Step 2, is a chemical paint cleaner. It works, but has it's limitations. If you're working by hand, it's probably the best you can do. With a PC, and a chemical cleaner with diminishing abrasives you will have significantly better results.
Terry cloth towels, no matter what anyone says, won't be as soft as a good quality MF towel. I'm certain if you take your MINI and look under direct sunlight, and stand at an angle so that the sun is hitting the paint as a sun spot, you will see radiating lines outward--aka swirls.



However if it looks like this, then you have done VERY well in maintaining your finish


Using just a PC and a paint cleaner with diminishing abrasives like M80 or M83, it looks like this (there is some micromarring visible here, this is an intermediate shot, before the final polishing--was taken to show an immediate after)


NXT Speed Detailer or Quik Detailer will do the same but better. They act as a lubricant to remove dust and bug marks off your car. Make sure to use a MF towel to wipe it off. Plus they help to keep the shine going from day to day. I do no like to wipe my paint with a dry towel, nor a feather duster as they have the tendency to drag dust across the paint surface causing more scratches. When using the Quik Detailer, fold the towel in quadrants and fold and unfold the towel exposing new surfaces. Use two towels or more if need to always be wiping with a clean side. After you've wiped the car down, give it a final wipe with another clean MF towel. I'm sure you know, do the paint first, then trim. And if you want to be really ****, do the side upper surfaces, top surfaces, then lower panels, then trim--trying to put the dirtiest parts last. And yes, you should use QD on the wheels. Regularly wiping them down is like waxing them--it becomes much easier to wipe of brake dust the more regularly you wipe them down with QD.

 

Hm...seems like i wasted abit of $$ on terry cloth towels!!

Again, thanks so much for clearing things up

 

High quality terry coth towels arent necessarily bad, but if you take a properly cleaned and polished surface and then buff it with a terry towel and compare by buffing with a MF towel, assuming that there are no other outside influences, you are likely to see fine scratches left behind by the terry towels.

Keep the towels for wheels, interior, engine, anything non paint critical. Unless you're using a wax with fillers, and NXT Tech Wax does use some, its best to avoid scratching the paint and relying on waxes to hide the scratches that were caused by your process.

And remember, this assumes you've polished your paint to a point where using better towels makes a difference. If your process is regularly instilling swirls and scratches, using different towels is only one part of the process.

Richard

 

Look at all these beautiful cars is getting me excited about the good weather coming, time to detail.

Where is a good place to get good quality MF towels? I have ordered from Girots in the past but hoping to get something more affordable.

 

Here's my favorite source for the Meguiar's Supreme Shine MF.

http://autodetailingsolutions.com/Mi...r%20Towels.htm

If you call the store up on the phone and talk to Rick, mention my name, and he will treat you nicer cause he appreciates me sending my MINI friends to him.

Richard

 

octaneguy- we need to do a detail party like how Randy does his pulley parties. oh well, im in IL...guess I'll just have to do it myself.

 

For MINI owners in SoCal, we've got c3 clinics, LOL. Let's see, a flight, car, and motel to the east coast costs anywhere from $500 and up. I'd need to make a profit to make it worthwhile, so lets say it cost me $1000 to arrange for a clinic. That would be 10 people paying $100 each, or 20 people paying $50. Is that even feasible????

 

Yeah, pretty nuts. I'm hoping that I can get the time down with practice. That and once the car is clean, it's easier to keep clean.

 

OctaneGuy, you mentioned you use: M80 or M83, it looks like this (there is some micromarring visible here, this is an intermediate shot, before the final polishing--was taken to show an immediate after), what product do you use for the final polish?

 

After seeing Octane's pictures on this thread, I couldn't resist taking a day off to enjoy the beautiful spring weather we have been seeing here in Dallas. My wife doesn't understand how working on the car can be relaxing, but I like the results...










Don't forget to polish (and Zaino) your glass as well... this is a shot in the reflection of my sunroof... check out the seam in the lower right hand corner if you don't believe...

 

In the Meguiar's system we
1.) Wash
2.) Clay
3.) Paint Polish
4.) Wax

So M80 or M83 are in step 3. I will finish with either NXT Tech Wax or more likely M21 Synthetic Sealant.

Whether I choose 83, 80, 82 depends on the condition of the paint. I worked on a black Infiniti where M80 was too aggresive, and M82 was the solution.

For all the MINI's I've worked on M83 or M80 was sufficient. From there, you can go directly to wax. This is all assuming the PC is being used. If I'm using a rotary buffer, then M80 or M82 are mostly sufficient, and finishing up with M80 on a PC before wax would be the steps.

Richard

 

Interestingly you mention the black infinity. I have a G35 and have found the M82 leaves micromarring with the PC(G100) and even with the rotary, otherwise the paint is near perfect. Talking with Mike Phillips, he believes its just that kind of paint. So I will make a trip down to Irvine on one of those 'open garage' days to put my delema to rest.

 

A solution that works is using the rotary with a W-9006 polishing pad and M82. Then follow that with M80 and a PC to remove any buffer swirls.

I spent an afternoon trying to fix this 2005 G35 that a club member accidentally scratched up while washing it. The paint was extremely sensitive and the owner kept his finish to a very high level using just a PC.





You can just see some of the fine swirls I worked on, on the left side of the tape line is the untouched side, to the right is the buffed side.

 

I believe mine looks very much like that, at that distance, but its hard to tell on camera. On mine you have to get up very, very close, I mean taking your face within 3" of the paint surface. I use a Xenon light to inspect my work so I don't have any swirls or scratches or smearing. Nearly all my work is always follow up with a pc(g100) and a finishing pad, but I don't have any M80. I am not sure if thats the answer, but at this point(frustrated), I don't want to buy another product and find out that, that doesn't work for me. I am going to need someone, higher up, to physically see the car and put their hands on the car to get the paint to perfect condition. Bottom line I may have a bad technique on Infinity paint.

 

Here is an example of the marring that drove me nuts. It only appeared from certain angles, and it was rainbow like.


The RB with 82 and Finishing Pad followed by PC with 80 was originally suggested by Mike Phillips as well. They've got a garage clinic this Wed at Meguiar's if you're in the area.

 

Yeh, thats what they call "open garage". I am 1 hr or so north, so perhaps next Wednesday. I haveto be there early otherwise you can't get your vehicle in the bay, its first come first serve.
My micromarring can be seen and very similar to your marring, in your pic. If you follow your rainbows to their end, you see fine graying of the paint, thats what I have, but I don't have those streaks.

 

Hmm, I'm 40 minutes north with no traffic, or 1.5 hours north with traffic. We must be close by. LOL

 

detailing guru- i gave megz quik detailing spray a shot the other day, results are amazing... glossyness returned and stayed ! thank you. no more water+towel wipes for me.

how often would u use this quik detail spray..? once a week? i used to water+towel wipe 3 times a week (im obsessed with trying to keep my car clean).. doing that with quik detail spray seems abit much.. any guidance appreciated.. thank you once again

 

That's awesome! Use it as often as you like. I used to use it twice a day when I tried really hard to keep it dust free. Now I use it once a day or at most once every few days. Make sure to always use a clean MF towel and make sure the paint isn't too dirty such that the spray turns it into mud!

QD is great for bird poo and bug guts--just saturate the area then gently wipe it away. I use it on my wheels, works much like waxing it, except it's one shot--remove brake dust and leave it shiny so that subsequent wipes are easier.

Richard

 

FYI, its been about 4 days since i cleaned detailed the car. the gloss is still there!! not at strong as day one coz of a layer of dust etc.. but it never looked like this b4. im all smiles

detailing guru, any difference b/w megz quik detail and megs nxt quik detail?

 

Here are some links to tips, tricks, how to's, etc

http://www.meguiars.com/howtocenter/

http://www.meguiars.com/rx/rx_main.asp

 

Heh heh, I'm glad you've found the right combination that works for you!

As for the detailing sprays, you got Meguiar's Quik Detailer and NXT Speed Detailer.

NXT SD smells better, comes in a bigger bottle (24 fl oz) vs. the (16 fl oz Quik Detailer which does often come in a larger bottle, but less common)

IMO, NXT SD offers a bit more gloss and is my preference between the two. However because NXT SD costs more, I use QD for claying, and cleaning my wheels and SD for my paint.

Richard

 

Well, I back from Meguiar's open garage. There's a picture of my g35 with Mike working on it. Looks like I will be using a wool pad for the initial work with a rotary and #85, then to a foam pad with a rotary with #82 and maybe a little pc work with #66.
Since you're local where do you shop for equipment, such as the wool pad, some Mequiar's products at good prices?
Thanks

 

Noob question... what's 'PC' in this context?

 

PC = PCDA = Porter Cable Dual Action Polisher

It's a power tool used for buffing out minor imperfections in your car's finish with the use of a foam pad and a polish (Meguiars #66, referenced in the same quote)

http://www.autopia-carcare.com/autopia/pc-7424.html