"The following will be what i use on my paint.
Claybar - Megs white clay
Pinnacle XMT #3 Swirl remover on an orange cutting pad on setting 6
Pinnacle XMT #1 Ultra Fine swirl remover on a white polishing pad on setting 6
Pinnacle XMT Final Glaze on a black finishing pad on setting 3
Poorboys Natty's Blue Carnuba wax by hand"

After reading everything this seems to be a very effective and straight forward method with minimal amount of products.


If I buy these 5 things + a Porter Cabel will this be all I need to to a basic Cleaning/Polish/Wax job? (after washing the car of course)


If this is correct, this is the most straight forward example I have seen yet, and is what I will use. I just want to double check before I go out and make a purchase.

Thank you

Is there a reliable site online I can get all of these products including the pads for the PC. I doubt I will be able to find all of the correct products in my local store.

 

Sponsor greg with detailed image

http://www.detailedimage.com/

& autogeek.com are my two sources.

 

autopia.org. Best detailing site ive seen. Plus just be careful when doing the job, nissan paint is very soft. Infact, I took a cheaper microfiber towel to spread some zaino swirl elimitor and it made halo grams from the towel.

 

I agree with you. I figured I was pretty safe for a while considering I just bought my car. But I noticed it under a light the other night and realized how little wax or what not, they use from the factory. The paint has a very plain finish.

I think I am also going to invest in some heavy duty microfiber towels for the detailing process.

I find that the ones from costco say "microfiber, safe, lint free, scratch free"

But amazingly... they:
1) have tags which can scratch the paint
2) very thin and not all that soft
3) leave lint and yellow strings

So I think even if I go to autozone and get a few over the counter ones, I should be able to tell a good one by its thickness and softness. For one they are about 3 bucks. Sounds reasonable for a good towel.

Last time I used my stuff, my mother grabbed it and washed it all in the washing machine together. I mean wash mits, microfiber towels the lot.

So the towels are done for because they have all the dirt from the mits going through them. But I think the mits should be fine still.

Do you guys wash your microfiber towels by hand? I find as soon as I wash them they loose that "soft" feeling.

 

yup, perfect list. I buy a lot from autogeek.net. Fast shipping and super great customer service. Make sure you get some good microfiber towels and you are set.

 

Thanks!

 

target actually has some really nice thick and plush towels. It's a big towel for only 8 dollars. Two of these should be enough. One for taking off the wax and one for taking off the polish.

 

Autogeek has some pretty good deals on the cobra line of microfiber towels. I think $20 for 6 towels. I have also bought through them, highly recommended.

 

What kit would you get from autogeek.net?

They are all $259

I was thinking the Intermediate Swirl Kit remover... Sound right. Anything else I will need with this?

 

There will be more to purchase than just those five items and a PC.
You will also need to purchase the following to complete the list:
Lake Country Velcro backing plate
Lake Country Orange Pad
Lake Country White Pad
Lake Country Blue and/or Black Pad
Porter Cable 6” Counter Weight (provided you go with the 6” pads)

OR: go through Detailed Image and pick up one of their Porter Cable kits – either the Starter Kit or the Advanced.

Other products you might need:
Quick Detail Spray – this should come with the Megs clay bar but pick up an extra bottle just in case as it comes in handy.
Foam Applicator Pads

Also, what are you looking for in a wax?
I think that this should be a little better defined because Poorboy’s Natty’s Blue Carnauba wax isn’t known for it’s durability. Looks great though!
Here’s my example of it on my Z:



Definitely check out Detailed Image – great products and prices and the pages are set up to be user friendly with recommendations on product combinations.
The other site I peruse through is AutoGeek.

As for forums, Detailed Image has a forum and Autopia.org.

Also, these products are quite a step up from your other thread. The PC is easy to use but does take some getting used to and the overall process can be time consuming (especially when you’re just starting to learn to use the PC).

 

Wow that is shiny Anomaly. Looks great.

Alrighty so..... This is my most up to date purchasing list.

This kit http://autogeek.net/xmtpocainswr.html
+
Pinnicle Clay and Lube http://www.autogeek.net/piulpoclkit.html
+
P21S Wax http://www.autogeek.net/p2concarwax.html
+
Sheep skin mitt
+
Cobra drying towels http://autogeek.net/cobra-guzzler-hd-towel.html
+
I have 2 of those half microfiber catapilliar mits: http://autogeek.net/cobra-blue-microfiber-mitt.html

What kind of car wash soap should I buy?

Can anyone second the Menzerna product package over the XMT Package from Supercharged (Posted Below)?

Do I really need to get anything to prep the applicators or just dunk them in water to make sure there clean?

and do I need to put anything over or under the applicatiors

ex) on top of the orange pad or apply products right to the pad?

Putting a wool pad under the applicator?

Is it unecessary to apply the scratch remover to the entire surface or just the areas with swirls? According to autogeek directions it says to apply to areas with swirls, but will this give the clear coat an uneven finish? Should I just apply to the entire car?

Guys thank you so much for all of your advice and help I really appriciate it!

 

I actually never had any luck with the xmt lineup so i just went with menzerna products and havent looked back.Hope you have better luck then i did.

 

Thats what Im used to hearing about the xmt polishs. That and alot of dust.

 

Hrmmmmmmmmm will I really see a huge difference if I use the XMT or another brand

once I apply the P21S over all of the XMT products will I really be able to notice a huge difference from one product to another.

I was thinking of just using poor boys blue wax because it is about $15 bucks cheaper than the P21S

Ultimately these products are made to do similar jobs. Am I (espeically being a complete noob at this) really going to be able to see a noticeable difference between the different products?

 

I think poorboys makes a polish for use by hand. If you doing it by hand you might as well use a glaze to hide the swirls and then use a wax that hides them as well. Or try zaino z-5 it hides swirls and gives this homo plasticy poppy look.

 

Nattys blue is a very good wax for the money but the xmt lineup just never really did what it claimed.......except you can use it out in the sun.Some people like it a lot but many more would not buy it again inc me.
I bought a few of the menzerna polishes and they worked great for me so that is what i will be sticking with.Also the pc is a good little tool but it takes way to long to get decent results with it so you might want to look into the flex 3401 vrg or the makita 6040 as they orbit quite a bit faster and also have forced rotation.

 

With the faster machines is there a greater possiblity of burning through the paint? I think I will be more comfortable with the PC knowing if I accidently press a little to hard or mis-swipe it will be a little more forgiving than a mikita, which like you said is much more agressive.

My real objective is to be able to get swirl marks from washing out every 3-4 months. I feel like the PC will be enought to do that. Any real bad scratches I will take to my local body shop. The guy is well priced and wet sands out anything major. (an area I do not want to venture into)

I see what your saying about the time factor. I watched some of those videos on autogeek and it took them 5 min to do a 1X1 section. But I appricate your advice. I think I might just buy the porter cable kit and buy the menzerna polishes seperatly

Thank you

Would you recommend using the polish with an orange cutting pad (more agressive) or the just the white pad (less agressive)? Kit only comees with white pad.

are these pad conditioners and cleaners worth getting or are they a waste? http://www.autogeek.net/xmtpadcacofs.html

 

I've been using Dawn and warm water to wash out the pads. Works for me.

 

With the flex or the makita if you leave it one spot to long yes you could burn the paint.But who in there right mind is going to leave it in one spot......you just move slowly across the paint and no burned paint.The flex and makita have much much more power then does the little pc and can correct defects much faster but the rotary is still the king.

I have a rotary but am just to chicken to try it because of the burnt paint problem......but i will never use the pc again.I have the flex and love it cause it speeds up the process 3 fold.

Do not believe all the vids you are seeing about the pc cause for one i know how long it used to take.

 

That's true - The PC takes a long time to cover the whole vehicle.

And it leaves your hands numb.

...and it may make your ears ring...


...and get you to crave a beer break!