first detail

[2012srt8]

hi im new to the forum and detailing in general. ive always waxed my previous cars buy just washing it and putting some cheap wax on lie mequires nxt and a foam applicator. it never looked good really so im trying to do it the right way. i bought a 2012 charger srt8 in pitch black and bought adams cyclo pro5 polisher kit with the foam and microfiber pads. along with with 2 stage polish,glaze,americana wax and spray sealant. im doing this for the first time with the polisher so im hoping it goes well. i washed the car and clayed it and taped off all the plastic and rubber parts.

 

should i use the microfiber pads or foam pads?

 

do you do the whole car using the step 1 polish then use step 2 or do you do one panel with both steps at a time?

 

after the the polishing is done, would my next steps be glaze,sealant,wax?

[GerryC]

When machine polishing, you always want to do a test area first in order to determine which combination of products and pads will get you the results you are after. This will save you a ton of time and help you "learn" your car's paint finish. Pick an area that's easy to get to like the trunk lid or the hood, and polish a 2'x2' area. Do the entire two step process to this one area. If you removed the imperfections to your satisfaction, then great! Now you know the technique that you need to replicate over the entire car. If not, don't get discouraged. Sometimes the hardness of your clearcoat will require more than one pass. I would start your test area using the foam pads, since they are less aggressive than the microfiber pads. If the foam pads remove your swirls, great. If not, give it another try, but with the microfiber pads instead. This is why we do the test area - it would absolutely suck to do the entire car only to realize it wasn't done the right way. Every car is different, so what may work for me may not work for you and vice versa. If you haven't already, I recommend watching the machine polishing videos a few times to get an idea of how much product to use, how to move the polisher, etc.

 

In regards to the steps, there is no real right or wrong answer, as long as PCP and the orange pads are done first, and PFP and the white pads are done second. It completely depends on your situation. Is this a car that sits in the garage, or is it your daily driver? If your car is going to be spending the next week or so in the garage, then you can do the first step (orange) to the entire car (after "learning" your paint first, of course ) followed by the second step (white). Stop whenever you get tired, or need to clean your pads, and just remember what you've already done and where you left off. If your car is not in a garage or you will be driving it often, such as in my case, I did my correction panel by panel - orange on the entire door, then white on the entire door, then sealant on the entire door, then move onto the next panel. Since I was limited due to time and weather, I wanted to get each panel completely corrected and protected before moving onto the next, so I could have the option to stop after each panel was finished. I did three panels a day over the course of four days.

 

After your polishing is done, the first thing would be sealant. Sealants bond to the paint, compared to wax which just "sits" on top. Sealants last longer than wax, so you want your most durable and longest-lasting form of protectant to go right on top of your hard work. The proper order is sealant -> glaze -> wax. Of course, you can omit any of them if you wish, just as long as they are in that order.

 

Congratulations on your purchases, welcome to the forum, and do not hesitate to ask for clarification on anything I've said. I'm sure others will offer suggestions as well.

 

Bed time 

[2012srt8]

thanks for the tips. my car is actually only summer driven ad not even in the rain. its stored in my garage which also happens to be heated lol. temp set at 65 all winter long.

 

i think i watched all the videos already but i may need to refresh my memory again.

 

using the quick sealnt, is that sprayed onto the panel, then use an applicator to spread it around? do you wipe it off after with a towel?

[GerryC]

Prime the applicator with a shot of QS, then "fog" the panel and use the applicator to spread it evenly. Wipe off the residue with a microfiber towel after letting the product set for about a minute. 

[2012srt8]

i see theres a video for the quick sealant to lol that helps.

 

thanks again for your help. i'll be starting this tomorrow morning and probably do it little buy little every weekend. i'll post pics when finished.

[Thorsager]

Welcome to the forum!

[Chris@Adams]

 Ryan & enjoy the hobby!

[2012srt8]

for the glaze, is that suppose to be put on by hand or with the polisher? and the wax,how do you apply the americana wax to the pad?

[GerryC]

Glaze can be done by hand or machine. With the machine you'd use the red pads if you have them. If not, the black ones will work just the same. If you have any chrome on your car, put the glaze on your chrome as well.

 

To get the Americana on the applicator (pad should come inside the jar if you haven't already opened it) simply use the pad to agitate the top of the wax. I believe there is a thin paper liner between the wax and the pad that you need to remove before using it for the first time.

 

Since it's a paste, Americana it will set much quicker than traditional liquid waxes, and the residue needs to be removed within a few minutes otherwise it could harden to the point that it becomes very stubborn. Because of this, when you apply Americana, do only one or two panels at a time. By the time you finish applying to the second panel, the first panel should be ready to wipe off. Work your way around the car in this manner, and make sure you knock off all the residue before moving on to another panel.

[2012srt8]

oh so you dont use the polisher with the americana wax?

[BluedogGMC]

oh so you dont use the polisher with the americana wax?

 

Like stated above, Make sure to take a look at the videos section. It will give you excellent info. http://www.adamspolishes.com/t-videos.aspx

 

Also you can search on the forum for whatever problems you might have. That is how I started.

 

Check out the end of this post. It is an old copy but it might shed a little light on what you want.

http://www.adamsforums.com/topic/25857-detailing-steps/?hl=%2Border+%2Bapplication&do=findComment&comment=410501

Edited March 15, 2014 by BluedogGMC

[GerryC]

oh so you dont use the polisher with the americana wax?

You certainly can, especially with the Cyclo (compared to other machines) because the smaller pads will fit inside the Americana tub. However, most people don't use a machine to apply paste wax because you'll be constantly picking up and putting down the machine since you are stopping every other panel to wipe off the residue. Plus, they like to get "up close and personal" with their car when putting down that final layer, which with paste wax is important, especially when removing the residue.

 

If you do use the Cyclo to spread your paste wax, make sure you use it on a low speed.

[2012srt8]

ok i will do it by hand then, sounds easier. thanks for the help

[BluedogGMC]

Ryan,

I uploaded the old Adams Detailing Guide to my site so you can get a copy if you want. Just let it load up and then you can save a copy of it. It is a PDF file. You can get it here at this link. Adams Detail Guide - Old Version

 

Some things have changed but it might help you recognize more steps a little easier.

 

Ron

Edited March 15, 2014 by BluedogGMC

[2012srt8]

seems im doing it all backwards lol. i didnt use the vrt on the trim yet, i figured that was last and i already taped everthing up. i take my wheels right off the car to wash them as well and i kinda forgot about washing the engine. not that its really dirty but i'll just do it after. my day was delayed and i havnt even started yet. im gonna get out there now and start on the hood and see which pads work the best

[2012srt8]

ok i just went out and secontioned off a part of the hood to test which pad was the best. it seems both look bad. microfiber was worse. seems there was still swirls and scratches in the paint after both. Am i doing something wrong here?

[2012srt8]

i went back over it with the foam pad and its a bit better, but still has swirls and scratches in it?

[BluedogGMC]

Are you using a machine or by hand?

[2012srt8]

cyclo pro-5. i did it just like in the video using that polisher,speed setting 6

[GerryC]

He's using the Cyclo.

 

If the microfiber pads made the paint look worse, then you probably have soft clearcoat. Did you do both the orange and white steps? In the process of removing the large swirls, the orange will impart some micro-swirls by nature, which the white will clean up. 

 

Make sure you are not using too much product, and you are moving the polisher slow like in the video. If you try to rush it, it won't have time to do the work it needs to remove the swirls. Slow, methodical movements, in one direction (up/down) then in another (left/right) until the polish turns clear (it will look like vaseline when it has been worked completely).

 

Don't get discouraged if you don't remove of all the swirls right away. Polishing is a process, and once you dial in your technique it will be easier to get results. Where do you live? Maybe someone on the forum is nearby and willing to help get you started.

[2012srt8]

i live in belle river,ont canada. its near windsor.

 

ill give it a try again and go a bit slower this. i just used a tab of product like in the video. sprayed a shot of detail spray. went left to right and up and down

[2012srt8]

ya i did both steps. i tried again and it looks a bit better. i wouldnt say perfect but around 90%  i cant still see some f ine scratches in it

[2012srt8]

i guess there is still some swirls. looks great until i put the flash light on it and you can see all the inperfections

[2012srt8]

i got about half the car done and im just not impressed so far so i gave up.

[mtnbiker326]

i got about half the car done and im just not impressed so far so i gave up.

 

I will ask... when you did the first half of the car, was that with the orange pad and the white pad after it, or just the orange pad?

 

If you did both and still see some scratches (that are not through the base coat into primer), I would try a bit of glaze on a test area of scratch and see if the glaze doesn't make the scratch "disappear" into the glaze.  Then apply a little Americana on top of that area and see what you think.

 

If it works, (like it did on my BMW) you won't really notice the scratches much (unless you REALLY look for them).  

 

There are... however... scratches in my doors that are into base coat and some into primer and I know that I CANNOT get those out with a polisher and need to deal with the actual scratch... as in scratch repair/repaint.

 

I agree with others here saying, don't get discouraged.  I had to go over my car twice before most of the "deeper" scratches were gone.  BMW's, by nature, have a harder clear coat than most.  I had to use microfiber and with the cyclo, do 2 passes, just to cut enough.  The glaze and Americana do WONDERS for hiding surface swirls.

 

I am not promising the world, BUT just give the entire process a test on a test panel and see what happens.  That way you know what to expect for the rest of it, which will be better than it is now.. by a LONG shot.  

 

We are all here to help.  Let us know if there are any other questions you have. 

Edited March 16, 2014 by mtnbiker326

[2012srt8]

yes i used the orange pad then did the white pads. i used a test spot on the hood and probably tried 4 times on it. still same results. tried the going over the spoiler a couple times as well,same results. the car doesnt have any deep scratches really, except it had a scuff on it from a shovel falling on it which i actaully got most of it out with the orange pad.