If you are serious, check out Autogeek.net. that site and it's forum users can teach you more than you ever wanted to know. But remember, you have to pay to play; dual action buffers are not cheap and you get what you pay for.
What have you done to your 100 Series this week? (39 Viewers)
- Thread starter SHUSH
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If you are serious, check out Autogeek.net. that site and it's forum users can teach you more than you ever wanted to know. But remember, you have to pay to play; dual action buffers are not cheap and you get what you pay for.
Good consumables make a big difference too. Don't go for flashy brands. I buy the 3M products used in pro shops. Plain labels and big bottles, great results.
Sent from my SM-G900V
Sent from my SM-G900V
Like this:
Sent from my SM-G900V
Sent from my SM-G900V
^that^ looks really good. Nice work! What type/brand polisher and pads do you use?
As long as we're talking DA's, I've really liked my Griot's Garage so far. I had great results on my old STI and so far so good on the black LC. I haven't done much research on compound brands as I usually end up with Meguairs 105/205, but I think I end up with varying grades of Lake Country pads if I remember correctly.
If you can spare a weekend of your time, your LC will never look the same! One of the best investments I've ever made.
Couldn't agree more!
I thought my 100's paint was in good shape. A friend in the detailing/chemical business showed me what was going on via a bright light - millions of "micro-scratches".
He asked: "You've been using terrycloth to dry it haven't you?"
Me: "Uhh... is that bad?"
Him: "You tell me"
He said all those scratches - although basically invisible - refract, break up... kill the reflecting light. That equals less shine.
Several hours later...
Couldn't agree more!
I thought my 100's paint was in good shape. A friend in the detailing/chemical business showed me what was going on via a bright light - millions of "micro-scratches".
He asked: "You've been using terrycloth to dry it haven't you?"
Me: "Uhh... is that bad?"
Him: "You tell me"
He said all those scratches - although basically invisible - refract, break up... kill the reflecting light. That equals less shine.
Several hours later...
Yep, makes all the difference in the world, that thing looks great! That's my plan sometime in the next couple weeks, I need to give it a good polish and a coat of wax to prep it for the barrage of salt/sludge it'll be dealing with this winter.
My finish has tons of scratches, but I use Turtle wax ice spray wax after a car wash and mine looks as shiny as yours. Takes less then 5 minutes to do the entire LX and it stays shiny until the next car wash and then I reapply it. It's got micro what ever and this stuff is the best shining wax I have ever used.
It's hard to capture with a camera/monitor... but the before and after was pretty damn impressive. I regularly got comments on the 100 - the paint looks great for X miles or X years, etc. "is that new? kinda stuff.
The "before" didn't seem that bad:
So, when i saw the "after" - and how the paint looked like wet fingernail polish, I was blown away:
I need to buff the paint out on my LX. I don't think it has ever been waxed. LOL
My 100 was done with a rotary buffer - a four-stage process, e.g. Cut-1 (mild compound), Polish, Swirl (very fine polish to eliminate swirls and holograms) then coated. The guys showed me how to do it, and I decided to tackle my daughter's Rav4... They made me promise to do a tape line so they could see the difference
I did the first three stages on one side of the hood to see if it'd be noticeable.
Then, redid the hood and the rest of the car. It made her 10-year-old car look new. And, as a bonus, she thought her dad was pretty badass... for a day or so.
I did the first three stages on one side of the hood to see if it'd be noticeable.
Then, redid the hood and the rest of the car. It made her 10-year-old car look new. And, as a bonus, she thought her dad was pretty badass... for a day or so.
105k, time for oil change, tire rotation, chassis lube, etc. Going to replace the original heater t's and install my new DT exhaust!
I used one of these on mine. Meguiars DA Microfiber Correction System. It's pretty much a beginner kit. It made a world of difference even on my white paint which wasn't in bad condition to start with. You have to look really hard, with a light, to see any swirls at all. Next year, I'll do it again with a little more aggressive compound, but this was my first try and wanted to make sure I didn't mess it up. You'll also need a clay bar kit and of course the DA polisher.
For those of you wanting to get into polishing / paint correction I highly recommend the videos put up by AMMO NYC, now with /DRIVE, for basics and an idea of what you are getting into.
There are also dozens of forums out there that specialize in automotive detailing including autopia and autogeek. Be warned that the auto detailing forums can be some of the most highly contentious forums out there. It is entertaining to see folks agonize over what glaze to use on something like their mint condition '05 Mitsubishi Galant though.
- Dan
There are also dozens of forums out there that specialize in automotive detailing including autopia and autogeek. Be warned that the auto detailing forums can be some of the most highly contentious forums out there. It is entertaining to see folks agonize over what glaze to use on something like their mint condition '05 Mitsubishi Galant though.
- Dan
Hahahahaha, thank you. That was awesome.
