this guy i know told me that this is how to do it:

1)Compound with a buffer
2)wash
3)wax

does it make sense to compound b4 washing? I'm tryin to set a method for myself on how to do this. BTW, he has an old honda and its paint look good.

 

I would always start with a clean car before doing any detailing. I would think that compounding a dirty car would harm the paint, but I'm not a pro detailer. Just my .02.

 

Have to agree with 2k1seae. If you have dirt of grit on the car and you start buffing it...

 

Being a professional, I would not advise that anyone (even a pro) compund a car while dirty.

 

You detail on a clean surface. If you polish a dirty car, you are running the risk of introducing lots of scratches into the finish since (I assume rubbing) compounds are abrasive along with the dirt.

That's why it's a good idea to wash first, polish second.

 

Best method I've found:

-Wash
-Compound
-Wash
-Polish
-Wax

Washing after compounding will reduce the chance of inducing new swirls into the paint. Polishing directly after compounding will leave the chance of picking up compounding particles and leaving hazy spots when applying the polish. This is what I've been taught and it works much better.

 

whats your method to detailing?

 

It depends on what you want to do. When I want to do a FULL detail, as in strip the wax and start over, I;

1) Wash car with dawn soap (yes dish detergent)
2) Use a Paint cleaner to remove most paint contaminants
3) Clay to remove everything else that the paint cleaner missed and to eliminate rough spots
4) Polish
5) Glaze
6) seal
7) Top wax

To maintain the shine, I use a high quality car soap (meguiars NXT is a decent example) then use a maintenance wax (aka a quick detailer) to finish off the job and keep the car lookin good until I detail it again.

 

I don't see the point of putting a wax over a sealant. I just seems redundant to me. Does putting a wax over the sealant improve the glossy look or is it just to protect the sealant?

-Ben

 

Sealant is just that, a sealant. Its job is to protect whats underneath it (polishing provides the super deep gloss everyone loves, not wax or sealant). Now, a topper wax (s-100 for example) will finish off the job perfectly. It gives the car a smooth to the touch feeling and accentuates the polish/sealant job below. There is nothing that looks better than a high carnuba wax on a freshly detailed car.

 

Oh god I love my S100 wax. I was a little worried that it was just another wax and everyone over hyped about it, but it proved me wrong. I just need a good sealant to pair up with the S100 before the snow falls, any suggestions for a local place to pick up a sealant?

 

I buy my stuff off of www.autopia-carcare.com

 

that seems like too many steps

 

However, the irony is that the steps that you do may vary according to the condition of the paint or the type of vehicle.

A good example is a Neon I worked on recently. This particular car was highly neglected (read: never polished, loads of stains, swirls, scratches). This particular vehicle took 3 polishes and a wax in order to get the desired finish (not including rubbing compound).

If your car has fewer swirl marks or scratches, you may not have to do as many steps or even require a machine (like the forementioned Neon).

 

As you very well know prinz, sometimes the cars that look to be in good shape can be decieving as well....

 

You definitely need to wash the car before any detailing step, rubbing compound or otherwise. I would probably wash again after the rubbing cmpd just to get any residue or dust off, but I can't say from experience since I've never used a rubbing compound before. I have a 95 and the harshest product I've used on it is 3M Perfect-It III Machine Glaze. It worked very well and quickly to remove swirls on my car. If you don't have heavy paint defects then you shouldn't need to even use a rubbing cmpd.

A word about sealants:
The sealant is what truly protects the paint. It can provide extra gloss, but like E55AMG2 said, the high gloss comes from polishing.
The sealant goes on to protect the paint, and wax goes over the sealant to add a bit of extra slickness and protection, and sometimes it adds a nice wet look to the paint.
In the case of FourStar UPP, the paint is SO slick afterward that the #16 paste wax actually diminishes the slickness.

 

Ye, you deffenitaly need to wash the car prior to do any buffing becuase from the dirt and grease you can scratch the paint or leave swirls which would be extra work to do or jsut wont come out.

 

ive never used rubbing compond, but i hear it is easy to mess up your paint with it