Hello,
Im new to car detailing, but I recently did my first full detail, and did literally Everything.

However, I was wondering, when applying polish and wax by hand using foam applicator pads, how much do you put on?

I put like a circle around the applicater pad of product, then did about 1/2 of a door panel with one application. Then wiped it off, then did the other 1/2 of the panel.

Does this amount sound right?

Also, I was just wiping the excess polish or wax off with a microfiber towel, but I couldn't help but feel like I was trying to hard to wipe the excess off, am I doing something wrong?

Dont get me wrong, it looked spectacular when I was done, but I felt almost like I was rubbing the excess/swirls of polish into the paint instead of wiping excess off.

Whatchya think?

 

Apply it in thin coats, and let it dry according to the finger swipe test (do a search on that). Then, wiping off should require very little pressure. as it starts to gunk up on the towel and get harder to remove, move to a clean part of the towel-- Remember, the last thing you want to do is push on it, because doing such will induce swirling, micromarring, and straight line scratches.

 

Well, learn something new every day. After searching the finger swipe test, it appears I did not let it dry long enough.

Hope that doesn't leave any long term damage.

 

Agree with thin coats.

What type of wax did you use? Each is a little different. Some are light haze then remove, others are hard haze, remove.

Liquid, paste, carnuba, synthetic?

Regardless, to quote RockPick, "thin, thin thin"

 

The reason is that when you remove the wax, you are removing all but a few MICRONS deep of wax. Now, does applying the whoile bottle only to remove the first few microns make sense? No!

BUT---

You CAN layer waxes, to a degree. The law of diminishing returns applies here, so dont expect to get much gain from waxing 37.5 times tonight... But putting on 2 coats of synthetic (provided the cure time of 12 hours) and 2 coats of carnauba (can be done back to back) gives a HUGE advantage.

The only "long-lasting damage" that you may have incurred is swirls-- easily removed either by hand or machine. You probably had them before you did this, though. Let us know if you do, and if you want to get rid of them, whether or not you are using a D/A.

Hopefully RP will be able to get the sticky up soon. It will answer all these questions for you.

 

Great.

I used the Meguiars 3-step Sytem,

My steps for the whole detail were as follows

1. Wash with Meg's Gold Class wash
2. Clay Bar with Meg's Smooth Surface Clay Kit
3. Megs Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner (Step 1)
4. Megs Polish (Step 2)
5. Megs Carnuba Wax (Step 3)


That was the extent of my body work. I was applying fairly thin coats, but I think it was still fairly wet when I was wiping it off, as it was smudging first, and then with extensive wiping and finally a bit of force, it came off to leave a real nice shine.

And I was doing it all by hand. Im going to go inspect it in a few to find out if I left any long term marks.

:/

Also, what Window cleaner do you guys use?

My windows didnt work out too well, I just used Windex with a Microfiber cloth for glass.

 

glass cleaners are also a personal choice. Try some Stoners or SprayWay.

Never been a fan of Windex.

 

Just use an ammonia free window cleaner. Regular windex has ammonia in it which will ruin tint.

 

I am a fan of Stoners Invisible Glass and wadded up newspaper. the Newspaper will help remove the water spotting...better than MF, and if not using the MF, you save yourself some more MF laundry.

--BTW-- When I say MF, I mean microfiber, not a dirty phrase.