Did some searching and have two questions as I am itching for spring and a serious MINI detailing session. Car is almost brand new and will be finishing up its first winter this year after purchase in October and I did as much as I could before and during the winter to prevent paint damage. Clear bra, wash weekly (mostly just water just to remove road salt), full (somewhat amateur) hand wash/wax twice with microfiber dry and hand polishing with Adams recommended products.

Now come spring I am planning on going the PC 7424xp and Prima products route for all my vehicles, including the pre/post season boat application but am most focused on my MINI. Since the MINI has the dealers 'detailing' minor scratches and some winter wear/dings from snowboarding trips. I am going with Epic and black LC pad for sure but am hung up on pad/polish combination to go with. Should I go with:[/LIST]
Or some other product/pad combination? Taking all recommendations.

Clear bra is simple question. Best product to use to match the glow/shine after doing the polish with the PC and finishing with Epic. I have searched around here and Autopia and have found a few solutions for cleaning it but nothing detailed about results or what the 'in-house' pros use.

Edit: I do have Adams Swirl and haze remover and Buttery Wax that I got as a gift in October that I used for pre-winter prep but it seems that Prima is generally giving better results.

So, what would you do?

 

Treat the clear bra like paint. Clay it, & use a light polish, followed with wax.

 

Good, since that is what I have been doing so far with good results. Just wanted to make sure it was doing no harm.


Anyone have insight on my other questions?

 

IF you wanted to stick with Prima, pick up a bottle of Swirl and some LC orange and white pads. Those should do just fine for the light scratches and swirls you were talking about. OH AND HYDRO!

 

This is generally good advice, but I would add two caveats.

1.) Clear Bra tends to be MUCH softer than paint, so the type of correction is different. Prima Swirl or Finish with an LC White pad on speed 4 or 5 with light pressure is the most I would do. Also tape the edges to keep from getting polish buildup along the edges..also watch the claybar..getting traces of clay along the clear bra edge will require extra work to clean it up, especially if the clay is a different color like the blue Meguiar's clay I like.

2.) Don't use a carnauba like Banana Gloss unless you don't mind it yellowing. Carnauba's don't chemically alter the bra to yellow it, it is the nature of carnaubas and how they add warmth to the paint through a slight yellow tint that causes the clear bra to yellow.

 

Much like the initial question: What gear do I need to keep my 2011 Cosmic Blue Countryman and BRG II Mini squared away? I want to keep swirls out when I"m washing and drying and keep it looking good all the time. I can't see buying the super kits for $200. I use Meguires concentrated car soap, microfiber hand mitt, and microfiber towels to dry. Is there something "special" I need to work with on these darker color paints compared to my 02 Pure Silver I had?

 

You don't want to instill swirls when washing and drying? The answer is..then don't put them in.

How do you put them in?
1.) Bad washing technique
2.) Bad products

Looking at your chosen products, *think* about why you are using what you are using.

What is microfiber best for? For safely wiping and pulling dirt and dust from surfaces. How? By using thousands of micro straws that pick up the contamination. Ever drop a microfiber towel on the ground? What happens? It picks up everything, leaves, etc... and it's impossible to full remove them without damaging the towel.

Microfiber mitts are a bad idea. People think...oh they are microfiber so it must be good. These mitts might be good at removing and picking things up, but with good washing technique, you need to make sure that the tools you place on your paint are NOT abrading the surface. If the mitt picks up the dirt, how can you be sure, that dirt isn't going to scratch the car? Sure they mitts say that microfiber is safe and won't damage the paint. That's true, but we're talking about the dirt that's clinging to the microfiber....that's known as "marketing".

Meguiar's (note spelling) makes decent soap, but if you want a soap to do more than just clean, but actually add gloss, use a polymer based soap. With Meguiar's that's their NXT Car Wash or similar in Prima..Prima Mystique.

For the drying towels, are you using microfiber Waffle Weave towels? These absorb a ton of water compared to microfiber buffing towels. My Belgian Waffle Weaves are economical and super absorbent due to their extra deep cups. I sell a 4 pack for $30 which is a steal compared to how much most MF Waffle Weaves sell for. These are 24x30 in size.

These towels will dry the paint in one pass. I would dry all the paint first, then the glass if using one towel, or two towels and dry whatever order you want.

For darker paints, products that help enrichen the paint are useful. If maximum durability (longevity) isn't necessary then use a carnauba. These give you 1 to 2 months of protection otherwise choose a synthetic polymer sealent. You can't go wrong with either Prima Banana Gloss or Prima Epic. BG is super easy to apply and very forgiving in terms of application..can put it on in cold or hot weather and wipes off with no effort.

 

OK, I got waffle towels, BG, Mystique wash, and what kind of mitt to wash with?

 

Cool..oops forgot that one. Here is what I like. Real lambskin, not synthetic.

http://showcarsupplies.com/shopexd.asp?id=110&bc=no

 

Alright, I'm guessing there is a special applicator and remover of the wax; or is a fresh clean microfiber towel good enough there?

 

To apply BG, I include a microfiber sponge applicator. To remove, a clean MF towel is best.

Some towel suggestions:

http://showcarsupplies.com/shopexd.asp?id=201

http://showcarsupplies.com/shopexd.asp?id=113

http://showcarsupplies.com/shopexd.asp?id=202

 

Thanks Octane for answering a thread hijacker

Looks like my list didn't post correctly in the OP. Basically I am looking into getting some combination of the following products:

Prima Swirl - white LC pad
Prima Swirl - orange LC pad
Prima Amigo - white LC pad
Prima Amigo - orange LC pad

I am probably going to end up with all of them eventually as the car sadly gets more scratches/swirls from everyday driving and long New England winters but for now I am looking for the best results for the current condition of the car. There are a few scuffs on the black roof, from God knows what, and just swirls otherwise.

So best product combination to apply before Prima Epic w/ black pad on the PC.

 

Sorry! I don't use Amigo with an Orange pad, primarily because I use Amigo as a prep before going to wax. Amigo really noticeably improves the slickness of the paint after polishing with Swirl.

So I just do

Swirl/LC Orange
Swirl/LC White
Amigo/LC White or Finish/LC White
Epic/LC Black

(note that I don't necessarily use all of them..I just listed in Most Aggressive to Least, and where I start depends on the condition of the paint)

Sometimes Finish/LC White before Amigo or in place of Amigo as well. Depends on how the paint is responding.

For plastic A and C pillars, Swirl/LC White is perfect. Follow with Amigo/LC White to really make it black and extra shiny.

Richard

 

Hijacked?

 

Your 3 separate questions to my original one I would say constitutes a hijack. Thief! Only kidding however, you asked decent questions and since they were relatively close to my original post Ill let it slide...this time. But seriously not a big deal.

Richard, you sir are a fistful of information that knocks us all out all the time. If only I lived in Cal and could get you to detail my car to such a fine luster. Probably going to end up going with 2 white pads, a black, epic, swirl, amigo and the pc all from you as soon as it starts to warm up here....whenever that ends up being. Damn snow/rain

Thanks for your help

 

Haha its cool. Thanks! Much appreciated!

We also just got in some new products..a new water based silicone tire gel that can be matte, semi gloss, or high gloss, depending on how much you use..priced affordably (What? Spell check says that's not a word? ) in different sizes from trial size 2oz, 4oz, 8oz from $2-$8 and an APC where I'm still debating whether to sell it prediluted or just concentrated form.

Richard

 

Haha its cool. Thanks! Much appreciated!

We also just got in some new products..a new water based silicone tire gel that can be matte, semi gloss, or high gloss, depending on how much you use..priced affordably (What? Spell check says that's not a word? ) in different sizes from trial size 2oz, 4oz, 8oz from $2-$8 and an APC where I'm still debating whether to sell it prediluted or just concentrated form.

Richard

 

Do you reuse your MF applicator pads?

Also, I'm thinking about putting some BG on this afternoon after a nice wash/clay. How long will it last? I put Epic on back at the end of October, so it's only been 4 months, so I was thinking I'd put some BG on, then Epic it again around April. Thoughts?

 

Yes, unless I wash them, each applicator is used for the same products only. After each use, store them in a zip lock bag for the next use.

BG will last alone for atleast a month. If used on top of Epic, the combined durability should be better. Epic will normally last 4 to 6 months however, so I would just assume that you'll be fine for a month or two.

Richard

 

Richard what is up with your website. Won't let me on it; says some kind of Microsoft VBscript time error.

 

What is the URL? For ShowCarSupplies.com ??

It's working fine for me right now. Try again?

Richard

 

Just did, worked perfectly now. Paid through paypal for towels, mitt, and Bannana Gloss as you recommended. Look forward to getting those items and cleaning both cars next weekend.

 

Awesome thanks! We'll get this processed on Monday!

Richard

 

Cool! I have plenty of work to do on Saturday.

 

kkchshipp: you're going to like BG I washed last night and figured I'd throw some BG on my hood/front end to give it a kick until April or so when I can fully take the time to Epic. Maaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnn. I got done the hood and said "eff it!" and kept going. It's making my blue pop like never before. Epic gives a beautiful glossy, "wet" look, which I happen to love on my blue/black combo. It's also very protective. However, the natural wax makes it look electric for some reason. I can't wait to do Epic and BG on top

My dad has a brand new deep red Vette...I left the BG at home and told him to give it a try. Hopefully he'll be buying more