The detailing advice thread

[lawrence]

The only rest my flex gets is when I stop to take a drink or leak it back out and it is mostly 8 to 10 hour polishing stints

I treated my Shield the same and it didn't give me a days trouble.

[Rsi huntered]

The only rest my flex gets is when I stop to take a drink or leak it back out and it is mostly 8 to 10 hour polishing stints

I treated my Shield the same and it didn't give me a days trouble.

ok perfect

taught there was resting periods for machine that I was not aware of

[Rsi huntered]

Your body will tire out and need rest long before the machines do. All my Flex machines have a temperature cut out in the event you push too hard and they heat up, the Rupes on the otherhand never heat up no matter what. My Shield never took breaks on over 60 full paint corrections it was used on so yeah doubt you can get a polisher to wear out before you do.

Cool..... I just notice that when it is used for a long period.... it sounds like I can hear something crackling inside the machine

or maybe its just me

[lawrence]

I think you are hearing noise generated by the brushes rubbing against the comutator....often if you look through the air cooling slots you can see it in operation And sparking

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

[Rsi huntered]

I think you are hearing noise generated by the brushes rubbing against the comutator....often if you look through the air cooling slots you can see it in operation And sparking

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

That could be it..... that sound always worried me and I just keep forgetting to find out about the rest periods......

[MacDwayne]

Hi i need help with a polo9n. The steering angle sensor plug to the power steering pump has been cut. I see its a 4 wire plug from the sensor running imto a 3 wire plug that goes on ps pump. Can anyone help

[Tman21]

Hi i need help with a polo9n. The steering angle sensor plug to the power steering pump has been cut. I see its a 4 wire plug from the sensor running imto a 3 wire plug that goes on ps pump. Can anyone help

Yeah somehow i dont think that is gonna buff out you know. . .

[Rsi huntered]

Hi Guys,

anybody used the Carchem AIO?

Comments on this product, I would like the Menzerna AIO but they only sell this in a big bottle and that's to much for personal use.

thanks.

[lawrence]

Hi Guys,

anybody used the Carchem AIO?

Comments on this product, I would like the Menzerna AIO but they only sell this in a big bottle and that's to much for personal use.

thanks.

Have not used it so cant give any feedback. Sorry.

What are you plans with the AIO - I may be able to offer some guidance if you tell me what you want to do with it?

[Rsi huntered]

Hi Guys,

anybody used the Carchem AIO?

Comments on this product, I would like the Menzerna AIO but they only sell this in a big bottle and that's to much for personal use.

thanks.

Have not used it so cant give any feedback. Sorry.

What are you plans with the AIO - I may be able to offer some guidance if you tell me what you want to do with it?

My Polo is going to be due to a maintenance clean up, so basically IronX, Clay, Ligggggghhhhttt polish cause not targeting the swirls ad re-seal. I do have swirls on it but nothing worth trying to take out hence an AIO.

I would generally do it with Menzerna SF4000 with a combo of White and Black menzerna combo's.

[lawrence]

Do you currently have any AIO's in stock?

Most AIO's are going to offer a cut more or less equivalent with a finishing polish like SF4000, so in terms of how much paint you are going to potentially remove, both are similar. If you have SF4000 already, I'd just polish it with that. The only advantage to using the AIO will be that you get to protect the car while you polish it. If you plan on adding additional protection then using the AIO really seems pointless.

There are only a few AIO's that have significantly more cut than a finishing polish - Menzerna 3-in-1 being one of them, which has an equivalent cut of a medium cut polish like PF2300.

If you are going to wash and decon, you may as well just hit it with SF4000 and seal it up.

[lawrence]

AIO's are really aimed at 'production' type detailing, where you are trying to get the car looking better, as quickly as you can. By combining some chemical cleaning, some polishing, some filling and some protection all in one step, you can save TIME.

It's not, necessarily, the type of product you use to save PAINT.

[Rsi huntered]

Ok perfect....

Thanks Lawrence..... so I rather just stick to the SF4000 then....

I do have Meg cleaner Wax and another one of their products somewhere in my stock(still sealed )......

[lawrence]

Look there is no harm in using the cleaner wax, but you will likely get a) a better result and b) longer lasting results by using SF4000/dedicated sealant than simply using an AIO.

[Kyle]

I thin an AIO would work better if it's a hand application, IMO....

[Rsi huntered]

Look there is no harm in using the cleaner wax, but you will likely get a) a better result and b) longer lasting results by using SF4000/dedicated sealant than simply using an AIO.

Cool thanks (I always use a dedicated Sealant), my cars are never without them....

Think il just stick to the SF4000.....

I thin an AIO would work better if it's a hand application, IMO....

I always use machine..... those rubbing and dubbing days for me are over

[billionairebum]

What are your thoughts on using a ceramic coating? Why would you not use one? I understand it takes a lot to get to that point but I am interested to find out why you would choose something other than it. I am still very new to all of this.

[Kyle]

What are your thoughts on using a ceramic coating? Why would you not use one? I understand it takes a lot to get to that point but I am interested to find out why you would choose something other than it. I am still very new to all of this.

Cost would be the only reason not to use one IMO...

[lawrence]

What are your thoughts on using a ceramic coating? Why would you not use one? I understand it takes a lot to get to that point but I am interested to find out why you would choose something other than it. I am still very new to all of this.

I believe that unscrupulous crunts detailers have cashed in on ceramic coatings and in the process have muddied the waters so much, most people can't even tell when they are being ripped off. Add the ridiculous marketing hyperbole into the equation and its a disaster - the classic is rating the hardness of the coating on the Mohs scale - um....no.... the tests are done using the pencil hardness test - 9H refers to it requiring a 9H pencil to scratch it, not 9 on the Mohs scale (a 9 would require a diamond to scratch it and we all know this is not true, or a coating would NEVER get a single swirl in it, and I can assure you they do get swirled). All too often coatings are marketed as some scratch resistance and maintenance free product that lasts forever. None-the-wiser consumers then get charged an arm and a leg for a product that is none of these things.

I believe that ceramic coatings only make sense for people who are already maintaining their car properly, themselves, and who are prepared to spend a decent amount of money to ensure their ride stays as swirl free as possible.

Let me explain.

Firstly, if you spend serious money coating your car, then go to the local car wash, you are an idiot and almost deserve your losses. A coating will not resist the type of damage inflicted at a car wash. The bulk of the reduction people see in swirls is not due to the fact that the coating is harder than their paint, but instead comes from the extremely hydrophobic nature of the coating (based off the lotus effect) which makes it easier for dirt to be released from the paint. This easy release requires less effort, and therefore over time, less scratches in the paint. However this assumes that the person doing the washing will actually use less effort. I can assure the car wash dude doesn't give a rat's a$$ about the technique he uses to wash you car. Its a one-size-fits-all caveman approach.

Secondly, if your detailer offers maintenance washes and he convinces you to coat your car, you have just made HIS life easier. Sure you *may* see some benefit from the coating, but mostly, not.

Thirdly, if you coat your car, and you do not already practice a washing/drying/maintenance program that inflicts minimal damage then you are simply going to inflict swirls into the coating, much like the first example of the car wash.

If you already look after your car well, and want to put a coating on but think it will require no maintenance, you are wrong. Once you understand how the lotus leaf works, you will realize that in order to work effectively, the little 'gaps' between the peaks need to be there. They are what ensure there is insufficient contact area for a drop of water to settle on the paint, and roll off. So you need to regularly wash the vehicle, and cannot use any shampoo that contains gloss enhancers or that leaves any form of protection (or anything) behind on the paint as this will clog up these gaps. Likewise, frequent chemical decontamination (iron removers/tar removers) help keep the coating from clogging up.

Lastly, the extreme hydrophobic properties will fade without the use of a topper (silica based spray sealants for the most part). Even with the loss of hydrophobicity, the coating could still indeed be there, acting as a sacrificial layer to your paint, however, cleaning the car now becomes at least as difficult as a car with no coating.

If you meet the following criteria, a coating *may* be for you.

1. You wash and dry the car properly already
2. You wash the car regularly
3. You accept that you have to use dedicated 'coating friendly' products
4. You accept you can't be topping the coating with your favorite wax or sealant
5. You accept the cost of having to polish off the coating and re-apply it at least every 2 years
6. You are happy to use iron and tar removers to chemically decontaminate periodically
7. You accept you cannot clay the car whenever you feel like it, because IF it mars the paint, you cannot polishing out the marring without effecting the coating
8. You accept the cost of a detailer prepping your paint (i.e. decon + swirl removal) before the coating is applied or you effectively 'seal in' the below surface defects, on top of the (not so insignificant) cost of the coating application.
9. You have a car with ridiculously soft paint (e.g. Jet black Beemers, R35 GTR's with the 'soft' stick under the hood, Subarus etc) where even the hardness of the coating may be harder than your paint. If you are in the opposite boat (e.g. a Merc with Cermiclear) then a coating would be less beneficial as the paint already has some 'coating' in it.

[Life160]

If you meet the following criteria, a coating *may* be for you.
8. You accept the cost of a detailer prepping your paint (i.e. decon + swirl removal) before the coating is applied or you effectively 'seal in' the below surface defects, on top of the (not so insignificant) cost of the coating application.

And that the detailer you choose has a firm understanding of how coatings should be applied correctly and also that they have a level of customer service that is second to none when issues are found and highlighted...

[billionairebum]

Thank you Lawrence. I have learned so much. Really appreciate your threads and your input.

[lawrence]

If you meet the following criteria, a coating *may* be for you.
8. You accept the cost of a detailer prepping your paint (i.e. decon + swirl removal) before the coating is applied or you effectively 'seal in' the below surface defects, on top of the (not so insignificant) cost of the coating application.

And that the detailer you choose has a firm understanding of how coatings should be applied correctly and also that they have a level of customer service that is second to none when issues are found and highlighted...

Agree totally.

Just like you wouldn't look for a surgeon on Gumtree or find the cheapest dentist you could, you should choose your detailer based on skill and value add, not who can do the work the cheapest - someone who cares about your car as much as you do, so that when he or she performs 'surgery' on your vehicle your car is in safe hands.

[Life160]

If you meet the following criteria, a coating *may* be for you.
8. You accept the cost of a detailer prepping your paint (i.e. decon + swirl removal) before the coating is applied or you effectively 'seal in' the below surface defects, on top of the (not so insignificant) cost of the coating application.

And that the detailer you choose has a firm understanding of how coatings should be applied correctly and also that they have a level of customer service that is second to none when issues are found and highlighted...

Agree totally.

Just like you wouldn't look for a surgeon on Gumtree or find the cheapest dentist you could, you should choose your detailer based on skill and value add, not who can do the work the cheapest - someone who cares about your car as much as you do, so that when he or she performs 'surgery' on your vehicle your car is in safe hands.

And in some cases not the most expensive either...

[lawrence]

And in some cases not the most expensive either...

Very good point.

Cheap doesn't always equate to poor quality - take a look at Shield Vinly and Rubber cleaner for example

Likewise, expensive doesn't always equate to quality - I shall not provide an example as it could open a huge can of worms

I guess both extremes provide cause to pause and consider the value your are getting for your buck.

[Djin]

This is a worthwhile watch ...