View Full Version : I hate detailing...
..and I suck at it.
I don't have the patience nor the inclination to do it as often or as thouroughly as I should.
After properly cleaning the paint last Sunday, and touching up/sanding (w/ 2000 grit paper) a few deep chips during the week, I finally got around to using my new PC orbital an polish/wax the car today.
The polish didn't seem abrasive enough. Even #1 Machine polish didn't completely blend the sanded areas nor remove some deep "clearcoat scracthes". I used #2 on the areas where I used #1, and then used #3 on the whole car.
The car looks VERY nice. Glossy, etc. But some of the deeper swirl marks didn't go away.
Maybe I should have used #2 all over to remove the deeper swrils. But still, I was dissapointed that the #1 didn't quickly blend the light sanding.
Maybe I did something wrong. Wrong pressure, speed, motion, amount of polish, etc
Whatever. The car looks good and it's nicely waxed. It was dark by the time I finished, so no pics. Maybe tomorrow (though my wheels are dirty).
I want to get the most durable freakin' wax on earth next time so I don't have to do this often.
OT: MY car sounded like farm equipemnt after not being used for a week. Rough idle and engine light. It was fine after a few minutes.
I'm assuming you mean 2000 grit not 200. What color is your car?
Sounds like you are using Griots polishes. They are very gentle, for deep scratches/swirls you will definitely need something more aggressive.
Yeah I thought Griot polishes sucked.
rumatt
11-13-2005, 09:49 PM
His car is ZHP red.
I'm assuming you mean 2000 grit not 200. What color is your car?
Yes, 2000. :lol:
I'd need more than polish to buff 200 grit out out. :D
Sounds like you are using Griots polishes. They are very gentle, for deep scratches/swirls you will definitely need something more aggressive.
Interesting. I may try something else in the spring then.
His car is ZHP red.
:bigpimp:
Sounds like you are using Griots polishes. They are very gentle, for deep scratches/swirls you will definitely need something more aggressive.
I'd much sooner live with the swirl marks (which fill in nicely with a simple coat of wax...) and the occasional deep scratch, than wear away large amounts of clearcoat. I use Mothers carnauba cleaner wax, and that's about as aggressive as I ever care to get.
lemming
11-14-2005, 12:02 AM
yeah.....i'd agree with ff.
i'd rather opt for a new clearcoat application in the aftermarket than to deal with deeper scratches with 'consumer strength' products. unless you're using industrial strength stuff, and it's still dicey, it would be really hard to permanently fill in and cover a deep scratch.
yeah.....i'd agree with ff.
i'd rather opt for a new clearcoat application in the aftermarket than to deal with deeper scratches with 'consumer strength' products. unless you're using industrial strength stuff, and it's still dicey, it would be really hard to permanently fill in and cover a deep scratch.
Yeah, I guess it's fine. I mean the car looks better than it has in a long time. And frankly nothing looks bad unless you get really close to the car, so for a daily driver, I am ahppy with the results.
But next time I buy a new car that I care about, I am installing a 3M clear film stuff.
John V
11-14-2005, 08:46 AM
I just finished fixing all the stone chips the PO inflicted on the Boxster so Ken and I can clear-film it. We got the hood and fender triangles done a few days ago, but we're gonna need to find someplace warm to do the bumper - it's a huge piece that will need a lot of stretching. :ack:
I really loved the clearfilm on my M3, though. It looked fantastic.
Speaking of tedious, I took Ken's advice for filling the chips. I cleaned each chip with alcohol, then got a little ball of touchup paint on the end of a toothpick. The ball of paint fills in chips nicely without too much overrun. After it dried I did it again (the paint shrinks when it dries). Then I went over the chips with Langka™ and used clay to get them smooth. I machine-polished the bumper with a very mild polish and it looks pretty good. From five feet you can't see anything. From one foot it's hard to identify the chips but if you know where they are you can make them out. Good enough for a DD.
I just finished fixing all the stone chips the PO inflicted on the Boxster so Ken and I can clear-film it. We got the hood and fender triangles done a few days ago, but we're gonna need to find someplace warm to do the bumper - it's a huge piece that will need a lot of stretching. :ack:
I really loved the clearfilm on my M3, though. It looked fantastic.
Speaking of tedious, I took Ken's advice for filling the chips. I cleaned each chip with alcohol, then got a little ball of touchup paint on the end of a toothpick. The ball of paint fills in chips nicely without too much overrun. After it dried I did it again (the paint shrinks when it dries). Then I went over the chips with Langka™ and used clay to get them smooth. I machine-polished the bumper with a very mild polish and it looks pretty good. From five feet you can't see anything. From one foot it's hard to identify the chips but if you know where they are you can make them out. Good enough for a DD.
Next time I'll use Langka also.
If you are still seeing scratches in a red car it's most likely too deep to buff out with any polish. If you can feel the scratch with a fingernail then it isn't going to buff out. Fill with wax as suggested and go on.
But next time I buy a new car that I care about, I am installing a 3M clear film stuff.
Never again will I go without it. Both my cars have full clear bras. Both front ends are still near perfect. =)
It amazes me that people like that stuff. Whenever I see a car with the clear bra on it, all I can see is the edge of the film. It's more pronounced on dark colors and I like dark colors best . . . does keep the chips away, just not worth the trade off to me.
It amazes me that people like that stuff. Whenever I see a car with the clear bra on it, all I can see is the edge of the film. It's more pronounced on dark colors and I like dark colors best . . . does keep the chips away, just not worth the trade off to me.
Agreed.
rumatt
11-30-2005, 01:02 PM
Agreed.
+1
They're friggen expensive too.
+1
They're friggen expensive too.
When I got my car, the geometry for the M-Technik II bumper was not yet available and I was quoted ~$500 to do everything EXCEPT the bumper.:? It seemed really expensive, so I said no.
My bumper of course, is the most beat up area, but I can always have it repainted (if we decide to keep the car beyond 6 years) and I doubt it would be more than a couple of hundred.
clyde
11-30-2005, 01:22 PM
It amazes me that people like that stuff. Whenever I see a car with the clear bra on it, all I can see is the edge of the film. It's more pronounced on dark colors and I like dark colors best . . . does keep the chips away, just not worth the trade off to me.
At least it's a lovely shade of yellow on white cars. :eeps:
John V
11-30-2005, 01:43 PM
#1: Clearfilm is not expensive. The installation is expensive. The films are cheap, now. I got a full kit for the Boxster for $165. Ken is installing it for the price of a couple dinners. I've helped him out with a few installs and with the exception of a few notoriously difficult cars (Boxster and Corvette) the installation is not particularly difficult. It's a skill that can be learned for sure.
#2: Most of the good films have a warranty against yellowing. If I were Bren, I'd have cashed in on that already. The film on Ken's M3 never yellowed. I wouldn't know if the film yellowed on my M3. :lol:
#3: You only see the lines on cars that aren't properly cleaned. The film requires maintenance like anything else. The edge of the film will build up wax and grime if not cleaned properly. I took a little rubbing alcohol on a rag and wiped down the edges of mine and the lines were nearly invisible.
It cost me $250 to have my bumpers resprayed by a local guy. A couple shops quoted me $500. I would much rather spend $200 and not have to worry about it anymore.
At least it's a lovely shade of yellow on white cars.
:erstaunt:
It's either: Llumar and the yellowing, or 3M with the hazy orange peel look:umn:
John V
11-30-2005, 02:11 PM
:erstaunt:
It's either: Llumar and the yellowing (which isn't too bad on the bumper/hood) or 3M with the hazy orange peel look:umn:
3M has really improved their films recently - I was impressed with the lack of orange peel on my M3's film. Also, you do know the film can be polished and waxed, right? :D
The stuff on the Boxster is ClearShield film and it's a very low orange peel film (compared side by side with the StonGard on Learic's car it is much smoother) but we got adhesive lines on one mirror, which is an area that needed a lot of stretching. Another benefit of this stuff is it's way easier to stretch so the installation is simplified.
Did you look at my Boxster at the last autocross? It was clearfilmed.
#3: You only see the lines on cars that aren't properly cleaned. The film requires maintenance like anything else. The edge of the film will build up wax and grime if not cleaned properly. I took a little rubbing alcohol on a rag and wiped down the edges of mine and the lines were nearly invisible.
:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:
Maybe YOU can only see them when they aren't cleaned. I can pick the line out from 20 feet away on silver cars that have just been show prepped. On black? Forget about it. It is just something I notice and it bugs me.
I am not saying people shouldn't use them. Far from it. If the line doesn't bother you (and it obviously won't bother you if you don't see it), more power to you. For me . . . not going to happen.
John V
11-30-2005, 02:30 PM
:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:
Maybe YOU can only see them when they aren't cleaned.
I'm calling bullshit, but believe what you want and I'll do the same. :dunno:
Did you look at my Boxster at the last autocross? It was clearfilmed.
I didn't really notice it....but then again I don't really notice mine anymore either :ack:
The real problem is that I really like the design of the custom kit on my car and I don't want to end up with seams everywhere like the other kits have. One of these days I am going to have to do something about it. I'll have to look at the ClearShield because I know the (older?) 3M film looks terrible on white.
John V
11-30-2005, 02:34 PM
I didn't really notice it....but then again I don't really notice mine anymore either :ack:
The real problem is that I really like the design of the custom kit on my car and I don't want to end up with seams everywhere like the other kits have. One of these days I am going to have to do something about it. I'll have to look at the ClearShield because I know the (older?) 3M film looks terrible on white.
FWIW, Ken wrapped his entire front end so the only seams not hidden under panel gaps were the hood and fenders. It looked pretty amazing. Is that what you had done?
My install is just a kit, so the film ends 1/8" from the panel edges. Not ideal, but cheap!
I can pick the line out from 20 feet away on silver cars that have just been show prepped.
:eek: :worship
:D
I am very perceptive to these things and it takes being closer than ~6 feet from a dark car with the clear stuff to say I can really see it. It's probably <4 feet to see it on a silver car, often less. But maybe you have superpowers. That's cool.
John V
11-30-2005, 02:37 PM
:eek: :worship
:D
I am very perceptive to these things and it takes being closer than ~6 feet from a dark car with the clear stuff to say I can really see it. It's probably <4 feet to see it on a silver car, often less. But maybe you have superpowers. That's cool.
Or the "show prepped" cars he's looking at haven't had any attention given to the film edges. Or it's an older film install that was poorly done. Or any number of things.
Hey, everyone has to have a super power. Maybe 20 feet is an exageration (it's not like I measured), but at least in the sun, the edges are very apparent to me. And they drive me crazy. I ALWAYS notice them on cars in outside shows, even in displays for the "invisible" product.
But remember, I also take the wheels of the car off so I can clean the insides. The guy that bought my e36 M3 thought somebody had detailed the engine bay b/c the car was for sale (hadn't spared a thought for it and nothing out of the ordinary was done to it), and I have started letting other people wash my car b/c the GM paint is so bad that I get depressed for a day or so when I wash it myself. Everyone has to have their own neurosis. This one is mine.
Or the "show prepped" cars he's looking at haven't had any attention given to the film edges. Or it's an older film install that was poorly done. Or any number of things.
Or maybe I really do notice them more than you do and it bugs me. :dunno: I am not trying to say you shouldn't use them.
FWIW, Ken wrapped his entire front end so the only seams not hidden under panel gaps were the hood and fenders. It looked pretty amazing. Is that what you had done?
I don't recall how Ken's looked but that sounds similar.
My install is just a kit, so the film ends 1/8" from the panel edges.
That would bother me more than the yellowing...although I don't know why.
John V
11-30-2005, 03:08 PM
That would bother me more than the yellowing...although I don't know why.
The only other option is to do a custom wrap. Ken said it took 6 hours to do his M3 starting with uncut film sheets. I just want the protection.
I also have neither the patience nor inclination to do it either.
Which is why I take it to get it detailed roughly once a year.
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