To get the most out of the products you listed, you'd want to apply the products in the following order:

Wash & Dry -> Clay -> Polish with Sealant -> Wax

If you were to perform the detail with how you had it outlined, the cleaning characteristics in the PwS would strip off the layer of wax underneath if you were to do that last. You want to utilize the PwS to help prep the surface for your wax by removing oxidation and other light surface imperfections.

When applying Polish w/ Sealant, use a little bit of pressure working it into the paint. This will help clean the paint with the chemical cleaners in the product. You don't need a LOT of pressure since you aren't breaking down abrasive particles, like a polish you'd use to remove swirls and scratches, but some pressure will help. A lot of product is not necessary with either product, in fact, it's always best to follow the rule, "Less is more".

Use separate applicator pads for each product as well as separate removal towels. This helps ensure that any residue / excess product left behind on the towel you used to remove the PwS doesn't accidentally strip off the wax you just applied if you were to use the same applicator or towel.

If you're trying to get the absolute MOST out of your combo, consider applying your coat of PwS 1 day, then waiting at least 24 hours for the coat of sealant to fully cure before applying the layer of wax. This will help ensure you get the maximum durability out of your sealant. I'll typically apply the coat of wax during the next wash, it gives me something to look forward to next time around.

Hope this helps, if you have any other questions on anything, please do not hesitate to ask. Keep us posted on how things turn out and what you think of the products.

Enjoy

Good question. Yes, abrasive polishes used to remove swirls and scratches do remove a fraction of the clear coat. Most paint measures between 130 ~ 180 microns and each time you polish you may remove 1 - 3 microns depending on how aggressive you polish. Unless you plan on keeping the car for 10+ years, most people will never have to worry about how much clear coat is remaining even if you polish on a regular basis (2x a year is the norm). Also, once you fully correct the paint once, if you maintain the car properly from there on out, chances are you'll only need a very light polish to rid the imperfections, so you'll be removing less than the first time you polish. Here's a good read on the subject.

If you have any other questions on anything, let me know.

George

 

So you add the coat of P&S then leave it on without buffing until the enxt day?

Alright man, thanks!

 

No need to wait to remove it for 24 hours, although some people will go that route. By cure time I meant wait 24 hours after you've applied and removed the product. You can apply the PwS then remove it instantly, but wait 24 hours before adding the wax on top. Hope this clears things up.

Cheers,

George

 

Ohhh okay. Thanks! When it comes, ill try that.

 

Boy, i feel like a genius.

Backed the 05 out of the garage to pull it into the center stall, get on the driveway (which is hard packed snow from the storm yesterday) hit the brakes to put it in drive and i just go straight down the driveway LOL slid the whole way. Get to the bottom and i plow through a big old chunk of snow that came off a plow and i heard it nailing my exhaust and stuff (luckily, no damage) Now im in the fricken street. Hit the gas and made it about 1/4 of the way up my driveway.

Backed across the street, gave it the beans (while spinning) and made it half way up the drive.

Last time i backed all the way up, and nailed the gas, built up momentum so i climb to the top (spinning).

Moral of the story, RWD+potenzas+19" rims+snow=DEATH

Now im going to try putting the swirl stuff on my car.

 

Glad to hear your ok with no damage, be safe in the snow! Have a safe and happy new years too!

George

 

You to man.

UPDATE: I just did my hood with clay bar+the swirl and polish. And honestly, i dont know if it takes time or what, but my swirls are still there, and the only difference i noticed was that its smoother. I rubbed it back and forth twice.

Am i doing somthing wrong? My car isnt even that swirly, its just little swirls.

 

Good morning George, In a reply from you on 10/7 I embarked on with your recommendations a full detail over the holidays. I kept my expectations realistic and after more hours than I thougt (12) my black G turned out gorgeous (wife not to overy happy). Over the next several days all was fine, a couple of QD's every few days kept the car "popping", again thanks for all your help, and I must say I'm very proud. January 7th we had a bad wind rain storm, by day end I decided to do another QD and to my dismay I discovered very very fine scratches appearing on the hood. I either had a contaminated what I thought was clean MF towel or debris I didn't see. My question is do I need to repeat the entire process (wash, clay, polish x2, glaze and seal) to rid the scratches? Or can I do just a portion of the steps, I really would appreciate any help you can offer.

 

Thanks for the post, it sounds like you spent some quality time with your G over the holidays.

The good news is you don't have to do ALL of the steps if you want to rid the fine scratches. You'll still want to wash of course, but you don't need to re-clay this soon. The paint should still be very smooth. If the imperfections are light, then chances are, you'll only need to use the finishing polish, instead of the 2 step polish. The best thing you can do is to take a small area and test it to see if you're getting the results you're looking for with the 1 coat of polish. After that, you'd still want to glaze and seal.

One thing I want to make sure you're doing is using proper lighting. Using good lighting (at least dual 500w halogen lights, usually picked up at Sears for $30 works) helps reveal the imperfections and gives you a better job of how well you're removing the imperfections in the paint.

If you have any other questions on anything, please do not hesitate to ask. Keep us posted on how the detail turns out.

Have a great weekend!

George

 

What product were you using to remove swirls? I read the above posts and your process was to wash, clay, polish with sealant and then wax. Unfortunately, the polish with sealant is non-abrasive and will not remove swirl marks. To remove swirl marks, you really should invest in a quality buffer, such as the Porter Cable 7424 or Flex XC3401VRG and pair that up with the proper pads and abrasive polishes. For polishes to remove swirls, I'd highly recommend the Menzerna line of polishes, specifically Super Intensive Polish and PO106FF.

If you have any other questions on anything, please do not hesitate to ask.

George

 

Hey George can you post or pm me a good package for beginners? I'm also gonna be ordering the pc advanced kit.

 

Thanks for the post. Consider pairing up the Advanced Porter Cable Kit with our Polish and Protection Starter Kit. The products in this kit are easy to use, produce great results and are packaged at a great price. Aside from washing and drying products, it gives you a Clay Magic fine grade bar with Spray & Wipe as your clay lube, a 2 step polish combo from Menzerna, and Poorboy's EX-P sealant and Natty's Blue wax for protection.

If you're in need of some washing and drying products, consider our Washing & Drying Starter kit to give you the proper tools and accessories to minimize adding swirls and other imperfections during the wash phase.

Between those 3 packages, you're paint will have some new life and you'll be able to properly maintain so you don't have to do another long polishing session too soon.

If you have any specific questions on anything, please do not hesitate to ask.

George

 

Thanks I just placed an order this morning. I can't wait!

 

My question is about leather. I gave my G35 to my girlfriend about 15 months ago. Well, to make a long story short, she meet someone else and I just got my car back a few weeks ago. The leather looks awful. When I gave her the car the leather was like new, because I have a really light color, once a week I would wipe it down with Lexol cleaner and conditoner wipes. For the last 15 months the leather was never cleaned or conditioned. My question to you is what would be the best product to get to resore my leather to its former glory?

 

Thanks for your support TacoMadre! Be sure to keep us posted on how the G turns out once you get a chance to use everything.

For restoration of leather seats, I typically turn to the Leatherique products. They do the best job in restoring the oils and proteins back into the leather, but it is quite the process. Here's a link to how we recommend applying the Leatherique Rejuvenator Oil and Prestine Clean.

After you have completed the process, you can go back to maintaining your leather with the Lexol wipes or use something like Poorboy's Leather Stuff, Optimum Protectant Plus, or 303 Aerospace Protectant to give your leather some UV protection to prevent fading and discoloration.

Good luck restoring your leather! Keep us posted on how things turn out and what you end up using.

George