

EDIT - Beat me to it PJS!

[PJ S]

im still lost with the auto balm

is it a wax or polish? the website is not very informative. i think its more catered to folks who have an idea about this stuff.

it seems to me that you are a little overwhelmed by the amount of imformation posted on this thread.you need to visit sites such as autopia or polished bliss to get a basic grounding about detailing,you will save yourself a lot of money on buying products that you don't need.your initial post was about removing the swirl marks,now unless you polish the paint by machine this will be unachievable.

Disagree - swirls can be removed or reduced depending on severity by hand, it's just that it'll take longer than by machine for obvious reasons.

finest1 - I thought I'd answered your uncertainty, but no matter......AB is a LSP (last stage protection/product), so that means it's a sealant (waxes are more often than not, carnauba based along with silicone, beeswax, various oils, etc) which seals the paintwork

Back to the skin analogy - think of LSP as a face mask, only one that's designed to stay on, rather than peel off removing dirt out of the pores.

This is the barrier that protects the paint from the elements and crap and crud in the air/rain/etc.

It has an element of chemical polish about it, so it falls over into a bit of an AIO (all in one), only you'll never appreciate that side of it unless your paint is not clearcoated/lacquered.

Either way, it's the last product you apply on a dry car, but you may want to use an abrasive polishing compound to remove/reduce the swirls.

If you don't, then you can rely upon AB to mask/hide them until you decide to get rid of them yourself or with the employ of a Pro.

It might be worth your rereading this thread from the start again, and more than once if needs be, just so some of what we've discussed can sink in.

I've tried to create a mental image in your head on page one, with the order of processes, to make it simpler for you to grasp the concept.

As per above - wax/polish are not quite as interchangeable as they used to be, when the options were T-Cut and Mer!

Polishing is what is done to create a lovely shiny mirror-like surface, waxes/sealants are the invisible "armour" that locks in all that hard work and effort.

Of course, the armour needs topping-up to keep it working - so that's your fortnightly/monthly reapplication. Inbetween times, a simple wash/dry is all is required.

Some use a quick detailer (QD) of one brand or another to keep the appearance nice and glossy, etc - with AB you may find there's no need.

[Frothey]

think of a wood floor - it needs sanding (polishing) with varying grades of sandpaper (different polishes) to make it level and smooth, then a few coats of wax (or sealant) applied to add gloss and depth to the finish, and to give it some protection.

[Rob]

for a cheap but good polisher look at the Biltema dual head polisher ( looks exactly like the cyclo machine that PJS uses) its 25 pounds - YES 25 pounds...... but u need to find the correct size pads 3.75 inch, the 4inch pads bump together and wear each other away.

i tried it last week and after a few attempts achieved the result i was after.

then some scum bag went down the side with a shopping trolly ............

[TigerFish]

then some scum bag went down the side with a shopping trolly ............

little :tsktsk:

[finest1]

thanks again guys

i think i mentioned this earlier in the thread. i get the stages and the terminology.

in terms of the auto balm, this would help mask or hide swirling and scratches, but not remove or reduce them. am i right?

if i wanted to have a stab at reducing the swirl marks and scratches, i'll have to add polish to the plan with some sort of product.

in answer to PJs post, in a nutshell if was to use solely BH products as an example i would do this:

wash with auto wash

dry

auto clay

maybe wash and dry again

apply auto balm

if i wanted to try to REMOVE swirls and scratches, same process as above but:

wash with auto wash

dry

clay

maybe wash and dry again

use polish product

apply auto balm

obviously im using BH products as an example.

if this is right, what polish is the best for applying by hand?

again, just to reiterate, i know i may not be able to remove all the swirling, but my aim was to try to reduce some of it as it would look at least better than it does now, and also remove the light scratches.

maybe once i get this under my hand, i maybe confident to try a polisher, maybe the £25 if everyone thinks its good enough, if not i'll go to a pro, if it still doesn't look good

thanks again

great pics PJs i can see the metallic shine through !! :)

[PJ S]

Okay - as per page 1, where I set this out, here's the two scenarios.

No swirl removal:

Wash

clay (whilst still wet)

2nd Wash

Dry

Auto Balm

Swirl Removal:

Wash

clay (whilst still wet)

Dry

Polish (hand or machine)

Auto Balm

You'll notice there's no 2nd wash in the Swirl Removal scenario - there's no need to worry about doing one since you're stripping a bit of the clearcoat off anyway.

Any clearer in your head now?

As for hand polishing - I wouldn't as the various polishes typically used (AG SRP and Dodo Juice Lime Prime) are only really suitable for hand application on small areas here and there.

If the paintwork is covered in light swirling, best get a Pro and watch them. If the paint is only lightly marked and as Lexus paint is softish, it really shouldn't take them that long to do, so it'll not be that much to employ them to do the task.

Once you start feeling braver, you can then look at a machine, as inevitably the swirls will come back no matter how careful you are with the various stages - it's Jap paint, therefore a fact of life, unfortunately.

[finest1]

thanks again,

seeing that jap paintwork is soft, there must be a product that can be used to at least take some percentage of swirls and marks off, by hand.

i saw a post on detailing world by the BH people, so i learnt a bit more about it. check out the post by pcironmike and dj wozza,

i might be sold on this BH lark after all !!

:D

[Frothey]

you can do it by hand, but bear in mind you wil be working areas 8" square for 10 mins or so, its a tad time consuming

even with a rotary spinng at 1000rpm you work each section for 5 mins or so to fully break down the abrasives (or you get marring - light scratches)

[finest1]

hey tigerfish!

have you used the bilt hamber stuff yet?

:)