redlude97,

Thanks for the positive feedback. I really work on educating car enthusiasts on the proper processes and techniques rather than putting a higher emphasis on products. This was my philosophy when creating Detail University. Once someone understands the processes available and the techniques then you can tweak the results by changing products. Again, thank you for the comforting and welcoming words.

On to your question. May I ask how you have been using the 303 Aerospace Protectant? I haven't had 303 run on me from the rain or washings.

This is my process: I will prep the surface first with a 50/50 water and alcohol mix. This will help remove previous products you may have applied and properly prep the trim to accept the protectant. Next I'll mist a small amount of product on a microfiber towel and gently apply a thin even layer of protectant over the trim. A little goes a long way with the 303. After applying the protectant to a piece of trim, I'll take an unused microfiber towel and lightly buff the trim until there is almost no visible trace of the 303 Protectant. It should look new and bold with little to no gloss.

Maybe some others can chime in here with their experiences with trim products that don't seem to run. Here's a decent conversation going on about low gloss and matte finish trim products.

Hope that helps.

George @ Detailed Image

 

My steps are almost the same except for the alcohol prep. I apply a thin coat, let it dry, and buff off the excess to get an even coating. The problem isn't really the runoff onto the paint, since its only a little bit, but the pieces I treated will have an an uneven look to them after the rain, like they are splotchy.

 

I'll ask but I don't know if this pertains. BTW Albany is a nice area. I've been there a few times and was just in Sidney to visit Amphenol last week.

Anyhoo. Previous owner smoked. I've tried to rid the smell with the usual cleaning, spraying Ozium into the vents and running the ac for 5 min but the smell comes back.

In your experience, have you come up with a more permanent solution? ie.. some of the 02 treatments offered by detailers are supposed to eliminate odors like smoke? Thanks

 

A good steam cleaning should help also, as it vaporizes and captures some of the odors within the steam which gets vented into the atmosphere. Not sure about the ozone treatments though

 

Hmm steam? A DIY thing? I assume that would only cover the carpets and would that be headliner safe?

 

I can't answer that one specifically as I don't have personal experience with it. Try searching over on autopia.org about steam cleaning and smoke, or our pal george here should answer the question shortly

 

I knew sooner or later George from Detailed Image would be a sponsor here. I dont know if you remeber, but I ordered a whole bunch of stuff from you about a month or so ago. I was the one that said I needed to polish my car and didnt know what to buy. I eneded up buying the PC7424, towels, sprays, glazes, polishes and more. I came on Driver the next days and posted in a few threads how you guys had the best customer service that I had ever expirienced. Nice to know that now I have 10% off, although I am bit late, lol.
Anyway, George is trylu a great guy to deal with. Shipping time is also incredible, I received my stuff the next day. Welcome aboard George. I will sure be ordering from you guys soon enough.

 

Hi George,

Thanks for the discount and offering a real Q and A. Hopefully, you'll be able to point me in the direction of a better finish. Because the garage I park in doesn't have electrical outlets, I have to do everything by hand:
1) wash with detergent
2) clay w/ detailer (mother's or meguiar's)
3) wash with detergent
4) hand polish w/ mother's prewax cleaner (wipe off with microfiber)
5) glaze with menzerna finishing touch glaze (wipe off with microfiber)
6) one coat of menzerna FMJ (wipe off with microfiber)
7) a tall cold one

I just started using the glaze last time in hopes of hiding the swirls better (since I can't use a machine polisher). I like how the swirls don't generally show in daylight, but they can still be seen at the right angle. I noticed the glaze left my finish not quite as "hard" as when I went from polish to FMJ. Love FMJ, though...wet look and lasts forever.

Any suggestions, particularly on the polishing and prep?

 

lolol well i live in a Co-op which i own, my garage is underground. From what the super explained to me people are supposedly not allowed to work on their cars in any way due to the fact that people can think you are stealing them somehow......i was completely confused, but oh well i guess.

 

[QUOTE=Detailed Image]Good questions. When detailers are looking for the highest possible finish while detailing by hand, I strongly encourage looking into the Lake Country Hand Applicator Kit. This will give you the ability to customize the applicator pad to the level of aggressiveness needed to get the job done. It comes with a yellow cutting pad, a white polishing pad, a black finishing pad and a blue fine finishing pad. The hand applicator will help evenly distribute the heat and pressure giving you more consistent results while maximizing your results.

As far as products, you could try the paint kit you have. Meguiars does make some good products, particularly their Professional Mirror Glaze line up. I'd suggest looking into those or some of the 3M Polishes to help remove swirls and imperfections with a product you can easily find at a local auto parts store. If you wanted to order some polishes through Detailed Image, I'd suggest looking at the Menzerna polishes with the hand applicator kit, specifically the Intensive Polish and Final Polish II.

Let us know how you make out.

thanks alot for your help, im definitely gonna give what you suggested a shot this weekend. Hopefully the weather here in NY is good this weekend so i can spend my sunday morning detailing my G. I will post my results.

 

Question, does this happen the first rain / wash after applying or a couple times after? Have you tried the Optimum or DP dressings, have heard good things about them as well.

I'd suggest looking for a local detailer with a fogger or if you'd like to purchase one, this was the one I was looking at picking up for details we did for customers - Odor Fogger or a much cheaper method ... Cigarette Smoke Remover. I haven't personally used them but was highly considering ordering them for clients with similar order issues.

Thank you for the great feedback GThIrtYFiZle! I do remember speaking with you and I'm glad that everything turned out great. We've had quite a few members say they found us from G35Driver and decided we should get involved with this great group of car enthusiasts. We greatly appreciate the support and hope to maintain the high quality of service you are used to getting with Detailed Image.



bwassul - It sounds like you have a pretty good process going, lets see what we can do to improve upon it. Now a couple questions for you. How often do you do this process? How often do you do a touch up wash or quick wax?

First thing I'd suggest is looking into investing in quality hand applicator pads. To effectively remove swirls and imperfections, you'll need to use an applicator pad to match the aggressiveness of the polish. I'd encourage looking into the Lake Country Hand Applicator Kit for optimal results by hand.

As far as products are concerned, I'd look into picking up a set of polishes that are designed to remove swirls, not just hide them. Pre-wax cleaners typically will not have abrasives in them and do not have enough cutting power to effectively remove imperfections. If you've liked the Menzerna line of products, I'd recommend sticking with that line and picking up the Intensive Polish and Final Polish II combination to effectively remove the swirls.

From there, I'll wait for your reply to let you know what we can do to properly maintain your finish and prevent future swirls from coming back so fast.

Look forward to hearing back from you.

George @ Detailed Image

 

Thanks very much George for your truthful unbiased opinion! It's definitely comforting to know there is a dealer who is willing to educate a 'weekend detailer' such as myself without pushing products down their throat.

I'll definitely be contacting you soon on the waterless quick detailer. It'll greatly help me in between my weekly car wash on the daily driven G. Thanks!

Ryan

 

George, I do the whole thing twice a year (it usually takes me two full days). I haven't been doing any quick or touch-up waxes in between (except the wheels at three months), but I do wash weekly with the Menzerna Auto Shampoo.

Can you really do a decent job by hand with IP and FP II?

 

Ryan,

Thank you for the feedback, we look forward to doing business with you



bwassul - Thanks for providing that information. First thing I'd like to address is the washes. If your last product used is Menzerna FMJ during your full details and you do this twice a year, I'd strongly encourage one of two things:

1) Add a third detail in there. If this is a daily driver, I think you'll have a tough time making FMJ stretch to 6 months of durability. I usually tell customers expect a solid 4 months of performance. On a show car that gets minimal miles, that's garaged, never driven in rain, and gets less than 3k miles per year, then yea maybe you can get 6 months out of FMJ.

2) Invest in an extender to use during washes or every other wash. A great option to maintain FMJ's durability and enhance the depth and gloss is Menzerna High Gloss Acrylic Shield. This product is designed to work specifically with Menzerna FMJ and has the same chemical characteristics so it builds upon your coat of FMJ. I'd suggest using this product after your final rinse down but BEFORE you dry your vehicle. Mist the HGAS on your paint while it is still wet and dry your vehicle as normal. This will be accomplishing two steps in one, protecting and drying, and won't take more than 5 - 15 minutes to add to your normal washing and drying step. This will help get you reach the 6 months of protection you are looking for out of the FMJ.

An ideal situation would be to do a combination of option 1 and 2.

On to the polishes. I typically do not recommend the Menzerna polishes when customers say they are trying to remove scratches and swirls by hand, however with the hand applicator kit I have had good luck with properly breaking down the polish and achieving desired results. With a microfiber applicator pad or a typical soft yellow foam pad, they do not have enough bite to them to effectively break down the Menzerna polishes. I think you'd be pleased with the results, however, I encourage you to keep realistic expectations since you are still applying it by hand. I do think it will noticeably improve your current level of details.

George @ Detailed Image

 

George,

Is there a product that can be applied on top of a 3m Stoneguard type protectant to enhance the color beneath it?