Hey guys; first post here. I've been lurking for awhile now. A local member (7_rocket) recently had me detail his car so I thought I'd post pics and introduce myself. My name is Kevin and I am the owner/operator of GTA In Detail , a Toronto based mobile-detailing operation. Those of you attending MoM will probably see me there.

So, if anyone has any detailing questions just let me know! Here's 7_rocket's car, after 5 hours of claying, polishing, and sealing. Cheers.

 

Post the 'Cuda pics.

 

Hey! I didn't know you had an RX-7.

Here are the 'cuda pics:

http://gtaindetail.com/pics/cuda073006/

 

wow how much did that all cost?

 

Kevin did a great job. Anyone who gets him to detail your car, you wont be disapointed TRUST ME!

 

Yep, the RX-7 is the weekend car.

Folks, Kevin has quite a following on the G35 forums for good reason.

 

Lookin good Rocket!

So what brand of product do you use? (picus)

 

Heya - prices are on my site, to give you an idea of cost 7_rocket's car got the "One step polish + Interior" package.

I don't really subscribe to one particular brand, I have a myriad of products I use depending on the situation. For example, on 7_rockets car I polished with a Porter Cable and Menzerna Intensive Polish, followed by Final Polish II, then applied Jeffs Werkstatt Prime, then Jeffs Werkstatt Acrylic Jett (both synthetic sealants). I used those because they look great on silver and will last a solid 4-6 months. I didn't need to use a rotary to polish because the marring was very light when I arrived, so there was only minor scratch and swirl removal before sealing. To give you some examples of my more commonly used products I would say the average detail goes something like this:

Wash with P21S soap or Optimum No Rinse
Use Megs Wheel Brightener or P21S polishing soap on wheels
Clay with clay magic clay
Polish via rotary or PC with either Menzerna, Optimum, Meguairs or Blackfire polishes.
Seal with Werkstatt, Zaino, Poorboys EX, Menzerna FMJ, etc... (depends on color/metallic/pearl)
Wax with Souveran, Nattys Blue, OCW, Clearkote Carnauba, P21S (again, depends on color)
Then misc stuff, dress tires, polish chrome, clean windows, dress trim...

I hope this answers your question, if anyone has any more let me know.

 

Hey man, car looks great.
I just recently bought a brand new black car as our daily driver (you may have seen the thread). Anyway, I am quite picky about paint so I've spent the better part of the last two weeks looking for a wax/polish etc that will be good for the car. As it is a black daily driver with brand new paint, my main goal is protecting the finish. It also has to be a durable finish as I wont be able to wax it once a month. And of course it has to shine. After all my research I am about to order the BLACKFIRE kit. As such I am happy to see that you do infact use the products. That said, do you like it? Is it as good as they say? Would you reccommend it? Is there something else you'd say is better for my needs?

Thanks!
Nick

 

Hey Nick, I did see the thread. Which kit did you get exactly, the new car kit? Either way, the sealant you'll be using is Blackfire Wet Diamond which is a very good choice - very similar to Menzerna Full Molecular Jacket (in fact, Blackfire is the consumer like of Menzerna products). It'll last 4 months in most conditions, perhaps more if the car is garaged. Blackfires sealant looks very similar to Zaino Z2pro, so if you've seen that and liked it odds are you'll like the way the BF sealant looks. A nice thing about the BF system is you get the spray sealant, which means you can apply that after a wash whenever you feel like it and it'll boost the durabilty of the sealant, so essentially you can have it on indefinitely.

If you have any applications questions let me know. One tip for you; after you've washed, used the pre-wax polish, and applied the sealant (and buffed it off); don't drive the car for 12 hours and if possible keep it in a garage/covered. Some sealants, like FMJ or BF WD require a 12 hour cure time (it's actually allowing the polymers to crosslink), so if the car gets wet in the first 12 hours you'll have compromised durabilty.

Cheers.

 

Thanks man!

I haven't ordered it yet, but yeah it will be the "New Car Kit" to which I'll add the spray sealant. I've used Zaino before and liked the outcome, but it is a bit involved for my needs on this car. From what I've read, BF is a great product if you apply it properly and one of the keys is not to use too much!

Thanks for the tip on curing time! It is a garage kept car so keeping it covered for 12 hours wont be an issue. As it is a fairly new product there is not much info about it on the web. I'm glad to hear that you have used it and do like it (from what I gather).

While I am picking your brain, what do you recommend for interior vinyl cleaner and protectant? Keep in mind, I hate the glossy oily shine of most "armour All" style products!

Thanks again,

Nick

 

That's an easy one. For guys who like the no sheen type look I use Aerospace 303 protectant, it's available at almost every online detailing store and most local car stores too. Just spray a little on a microfiber cloth then wipe the area, flip the cloth and buff the excess off. It leaves a nice matte finish and has a ton of UV protection built right in.

 

I have been detailing cars (started at Audi when I was a punk) for awhile now, Enjoy it very much infact. My only problem is i dont have the time to go buy, and look for non generic brand products, so Meguiars Pro series is best i can do for convienience.

Although I would like to spend the time and to go look for some products to broaden my line up, what are some good places to visit, call or look on the internet? Keep in mind price, availability and customer satisfaction in the stores.

I am also a member on www.autopia.org as i am sure you are to, although there is so much info on there its hard to know where to start. The one question i have for you is that i noticed a trend in the last year or two on sealents as oposed to waxes. I go through all steps inc claying but always finish with a wax. What are the pros and cons, and differences in these two??? (on a blcak car)

shawn

 

I found this site a few weeks back and it has been a gold mine for products, info and tips:

http://www.properautocare.com/

Take some time and read through all their recommendations, hints tips and techniques. They explain in great detail the differences between sealants and waxes, as well as their pros and cons. It is a great source.

I actually stumbled upon it while looking for info on Autoglym's new Ultra Deep Shine. I've been using the Ultra Resin Polisha nd Extra Gloss Protection for years with great luck, and wanted to know more about the UDS. It is here I learned about BLACKFIRE.

 

www.eshine.ca is where I bought alot of my products from.

 

Heya. We're kind of at a disadvantage being in Canada, a lot of the "boutique" type brands are hard to find. Before I go on keep in mind that process is definitely more important that product, so if you're doing a good job a lot of times the product is secondary. That said, good products do help. I do about 50% of my shopping at eshine.ca, the owners name is Chris and he's out of Port Colberne, so no duty or anything, all prices are in Canadian. What I can't get there I get from detailedimage.com; they're out of NY State, however the owner George is more than willing to ship USPS to help avoid heavy duty charges. As for which products to buy, Autopia is definitely a great place to be, although you're right it is a bit overwhelming. I am a member, over 1500 posts I think (sinful, I know!), you can check out a lot of my work there actually.

Alright so sealants and waxes, here's the skinny on those. Basically they're two different kinds of products that have the same END goal in mind; the protection of the cars paint from the environment (UV rays, bird poop, acid rain, rail dust, etc...) and secondary to that, added gloss, wetness, depth, etc... How they go about that is where they differ.

Waxes are pretty much unchanged in the last 100 years (give or take), they're essentially carnauba wax (different kinds, all the same idea though) mixed with paraffin, solvents, oils, etc.. either in a paste or liquid form. Some have more or less wax and that effects durabilty and looks, obviously there are hundreds of waxes but generally they tend to last between 2-6 weeks (some can last as long as a year, but I'm talking most common consumer waxes) and sit on top of the paint to protect it. Eventually they wash away and you need to re-wax. So straightforward stuff.

Sealants are synthetic, now that said some waxes are synthetic too, but sealants generally contain synthetic polymers which "emulate" what carnauba wax does, just differently. They are applied to a cars surface and the polymers generally cross link, which bonds the sealant to the paint. This means that typically sealants have much better durabilty than the average wax. I'd say the average sealant lasts about 4 months. Many will do 6-8 months.

So what are the pros and cons of each? Well, the obvious difference is durabilty. Most sealants will outlast most waxes. In terms of actual protection, it's a wash - they both bead water and protect from water spots, acid rain, UV damage etc... In terms of looks, that's where it gets subjective. Honestly, 99/100 people would not be able to tell a well prepped car with a sealant from one with a wax. If a cars paint has been polished corrently then it will look good with *nothing* on it. That said, on some colors different waxes/sealants have different looks. Sealants *tend* to be more reflective, because they are optically clear. They look wet and glossy, however the con is that many times they "wash out" the color, since they are so reflective. Many people have equated the sealant look to "wrapping your car in saran wrap". Some sealants have more natural looks, some don't.

Waxes tend to look more organic, they have less reflectively and are not optically clear, so they tend to distort reflections which makes them look more deep, dark, shimmery in a sense.

I *personally* prefer the look of waxes to that of sealants on flat or dark colors. On the other hand I tend to lean towards sealants on light colors and metallics. I generally am more concerned with durabilty, though; so if I client has a black daily driver and he never waxes it, I will use a sealant. It isn't like they look bad, they don't, just different.

A nice thing about the two products is that you can mix them. A wax will go over a sealant, so you can get the durabilty of sealant and the look of a wax. A sealant will not go over a wax, though.

So on your car (which I assume is black?) I would be more concerned with washing, claying and most importantly polishing to make sure the finish is smooth and swirl free. At that point your wax/sealant will merely be a gloss *enhancer*, since the real "shine" comes from having smooth swirl free paint. As an example, the car below has no wax or sealant on it. I took these pictures to illustrate that preperation (meaning clay and polish) are more important that LSP (last step product). If you ever want specific product recommendations I'm happy to give you mine.






Cheers,

Kevin

 

Kevin, superb write up and great info, thanx! So by the sounds of it I think i'd like to try the sealent and finish it of with a wax this time around. Can sealent be "layered" as wax can be? Or just do one coat of each...

Oh and beautiful G35 Coupe! You accomplished the desired "wet look" nicely!

 

Thanx Nick

 

Sealants can be layered, however you can't layer them once you're applied a wax. So once the wax is on it's wax only until you strip it all and start over.

 

Perfect - thanks!

And the fact that it is available at local shops makes life easier too!
Once I get the BF kit and give the car a good once over I'll post my results.

 

Thanks bro..