Team-BHP - All about Car Polishing

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor (Post 3303087)

Types of Polishes

A few examples of compounds are – Meguiar’s Ultimate Compound, Scholl Concepts S3 Gold, Optimum Hyper Compound, Menzerna FG400, Carpro Fixer, 3M Fast Cut.

A few examples of medium cut polishes are - Optimum Hyper Polish, Optimum Polish II, Scholl Concepts S17, Menzerna PF2400.
A few examples of finishing polishes are - Meguiar's Ultimate Polish, Optimum Final Finish Polish, Scholl Concepts S40, Menzerna SF4500.

Examples of non-abrasive AIOs - Klasse AIO, Zaino AIO, Werkstat Prime
Examples of abrasive AIOs - Optimum Poli-Seal, Optimum GPS, Meguiar's Paint Reconditioning Cream, Scholl Concepts A15, Duragloss 501, Bilt Hamber Cleanser Polish, Dodo Juice Need For Speed, Auto Finesse Tripple, Werkstat Prime Strong

Meguiar's

Ultimate Polish - Their mildest polish, capable of cleaning the paint by hand or a DA polisher and has very minimal cut.
Swirl-X - As the name suggests, designed to tackle minor swirls by hand or a DA.
Scratch-X - More aggressive than Swirl-X and aimed at removing minor scratches.
Utimate Compound - Their most aggressive polish in the consumer line and it is actually a compound.
Optimum

That is an excellent DIY thread. I am one of those who love to keep my car shiny,tires black and floor carpet clean. I currently use Turtle wax hard carnauba wax after I've washed my car with amway car shampoo and then use the armor all protectant to keep my dash and other plastic and rubber parts in top state. I find all of them doing a good job but always wanted to do justice to the paint by following up with a good polish. There are no paint imperfections on my car but i want to use the polish as it is a quick and easy way to give that extra shine. Which mild polish should i use for the purpose of giving that extra gloss after a wax?
Can you share where we can source any of these products in India. Online or location specific. I put up at Noida,anywhere in NCR i can get these products and be assured that they are not fakes?

Quote:

Originally Posted by smarth.katyal (Post 3305774)

Which mild polish should i use for the purpose of giving that extra gloss after a wax?

Polish should always be used before wax. You can try Meguiar’s Ultimate Polish
When used by hand, it has almost no cut and will clean the paint chemically. It will add some polishing oils which will impart a lovely glow to your paint. You can wax after polishing.

And please invest in a better wax than Turtle Wax next time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor (Post 3305791)

Polish should always be used before wax.

And please invest in a better wax than Turtle Wax next time.

Thanks for pointing that out(using polish before wax).
Ive not tried any other wax,but I find turtle wax very good. A pea sized amount is enough to wax half of the driver side door(or maybe more than half).So the spread is good. Let it haze for five minutes and it is easy to wipe it off just by wiping a cloth over it followed by buffing. The shine is also superior. Water beads up pretty well and it lasts more than a month(maybe more but i don't know because i wash and wax my car once a month)
But definitely will opt for something that you suggest next time just to observe the difference.

@Pedaltothefloor, another informative introduction for the laymen (and also for the gurus, I guess; I'm not one) into the world of finishing products. More reviews or a mega review (eg.or eg.) could add more value to this initiative.

Please add, wherever possible, online shops where we can buy the items too. Like Bilt Hamber UK in this thread, Autoglym India you mentioned in the waxes thread. Taking clue from the other thread, I had sent an e-mail inquiry to Autoglym India, but no response.

Couple of queries too:

Your take on Autoglym SRP vs Megs Ultimate Polish for hand polishing light swirls on a white hard paint on a relatively new car?
Hope I can bypass the claying if I do the polish? The polish should remove contaminants, right? A claying kit seems damn costly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by thoma (Post 3305947)

[*]Your take on Autoglym SRP vs Megs Ultimate Polish for hand polishing light swirls on a white hard paint on a relatively new car?

@thoma, AGSRP is a filler heavy polish, as @pedaltothefloor puts it, its a liquid filler. Personally on a hard paint by hand this would be my goto polish to mask any swirls and follow it up with a good sealant. This would surely save a lot of time and energy as polishing and correcting by hand is a pain.

Having said that Megs UP is a very nice cleaner and leaves a nice finish on the surface. More over you will get a small tryout sachet of Megs UP for Rs 75. Get one and see if it meets your requirement. But don't expect too much cut from UP.

Quote:

[*]Hope I can bypass the claying if I do the polish? The polish should remove contaminants, right? A claying kit seems damn costly.

Claying is highly recommended before polishing, you don't want to drag around the embedded dirt and grime while polishing right?.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor (Post 3297744)

Automotive paint could either be Single Stage or Two Stage paint. These days, two stage paint is more common and it has a color coat at the bottom and a clear coat on top. The clear coat protects the color coat from swirls, scratches and marring. Vintage and classic cars usually have a single stage paint where there is no clear coat. Even today, some of the brands offer certain colors in Single Stage paint.

Great thread man. Very informative stuffs there. Looks like you are becoming a master in car detailing and paint preservation techniques.

Would like to add few small points. The painting process are termed as Two Coat and Three Coat Painting. Almost all commercial vehicles are painted in two coat paints while the personal vehicles are painted with three coat paints. Normally all solid colors are two coat paints and metallic shades are produced using three coats. The constituents details are already explained by you.

The two coat painting process is - Electro-coat ->baking-> Primer+Color -> Baking
Three coat painting process is - Electro-coat->baking-> Primer->Baking->color+clear coat-> Baking

Quote:

Originally Posted by thoma (Post 3305947)

More reviews or a mega review (eg.or eg.) could add more value to this initiative.

@Thoma - I have a different perspective on this. I am looking forward to people like you and other users on this forum to post their reviews instead of me running multiple ones. We can do one of those "Tests" at some point though. However, this is a polishing thread and those tests that you mentioned are more apt for LSPs so would be part of the other thread.

Also, invest in a re-usable clay like Ultima Elastrofoam. Even if you clay your car once in 3 months, it will last you 5 years. That's Rs. 82.50 every 3 months to remove all bonded contaminants.

Quote:

Originally Posted by thoma (Post 3305947)

Taking clue from the other thread, I had sent an e-mail inquiry to Autoglym India, but no response.

Please call 9820006062 and speak to Ashwin. He heads AG in India.
Mods - I am not sure if we are allowed to post contact numbers so please delete this post if I am in violation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by thoma (Post 3305947)

Please add, wherever possible, online shops where we can buy the items too.

For Now, these are the ones that have a decent selection:

www.autofresh.in
www.bringingbest.in
www.greenzcarcare.com

This one will go live sometime later this year and will probably have very good selection (As they are one of the best in UK at the moment)

www.detailedclean.in

A couple of them are full time professional detailers and take offline orders via email but have good selection of brands and are very helpful bunch of people:

Ultima, Sonus and Amway Brands - http://ultimatedetailerz.webs.com/

Meguiar's - http://www.keystoneenterprises.in/#

Optimum - https://www.facebook.com/ecocarcare

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor (Post 3306185)

@Thoma - I have a different perspective on this. I am looking forward to people like you and other users on this forum to post their reviews instead of me running multiple ones.

:thumbs up

I was just pointing to some good stuff I felt sharing. I too meant the same, when I said 'More reviews'. More reviews from various people. As for me, I've tried the LSP Meg's 26 but how can I put a review when I have not checked its durability, and when I have not tried any of the competition.

Thanks for the links.

Quote:

Originally Posted by thoma (Post 3306214)

Please post a review if possible. Durability is only one of the aspects of a wax. The others are -looks, water sheeting capability, water beading capability, dust attraction, filling ability etc. Before and After pics would be nice :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor (Post 3305670)

If your car is protected by a wax or sealant, let it get dirty during the rainy season till you can find the time to clean it properly. Having said that, invest in two things - A Jopasu Duster and a bottle of Ultima Waterless Wash. Dust the car daily with the Jopasu before leaving for work. Less dust on the car would translate into a lower opportunity for caking. Secondly, UWW when used properly with a decent MF towel can clean a daily driver in 10 minutes. Just spray and gently wipe. These are two of the best investments you will ever make in car care.

Trash the Eagle One and pick up either C476 or FK1000P - both are hybrid paste sealants and very durable. More suggestions here http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...-sealants.html

a. If you can insert your fingernail in a scratch, it needs to be filled up (Body shop / wet sanding / Painting)
b. Stone chip sites will rust if not protected. either use an anti corrosive like Bilt Hamber Auto Balm or add some clear coat to it using one of those Dupont Scratch repair pens. Body shop can fix it for you, if you are going there for the scratch anyway.

Many options - Carpro PERL, Optimum Opti-Bond Tire Gel, Meguiar's Natural Vinyl Dressing, Ultima Interior Guard Plus, Sonax Interior Protector are all good stuff.

Now that you have it, might as well finish it by using on the tires. After that, you can use PERL, Opti-Bond or Ultima Trim & Tire Guard Plus. The Ultima products tend to be my first choice as they offer better durability than most.

Trash the Colin to begin with and invest in a decent glass cleaner like Sonax, Meguiar's etc. If you do a waterless or rinse less wash even once a week, you will hardly ever need to use a glass cleaner so invest in a good one and it will last you for a long time. For the wipers, did you check if they need to be replaced? You should clean them with a damp cloth at least once a week. I suspect the wiper blades need to be replaced rather than the need for an additional product for the windshield.

Thanks Pedaltothefloor, very helpful reply. One newbie question though.
What is a filler heavy polish? Does it mean what I think i.e., fills scratches and hides them? Or is it entirely different?

Product: Super Resin Polish
Manufacturer: Autoglym, UK
Price in India: Rs. 800

I tried SRP for the first time in March 2013. It was my first polishing attempt by hand where I wanted to clean the paint and mask minor swirls and micros scratches all over the car. It is a lot of work trying to polish your car by hand so I took the easy way out by choosing a product capable of masking/hiding most minor defects. I figured that I will use Carpro Reload as the Sealant on top of SRP so it should last at least 2-3 months on the paint.

I do not have any "Before" pictures this time but there were enough paint imperfections that bothered me every time I looked at the car. I polished the entire car by hand using a Gtechniq Tri-Foam applicator and it finished to a stunning shine. Of course, all the fillers were washed off in a little over 2 months but the positive way of looking at filler heavy polishes is that they do not cut/reduce your clear coat unlike compounds and abrasive polishes.
I have not tried it on my rotary yet but after looking at these pictures, I sure will.

Cleaning Ability: Good
Abrasives: Yes (Very minimal just to aid paint cleaning)
Fillers: High (Probably the world's best filler heavy polish to hide minor paint imperfections. Very useful when working by hand)
Gloss: High
Protection: Poor
Stains Trim: Yes
Compatible with most Sealants and Waxes: Yes

Quote:

Originally Posted by amazer2013 (Post 3307075)

I don't have any claybar handy. Can I use Sonax car polish as an alternative to clean the paint by hand? I have those meg applicator sponge to rub the polish. I plan to purchase the clay replacement sponge but till that time, this would be my temporary solution.
Also, sonax claims on the bottle that it has carnauba wax. So how do I clean this prior to applying a sealant?

Polish is not an alternative to clay. Both are necessary.
You can use Sonax Polish with the pad you have. It will clean the paint pretty decent. Yes it has some wax in it so it is a good base for a wax. If using a sealant, you need to buy some isopropyl alcohol to wipe down before applying the sealant. Which sealant are you planning to use?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor (Post 3307077)

Polish is not an alternative to clay. Both are necessary.

Yes I'm aware of that. It is just a temporary solution till I acquire clay. I plan to purchase the clay alternative sponge which you have mentioned. Looks very economical compared to clay.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor (Post 3307077)

If using a sealant, you need to buy some isopropyl alcohol to wipe down before applying the sealant.

Any idea where I can buy Isopropyl alcohol? Hardware shop?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor (Post 3307077)

Which sealant are you planning to use

I'm about to order Finishkare Hi-temp wax - small sample tin.