[Pedaltothefloor]

Originally Posted by amazer2013

Moreover, I'll hold myself back from getting top of the line products just yet, for 2 reasons: One due to budget, and another because of the fact that as a newbie, initially I'm sure I'll waste lot of product trying to learn the trick. So I'll use inexpensive products for trial. Once I get reasonable confidence, I'll order more - then probably I'll be able to do justice to my investment.

Amazer - You are consistently raising the bar on what a good detailing DIY newbie can be. You are a wise man and I look forward to your reviews. Please document your detailing journey from the start, it will be an inspiration to other newbies and after reading your posts; they will also not hesitate to make informed decisions on what to buy and how to use it.

[Pedaltothefloor]

Originally Posted by aravind.anand

Anyway, my query was - Meguiar's Ultimate Polish would remove the swirl marks and light scratches permanently right? or will it mask them? Also, how do I stop at the right level while using a polish? What if I over do it and end up removing the clear coat completely?

Also, would the Collinite 845 add a protective layer on top of the clear coat to minimize swirl marks and damages to the clear coat?

1. You can not remove the clear coat by hand polishing unless you've got the arms of The Hulk
2. Collinite will add a protective layer of protection that is arguably more talked about around the world than any other wax. Go for it.
3. Could you post a few close up shots of the car - boot, hood, roof, doors? Meg's UP by hand will only work like a glaze and clean the paint mildly. For any correction of swirls or minor scratches, you need to step up to Meg's Ultimate Compound. It will be a lot of work by hand and require a lot of elbow grease, but it CAN be done.

Mods - Please merge back to back posts.

[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor

1. You can not remove the clear coat by hand polishing unless you've got the arms of The Hulk

Phew! that puts my mind to ease now, Thanks a lot!

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor

2. Collinite will add a protective layer of protection that is arguably more talked about around the world than any other wax. Go for it.

Done, Collinite 845 had joined the 'must buy' after reading your private message itself

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor

3. Could you post a few close up shots of the car - boot, hood, roof, doors? Meg's UP by hand will only work like a glaze and clean the paint mildly. For any correction of swirls or minor scratches, you need to step up to Meg's Ultimate Compound. It will be a lot of work by hand and require a lot of elbow grease, but it CAN be done.

Will post pictures today evening, after I reach home from office. And, There is a rotary polisher lying at my dad's home. If it is advisable for a newbie to use it without causing damage, I can get it. Anyway, you should be able to look at the pictures of the damage on the car to suggest the way forward.

A big shout out to this thread! I am completely in love with this thread that helps Newbies do it the right way with the right products. Thank you Pedaltothefloor, ParthasarathiG and mkh for your contributions here.

PS: Rating a thread, a well deserved 5 stars. This is the first time I am rating a 'five' since I became a T-bhpian

[mkh]

Originally Posted by aravind.anand

Will post pictures today evening, after I reach home from office. And, There is a rotary polisher lying at my dad's home. If it is advisable for a newbie to use it without causing damage, I can get it. Anyway, you should be able to look at the pictures of the damage on the car to suggest the way forward.

A big shout out to this thread! I am completely in love with this thread that helps Newbies do it the right way with the right products. Thank you Pedaltothefloor, ParthasarathiG and mkh for your contributions here.

PS: Rating a thread, a well deserved 5 stars. This is the first time I am rating a 'five' since I became a T-bhpian

Please do not venture with a rotary on the car being a newbie. First take some scrap panels if you can procure and try out. Get used to it and then maybe try on the car once you are confident and know what you are doing.
Not only the machine but the pad and polish combo used will determine what results you get but also what damage can be caused with a rotary.

You are right- this is a superb value thread, and deserves the ratings for sure, and started by someone who is doing this purely out of interest and no other gains in mind! Glad that knowledge being shared is of use and put to good use!

[nirmaljusdoit]

Originally Posted by shashank.nk

Thanks nirmal! Any of these plastic polishes available in India or should I import it ?
The salt deposits aren't as bad as the one on the car in the image. Its more muddy since the owner hadn't cleaned around that area before. Will bear in mind what you've said while trying APC, and post results.

These plastic polishes are available right here in India,

Now when it comes to these salts, it really depends on the type of water and for how long it has stayed on the surface etc. For eg, if its on the bonnet, it could have baked in due to engine bay heat.

Without getting into technicalities and complicated jargon, probably the easiest, cheapest and quickest method is to use a liquid medium like an APC which will dissolve these marks. Dilution ratios depend on each brand APC. there is nothing like a generic dlution ratio. It could range from 1:4, 1:15, 1:20 also. Please read manufacturer recommendations before use.

In case of stubborn salt deposits, there are many cases where detailers fumble when they come across these water marks and deposit issues because they have neither experience, knowledge or access to the best specialised chemicals in the world. There is always a better & more effective way !

Please see below what magic can be created when one puts the right technology to use ! This is the door jamb of a 3 series.

[thoma]

Originally Posted by mkh

First take some scrap panels if you can procure and try out.

My best place to try out the Sonax Polish was the refrigerator panels. The polish was applied only right through the middle of the dirt (in the direction of red arrows, below), vertically. The polish did not remove the dirt much. I tried on the side panels where there is no clear coat.






The contrast of the pictures has been enhanced a bit for presentation purpose.


Since this is a polish review thread, this is my short personal take on the Sonax Car Polish (I've not used any other for comparison) : A few buffs and then the polishing cloth tend to just slip on. No more cut any further. I'm guessing that the waxing properties kicks in earlier which makes hand polishing difficult. Did not remove all of the discoloration on a single stage paint; I can't comment in the case of a clear coat. It comes in a bottle and is a liquid paste with more of liquid and less paste. But I felt good water beading after the polish which mean that the polish clearly has some good sealant/wax properties.

Though the manufacturer claims to clean and polish (micro abrasive) new, dull and slightly weathered paintwork, restores gloss and color, protects and preserves with carnauba wax.


P.S:
Someone should put up a post on the detailing lingo with their uses. Especially the abbreviations. As a newbie, I had a tough time understanding some of them

APC: All Purpose Cleaner
LSP: Last Stage Product - (used as the last stage of protection / detailing; normally a wax or sealant)
IPA: Isopropyl Alcohol - (used to wipe down panels after polishing? and to strip panels of previous wax?)

[SunnyBoi]

^ Ouch, that surface needs claying rather than polishing first.

[Pedaltothefloor]

Originally Posted by thoma

Since this is a polish review thread, this is my short personal take on the Sonax Car Polish (I've not used any other for comparison) : A few buffs and then the polishing cloth tend to just slip on. No more cut any further. I'm guessing that the waxing properties kicks in earlier which makes hand polishing difficult. Did not remove all of the discoloration on a single stage paint; I can't comment in the case of a clear coat. It comes in a bottle and is a liquid paste with more of liquid and less paste. But I felt good water beading after the polish which mean that the polish clearly has some good sealant/wax properties.

Thoma - Your observations are spot on. This polish is targeted at the average Joe who thinks "Polish" is a one step solution to car detailing. It doesn't clean well so my guess is that it doesn't have enough chemical cleaners it it. You can put the micro abrasives to task using a polish applicator mentioned on Page 1 of this thread. However, I still doubt that it would make much of a difference. However, hand polishing always requires a good polish applicator and if you are trying to apply polish using a cloth, that is incorrect choice of detailing tools. The Sonax polish does have some wax that it leaves behind and it will allow good beading/sheeting for a couple of days. After that, the average Joe tends to forget and thinks the car is protected. Nice trick, wouldn't you agree? If you top up this polish with a good wax, even then it's not going to help as any LSP is only as durable as the base layer. Since the base in this case is weak, adding a more durable wax on top would still lead to early degradation of your wax. All in all, Sonax Car Polish (The one currently sold in India) is an avoidable product.

[amazer2013]

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor

Amazer - You are consistently raising the bar on what a good detailing DIY newbie can be. You are a wise man and I look forward to your reviews. Please document your detailing journey from the start, it will be an inspiration to other newbies and after reading your posts; they will also not hesitate to make informed decisions on what to buy and how to use it.

Thanks Pedal! Yes I look forward to review each of the products that I use, right here on this wonderful thread. Just to summarize, here is a list of what I have ordered:
Kzubr machine polisher(Russian brand), Scholl backing 5" plate, CG Hex-logic black pad, Meg UP, Nanoskin autoscrub sponge - blue (clay alternative).
Now that I have ordered so many items, waiting for them is a big pain. Hopefully I'll get 'em before end of this month and my new year will have an exciting start - My first DIY detailing session ever involving even claying and machine polishing which I have never done.
Till then I'll hook on to reading every post in this thread to gather as much info as I can.
Thanks again Pedal, for starting this thread. This should probably be renamed "DIY detailing bible"

[Pedaltothefloor]

Originally Posted by amazer2013

Hopefully I'll get 'em before end of this month and my new year will have an exciting start - My first DIY detailing session ever involving even claying and machine polishing which I have never done.

Buddy - what's your plan on learning how to use the machine polisher? Please do not start directly on your car. Either get a scrap panel to practice or start off by polishing household appliances like the Refrigerator, Microwave Oven, Steel Wardrobe etc. I started that way and learned by damaging some pads, splattering some polish and burning some paint

Get on the DIY Rotary thread also as it may have some helpful tips. I have personally requested other DIY detailing enthusiasts on this forum (Other than Sellers and Professional Detailers) to share their experience with the rotary on that thread for the benefit of all newbies http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...-polisher.html

And this is nowhere close to a detailing bible. At the rate you are going, I suspect the New Testament will be out in less than a year and authored by you

[blackasta]

Originally Posted by Parthasarathig

Do keep in mind if clay falls on the ground, you need to throw it away. There are other alternatives to clay bar such as Ultima Elastrofoam block, Optimum Opti Eraser etc that can just be re washed and re used in case of fall.

Another clay alternative is nanoskin products - I have heard and read only good things about them.

http://www.nanoskinusa.com/

Itching to have a go at my ride this weekend for atleast 1 panel with my nanoskin autoscrub DA pad.

[Pedaltothefloor]

Originally Posted by blackasta

Another clay alternative is nanoskin products - I have heard and read only good things about them.

http://www.nanoskinusa.com/

Itching to have a go at my ride this weekend for atleast 1 panel with my nanoskin autoscrub DA pad.

AFAIK, SunnyBoi has already used that and had a good experience with it. I am sure he will share the details shortly.

[thoma]

I'm looking for sourcing a single bar of clay, just to try out first time how it goes. Most of the shops have the expensive clay kit. bringingbest.com is out of stock of single bars. Had sent an inquiry to ultimatedetailerz and keystoneenterprises also. Only ultimatedetailerz responded with stock of clay sponge.

The fridge in picture is 7 years old, with no or minimum maintenance. This is my test panel. More than embedded contaminants, the single stage paint has inflicted some discoloration.

Originally Posted by Pedaltothefloor

All in all, Sonax Car Polish (The one currently sold in India) is an avoidable product.

Yeah, I don't want to put that on my car. So am awaiting delivery of Meg's UP to be used with Duragloss Dual Use Foam Pad and topped with FK100P.

Do I have to wipe with IPA before and after using Meg's UP?

[Pedaltothefloor]

Originally Posted by thoma

I'm looking for sourcing a single bar of clay, just to try out first time how it goes. Most of the shops have the expensive clay kit. bringingbest.com is out of stock of single bars. Had sent an inquiry to ultimatedetailerz and keystoneenterprises also. Only ultimatedetailerz responded with stock of clay sponge.

Notorious is a member here who sells unbranded clay for around Rs. 300 It is OK to get a sense of what a clay is, what it can do etc. It is a very mild clay and from my experience only good for claying glass or well maintained cars but it will give you a starting point.

Originally Posted by thoma

Do I have to wipe with IPA before and after using Meg's UP?

That question will never have a unanimous answer for several reasons that I am not getting into right now. My opinion is, at Rs. 40 a bottle for the Apollo Pharmacy IPA that will make you 500 ml of ready to use IPA solution, it can't hurt. While it will remove the so called lovely oils that UP will leave behind that some wax connoisseurs can't imagine getting rid of, let us keep it objective in your case. Fk100OP is a paste sealant and sealants bond better to bare paint. What have you got to lose other 40 bucks and the UP Oils? Nothing!

[linuxmanju]

Originally Posted by amazer2013

Kzubr machine polisher(Russian brand), Scholl backing 5" plate, CG Hex-logic black pad, Meg UP, Nanoskin autoscrub sponge - blue (clay alternative)

Amazer, just a thought, Megs UP to the best of my knowledge is not designed for Rotary use. Most/All ultimate series products are designed either for DA or Hand application. @pedaltothefloor would you please confirm ?.
M205 is an alternative pro grade product for UP which can be used with a Rotary, so is M105 which is an alternate product for Ultimate Compound.

On a side note, I have tried Megs UP with a finishing pad during my early days to get a feel of the Rotary, without inflicting any damage.