Detailing for dummies: I'm the dummy-Wash mitts have entered the chat; possibly other things you stick your hands into!

[riceburner]

finally got to try wet sanding!
so, we got a 2016 tiguan last week. the paint was in overall great shape except for the hood, which as far as i could tell, someone put on ceramic coating then walked away and forgot to buff it off lol. so the entire hood was covered in the 'brush marks'/high spots.

really hazy in some spots

this is AFTER just polishing with a microfiber pad and compound for like 3 passes. clarity was certainly restored but the brush mark effect still very present

So I went in with wetsanding; 3000 grit disk on my random orbital, speed ~3 for like a minute, then followed up with 5000. Scary to do as i hadn't done this before yet, but only removed enough to barely go past the brush marks, then just a little more till it all looked pretty consistant:

then simply polished again as i first tried above, and wow, pretty much show car quality result!

after a quick finishing step and wax just for now till i do the rest of the hood and polish the car; the light is a really awesome light like a scangrip sort of light that literally shows swirls i couldn't find in the sunlight

 

[riceburner]

I’m sure many will disagree with me, and rightfully so, but with the fall coming in quick I wanted to coat my wife’s GLI before winter. At minimum:
Hand wash, clay, and wash again, then coat.

Realistically, there should be an iron decontamination and polish after the clay, but time wasn’t on my side.

I use the Turtle Wax spray coat with graphene. I love this product. It will last through winter for me. My first wash of spring after you rinse, leave wet then spray two sprays per panel and rinse and then dry. It will top it off and keep the coating fresh. I went through the multi step once over 2 years ago and it’s still going strong with top ups.

i got that turtle wax stuff and am not really a fan; maybe i'm doing it wrong but ive tried it on a few cheaper customer cars that just wanted protection. it was kinda hard to work off, especially without leaving a film of sorts behind, and a few were reporting that the hydro effect wore off really quick

 

[Maiden69]

finally got to try wet sanding!

Now remember the area you did this, as the clear coat is definitely thinner. I think a few more passes with the microfiber pad and a decent compound would have level it off. I am a "fan" of wet sanding, but only on cars that I know will not see too much street. I still do some of my cars on the sides, but not the horizontal areas (hood, roof or trunk) because of the sun abuse and propensity to get damaged faster than the sides.

For future issues with bad coatings I recommend this product.

https://www.kamikaze-usa.com/products/kamikaze-collection-kmkz-paint-cleansing/

I think Esoteric is their main importer.
https://www.esotericcarcare.com/kamikaze-collection-kmkz-paint-cleansing/

If it was an SiO2 mild coating it should remove it, but if it was a true SiO2 coating or an SiC, the only way is mechanical as you just did.

 

[riceburner]

noted; yeah i definitely didn't wanna remove much! but the added bonus was it cut right through whatever swirl marks were still definitely behind lol. ive been successfully polishing for a while now and still get too many doozies that just don't wanna come out

 

[Maiden69]

noted; yeah i definitely didn't wanna remove much! but the added bonus was it cut right through whatever swirl marks were still definitely behind lol. ive been successfully polishing for a while now and still get too many doozies that just don't wanna come out

I have talked several times with Kevin Brown and he really advocate to add more liquid before pulling out the sanding paper. Here is a video he did with Larry (AMMO NYC) a few years back, it starts where they go into the explanation of the "mow down" technique, but a decent video to watch in its entirety. More info from Kevin at his website, he also sells a lot of items hard to find for detailing.
http://www.buffdaddy.com/kevinbrownmethod

 

[riceburner]

seen that one!

oh and yeah as a note, i obviously dont have/didnt use a clear coat gauge, so i was definitely free-balling it in hoping i wasn't gonna just sand right through whatever clearcoat is on it; but seemed safe to assume its just a tiguan and hasn't been polished much/ever and definitely wasn't wet sanded already lol

 

[Maiden69]

Funny I posted about Larry above, I was browsing YouTube and a video of him cleaning out a Fahrenheit popped up. Then I noticed Charles was the one that brought the car to him and helped out in the "detailing".

 

[riceburner]

also was sure to catch that one, ammo and charles are two excellent 'tubers with always great content. worth the watch, and holy shit was that car in bad shape!

 

[Maiden69]

For those of you that are not subscribed to OPT emails they released a few weeks ago the new ONR Foam. I have not tried it yet, but will be ordering one soon to try out once my system is installed back in the new house. I know when I certified a few people were asking if it was possible and at the time the answer was no, so I guess Dr. G was able to formulate a foam that will not stain while drying it ON the surface of the car.

https://opticoat.com/products/optim...d=120210055928000786&ad_id=120210056230180786

 

[▯▯▯]

For those of you that are not subscribed to OPT emails they released a few weeks ago the new ONR Foam. I have not tried it yet, but will be ordering one soon to try out once my system is installed back in the new house. I know when I certified a few people were asking if it was possible and at the time the answer was no, so I guess Dr. G was able to formulate a foam that will not stain while drying it ON the surface of the car.

https://opticoat.com/products/optim...d=120210055928000786&ad_id=120210056230180786

New ONR product? Just in time for garage wash season?

​

 

[riceburner]

ok i'm sick of wheel cleaners that stink SO horrible. what are some current alternatives that dont smell?

like, my garage smells like one of those liquid yeast flytraps after a week of being in the sun i can't stand it anymore lol.

i don't let brake dust get that bad to need it.

whats the other thing people are using these days, high PH?

 

[Maiden69]

ok i'm sick of wheel cleaners that stink SO horrible. what are some current alternatives that dont smell?

High pH or basic (alkaline) chemicals will have no impact on embedded iron deposits. The iron removers are a specific chemical that eats the rust and allows the iron piece to detach from the paint easier. Coat your wheels with a good coating, keep a few quarters on your car and go to a coin car wash and hose the wheels every 1-2 weeks to remove most contaminants. I use the cheap Castrol Super Clean degreaser when I do this, but since my wheels are coated with OptiCoat Pro they can go for months with out having any significant crap accumulated on them.

Here is a link with some quick explanation of pH used in detailing and a decent video from The Rag Company on the subject.

Acids for most water based stains, bases for most oils/wax based stains.

https://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a...v92Kg17aSJ95y6JPjayPU7fa0mTr-qNS7sUbJ0gEswGL1