Two dumb cleaning questions
 

They say there are no dumb questions, but I will nowgive the lie to that axiom:

1) What time of day should I wash my car? If I do it before the sun comes up or after it's down, I'll freeze, this month anyway, and will not be able to see very well. Should I just wait for an overcast sky?

2) On how much of my car can I apply polish with my Porter/Cable before I start buffing it out with the lambskin? The reason for this question is that I can't leave polish on too long, but surely I am not supposed to be changing pads and bonnets, etc., every time I complete the application of polish to one panel or, for example, one half of the hood or one quarter of the top. I wouldn't mind changing twice, so is it reasonable to apply polish to half the car, then change pads and buff before going back to the applicator?

One possible solution is to apply the polish by hand to 1/4 of the car, and buff with the one lambskin/bonnet application right after.

Thanks for your expertise.

Ideally time of day shouldn't matter because you should wash under cover. Un-ideally you would want to wash only as much of the car that you can hand dry before you get water spots. So as little direct sun as you can stand so you can wash more before stopping to dry.

On polishing, I usually apply polish to about 2 square feet with the DA polisher, then gently remove the polish by hand using a microfiber.

I'm thinking like 1/8 of the hood, 1/3 of the fender, 1/4 of the door, etc.

These are guidelines for a daily driver that would look pretty good (shiny and minimal scratches). If you want show car finish you need advice from the hardcore like FromZTo5 or Tripleblack13.

Thanks, berzerk. It's the "gently remove" that is throwing me. There is no "gentle removal" of my Meguiar's polish. It requires elbow grease or the buffing machine. If you mean gently remove the powdery residue with a microfiber towel after polishing, I do understand, and this is consistent with the instructions on the product.

When I started this thread, I was under the impression that you had to apply polish with the buffer and then use a different pad on the buffer to actually get the shine, much in the way one polishes shoes. And that can be done.

But now I am seeing people who apply polish and "polish" in one step.

I appreciate you!

I use Meguiar's Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish. Try doing smaller sections and make sure you have enough product on the pad. The application should be enough to work the polish, and if you take the polish off before it dries, it's easy work. If you let the polish dry, I dare say you'll put more scratches on trying to take the dry polish off.

I get your shoe polish reference, I certainly don't polish like that and get reasonably good results (better than 95% of the cars I see).

I should also add that if you use Velcro backed pads you should be able to change from a polishing pad to a removal pad quickly enough to use the machine for application and removal. To me it seems like more trouble than the time savings is worth.

I know. What I am not understanding is the procedure for "taking the polish off." Some places suggest it's nearly simultaneous with the application of the product, just going back over the polished area, and some indicate it's a matter of changing pads, and some indicate it's done with microfiber by hand. I don't blame you for giving up on me at this point!

Thanks.

Here's the stuff I'm using. This is for fine scratches (i.e., minimal scratches i put in from normal washing). Here's the instructions, I left some stuff out because I'm lazy.

"Shake well... Work in small 2x2 sections at a time, removing product add you go. Do not allow product to dry... For use with DA polisher/orbital, dispense a small amount of product across the surface of a clean foam polishing or finishing pad.... Medium speed... 4-6 overlapping passes... Wipe dry with... Microfiber or 100% terry towel. Turn to a clean portion for the final wipe."

So yeah, polish and take it off while it's still wet.

Right, that's what mine says. So no changing of pads to achieve the gloss. Thanks very much.

I used Meguire and Mother's carcare products for years. For the last few years I've used ONLY Chemical Guys products...and have won 1st place DD at GCRMC Show for 6 years running. I believe Chemical Guys products to be absolutely the best. Blacklight Hybrid wax followed by VO7 quick detailer. Try it out and you will also be a believer.

Thanks, Dave. I'm ready to make the switch. What polish would you recommend to a newbie who is actually getting a little better at applying Meguiar's polish (the key is to REMOVE IT FAST, as in RIGHT NOW!

I am going to use my Meguiar's wax before I buy more, as I don't see any reason to waste it, and I like the quick spray detailer for in between waxes, but their polish is a MOTHER.

I hear how great CG stuff is all the time, and I've been meaning to try it, but the fact the Meg's is readily available anywhere means I don't have to plan in order to do my car... And because of that I never get around to buying and using the CG stuff.

As a full time detailer and former Meguiars user, I'd recommend either checking out Optimum "Hyper Polish" or some of the stuff from Shine Supply (Classic Polish or Slick Back). Both provide great results and easy to use

You may be overworking the product causing it to dry up and then its difficult to remove. Regardless of that, try removing the polish with a high quality microfiber towel that is damp with Optimum No Rinse solution (ONR). I do that pretty often especially when the wipe off of product is difficult (some paints behave differently than others when it comes to wiping off product). I keep a bucket of ONR handy with a mf soaking. Then wring it out to wipe off the polish (carefully)

When I first got my 'stang, I spent some quality time with Junkman2000 on YouTube. That was really the start of the learning journey for me. There are lots of great instructional vids out there. But, most of them have a slant to pushing a product. Starting out with Junkman will help filter out marketing noise and focus on technique.

Autogeek.net used to me on here more. There was a forum discount code of "mustangsource" that I still use today.
DetailedImage.com and DetailersDomain.com are also out there.
All of these have tutorials and reviews with an expected amount of marketing noise.

Have fun!

I haven't used too much of Meg's polishes (although I have used their show car glaze) but for me, Klasse HG polish is one of the best out there. I get mine from autogeek.net. I know you're not trying to order anything but it's one of the easiest on/off polishes I've ever used and it lasts a super long time. On a side note, having a MF towel dampened with a little detail spray helps remove some stubborn polish.

MF means micro fiber....not mother ******
DA means?? Not district attorney
DD means ?? Not Dunkin Donuts

I like using Meguiar's Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish also. They work great in removing light scratches and swirl marks.

DA means dual action, as in random orbital polisher (porter cable)
DD means Daily Driver.

Also, one concern I have is that you keep mentioning how hard it is to remove the polish. When you polish the car with the DA, You should make multiple passes over the same area. The amount of polish to remove should be a very light haze or film. If you have more than that, you're applying too much product.