Bought supplies rom Detailer's Paradise with the hopes of bringing my '02 majestic blue back to life. Lots of fine scratches and swirls from someone that didn't know what they were doing.

Just wanted to make sure that I'm using the right color pad with each of the products. I plan to:

1. Wash with Dawn
2. Clay (I'll be using Meguiar's final inspection as lube)
3. Polish with 1Z PP and my PC (not sure if I should use a yellow or orange pad)
4. Wax/protect with 1Z Glanz Wax (using black pad? & removing with MF towel)

Anything else I should use? Maybe a pure wax as a final step?

TIA

 

I think everyone goes about bringing their paint back to life a different way. If it has swirl marks and fine scratches, it probably needs to be buffed even if it isn't with compound.

I'm not sure what the products you are using are, but if I didn't buff it, I personally would apply a swirl remover, straight polish and then hand wax or polymer sealant. I've never really paid attention to the color of the pad I use to apply the product with. Also, don't forget you can clay it with water from the house instead of lubing it with Final Inspection. I personally find it a little easier.

 

Everything you have listed is correct and in the correct order. For applying the wax, I just use the cheap foam pads you can get at any auto store and remove the wax with a MF.

 

Id use the blue or green pads.

 

the orange is inbetween the white polish pad and yellow cutting pad.. i got all my stuff from detailer's paradise too.

I would start with the orange pad and if u still see swirls, switch to the yellow.

you could use the black pad for the glanz wax.. i'd prefer using hand over PC but u should be fine.

 

Well, I have everything ready. Let's hope the weather holds out. Possible rain in the forecast. I'll try to take some before and after pictures.

 

Dawn is safe to use on your car never heard of that, I was told that it was bad for it....

 

dawn strips the protection (wax / polish) off of paint, and also can be damaging to your rubber trims.... but that's if you wash it with dawn all the time. It shoudln't be a problem using it start a whole new detail cycle.

 

As nadir said, it is safe at the beginning of a detail cycle. It's great for stripping the wax/polish for when you want to start fresh and detail. You shouldn't use it if you have no protection on your vehicle already or if you don't want to strip it off, and you shouldn't leave it on for a long time because after a while it can hurt your paint.

 

So other than dawm what's the next best stripper of the car?

 

acetone and aircraft stripper.

 

Mr. Clean. At work, we wash with it to remove any wax and dirt before it comes in for any paint work.

 

Mr. Clean's soap doesn't strip the car of wax. It's a very mild car soap.

 

I wouldnt use dawn. Ive been told by a lot of people how it can dull the paint if you use it too much. Even though you only use it once and awhile to strip the wax off, it can still cause harm to the paint. Just my .02

 

Wrong: Mr clean soap is dish soap.

 

Dawn will not harm the paint. Its a fairly gentle soap, but has surfactants in it that break down lipids (wax). You should only use this to strip wax when you are going to do a FULL detail (clay, polish, glaze, seal, wax).

 

 

Thee is a product called Prepsol that can remove waxes and polymers from paint finishes without harming them.

 

forgot that one

 

Pardon my mistake, I stand corrected. Mr. Clean ( the household stuff ) does in fact NOT strip the wax, But it does serve to remove any water soluble contaminants that solvents won't. Such as bird droppings, tree sap, soap film, dirt, and beverage can rings ( even if you can't see them ). The second step is to wash with a solvent such as the Prepsol mentioned. Another good one that won't harm the paint is Tumbler. This will remove the wax, along with any silicones, grease, oil, tar, road film, insect remnants, or old sticker/pinstripe adhesives. Mr. Clean followed by a wax and grease remover solvent is the recommended process according to DuPont, as stated in the Commercial Refinishing Manual. Sorry for any confusion, hope this clears that up.

 

Wylie: it does strip wax.....