RLE

You just won't give up, will you?

Perhaps you think I am new at this sort of thing? I have prepared and entered more cars for Concours, locally and nationally, than you've had hot dinners. I have judged locally and nationally and with a friend restored three landmark model collector Porsches that have gone on to win many awards. One is now in a private museum in Japan and another was purchased by a Microsoft collector.

I am a compulsive car hobbyist who cannot tolerate anything less than reasonably achievable perfection. And that's why I chose the color that I did because it reflects the work I put into it.

That's it.

Carsy

[QUOTE=RLE;3593874]
I polished everything aft of the C-pillar with Menzerna Nano polish .
cleaned up the surface with Griot's Speed Shine leaving .
Menzerna paint sealer (smear on, rub off to a shine)
application of Griot's Concours wax . BTW, I went over the horizontal surfaces several weeks ago with paint cleaning clay.

QUOTE]
RLE, Excuse my ignorance of detailing but putting 4 different polishes on sounds a little over the top. I also would like to understand about applying a paint sealer on top of two coats of polish as the sealer would not be in contact with the paint. I would be grateful of an explanation.

CEB

For those of you unfamiliar with the proper method of getting the best shine on a car, I'd like to offer a very short tutorial. I won't mention products because everyone has their own favorites.

Wash the car with a product that will strip the wax (dishwashing soap works well)
Use a clay bar to remove imperfections
Wash the car again
Use painter's tape to mask off non-painted areas (chrome trim, black plastic - whatever)
Use polish to smooth the surface of the paint. You'll probably want to use an electric polisher with the appropriate pad (appropriate being the right paint for the condition of your paint)
Seal the paint using either a sealant or a wax - or seal and wax.

A proper cleaning/polishing/seal will take the better part of a day...

Glyn M Ruck

None of that makes you an authority or right. I've won a few concours myself & done a fair bit of judging. I have a concours Jag XK120 with a private collector in Germany. I'm certainly more inclined to listen to the concerns of the paint manufacturers than to you. Maybe you have some of the better micro fiber cloths. Have you tried a micro fiber bonnet on your buff? One swallow does not make a spring & I think it is reasonable to advise people to be careful. That's all I'm saying and - no, I won't stop saying it.

BTW - assumption is the mother of all F - ups.

Arcoril

It's anecdotal, but my experience backs up with RLE's been saying. When I fully detail a car, I follow the same basic process that he does:

1. Wash using two bucket system
2. Use lightly aggressive clay
3. Polish using the least abrasive compound and lightest cutting pad that'll get the job done
4. Seal
5. Wax over sealant

I use high quality microfiber applicators for all but the polishing and waxing steps. I'm meticulous about my finish and I routinely do walkarounds with a fluorescent light to check for any blemishes and I've noticed the following:

• Any scratches introduced by following the above method are so incredibly fine and so uncommon that they're almost unnoticeable
• Since I use microfiber towels and mitts so often and in so many places, the rare scratches I see are more than likely due to my fingers or clothes inadvertently making contact with the paint
• Because the scratches are so fine, they're completely removed by extremely light rubbing compounds and pads

Polishing using a random orbital buffer, a good pad, and a good polish every 6-12 months is a maintenance step that makes all the difference when done properly. Even if done twice a year, the process sacrifices such a small amount of clear coat that even two decades of light polishing won't even wear through a quarter of the coat.

So I'm not saying that you're wrong or insisting that I'm right, but my own experience doesn't show that microfiber is bad for finishes.

CEB

...is that there are differences in microfiber cloths - and a cheap quality one may scratch more than a high quality cloth.

Everything will scratch - but a good quality finish only has scratches that are invisible to the naked eye.

BTW, I'd recomend removing watches and rings and wearing a cotton sweatshirt/sweatpants combo for cleaning your car - that way, a slight brush against the car won't scratch your car...

RLE

[QUOTE=Carsy;3594087]Let me clarify.

Paint cleaning clay, used with the proper lubricant (in my case, Speed Shine marketed by Griot's) is used to remove surface contaminants such as in my case, tree sap that was not water soluble.

Speed Shine is not a polish in that it does not remove any paint, oxidized or otherwise. But, on a clean finish it leaves a very smooth and shiny surface. Products like this are sometimes called detailing spray. It is not a wax.

Polish (in my case Menzerna Nano Polish) prepares the paint for wax and may remove a microscopic layer at most. Waxing with no prep is a waste of time.

After polishing I simply clean up any unseen polish fog with Speed Shine again. This goes on and off like water with no effort or significant time spent.

The the paint sealer goes on, also like water and when dried forms a light fog which polishes off easily by hand.

And finally, the wax of which there are many brands, liquid or paste. It is not necessary to wax over the sealer but it gives it the final touch that some want.

This whole operation does not take as long as it sounds and in the end you can stand back and admire your work and realize it was worth it.

Glyn M Ruck

Exactly!

Your second point is why I will not allow the dealer to clean my car unless I'm around to supervise. I have found washing crews always have dirty cleaning materials. Will drop a chamois on the ground & then continue drying your car without washing it - Watches, rings, charms, buckles, buttons, zippers etc. are scraped all over your precious paintwork. Vacuum cleaner nozzles are brandished with gay abandon on the interior. They cleaned my previous Benz at it's then 1000Km 1st service and I made them replace every wooden trim in the car. They had scratched them all with a vacuum nozzle. These days if I don't hang around & watch the service I come back to the dealer & my car is high on a hoist above the workshop floor so no clown can get near it after service. They let it down & I supervise the washing. No more vacuuming allowed.

NJBNZ

Exactly what I was going to say. The majority of the people who think they are "removing" surface scratches are just filling them in with wax