Pete,

Great idea about using the distilled water on your glass. It's nice to have a gallon of it around for details. Ha, I just read my typo... I meant Isopropyl Alcohol and Water (distilled ideally) mixture, not rubber, my mistake! No wonder you were confused :)

Are your wheels clear coated? If not, you may not want to use the Spray & Rinse. If you do, I'd recommend diluting it on a 4:1 water to cleaner ratio because full strength would be too strong and potentially could damage the wheels. Even with a wheel cleaner, I find that you still have to agitate the wheels in some areas to completely remove the brake dust. I try not to use any chemicals on my wheels, ensure I have a couple of coats of PB Wheel Sealant and just use shampoo and water with a dedicated wash mitt. You'd be surprised how easy everything cleans up.

Hope this helps, let me know what you end up going with and how you make out.

Talk to you soon.

George

OK, water and isopropyl, no problem. I spend most of my time confused so not to worry.

Back in the day this is what we used to clean tape transport rollers and it ends up micro-cracking the rubber. Changing to TCE stopped that but both the ethylene and ethane variants are long gone. I'll go with the 303 wipes and see how they work. For all I know they're saturated with denatured alcohol too. :eek3:

Good question about the wheels being clear-coated, I don't know. There's a change of finish inside the lug nut recesses so I assumed they're painted but maybe it's another kind of finish. Sounds like the best course of action is, like you say, to just use shampoo and apply a couple of coats of PB Wheel Sealant.

Probably have to do this every few months or so? Whatever makes it easiest to brush the brake dust off. Heavy buildup's sure to require shampooing fairly regularly like you say, too.

How well does the sealant stand up to repeated washings?

Any particular shampoo you'd recommend specifically for use with wheels?

Looks like I'll have to get some water-based tire dressing as well since washing the wheels'll take it off . So PBs Bold 'n Bright and some applicators just got added to the order. It'd be strange to have sparkling clean rollers and mucked up rubber...

V Cool, thanks for the help - much appreciated!

Pete,

Good info on the ISA/water on the rubber, looks like I'll be sticking to the 303 wipes too.

As far as the shampoo is concerned, I think Poorboy's Super Slick & Suds is a great option. Great suds, good lubricity, a little goes a long way, and smells great too!

Poorboy's Wheel Sealant is known to hold up 2 - 3 months or so with regular washings after 2 - 3 thin coats have been applied.

I also would have recommended the Bold 'n Bright as a dressing, it gives me great even coverage and can be buffed in for a matte look or left on for a more wet look, depending on my mood and the car.

Looking forward to hearing what you think about everything!

George

George,

Glad I could help a bit abt the ISA/water on rubber.

2 _thin_ coats of Wheel Sealant is good for 2-3 mo w/reg washings - got it.

I've added PB's Super Slick & Suds so out goes the order in a minute.

Thanks very much for your patience and help, I'll let you know how it all turns out.

Cheers, Pete

Hey George. I'm planning on detailing my G35X this weekend. I bought the Meguiar's Clay Bar kit, polish, sealant and wax. I also purchased a Vector 6" Random Orbital to help out with the polish part of the job.

Do you have any experience with the Vector or a similar orbital? I've never used a machine to polish or wax before, do you recommend this one or maybe a similar Craftsman orbital? Or should I just get a Porter Cable?

My car is Diamond Graphite, nothing major with the paint, just some water/cleaner stains on the hood and front fenders.

Thanks in advance. Your advice is appreciated.

i think its pretty severe...if the light hits the paint, you can see swirls upon swirls through the whole car..like if you were to wax your car and some of the residue was left behind and you see a swirling effect..imagine that effect all the time all around my car..

Find a new shop and have them do a test section. If they can get it back to decent shape, then have them finish the car. Or get your own supplies and do it yourself so you never run into this issue again. A porter cable is worth the money and headaches involved in outsourcing detailing work

qbturbo - from my experience, there's 2 random orbitals I can recommend that I know have enough power to properly break down a polish and consistently give me the results I'm looking for... Porter Cable 7424 and the Cyclo Buffer. Inferior polishers often do not have enough power to properly break down the abrasive polishes or bog down under pressure.

Lower quality buffers are fine to use to apply a glaze, sealant or liquid wax, but often struggle when it comes to properly breaking down a polish. The other downside is the availability of pads, backing plates, etc. Sometimes you are stuck with a manufacturers proprietary pads and backing plates which can add up over time.

Those are my thoughts on the buffer, if you'd like me to go more in depth with anything, just let me know.

dyenboy - redlude97 has offered great advice. Let us know what you end up doing and how you make out.

George

Thanks George. I've been reading up on the PC and all the detailing sites recommend it.

I guess I'm more intimidated than anything. I've never used a PC or any other buffer before, so I don't want to screw up the paint. How hard is it to use for the first time?

I'm also concerned about using the appropriate pads to polish, seal and wax. Man I wanted to detail my car myself, but its not easy, decisions, decisions.

With a random orbital buffer, there is not much worry about screwing up the paint. You cannot generate enough heat to burn the clear coat with a PC 7424. From my experience, if you can create a problem with the PC you can also fix it with the PC. We often say, the only way the PC can damage the paint is if you throw it at it. In all seriousness, there is very little worry using the buffer assuming you spend a little time researching the proper techniques of operating the machine (which I'd be happy to outline for you).

Choosing the pads is the easiest thing. Medium cutting polishes use either a white polishing pad or an orange cutting pad (depending on how much cut you want the polish to have). Finishing polishes use either a white polishing pad or a black finishing pad. Sealants and waxes use a blue fine finishing pad (black finishing pads are fine as well, but softer the better).

I'm sure you'll love doing the detail yourself. There's something special about the feeling of putting down your towel and stepping back and looking at the final result of your hard work.

Keep us posted and let us know what you end up doing.

George

thanks george
 

Hi George, spent the weekend detailing my G35 with all of the product I purchased from you. Thank you very much. Everything was easy to apply and use, definitely need to invest in a PC though. Tried posting pics but am unable to. Anyway, the Poorboys EX-P and P21S carnauba worked great. Planning on 2 more coats of wax. Thank you for all of your advice and knowledge.:bowrofl:

Excellent, looking forward to seeing the pictures of your work. Feel free to email them to me if you need me to host them... george@detailedimage.com

Thanks again!

George

Thanks again George. I will detail this Friday evening, hands only, since the paint is in good shape except for the water stains. If it doesn't work out, I will definitely invest in a PC.

I will wash, clay, polish, seal and wax.
Should I wait for a couple of hours or a day before I wax?
Or just wax right after the seal?

Ideally, wait 24 hours for the sealant to cure before applying the wax. That way you get the most out of each step.

Thanks again George. I'm assuming that I should just do a quick rinse before applying the wax the next day, right?

I'm sorry for my ignorance, just want to get this right the first time.