First detail
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 143
Likes: 0
From: Wytheville, Va
First detail I am going to attempt to detail my car for the first time this week. I was told that a good way to do it the first time was to first wash with some Dawn to strip off the old wax, then use a high quality car wash, drying the car between washes. After throughly washed use a good quality wax and hand buff it out.
I had some questions though. Since it is black, should I use some scratch-x or something similar? Also, since my headlights are fogged up, can i use plast-x to fix that or do I need to do something else? If anybody has any input I would love to hear it.
I had some questions though. Since it is black, should I use some scratch-x or something similar? Also, since my headlights are fogged up, can i use plast-x to fix that or do I need to do something else? If anybody has any input I would love to hear it.
TECH Regular
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 447
Likes: 0
From: Stockton, CA
Here's what I do: Wash the car with dawn, clay bar (any brand), Meguairs paint cleaner (step 1), Meguiars polish (step 2), then Meguairs wax (step 3). Brand is just preference but I use Meguairs because thats what I have currently. Zaino also has great complete detailing kits if you have the money. Do you have paint scratches or swirl marks? Depending how deep the scratches are polish or scratch-x (which is just a gritty polish) will help but if you actually feel the scratches with our hand then there is only so much you can do with a hand polish. One important thing is what you use to apply and remove the polishes, wax, etc. DON'T use terry cloth towels because they will put surface scratches on your car. Use microfiber towels/pads or soft 100% cotton shirts (some may disagree with this though). And plast-x will help the headlights but if not they also have headlight cleaning kits also. Hope this helps.
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 143
Likes: 0
From: Wytheville, Va
Thanks for the info. I've never used a clay bar, is it hard to do? Can I get all of this stuff locally (wal-mart. autozone, advance)? I cannot feel the scratches with my hand, but I do have swirl marks, check out my f-body page for pics. I bought a pack of 8 microfiber clothes to do this with so I'm set on that.
Here's what I do: Wash the car with dawn, clay bar (any brand), Meguairs paint cleaner (step 1), Meguiars polish (step 2), then Meguairs wax (step 3). Brand is just preference but I use Meguairs because thats what I have currently. Zaino also has great complete detailing kits if you have the money. Do you have paint scratches or swirl marks? Depending how deep the scratches are polish or scratch-x (which is just a gritty polish) will help but if you actually feel the scratches with our hand then there is only so much you can do with a hand polish. One important thing is what you use to apply and remove the polishes, wax, etc. DON'T use terry cloth towels because they will put surface scratches on your car. Use microfiber towels/pads or soft 100% cotton shirts (some may disagree with this though). And plast-x will help the headlights but if not they also have headlight cleaning kits also. Hope this helps.
