Ask a Professional Detailer...

[MJK]

Hi George,

Thanks for your continued presence here. I've read your thread many times and have learned a lot. I hope our membership supports you and makes this a worthwhile endeavor for you.

For my own part, I was hoping you could help me understand when I should use a spray and wipe versus a spray and gloss versus a quick shine. To date my only experiences have been with the retail chain mothers/meguiars sprays and griots speed shine and spray on wax.

I like to keep both the NSX and the daily in good shape, and was was hoping you would critique my product use.

Daily is silver and gets 30-40k a year. I keep in in good shape and use Megualrs NXT paste wax after a twice a year full detail using the PC and 3M polishes/glaze. I use speed shine to clean off bird droppings, bugs etc. My primary concern here is paint protection and relatively low maintenance.

I'm very particular about my white/black topped NSX, and it gets ~3k a year. I use the same polishes/glazes and pinnacle pinnacle souveran paste wax. I want the NSX to look as good as it possibly can. My main frustration here is cleaning off the car after a quick drive or a long dusty stay in the garage without scratching it. I use the Griots spray on wax for this, but still seem to get scratches.

Next time around, I would like to start trying your products. Can you tell me what quick detailers I should be using? Is there a more durable wax I can use for the daily driver?

Also, I am going to try to polish out some deeper scratches (looks like from a razor blade removing a sticker) on my fathers old corvette glass. How can I get these out? OEM glass for a 67 vette is hard to come by, so I am afraid to mess this up.

Thanks for your help-
Mark

 

[Detailed Image]

thanks george.

i have a part2 to that question;
are those 'absorber' skin-like towel
a good thing to use to dry the car?

There's pros and cons to any product out there. The downside to the absorber is that the surface is flat. If you trap contamination under the towel when drying your vehicle, you are just grinding the contaminates into your clear coat creating swirls and imperfections. They do a good job absorbing water, but they aren't the safest when it comes to drying. Think of a traditional wash sponge, you just push the dirt around on the surface creating imperfections in your paint, same idea.

The better alternative is to use a textured drying towel, such as a microfiber waffle weave drying towel. The waffle weave design creates pockets for contamination to be pulled away from the surface. This seems to be the standard for high-end professional detailers. From now until the end of the November, we have our waffle weave towels on sale for 25% their normal price.

Hi George,

Thanks for your continued presence here. I've read your thread many times and have learned a lot. I hope our membership supports you and makes this a worthwhile endeavor for you.

For my own part, I was hoping you could help me understand when I should use a spray and wipe versus a spray and gloss versus a quick shine. To date my only experiences have been with the retail chain mothers/meguiars sprays and griots speed shine and spray on wax.

Good question. I'll give a comparison between the three products you mentioned which will hopefully clear up any questions you may have.

Spray & Wipe has the most cleaning agents of the three. Some detailers use this as a waterless wash when there is only a light dusting on the vehicle. This product also works great as a clay bar lubricant, even when diluted down 1:1 with water. This product will not enhance the shine, rather clean the surface. This would be the product you keep in your glove compartment if you are looking to clean up emergency bird droppings, etc. This is one of our best sellers and one of the most versatile products we carry.

Spray & Gloss on the other hand will enhance the finish. It has polymers in its formula which will add depth and gloss and a little bit of protection to the paint. I say little because it isn't enough to use solely as a spray on protectant, more so just to enhance the finish. The S&G doesn't have much cleaners in it, so you want to use it on a clean surface, like after a wash.

Quik Shine is somewhere between the two Poorboy's quick detailers. It has some cleaners but enhances the gloss in the paint. You would achieve better results using the Spray & Wipe then followed by the Spray & Gloss, but you are spending more time and money doing so. This is a good all around quick detailer.

I like to keep both the NSX and the daily in good shape, and was was hoping you would critique my product use.

Daily is silver and gets 30-40k a year. I keep in in good shape and use Megualrs NXT paste wax after a twice a year full detail using the PC and 3M polishes/glaze. I use speed shine to clean off bird droppings, bugs etc. My primary concern here is paint protection and relatively low maintenance.

I'm very particular about my white/black topped NSX, and it gets ~3k a year. I use the same polishes/glazes and pinnacle pinnacle souveran paste wax. I want the NSX to look as good as it possibly can. My main frustration here is cleaning off the car after a quick drive or a long dusty stay in the garage without scratching it. I use the Griots spray on wax for this, but still seem to get scratches.

A spray on wax isn't the product you'd want to use to remove a light dusting. You have to properly prep the surface first, then use the spray on wax. Using Poorboy's Spray & Wipe mentioned above along with a plush microfiber towel.

Next time around, I would like to start trying your products. Can you tell me what quick detailers I should be using? Is there a more durable wax I can use for the daily driver?

Pinnacle Souveran is a great wax in terms of finish, but durability can be short lived as you mentioned. To get an equal or better finish with longer durability, you would want to look into some of the Zymol Estate Glazes or Swissvax products. These come with a higher price tag but will be the answer you are looking for. For the money, Souveran is probably the best bang for the buck when it comes to the higher end waxes.

Also, I am going to try to polish out some deeper scratches (looks like from a razor blade removing a sticker) on my fathers old corvette glass. How can I get these out? OEM glass for a 67 vette is hard to come by, so I am afraid to mess this up.

I save glass correction to skilled professionals. From my understanding, to properly correct glass you need a high speed rotary, like 10 - 15k RPM. This is one topic I do not have much experience on so I will leave it at that.

Thanks for your help-
Mark

Keep us posted with what you decide on using and how things turn out. I apologize for the slow replies.

Thanks again for your positive feedback and support as well.

George

 

[gdae]

George:

My car has been repainted and now has “orange peel” (if you look very closely). Will an aggressive polish early in the detail smooth the clearcoat out at all? Or is peel strictly a wetsanding issue, no matter how small the waves are?

Thanks!
Randal

 

[Detailed Image]

George:

My car has been repainted and now has “orange peel” (if you look very closely). Will an aggressive polish early in the detail smooth the clearcoat out at all? Or is peel strictly a wetsanding issue, no matter how small the waves are?

Thanks!
Randal

Randal, unfortunately "orange peel" correction is usually done by wet sanding. It would take many applications of an abrasive polish with a high speed buffer to put a dent in evening out "orange peel" from the clear coat. The polish would break down after a handful of passes and you don't want to rely on heat to even the clear.

Hope this helps.

George