Car Detailing - What products are your go to?

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by anobserver

Look forward to the product review, gofurther.

Went out shopping yesterday. Picked up some low sheen armourall for the dash and plastic surrounds. Currently cleaning it weekly, and leatherising the steering wheel. So much dust on that dash!

Also found a budget solution, maybe, to my need for a detailing stool.

https://www.bunnings.com.au/syneco-p...-blue_p0860423

I need one of those to wash the roof of The Dragon Lady's block of flats Territory

[anobserver]

Some product use feedback.

Tried out the experimental detailing aid, aka stool. Really good. Light, compact and a good height at 200mm.

Now to stop the car getting dirty....if only.

[FTE217]

Originally Posted by GasoLane

I need one of those to wash the roof of The Dragon Lady's block of flats Territory

the good ol milk crate is my go to for TDL's CX5
Available at the rear from any Retail outlet, google is your friend - cost nil

[fordomatic]

This will be long, but shows how different paint reacts very differently to different products and pads.

Had an interesting one yesterday. I was doing a correction on my venom red AU. The car overall is very straight for a 20 year old car.

So I did a full decontamination. Wash, then I used Bowden’s 3 way as I was out of Iron X and I used the 3 way as lube for clay as well, very impressed with 3 Way. The reaction was minimal and the paint was already pretty clean, just very swirled from years of washing.

Plan was to do a single stage correction as the paint was only swirled with no significant scratches and I only had the day to do it. I was aiming for an 80% defect removal result.

So I had Scholl S20 + and The Last Cut, along with my 12” RO and 12” rotary and 3” rotary mini with a massive selection of pads. Using the RO I first tried with The Last Cut on a yellow pad. It removed 95% of defects but left hazing so that combo was out as I was only doing a single pass. Next was Scholl S20 + with a yellow pad. Using an inspection light it looked great and about of 90% defects gone.

So I go ahead and do the bonnet, spending extra time finessing as they always take the longest and always have the most defects. I used the Rotary 3” on the areas the RO 12” couldn’t get to. I do a thorough inspection and notice that there are micro marks and hazing. I do a test and realise it’s the microfibre marking the paint, damn this paint is soft, so I change to super plush microfibre, do another pass and all looks good, so I thought. So I do the roof and do another inspection and now see hazing and micro swirls, especially where the rotary has been used.

I then spend the next hour working out that a Scholl blue pad, with Scholl S20 +, on a speed of 4 using the plush microfibre worked perfect. Everything goes smoothly and the car looks great but i wasted about 4 hours finding the combo that works, I ended up working into the night to get it done, 13 hours all up.

So looking back I learnt heaps. First, the least aggressive combo ended up getting the best results. The other combos all cut almost exactly the same but didn’t finish down nearly as well. It’s also the first time I’ve had microfibre mark paint, this was a learning curve as I’d read about it a few times on soft paint. I usually do a two step correction, using something like The Last Cut or Scholl S3 and then following that up with a finishing pass. It showed me how awesome S20 is as a one step. 99% of people will look at this car and not notice that I saved about 10 hours by doing a one step correction with about 80-90% of defects gone.

This is the first car I’ve ever corrected that has had soft paint, I’ll have to be really careful in the future with my washing regime as it’ll be super easy to introduce imperfections.

No pictures sorry as I only had the day and just needed to get it done.

[FTE217]

Great info and points mate !
Good, S20 + blue pad is the go to....
Interesting I thought the AU paint is far better than FG on, especially FGX, that paint is soft as.

[fordomatic]

Originally Posted by FTE217

Great info and points mate !
Good, S20 + blue pad is the go to....
Interesting I thought the AU paint is far better than FG on, especially FGX, that paint is soft as.

Yeh, it's interesting, this is the first AU i've detailed that had soft paint. The white Sportsman has really hard paint. The Silver and Congo XR8's and P250 had medium paint.

My FG XR6T that was Mystic had medium to soft. I wasn't as into detailing as much back then as I am now though, I wasn't inspecting the paint with inspection lights, so it probably was soft

[fiestaz]

So I did nearly complete my detailing plan. The car did get fully slick treatment. It did look great. No I didn’t update, because this moved in and has been keeping me very busy.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by fiestaz

So I did nearly complete my detailing plan. The car did get fully slick treatment. It did look great. No I didn’t update, because this moved in and has been keeping me very busy.

image

Adorable, he or she?

[fiestaz]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Adorable, he or she?

She. Very cute. Keeps us very busy.

Car has satisfactory bead porn outside in the rain currently - to keep on topic

[fiestaz]

It does look good… even though it’s dirty.
The brakes feel so good, and did a good job of avoiding a dog and a motorcyclist today but the brake dust hurts….

[T3rminator]

Hope this falls under "detailing"....

There is something on a section of my windshield that causes "frost" or "mist" to stick. Makes morning driving on cold days a bit iffy. It takes a good 10 min or so of driving to clear it up.

The wipers are still good, they are bosch aerotwins, and does the job when its raining. It clears when I use the wipers, but then frosts up again pretty much within a couple of seconds later. The section in green is where I'm talking about. The other part of the windscreen where you can see the big wiper mark is fine. Washing the car or cleaning with windex doesn't seem to achieve anything. Any ideas?

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by T3rminator

Hope this falls under "detailing"....

There is something on a section of my windshield that causes "frost" or "mist" to stick. Makes morning driving on cold days a bit iffy. It takes a good 10 min or so of driving to clear it up.

The wipers are still good, they are bosch aerotwins, and does the job when its raining. It clears when I use the wipers, but then frosts up again pretty much within a couple of seconds later. The section in green is where I'm talking about. The other part of the windscreen where you can see the big wiper mark is fine. Washing the car or cleaning with windex doesn't seem to achieve anything. Any ideas?

image

That's really odd. Make sure that the wiper blade is staying flat in operation. Other than that, try using a clay bar or towel on the entire windscreen.

[Cav]

Has the use of rinse aid been discussed yet?

[bangm001]

OK guys. Sparesbox has 20% off this week. Which Rupes Polisher is the best for a beginner?

Im getting a bit lost in the orbit size etc. Theres 12mm, 15mm and 21mm?

Thinking this one? https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/16458480...sAAOSwVNhgykXu

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by bangm001

OK guys. Sparesbox has 20% off this week. Which Rupes Polisher is the best for a beginner?

Im getting a bit lost in the orbit size etc. Theres 12mm, 15mm and 21mm?

Thinking this one? https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/16458480...sAAOSwVNhgykXu

For a beginner, I would go for the LHR15, this will be more versatile than the larger LHR21.

You will get just about a whole car done with the 15, the 21 would be great for the larger panels, but you if you are going to start out with one machine, the 15 is going to be more useful.

Nice choices by the way!

[bangm001]

Havnt bought yet, still thinking how much work is involved masking up and polishing lol.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/16458480...gAAOSwFbtgykYl

[T3rminator]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

That's really odd. Make sure that the wiper blade is staying flat in operation. Other than that, try using a clay bar or towel on the entire windscreen.

It is odd. I used charmois to wipe it down, but same thing. Its very odd, its like there is a film over that section. Washing doesn't help. It only clears up once dried. Might try some degreaser

[Ross 1]

Originally Posted by T3rminator

It is odd. I used charmois to wipe it down, but same thing. Its very odd, its like there is a film over that section. Washing doesn't help. It only clears up once dried. Might try some degreaser

Try giving it a deep clean with a one to one solution of water and white vinegar, see if that helps. Remember to wipe the windscreen rubbers afterwards.

[fordomatic]

Originally Posted by bangm001

Havnt bought yet, still thinking how much work is involved masking up and polishing lol.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/16458480...gAAOSwFbtgykYl

It's a tonne of work to do it properly, prep is key to getting a good result as well. Worth it at the end though.

[FTE217]

Originally Posted by fiestaz

It does look good… even though it’s dirty.
The brakes feel so good, and did a good job of avoiding a dog and a motorcyclist today but the brake dust hurts….

image

what is wrong with you guys and attention to detail ?
All eyes were on fiestaz'z nice blue Foccie or your just being polite ? or that much into detail products haha,,,,,,
The tree decorations

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by bangm001

Havnt bought yet, still thinking how much work is involved masking up and polishing lol.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/16458480...gAAOSwFbtgykYl

The Rupes LHR15 is widely known as THE industry standard, you will be very happy with it. And make me jealous.

There are a couple of versions of the LHR series.

The current one is the LHR MK III -
https://www.rupes.com/product/lhr15iii/#bloccoRelated

The one you have linked is the LHR15 ES/BAS -
https://www.rupes.com/product/lhr15es/#bloccoRelated

The MK III had incremental improvements so I don't think you will be unhappy with the ES/BAS, especially considering the $266 price difference.

[tbro4123]

Thought I'd try a new to me product and to say I'm impressed would be an understatement.


I like waxing my cars (XR and KIA) and really appreciate the outcome.
My daughter walked through the workshop when she came home and commented that the Falcon looks good! I didn't tell her what I spent the afternoon doing so that was a nice win for me.

Product was Wowo's contact 121, not exactly dear nor cheap but certainly will go a long way, barely made a dent in the wax doing 2 cars.



Falcon


No machine just by hand and really easy to play "wax on wax off"
Now to see how long it last.

Stay safe

Terry aka Tbro

[bangm001]

Hi DFB, can we talk for a bit about masking tape. What tapes, what areas we really need to be cautious on our falcons and how do you go about masking around stripes?

[FoxtrotGolfXray 5.0]

Originally Posted by FTE217

what is wrong with you guys and attention to detail ?
All eyes were on fiestaz'z nice blue Foccie or your just being polite ? or that much into detail products haha,,,,,,
The tree decorations

What tree???

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by bangm001

Hi DFB, can we talk for a bit about masking tape. What tapes, what areas we really need to be cautious on our falcons and how do you go about masking around stripes?

The first and most important rule with masking tape is to NEVER buy cheap masking tape! NEVER! If you are going to invest in the time to apply tape all over the car, the last thing you want is a product that is going to fight you all the way.

On the right, cheap general use masking tape from Bunnings. On the left, 3M Green painters tape.



I used the Green and Blue 3M tape for a long time. It's a great choice and easily obtained. Make sure to buy a few different width's to accommodate the various surfaces that need masking. The blue is for multi-surfaces, the green for rough surfaces. Take your pick, both are decent.

https://www.bunnings.com.au/scotch-2...-tape_p1214133





However, I have been using CarPro red masking tape lately. It's another step in quality and has been designed especially for automotive polishing. It also removes residue free, an important feature. Available in four widths, it's also comparatively priced with the 3M stuff from Bunnings.

https://www.waxit.com.au/collections...ant=4915599108
https://detailingshed.com.au/collect...m-x-40m-length



In terms of masking Falcon's, they are not especially different to any other vehicle. Although that said, FG series Falcon's are pretty simple to mask up. AU and B-Series Falcon's do need some extra care to be shown around the more prominent window rubber seals on the doors, as well as windscreen rubbers on AU's.

Here sporting CarPro tape is my fabulous XR6 -





As you can see, I have also taped around the soft door badges, doing the same for the boot lid badges. Head and Tail Lamps are best taped too, usually just around the edges. Any unpainted black plastic trim is best taped as well to avoid polish stains. For example, this would include the FG XR series fog lamp surrounds and rear bumper insert. All F series Falcon's will need the roof weld trim taped as well. I have done this enough times over the years to be pretty efficient at getting around the car. Some stuff I won't bother taping because of prior experience.

The time put in at the taping stage makes the job easier. And the time invested is always worth the effort -

[fordomatic]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

The Rupes LHR15 is widely known as THE industry standard, you will be very happy with it. And make me jealous.

There are a couple of versions of the LHR series.

The current one is the LHR MK III -
https://www.rupes.com/product/lhr15iii/#bloccoRelated

The one you have linked is the LHR15 ES/BAS -
https://www.rupes.com/product/lhr15es/#bloccoRelated

The MK III had incremental improvements so I don't think you will be unhappy with the ES/BAS, especially considering the $266 price difference.

Mate, I’m so torn right now, do I get the Rupes or the shine mate battery in 15. I was all set on the shine mate until this Rupes sale came up. I’m leaning towards the Shine Mate after reading Luke Kalas review on a Facebook post.

[fordomatic]

Also, I’m a massive advocate for CarPro masking tape, I’ve found it to be way better than bunnings 3m tape

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by fordomatic

Mate, I’m so torn right now, do I get the Rupes or the shine mate battery in 15. I was all set on the shine mate until this Rupes sale came up. I’m leaning towards the Shine Mate after reading Luke Kalas review on a Facebook post.

I guess there is a certain level of elitism with having a Rupes. They are the best of the best for good reason. For that factor alone, I want one in my arsenal too!

I bought the Shine Mate 3 and 5 inch machines when they were released late last year. I wanted machines that I could use with ease and not deal with a cord hanging over my shoulder. I bought them with the thought I would keep my old corded 6 inch machine for when I needed. Put it this way, the corded machine has not been used in a very long time now.



I love how ergonomic these Shine Mate's are to use, not having to account for a cord makes using them for extended periods much better. The only thing I would say about these machines is, on the highest setting, they don't crank up as high as an electric polisher. I still got excellent results from them though.



If I was using these professionally, all day every day, I would want to have a Rupes LHR alongside these Shine Mates. For the hobbyist, the battery machines are a perfect fit. Either way you go, I can't see you being disappointed.

[bangm001]

Thanks everyone for their time and effort put into this thread, especially DFB!!

Just bought the red tapes. Red works best for me as one of my cars in yellow and the other blue!

Just another quickie, how many pads would you typically go through on a single car polish? Ie i now have 2x wool and 1x fine Rupes pad, should a get a few more fine or ultra fine pads?

[T3rminator]

Originally Posted by bangm001

Thanks everyone for their time and effort put into this thread, especially DFB!!

+1 for DFB. Very articulate and patient he is. Gets a few repetitive questions (from me!) but always helpful!

Regarding tapes, agree not to get cheap ones. I found out the hard way. Cheap ones also tend to have fibres on the side, which can really ruin your day.