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Old 09-23-2018, 06:40 PM   #15
JoelNR
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If you want to get crazy AMMO NYC is a great Youtube channel with a lot of easy to digest information.
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Old 09-23-2018, 07:06 PM   #16
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Depends on what condition your car is in now. If the paint is in need of correction, then below is what I would recommend for you:

Wash with Dawn Dish Soap mixture and micro fiber mit. Dawn will strip any remaining wax residue from your finish. Only use dish soap before polishing, and only polish when required. Do not do this on a routine, do only as needed.
Next move your hand over the finish and see if you feel any tiny bumps. If yes, then you must clay bar first. Clay bar is critical to remove any abrasive items before you attempt to polish. You do not want those abrasive items getting in your pad and potentially causing more swirls. If you wash and wax your car frequently and it is garaged, you may not need to clay bar on a regular basis. I only recommend clay bar when it is needed.
Next it is time to polish, start with a fine polish and an orbital polishing tool. Allow the tool to do the work. After doing a small area if you see scratches remaining, you may need a heavier cutting pad or compound polish. You may at this point choose a professional detailer, or continue on yourself.
Once the correction is done, apply the wax, sealer, or coating of your choice.
After you get that mirror finish, wash regulary, blow dry, and don't touch your paint
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Old 09-23-2018, 08:23 PM   #17
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FYI, get/use a random orbital polisher, not a orbital only polisher.

With a random orbital polisher, it's down right difficult to damage your paint unless you linger on the sharp lines/edges too long.

There are many good random orbital polishers out there. Personally I use Adam's Swirl Killer 15.

https://adamspolishes.com/shop/exter...-polisher.html
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Old 09-24-2018, 03:24 PM   #18
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Machine polishing is where you get your depth and shine, wax or sealants is for mainly protection.
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Old 02-12-2019, 01:01 PM   #19
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anybody try this product? Has great reviews and seems to be the answer for long lasting shine, water repellant and supposedly, apply, then when washing, just us a suds cannon, power rinse and drive around the block and Boom, done!!
Silica Seal, by Torque Detail
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Old 02-12-2019, 01:54 PM   #20
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anybody try this product? Has great reviews and seems to be the answer for long lasting shine, water repellant and supposedly, apply, then when washing, just us a suds cannon, power rinse and drive around the block and Boom, done!!
Silica Seal, by Torque Detail
Silica sealants are nothing new to the market. This one is overpriced @ $50 for a 16oz. bottle. The 12 month claim of durability is absurd. 4-6 months on an ungaraged daily driver. 6-8 months on a garage queen.

No product on it's own will give your car it's best shine. Guess the wax.

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Old 02-12-2019, 02:32 PM   #21
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My mechanic and i saw this car that had a silica coating. Literally he foam cannoned the car, washed away with water, and literlly drove around the block and came back spotless and shiny like glass. If my eyes didn't see it I would have called BS. Seeing is believing?
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Old 02-12-2019, 02:40 PM   #22
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Love the JunkMan ;o)

Joe M has given me great council over the years. I’ve used many of his suggestions. Great info from him!

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Old 02-12-2019, 02:41 PM   #23
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Quote:
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My mechanic and i saw this car that had a silica coating. Literally he foam cannoned the car, washed away with water, and literlly drove around the block and came back spotless and shiny like glass. If my eyes didn't see it I would have called BS. Seeing is believing?
There are several hydrophobic (water curing) sealants that will do that on the market.
Just one of them is Adam's H2O Guard & Gloss.
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Old 02-12-2019, 02:48 PM   #24
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thanks boys...yes, i have a list of 5 top ones that were independently tested and correct, there are many. I am not discounting Joe, not in the least, just stating a fact I witnessed. If I wanted to spend the money, I can get a invisible bra installed all over the car and that is perfect!! had it done on my 17 Porsche gts and it was wonderful and kept stress of owning black to a minumum. But $7300 is not what I feel like paying. Black can be a curse, but we keep buying it!!!!!!!!!!
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Old 02-13-2019, 03:20 PM   #25
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Quote:
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thanks boys...yes, i have a list of 5 top ones that were independently tested and correct, there are many. I am not discounting Joe, not in the least, just stating a fact I witnessed. If I wanted to spend the money, I can get a invisible bra installed all over the car and that is perfect!! had it done on my 17 Porsche gts and it was wonderful and kept stress of owning black to a minumum. But $7300 is not what I feel like paying. Black can be a curse, but we keep buying it!!!!!!!!!!
The product you posted is not a coating, it is a sealant.
A coating is much different than a sealant.
A coatings' durability will last a couple years vs. months from a sealant.

I have a silica based sealant on my car as well. It will sheet water very fast too.

A coating when new will sheet water off fast, but over time, it will lessen, that's why many people top their coatings with a silica sealant, for maximum hydrophobic effect.

Regardless of what you use for protection, shine comes from polishing, not from what you use to protect the surface with.

Don't believe the hype!

Use what you like, I can get the exact same effect washing my car with Hydrofoam.
It lasts 3 months on my ungaraged daily driven Camaro. $20 for a bottle, 5 applications per bottle, 15 months of protection. No wiping on, no buffing off, and it works on all glass/trim as well. Easiest way to apply protection that I've found in 35 years.

But my shine is from my machine polisher, not the protection product.
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Old 02-13-2019, 03:43 PM   #26
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Yo Joe! thanks. I am always listening to those that tried and know, vs maybe. So, if I read you right....go ahead and clean the car. apply a ceramic (or whatever) then follow up with a sealant. then just hydrofoam and good to go? Once the two products are appled then it seems simple to keep up with the foam? Yay or nay?
One day in the future they will have this nano tech where there will be an invisible guard, a cloak so to speak, and nothing will ever dirty up again. Think Startrek
But by then they won't have cars the will have 3 wheeled air buggies!!!!
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Old 02-13-2019, 04:42 PM   #27
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Junkman videos on YouTube
ditto. After watching those I bought the porter cable knockoff at harbor freight. Did the clay and buffed it. Unfortunately I bought mine used and I think the guy lived on a gravel road so have a few chips. I have been using Zaino since 2004 but if you get the paint right first I think any if the good ones will be similar. This year I am going to try Zaino for the protection and try topping it with carnuba to see what that does. Still have at least a month though before she comes out of hibernation.
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Old 02-14-2019, 08:34 PM   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fredz View Post
Yo Joe! thanks. I am always listening to those that tried and know, vs maybe. So, if I read you right....go ahead and clean the car. apply a ceramic (or whatever) then follow up with a sealant. then just hydrofoam and good to go? Once the two products are appled then it seems simple to keep up with the foam? Yay or nay?
One day in the future they will have this nano tech where there will be an invisible guard, a cloak so to speak, and nothing will ever dirty up again. Think Startrek
But by then they won't have cars the will have 3 wheeled air buggies!!!!
Steps (Sorry for the long post, being thorough is an idiosyncrasy I can't get past)

1) Strip wash the car to remove any old wax/sealant.

Many people us Dawn dishwashing detergent. I don't know if that works or not as I have never tried it. I use an All Purpose Cleaner (APC) mixed in with my regular car shampoo. Do not use a shampoo that contains any type of wax or glossing agent. Cheap shampoo is fine for this purpose. Rinse very well. Do not perform this in direct sunlight. The surface should be in the shade and cool to the touch. There should be no/very little water beading, and no sheeting of water when complete.

2) Do a baggie test.

While you may think the surface is clean, if this has never been done before, you'll see how dirty the surface really is. The bumps you feel are bonded contaminates.



3) Clay the surface.

I don't use detailing clay anymore. I use a clay alternative, fine grade.
It's much faster, and easier. Never use pressure, just glide the towel across the surface to remove bonded contaminates. It's OK to use some pressure when doing the glass with it. Never use clay/clay alternative in temps below 50*F.

Now for the rare occasion a car has very soft paint on it, like the Porsche you mentioned, use ultra fine detailing clay. You don't need to spend a lot of money on clay lube. Ultima waterless wash plus concentrate costs about $20 and will make 5.5 gallons of clay lube/detail spray/waterless wash. If you want to spend more that's up to you. I've tried many of the expensive one's and don't see the value for 10-15X the cost.



4) Remove residues from the paint.

The only thing now left on the surface of your paint will be clay lube residue, and oils from your hands. Wipe the surface down with a 15% mixture of Isopropyl Alcohol/Distilled water, or a paint prep. I can't stand the smell of IPA, so I use Carpro Eraser. There are many paint preps you can use. IPA/Distilled water is the least expensive option.

5) Machine polish or apply protection.

There is no getting around it. If you want the best possible shine on your paint you must machine polish it. This removes defects instead of somewhat hiding them.
If your not after perfect paint, then just apply your protection at this point. Because the surface is now clean and free of any contaminates/oils/residues, your protection product will get maximum bond to the surface, maximizing it's durability.

I have used several of the polishers on the market. The Harbor Freight, PC 2474XP, Griots Garage 6" R/O, Flex 3401, and the Rupes 21. The Rupes is my favorite, but it is expensive.
The best bang for buck used to be the Griots, but the HF works about the same as it for less $$. You will want a 5" backing plate for 5.5" pads, and a 3.5" backing plate for 4" pads (for smaller areas a 5.5" can't fit).

After you complete polishing, wipe down again with IPA/Paint prep and apply protection.



6) Maintenance washing

Now that you've spent many hours perfecting your paint, the absolute last thing you want to do is put swirls/scratches back in it.
You will over time get some light wash marring, and will have to use polish once a year or so, but if you wash the car in this manner, you will never have to compound again. Never think scrub when washing, think wipe gently with light pressure.



7) Pool rinse

Removing most of the water before you dry limits how much you have to touch the car, and speeds up drying. Again when drying never think rub hard, think wipe gently.

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