Hi all,
This MINI detailing forum is the bomb!

I posted on a VW forum but since I learned most of what I know about detailing on here on the MINI site and I got no response on VW Forum, I thought I would post here.

New Back Pearl GTI owner. (also White MINI Clubman S) I have about 1000 miles. I knew I would want to detail it right away and I am glad I did. It had a funky milky white cloudy haze on parts of it.

Questions- I am a rookie in modern detailing however, I have a Griots 6" DA and have been maintaining my MINI bought new in 2013 and have an old Subaru outback that went through a few years of neglect that I practiced on. I keep the MINI in what I believe is better visual appearance than when delivered to me. Or at least matching that.

I have used exclusively Griots polish 1,2, and 3 and orange pads simply because that's what I started with and that's what I understand to this point. I use their Best in Show Wax and like it well enough. It actually seems to last many, many months, far longer than I read here. My cars are garaged and I keep them washed up. I just tried their Poly wax and I liked it as far as applying and taking off and I like the visual results. Time will tell how it holds up. The GTI cleaned up very well and is far better than they delivered it to me.

My questions- I have NEVER seen the benefit of THESE three different levels of polish- In other words, when I find a defect. Polish 3 does nothing to fix or lessen it. Polish 2 only does the most minor surface scum and frankly I have not gotten polish 1 to do much either. I have worked marks over and over and apply pressure using polish 1 and am still not satisfied. Maybe I am encountering blemishes that are far worse than I know or my understanding and expectation of the product is too great. Cleaning this car confirmed this for me. I had a milky white hazy something on the paint. I also had a couple of faint scratches. Polish 3 didn't touch it even with good pressure applied to the machine. Polish 2 took care of the haze but not the scratches. I didn't go to polish 1 because I am looking for a better system.

I read great things about Meguires 105/ 205 but on the Autogeek chart, they look like they are the same in aggressiveness as the griots 1 and 3. Ideally I am looking for something to use on the worse blemishes that works fast and efficiently with the da machine and then a follow up that will deal with anything left behind and bring it to a very nice finish. I would like to do It in two steps if possible.

Can anyone compare/ contrast Meguires and Griots products that I mention?

Is the missing link that I am using orange pads- do I need to use a micro fiber pad or wool pad with less backing and cushion to make griots 1 more aggressive?

Should I just move on to Megs 105/205? and a more aggressive pad?

Thanks in advance. I have been reading and enjoying all of the posts here.
JD

 

Before jumping off the deep end, have you contacted Griot's directly? I have over a small swirl and how to address it and they came back with excellent 'detailed' advice. They are extremely helpful.

PS: On a recent road trip to the West coast we stopped in Tacoma to visit the store. Fantastic place and lots of help. They give the impression of 'school'. They had a Lambo on the work shop floor but in their foolishness refused to let me give it my expert road test inspection.

 

On their site, I don't see a 6" 'DA' any longer. I see a BOSS G15, BOSS G21 and 6", 3" and 5" random orbitals. Are the G models the DA's?

 

You might want to look at Griot's Complete Polish and Complete Polish. They have polish particles that begin at one size and then reduce in aggressiveness as the random orbital is used. I've just started using them but hope they are easier than the old numbered polishes. Also the reformulated Best in Show is amazingly easy to remove.

 

I have the same random orbital that you do, the 6" da that griots makes. It's similar to the porter cable. This is now just called the random orbital. The BOSS polisher they have is along the lines of the RUPES or Flex polishers, which which have forced rotation and can oscillate at higher speeds.

Can you post a picture of the haze you have? Did this appear randomly or was if after using the Machine polish 1? If it was after using the machine Polish 1, which was the most aggressive polish you have, you could have polishing haze. If it's appearing in a spot that you previously polished and then waxed, your wax might have just covered up an area that you still need to go over with a less aggressive polish.

When polishing out tougher imperfections, the more aggressive and abrasive polishes will pull out the defect in the paint, but leave marring and haze as a side effect. You'll have to go over the same spot with a less aggressive polish, like Machine Polish 2 or 3 on a clean pad and then follow that up with your wax or sealant.

As for comparing to meguiars, I have had past success with meguiars, so I tend to prefer the M105/205 combination just based on my personal experience. Griots has a fantastic product line and their polishes are solid. I have the griots complete compound mentioned above and it's really versatile. It finishes down extremely well for a polish with some serious defect removing ability. I'd say your weak link may be in the polishing pads you're using. Griots simplifies things by only having a couple of pads, only one of which is for defect removal. You might be well served by getting some lake country or similar pads that will allow you to get the defect removal you're looking for with a less abrasive polish.

 

So! Alot of the older griots products were targeted toward hobby level detailers and do not yeild the same results as the boss line.. Why is this? The boss line was developed by Jeff Brown after leaving Meguiars to join Griots and thus is aimed at a more professional customer, the abrasive technology is years beyond that of the older griots polishes. Their pads were specifically developed for the machine with buff and shine and the machines were built using the same bearings as the Rupes machines. The boss line is a great product line for the consumer or even part time detailer as its a most cost effective option than Rupes, smells nicer, and will not stain your trim ever under any circumstances which is nice. Just to specify, the boss system is all free spinning like the Griots 6", not forced rotation like the flex 3401. it just has a larger orbit 15/21mm to copy rupes (and if you want one im selling mine).

105/205 is one of the better easily purchasable combos in store, if you can find m101 it is a better compound. That being said both of those dust a good bit and will stain trim and can sometimes be tricky to wipe. Personally i would recommend the Jescar Compound and Polish if you are going to order new stuff and im more than happy to write a paper on why XD Also my personal favorite pads for a small throw DA are the lake country thin pro pads, they really transfer the smaller 8mm jiggle around alot better than a higher profile pad.

 

That's some great and interesting insight on Griot's newer products and I didn't realize that the Boss polisher wasn't forced rotation. In that case, what pads would you recommend for either Griot's standard polisher or the Boss with the M105/205 combo for moderate swirl correction and then finishing?

 

Personally i would use a 5" backing plate on their original "GG6" DA and run a 5.5" boss pad, the 5" backing plate on the smaller machine helps it not stall in curves and squeezes out alittle more cut. 105 works well with a microfiber pad and 205 works well with the yelow boss pad.

On the boss i would use the rupes pads (blue and yellow) but they have to be used with a water based compound and polish or the foam will degrade as its waterborne foam. Personally i love the rupes polishes howver the Jescar is becoming more and more popular. If you want to stick with 105/205 on a boss you can use a microfiber cutting pad and a yellow boss pad for polishing.

my favorite microfiber cutting pads are the buff and shine urofiber pads, the boss microfibers (which are made by B&S), the NEW rupes microfiber pads (not the blue ones) which have an almost identical microfiber structure as the meguiars and lastly the new lake country microfiber is nice as well. Basically a quality microber pad is a quality microfiber pad be sure to keep them blown out and fluffly or they lose their cut. Also you dont want to run the machine full out or you are likely to get excessive dust, draw a line on your backing plate and be sure you are getting rotation and run the machine at 4-5

 

Hey all, I signed on to do a little detailing research and found this thread where I was the OP. I will try to do better at reporting back this time.

Another question/ problem.

I did make the switch to 105/205 and I like at least the simplicity of only two products to sort out. Of course if you add various pads to that then it really is like 18 combinations to figure out so you see where that goes. I am really trying to keep it more simple. I am not a pro just maintaining daily drivers but I can certainly get nutty about this stuff too. 205 is all I need to clean up the paint unless there is a specific blemish to work on then 105.

I have wrestled with Best of SHow Wax and I am throwing in the towel. Way too hard to get off. Leaves behind a greasy film and cloud that I cant buff off no matter what. Sorry Griots. Everything I read says thin thin thin. I might not be getting it thin enough. I try. And frankly it doesn't matter. The overall user experience has to be better or it doesn't matter if it is the best stuff on the planet. This time I even let sit overnight in a cool garage overnight temps probably in the 50's and very low humidity. Still way too hard to work with.

I LOVE Griots Poly Sealant and will continue with that. Amazing visual results even on this black car. It looks like a mirror when I am done and it wipes right off no fuss no muss. Then I ruin it by insisting on topping it with best of show.

a) is there anything wrong with leaving it at the ploy sealant and calling it done? two coats of poly sealant have any benefit?

b) what other carnauba wax or other topper might I be happier with when it comes to removing it and avoiding residue left behind?

Open to other suggestions but it has to go on and come off first time every time.

thanks in advance!

My MINI still looks as good as new!

JD