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Waxing procedure. Yeah I forgot and this *should* be sticky!
Ok, I'll take my lashes with the wet noodle later but um... I've forgotten a bunch of stuff about waxing my car. I use Prima products exclusively. This is what I have...
Porter Cable Random Orbit polisher.
A metric ton of different colored foam pads.
Slick, Amigo, Epic, Banana Gloss, Hydro and Mystique.
I washed the car today, twice, with Dawn because it's filthy and all it's had over the last 6 or 8 months is Hydro. I really don't want to claybar the car. Knowing what I have in my detailing arsenal, in what order would you recommend detailing and with which pad(s)?
__________________
Justice is not the exercise of hatred, it is the celebration of civilization. - Richard Rahl "Mercy is a contingency plan devised by the guilty in the eventuality that they are caught, justice is the domain of the just, this is about justice." - Kahlan Rahl
But.. if you really want to do it the right way... you gotta start with clay.
DP used to have a really good little chart and writeup on their website about which pads go with which polishes. Sounds like with what you have you'll want to start with Amigo on a white pad, maybe a black. Then Epic on a black or by hand. Don't take my word for it though - I use mostly Zaino.
If you're not going to clay don't even bother "detailing" the car. Just keep using Hydro.
That's how important the step is to get maximum wax/sealant adhesion on a clean and smooth surface. My brand new car that I bought 2wks ago was in the dealer lot for less than 2months. Yet it had lots of contaminants on the top surfaces. First thing I did was wash and clay the car. Then lightly polished to remove dealer induced swirls and waxed.
A lot of people hate clay because they don't know how to use it properly. Most people don't press hard enough, or hold the clay properly, or use enough or too much lube.
I've shown two people in the past week how to use clay at my shop, and after 5 minutes, they told me they had never used clay properly. They both said that they would never have known how much pressure to apply.
Once you learn how to use the products effectively, the time and energy needed to work on your paint will go down substantially. Also if you are a frequent car washer, where you don't let dirt build up on the paint for more than a week, or if the car is garaged nightly, the length of time between claying gets longer.
With my 2003 Indi Blue Cooper, I quick detailed that thing daily, and even after two years, I didn't need to clay. The reason is simple. Keep the junk off the paint so the contamination won't have time to bond. The paint will always feel smooth as glass.
You need a sticky on how to wax? I don't think so!
Just remember this.
1.) Wash Car
2.) Clean contamination from paint (using clay)
3.) Apply favorite wax
Richard
__________________ 5548 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim, CA 92807 866 707 9292
Looking for Prima?? Buy Prima at ShowCarSupplies.com
11% off everyday discount code: MINI11NAM 2010 Midnight Black MCCSa
when i have a lot of contaminants i use less lube (QD) and use more water. that makes the clay (meguiar's blue) grab harder without putting excessive force on the clay. i just use tap water since our water is pretty soft.
on my hobby cars, i use griot's mud and Slick. that is by far the mildest clay app, i thinks. as OG mentioned above, i too clean my hobby cars very well all the time and there's barely any contaminants ever.
A lot of people hate clay because they don't know how to use it properly. Most people don't press hard enough, or hold the clay properly, or use enough or too much lube.
I've shown two people in the past week how to use clay at my shop, and after 5 minutes, they told me they had never used clay properly. They both said that they would never have known how much pressure to apply.
Once you learn how to use the products effectively, the time and energy needed to work on your paint will go down substantially. Also if you are a frequent car washer, where you don't let dirt build up on the paint for more than a week, or if the car is garaged nightly, the length of time between claying gets longer.
With my 2003 Indi Blue Cooper, I quick detailed that thing daily, and even after two years, I didn't need to clay. The reason is simple. Keep the junk off the paint so the contamination won't have time to bond. The paint will always feel smooth as glass.
You need a sticky on how to wax? I don't think so!
Just remember this.
1.) Wash Car
2.) Clean contamination from paint (using clay)
3.) Apply favorite wax
Richard
Ok guys,
I clay'd the car and yes, I probably did it wrong but I did it until the white clay (Meguiar's) stopped showing dirt/contaminants. It was a loooonnnnngggg day!
C'mon Richard,
What I need to know is which product to use and in what order and with which pad. I have...
Amigo, Slick, Epic, Banana Gloss and Hydro. I have a PC (a real one, not a fake one) that I bought from DP. I have yellow, orange, red and white pads for it. Which one do I use with which product?
I also have had my sunroofs covered in white vinyl. Not the perforated type, it's solid. I also have Laser Blue vinyl stripes across the roof, including the sunroofs. What do you recommend to clean that vinyl? Claying it took some crap off of it but not nearly enough. Some leaves sat on it a few days ago following a storm and stained it. Any suggestion in that department would be greatly appreciated.
__________________
Justice is not the exercise of hatred, it is the celebration of civilization. - Richard Rahl "Mercy is a contingency plan devised by the guilty in the eventuality that they are caught, justice is the domain of the just, this is about justice." - Kahlan Rahl
Since you don't have Swirl go with Amigo on the white pad. This will clean and fill swirls. I don't see a black pad so use your softest pad to apply Epic next as thin as you can. Wait an hour and wipe off. Next day you're good to go. Banana Gloss once a month and Hydro with every wash.
I use swirl to clean my vinyl but Banana Gloss has some solvents in it that may get your stains out. If not try Never Dull.
Slick as a quick detailer as needed (when not too dirty).
Not saying you did it wrong...but that possibly it could have been done more effectively??? Meguiar's blue clay (C2000) is a LOT better than the consumer white clay and it's just as safe.
You got red pads from DP? That's strange.
The Prima system consists of:
Yellow (Most Aggressive and used in special situations)
Orange (Aggressive but used frequently)
White (Moderately Aggressive but used frequently)
Black (Not Aggressive and used for Wax Application)
Of the 3 polishing pads (excluding the wax applicator pad), I use White and Orange the most. I always start with White first using Prima Swirl. I will do a couple of passes and see how it's working. Assuming technique is correct, and it's not polishing thoroughly enough, I will try an Orange pad with Swirl, and that should do it. For MINI paint, you won't need a Yellow pad unless you are correcting a scratch or other similar defect.
Of the 5 products you mentioned, you are missing the most important one. A polish!!! You gotta have Swirl.
Amigo won't remove normal defects. I know some people might use an aggressive pad, but I just don't like the results. I much prefer to polish with Swirl's diminishing abrasives until the finish is as perfect as it's going to get, then use Amigo on a white pad to provide the finishing touch and gloss before going to wax.
I consider Hydro a maintenance product, used during a wash, so I wouldn't use it in the detailing process on paint, unless I'm waxing door jams, or wheels.
Slick is a quick detailer, and once again, it's normal part of the polishing process except to maybe remove some stubborn residue.
Epic and Banana Gloss are waxes. Use Epic twice a year, and BG monthly.
A vinyl sunroof won't matter as far as polishing goes. You can lightly polish using a white pad with Swirl to remove some stains. But just realize that white vinyl is easily permanently stained. Best you can do is make sure it's protected with a wax to make cleaning easier.
Richard
Quote:
Originally Posted by Warped1966
Ok guys,
I clay'd the car and yes, I probably did it wrong but I did it until the white clay (Meguiar's) stopped showing dirt/contaminants. It was a loooonnnnngggg day!
C'mon Richard,
What I need to know is which product to use and in what order and with which pad. I have...
Amigo, Slick, Epic, Banana Gloss and Hydro. I have a PC (a real one, not a fake one) that I bought from DP. I have yellow, orange, red and white pads for it. Which one do I use with which product?
I also have had my sunroofs covered in white vinyl. Not the perforated type, it's solid. I also have Laser Blue vinyl stripes across the roof, including the sunroofs. What do you recommend to clean that vinyl? Claying it took some crap off of it but not nearly enough. Some leaves sat on it a few days ago following a storm and stained it. Any suggestion in that department would be greatly appreciated.
__________________ 5548 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim, CA 92807 866 707 9292
Looking for Prima?? Buy Prima at ShowCarSupplies.com
11% off everyday discount code: MINI11NAM 2010 Midnight Black MCCSa
I think that I got the red one from Griots. I had to replace a friend's pads and it was cheaper to buy two at a time. It's going to frigging rain all day here today so no polishing/waxing for me. I'm going to order what you suggested. This forum really does need a sticky that gives an idea of what order to use Prima products and with which pads for which situation. I do appreciate you answering my questions.
__________________
Justice is not the exercise of hatred, it is the celebration of civilization. - Richard Rahl "Mercy is a contingency plan devised by the guilty in the eventuality that they are caught, justice is the domain of the just, this is about justice." - Kahlan Rahl
Well the forum does pretty well to answer peoples questions about Prima when they ask it. I offer tons of support to those that contact me. Prima has/had a PDF file on their website that answered these questions as well.
They give a pretty good primer about which Prima polishes to use and why.
I feel like I've answered this question a thousand times, yet I can't find those replies! Gotta love NAM.
Richard
Quote:
Originally Posted by Warped1966
Richard,
I think that I got the red one from Griots. I had to replace a friend's pads and it was cheaper to buy two at a time. It's going to frigging rain all day here today so no polishing/waxing for me. I'm going to order what you suggested. This forum really does need a sticky that gives an idea of what order to use Prima products and with which pads for which situation. I do appreciate you answering my questions.
__________________ 5548 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim, CA 92807 866 707 9292
Looking for Prima?? Buy Prima at ShowCarSupplies.com
11% off everyday discount code: MINI11NAM 2010 Midnight Black MCCSa
It was a loooonnnnngggg day!
Some leaves sat on it a few days ago following a storm and stained it. Any suggestion in that department would be greatly appreciated.
