MarcHarris

Toss it. I don't see a need in it at all, and you're best off just getting rid of it. All of the 5.0's I've worked on had much too soft paint for it to be of use anyways.


Another great question that is up to the owner. You need to take into consideration how well the vehicle is maintained, and how perfect you want the vehicle looking.

Part of the reason to take good care of your car after proper polishing is so that the polishing job will last, and in part so that any light swirls that happen over time will be shallow enough that heavy polishing is not needed. Not having to heavily polish in the near future saves future time, and preserves more clear-coat.
Newer 5.0's I've measured were around 120-160 microns thick (thousandths of a millimeter), and likely 40-60% of that thickness is clear-coat.

Polishing might only take away 2-3 microns, but heavy polishing could remove 4 or 5. Light polishing, like what can be needed on a properly maintained vehicle can be less than 1. I've worked for a few repeat clients that really took charge of their maintenance and did all the right things, and not only did their cars still look outstanding, but the only polishing step they needed (which at that point is just to increase clarity) took off less than a micron of clear-coat.

It all becomes a matter of how perfect you want your car to look, and how much time you want to invest in your car. Some guys like to polish twice a year. I polish maybe once a year on my own vehicle and feel that's fine. Sure she needs some love now and you can see some very fine swirls starting to develop, and I can see there's less clarity and gloss to the paint, but when clean she still turns heads and people still can't believe she has 94k miles.

This reminds me one an additional polishing topic: It's not just paint. Now that I mention it, I'm willing to bet you'll start to notice this: tail lights.
Cars that look old faded and tired have tons of swirls and paint defects giving them a hazy appearance, and their plastic taillights do too.

Because it's the topic of the thread, here's an example featuring a Kona Blue 5.0:

How the tails looked before polishing:



And after:






Kona engine bay detailed to a matte "OEM" style finish:




I have to be honest about the paint on these cars... I kinda fell in love with Kona once I saw how it could look. It was quite breath taking in person. So dark with violet and blue popping where light hit. I wish these pics did justice to how it looked in person:












In the end, any color polished out looks amazing. Even silver or white.


To answer "do new cars need polishing?" .....

Do you think a black 'Stang looks like this from the dealership?

[img][/img]

Zaksgt

I use a lot of Adams products, and Autoglym

5 DOT 0

Marc, thanks again. Do you use the same polishing compound on the tail lights as the paint? And what are you using on the plastic under the hood? I might find a good detailer to do the polishing once a year and do the rest myself. My car is not a DD so it's not getting a lot of miles on it. But I do like to drive it at WOT every chance I get.

CCTking

I love doin things myself but ay Marc how ya feel about shinin up my baby haha
ill bring the products i use but id like to see how a pro like yourself goes about his work

MarcHarris

The same polishes can be used.

For a matte finish in the engine bay, we used the same thing we like to use on interiors: 1Z Cockpit Premium. Best interior product I've found to date.

You have the option of doing it all yourself. The only reason to outsource detailing work in my opinion, is to get a better result in a shorter amount of time than you could achieve.

WOT? ....as if there's any other way to drive


I think it'd be really cool to see what tips someone could pick up as they watch someone else use all of their supplies for sure. It looks like you're keeping your lady in quite nice shape as is.

CCTking

I like takin care of my investments(:
An the thing for me is im a college student on a budget so i cant afford a solid DA! Ive used one before though an it was just amazing how easy it made the job. But ive been doing everything by hand. Clay bar, klasse polish, klasse HG sealant, Collinite 915, pinnacle liquid souveran. I get about as even i can get in distributing the product across the surfaces and i gotta say for hand work it looks amazing

MarcHarris

Good! You're supposed to and I too enjoy giving my baby some attention. No worries about budget - that's one of the things we all have to work around, or we'd all be driving Twin-Turbo Ford GT's with a mechanic and detailer on call.

There's nothing wrong with putting the time and effort into doing it all by hand. It's not that you're not supposed to do that, it's just that if you can afford it, there are much better options. Think of it like talking to someone who wants to buy a Mustang and is deciding between a V6 and V8... and can afford either one.
If you can do it... DO IT!

2012GTCS

Ton of good information provided that was pretty much spot on! Nice to see others that know more then just armour all (junk) lol

I will say however, I have used a bunch of different products and gotten different results from different LSPs. Different levels of shine, different levels of durability, and a wide variation in the ease of use.

I will say my favorite to date is the Blackfire Wet Biamond (BFWD). The slickness is great and the ease of use is incredible. With that said, in detailing, there's a lot of buts. My go to winter LSP for better durability and protection is Collinite 845.

Also, I'd like to add in as a tip. Browse the net and get yourself a GOOD set of microfiber(MF) towels. Stop using those Walmart/auto store/other OTC towels on your paint. Immediately demote then to engine bay/door jamb/wheel towels. Using these MFs on your paint is just going to induce marring/swirling as you are trying to remove that stuff.

If your not going to get into machine buffing/paint correction/multi step detailing, then at least do the following steps:
-wash the car w/ proper methods
-clay bar
-wax/seal the paint with a quality sealant. Maybe look into an All-in-one to polish/seal the paint.

MarcHarris

Outstanding advice

5 DOT 0

How about some links to MF towel recommendations?

CCTking

I solely use Cobra MF's
Klasse all in one polish
Megs compound is its really bad swirls
Klasse HG sealant
Collinite 915
Pinnacle Souveran

flySWA737

After reading your posts MarcHarris, you made me really want to get a polisher. My routine has managed to minimize any swirls but I still feel that I could do better. I'm kind of a Meg's freak but really want to reach out and try different things.

My Products
- Megs Gold Class Soap
- Megs Clay Bar
- Megs Cleaner Wax
- Megs Ultimate Liquid Wax

Really trying to save for a polisher to give my hands a break.

Overboost

Well, if you're a Meg's freak, get yourself a G110, then pick up one (or both) of the following:
-Meg's M105/M205
-Meg's DA Microfiber correction kit

For just putting wax on, the DA is a godsend. I can do my car in a fraction of the time with the DA and a blue pad to apply wax, and that alone is worth the investment IMO.

mcate

One of the best detailing threads I've read in years. People stop by my house & see me detailing cars, & ask what I charge to wax their cars. I tell them I'll "wax" their car for $20, but to detail it is around $100-150. It's not just about wax. Proper detailing is all about paint preparation.

Overboost

http://www.detailedimage.com/DI-Micr...05/16-x-16-S1/

I've got a dozen of those for wax removal. Compared to the bulk MF towels it's night & day different. Watch for a sale or coupon code.



http://www.detailedimage.com/DI-Micr...00/36-x-24-S1/

I use these on the painted surfaces after I wipe the glass down with a silicone water blade. Two of them easily handles a dripping wet car. If you sheet the water off the car properly, you can only use one.

CCTking

I really like just about any Cobra MF towel. The quality of the fibers is unmatched

CCTking

I really like just about any Cobra MF towel. The quality of the fibers is unmatched

Overboost

I have a few Cobra towels as well. I like them both. I don't think you can go wrong either way.

Aj Bentley

On my ingot Silver 2011 GT/CS, I am currently using Blackfire Wet Diamond. It is very slick and shiny which is what you want for a lighter color, but it adds some reflectivity to the paint that I really like.

I used werkstat prime + acrylic jett trigger when it was new. Really liked it too and it made it really shiny to where you had to look away from it in bright sun. I think BFWD is a more balanced look.

TDS

Way to go Marc, straighten 'em out on how to polish, then wax. Polishing is where the "shine and reflectivity begins", then sealed with wax. Having talked to Marc, on the phone, he is a busy man, his words are the Bible when it comes to polishing waxing and Detailing. And thats from 1 detail shop owner to another.

" You can wash a pig and put lipstick on it but at the end of the day......... its still a pig"

TDS