Sounds like you did some good research, everything you listed is great for maintaining your car properly. This should help minimize adding swirls and other imperfections in your paint before you can protect it. Check with your shop doing the paint job, but typically the cure time on fresh paint is between 90 - 120 days. If you have any other questions on anything, please do not hesitate to ask.

Smaller pads do work better for breaking down polishes. The idea is that you are concentrating more energy and pressure in a smaller area, which can help break down the abrasive particles more effectively. It also will build up some more heat in a smaller area.

It's questionable if the smaller pads actually take longer to polish with because they do break down the polishes more effectively. You can get in tighter areas with the smaller pads and you have more control with them. I would certainly recommend a 4" pad setup for anyone with a PC. It will help you get the most out of your PC experience and yield better results for your detail.

Now would be a good time to invest in some 4" pads and a backing plate, we're running 20% off the entire Lake Country line through 6/18.

If you have any other questions on anything or would like any pad suggestions for the polishes you plan on using, please do not hesitate to ask.

Be sure to keep us posted if you go with the 4" pads and how it compared to the 6.5" pads you were using before.

Cheers,

George

 

Ah, poop. Thanks for letting me know before I pulled the trigger. Guess I'll just stock up some replacement pads.

 

I would like to know when applying and buffing off the wax using your hands only. Can I apply and buff off in a circular motion. I have a black car so swirl marks are very easy to come by. Is it necessary that I only go in 1 direction everytime and in straight lines to avoid creating more swirl marks?

What is the best and proper way to wash your microfiber towels, pads, handmitts?

Meguiars NXT. Can you layer this type of wax, and how long does it last? I live in Texas and its very hot down here during the summer and I was curious as to how often should I wax my car?

 

When applying and removing a wax via hand, it doesn't matter what direction you use working under the assumption your paint has no contamination or your applicators and towels. It's when you drop an applicator pad, apply a product on a dirty surface, etc. when you have to worry about adding imperfections during one of the applications. If you've properly prepped the paint, wash and clay, there should be very little contamination on your vehicle. You only add imperfections during the process when you use improper techniques, dirty applicator pads or towels, or too much pressure when it is not needed.

As far as microfiber maintenance, check out our microfiber care guide.

As long as a wax doesn't have cleaners in it, then chances are you can benefit from another layer. I'm not 100% sure on the NXT you are referring to. In a hot Texas summer, I cannot imagine many waxes lasting more than a couple weeks. I'd re-wax after every wash or two to ensure you are getting protection from a wax year round.

Hope this helps,

George

 

Hey George, I actually made a purchase with you guys last night. I was wondering if I got everything I needed:
PC 7424XP (I guess this part will ship after the 19th)
6" counter weight
4" backing pad
2x 4" Blue Pad
4" Yellow Pad
4" White Pad
Jet Seal
Mezerna IP and FPII

I have plenty of MF towels already

 

Yep, everything looks good, although you may want to add a few more yellow and white pads for polishing. You want to avoid saturating the pad, which means you'll either want to clean it very frequently or swap it out for a fresh pad every couple panels.

Also, make sure you have a good washing and drying setup so that you aren't adding swirls and other imperfections after you spend all the time polishing your paint.

If you have any other questions or need to add anything to your order, let me know.

Thanks again for your support, keep us posted on what you think of the new Porter Cable 7424XP.

Cheers,

George

 

Hi George,

Quick question on washing LC pads - I read that it is okay to wash them in the washing machine and then let air dry? I practiced on a couple of hoods and neglected to wash afterwards. What do you recommend to get them nice and clean?

Regards,

Jesse

 

Some detailers will use a washer to clean their pads, the only down side of that is sometimes it can be rough on the velcro backing and I have seen it begin to peel back. Your best bet is to soak it in a degreaser right when you're done using them. I try to have a 5 gallon bucket filled half way with water and half a packet of Snappy Clean mixed in so that when I'm done using a pad I just throw it in to help release product immediately. Once it's caked up it can be difficult to remove. I'd try soaking it in a degreaser, and if that doesn't do the trick, try the washer, or just jump right to using the washer.

Air dry is the way to go so you don't risk anything with the velcro backing.

Let me know if there's anything else I can help with.

George

 

I love the supernatural.

 

Thanks George - I will be detailing my car for the first time this coming week. In regards to burnishing the black paint, I will be using a black pad with PO85rd. Do I put a certain amount of pressure on my flex and at what speed?

Thanks!

Jesse

 

That makes 2 of us, glad to hear it!

I use it like any other polish, speed setting 4 or 5 with the Flex, some pressure for the initial passes, but then I ease up on the pressure for the final couple passes.

Be sure to keep us posted on how things turn out for you, you'll love the gloss and depth out of the Flex / PO85RD / black pad combo.

Cheers,

George

 

George,

I have bought basic car wash and dry for my White 2007 ML350 cpuple of year ago that you recommended to me. Now I think I am ready to move to the next step such as wax, polish, clay bar, etc. What are other products for the next step I can take care my white car.

Here what I have right now.

Poorboy's World Super Slick & Suds
Grit Guard Insert
Poorboy's World EX-P
Poorboy's World Spray & Gloss

Thank in advance.

 

George

I have a question for you...I have a haze issue on my headlights that I can't shake, I used some Meguiars in a pinch and it worked for a couple weeks but it just keeps coming back. I was looking at the stuff you offer on your web page, Which would you recommend would be good for my problem?

Thanks...Ian

 

To take your results to the next level, I'd recommend the following:

Chemical Guys fine grade clay bar (on sale this weekend) along with some Dodo Juice Born Slippy concentrated clay lube. I'd pick up an empty spray bottle if you go with the Born Slippy as you should dilute it down 10:1, which makes for a lot of clay lube at an excellent price. Our bottle is marked off in ounces so it's easy to get your 10:1 ratio.

Next step would be to polish your paint to remove imperfections and will probably yield the biggest difference in appearance. To polish properly, you want to invest in a quality buffer, either a Porter Cable 7424 XP or a Flex XC 3401 VRG. If you go that route, I'd recommend looking into one of our kits so that you get the proper pads and backing plate (needed on the Porter Cable) to get you started.

As far as polishes are concerned, I'd recommend pairing the buffer up with a one or two step polish combo. If you're swirls and imperfections aren't too bad, then you may be able to get away with a 1 step polish, such as Menzerna Power Finish PO203S. This polish has the cut of a medium cutting polish and finishes down as fine as most finishing polishes out there. This is commonly applied using a green pad or a white pad.

I'd highly recommend reading through our polishing how-to guide for information on how to get the most out of your buffer and polishing.

If you don't want to invest in a buffer but still want to add some gloss and depth to the paint, you may want to opt for a glaze to use prior to applying your coat(s) of protection. I'd recommend going with Chemical Guys EZ Creme Glaze (also on sale this weekend), which will work nicely with the Poorboy's EX-P Sealant.

A great combo to go on top of the EX-P would be Poorboy's Natty's Red Paste Wax. The PBW sealant and wax work great together and provide outstanding results bang for the buck. Be sure to wait 24 hours before applying this on top of your sealant to allow for the proper cure time. Ideally, after the first coat of wax is down, apply a second coat for increased depth and gloss and to ensure full even coverage of the wax.

Be sure to keep us posted on what you end up going with and how things turn out once you get a chance to use everything. Let me know if you have any other questions on anything.

What Meguiar's product were you using? If it's coming back, perhaps it contained some fillers that wash out after a while. Basically what you need to do is polish your headlights using an abrasive polish to remove any hazing. I'd recommend starting off with a light polish and only working up to a more aggressive polish as needed. Something like Menzerna Power Finish would be a great polish. Keep in mind, best results are going to come from polishing the headlights with a quality buffer. Worse case if that doesn't do the trick, you can perform a full wet sanding restoration but usually polishing will do the trick as long as the imperfections aren't too bad.

Hope this helps,

George

 

George,

I am not ready for th buffer machine yet so what do you recommend for doing by hand?

Thanks