Professional detailing

[Wintermute]

Well the facts of life are that, unless you live in a bubble along with your car, swirls are a part of car ownership. Dust and dirt just contains particles that are harder than the clearcoat on the car, hence swirls.

But if you are simply wiping down your dusty car with a damp towel, all you are really doing is dragging dirt across your paint. Use a quick detailer like Mother's Showtime. These have lubricants in them that will help prevent swirls and scratches, and they will help clean off bugs and bird crap.

Washing is the only really safe way to remove dirt, but even then you have to be careful. First you need the right materials and proper washing techniques. Here is how to properly wash your car:

http://www.autogeek.net/exterior.html

The supplies you'll need will be partially based on personal preference. So here's a short list of good choices:

Buckets:
- 2 buckets: 1 for the wash water, and one for rinsing your wash tool in between dips into the soap
- 1 bucket with a GritGuard (mesh insert that keeps dirt and grit on the bottom)

Wash tool*:
- Sheepskin wash mit
- Microfiber wash mit
- Natural sea sponge
- Boar's hair brush

Drying tool*:
- Waffle-weave microfiber towels, such as Cobra's "The Guzzler" (should have 1 of these in any case)
- Natural or synthetic chamois (never been a fan)
- California Water Blade (basically a big squeegee made with medical-grade silicone. HIGHLY recomended in conjunction with The Guzzler)
- A leaf blower (hey, what's softer than air, eh?)

*Wash your wash tools and drying towels after EVERY wash. This will preven grit from getting trapped in the fibers and causing (you guessed it) swirls. Except the leaf blower of course.

Now that you have the basic washing and drying down, the next step is how to remove swirls. Paint detailing is a basically a 4 step process:
1) Decontamination (wash and clay bar)
2) Swirl removal
3) Polishing
4) Sealing (waxing after sealing is optional, some ppl just prefer the look)

So here's the basic process for swirl removal (thanks to Perfectlap and all the other swirlophobics out there ):

1) Wash your car with a degreasing dish soap like original blue Dawn. It will strip off old wax, grease, and anything else while not damaging the paint.
2) Dry the car.
3) Run your hand across the paint. Is is smooth as glass? If not, you need to use a clay bar to remove surface contaminants. Even if it feels smooth, you must do this step anyway, or you will be sealing contminants into your paint: http://www.autogeek.net/detailing-clay-bar.html
4) If, at this point, you have old waterspots on your car, there is an easy, cheap way to remove them: white vinegar. Just put some vinegar on a microfiber towel and wipe the spots off. Don't worry: It won't harm your clear coat. Most commercial water spot removal products (like Ducky) are mostly vinegar anway.
5) Wash and dry again with your favorite car wash (I prefer Meguiar's Gold Class).
6) Use a swirl remover, preferably with an orbital polisher. Poorboys 2.5 is a recommended product. Your paint may look dull after this step. This is normal, so don't worry. http://www.autogeek.net/dual-action-polisher.html
7) Polish by hand with a high-end polish like Klasse All-in-One, or Pinnacle Advanced Finishing Polish. This will restore your shine and gloss.
8) Finish up with a good paint sealant with the orbital polisher. The Poorboys EX or Werkstat Acrylic Jett are getting lots of praise. You can also use the Werkstat Acrylic Jett Trigger (spray form of the standard stuff) and do it by hand. Sealants last 6 months, so this is the best way to protect your paint.
9) (Optional step) Wax with your favorite wax. I like the Meguiar's NXT Tech wax (a synthetic non-carnauba), but it's really up to you. The Pinnacle Souverän wax is supposed to be excellent.

So there you go. Hope that helps. Others may have other tips that I might have missed (I'm still learning :P ), so read up as much as you can. If time is a factor for you (like me), check a few posts back from this one made by Perfectlap. He has some good time estimates on how long it should take.

[luxury1]

I did some of this but definitely picked up a few more steps. This is really great information! Thanks!!!

[Perfectlap]

winterminute,
what you should keep in mind is that the paint on your Boxser is VERY different to the paint used on GM and Chevy cars. Actually you can't buy the type of paint used at the Porsche factory here in America. If your car is ever in a collision you will be getting the American Porsche paint version which is much harder and less susceptible to scratching and micro marring but also not as purty.

Thus, California Car dusters and any type of dry dusting really is not good for your car. And for your Audi friends it's REALLY a bad idea. Good luck getting swirls out of that paint. Hardest clear coat anywhere. You actually need a special PC polisher attachement just for audi finishes.

If you don't want the top to fade I would get a softop cover which are sold on ebay for $50 and protect your interior from fading. It will protect the top without touching the paint.
Car covers are fine in theory but most people I've known use them too frequently and don't wash or clean the car each time they use them. It's unavoidable paint damage. I'm very sure you will get less paint damage going naked and parking in the shade vs. the cover. Paints, even the German ones, today are remarkably resilient to UV and all the other damaging rays. Your trim and soft top different story. But that's where disciplined use of 303, 1z vinyl and rubber or even armor all will pay off.

Swirls can be removed with an orbital poilisher but that stuff is micros thin and you can only do it so many times before the clear coat finish is in danger of failing.
Replacing your soft top and shooting a new layer of clear coat are two ENTIRELY preventable expenses.

p.s.
you are very lucky to have a car wash port! cleaning the barrel of my wheels is going to be a PITA without lots o' water.

[Wintermute]

So you are saying that the swirl remover should be applied by hand? I thought a polisher was the prefered way of doing swirl removal?

As for the cover, I understand the issues involved with them and I am very careful. I don't use the cover daily, usually only for a few days after I wash and wax my car. I also clean my cover often. The real problem is the place my car spends 80% of it's time in the uncovered parking lot at work, the only shade comes from a few trees that are invested with doves. I learned my lesson quickly that that is a bad place to be. The trees drop all kinds of sap and twigs, and the doves...well you know that scene in "Fight Club" where they sprinkle bird seed on the roof next to the BMW dealer? Yeah...no thanks.

I am intrigued by the softop cover and I think that might be perfect for everyday use. Thanks for the tip.

[Perfectlap]

well the soft top cover is amust have for you blazing sun folks
I would attach this only from the front and rear, cut the doorhandle loops off with a scissors. Not good to be rubbing on the paint that often.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1997-06-PORSCHE-BOXSTER-CAR-COCKPIT-COVER-ALL-WEATHER_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ50456QQitemZ806 7851262QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW
this guy should give me a commission!

Originally Posted by Wintermute

So you are saying that the swirl remover should be applied by hand? I thought a polisher was the prefered way of doing swirl removal?.

As for the swirl remover what I meant to say is that there are only so many times you can go the PC route to remove swirls. Probably why its best to start off with as mild a swirl remover that will do the job. If you still see swirling kick up to the next most abbrasive formula. This way you aren't needlessly cutting away clear coat.
Swirl removal by hand won't save you any clear coat and just give you carpel tunnel syndrome.

[Wintermute]

OK, I see what you mean with the swirl remover, that makes more sense. Man I hate how fast paint degragdes. I mean why has there been a clear coat or some similar material developed that can withstand the rigours of the modern world? I guess you have to sacrifice some durability and resiliance for attractiveness to sell cars. Maybe nanotech will come to the rescue and develop self healing and cleaning paint. Wouldn't that be nice? A layer of nanobots that can break down dust and dirt and use the raw materials to repair scratches and chips.

Mayhaps, mayhaps.

[slogans7]

Wintermute - as hot as it can get in Tucson, you'd do well to make sure your top has been treated with Raggtopp Protectant a couple times a month during Summer.

I also agree with 'Lap about investing the money in a Porter Cable. The device makes applying and/or removing cleaners, sealants and wax quite easy. Besides, you can also use it when you need anything perfectly sanded. The Boxster is a small car and you can really give your car a beautiful - and protective - shine is just a few hours. Once you do it, you'll realize it's too much fun to outsource.

[Wintermute]

Agreed. Raggtop is tops on my list of car car products to buy. :P Along with the Porter Cable polisher, sealant, swirl remover, polish...damn list just doesn't get any shorter. I just keep checking things off, then adding more. Ah well, such is life.

[slogans7]

Yeah, once you get into detailing your own car - and poring over the info at Autopia.org - you'll be surprised at how much you can spend. But it's a healthy addiction, and I've found it can be a valuable activity to preclude having to assume other nasty chores, like grocery shopping, laundry and bathing the dogs (at least in my case). BTW, I let my wife use my Porter Cable to refinish a favorite table of hers. She now likes the device and has stopped referring to it as "that stupid spinning thing."

[Perfectlap]

well if its any consolation I took some nice pics of my old car after lots-o' detailing work and those pics were used to find a internet buyer who 'had to have' my car.
Guy flew up one Saturday morning from Florida gave me cold hard cash (nearly twice what I was expecting) jumped into the car and drove right back to Florida.
I even detailed it the morning of the sale, I saw the whites of his eyes grow larger as I pulled up to the terminal.




spending $500 bucks on detailing crap might seem like allot but sooner or later you'll run into someone wanting to buy that shiny car. I have two guys now who think I'm selling my Boxster to them.
I said yeah yeah ok so they would quit asking me about it.

[SD987]

Although I'm a Rejex fan, I recently prepped with the the "Dawn" and "Vinegar" steps for the first time. Wow, tremendous difference!

Perfectlap, I am also now a worshipper at the altar of the Sea Sponge. Much better than the Microfiber wash thingie.

[Perfectlap]

Yeah I just started using teh Sea SPonge. I got sick of washing MF mitts two and three times and still finding particles in there. A good twist of the Sea Sponge and it seems to come clean in a snap.
The ultimate combination would be sea sponge and foam gun. With a 'curling' type technique where you lubricate the surface as you chase it with the sponge.

[eslai]

Originally Posted by slogans7

I also agree with 'Lap about investing the money in a Porter Cable. The device makes applying and/or removing cleaners, sealants and wax quite easy. Besides, you can also use it when you need anything perfectly sanded. The Boxster is a small car and you can really give your car a beautiful - and protective - shine is just a few hours. Once you do it, you'll realize it's too much fun to outsource.

Even with an orbital buffer my wrists end up hurting--bad wrists and joints from typing on a keyboard all day.

I also find that buffers waste a lot of product either from slinging it around or just soaking it up in the pads. But by far the most annoying thing for me is that you need to mask off all the trim on the car so it doesn't get on everything and even then you still have to do fine detailing around edges and hard-to-reach spots.

I gave up on buffers because of all this--the big sweeping expanses of sheet metal aren't the hard part about polishing/waxing a car--it's all the little details that make the job a pain in the ass.

[Wintermute]

eslai -

So what's your technique for swirl removal and polishing? Do you just do it by hand?

[eslai]

My technique involves $200 and a trip to a detail shop.

[Wintermute]

Originally Posted by eslai

My technique involves $200 and a trip to a detail shop.

Ouch. Nothing's easy, eh?

[oranje]

what I want is this as a clearcoat...

http://www.grcblog.com/bloggers/2/files/honey_sh.mpg

first drop of honey is on glass, the second one is on a new material using roughened wax nano structures. Made by propellor heads at GE.

Turns out that slick surfaces in nature are not smooth at all under a microscope... it's all about reducing surface area, so nothing can stick. Expect it to be a $2,000 option for the car... but it'll be worth it!

Original is at http://www.grcblog.com/fullview.php?blog_id=18

[Rob175]

Keshari.....you do know that you replied to a post that is 18 yrs old!.....There's a good chance the OP has moved on or no longer even owns the car.....LOL

[bivin]

There are single step polishes are available with most of the brands with new technology which can remove swirls and give a good finish.