I prefer to detail my own car. (When I see pictures of professional's microfiber sitting on the garage floor I shudder). Ten years ago when I got my 360 I was pretty happy with Zaino. Not too much work and results looked good to me. I used Leatherique for the interior. Now I am reading about nanotech sealants, etc. and I wonder if it is time to change products for the 458? Does anyone have a recommendation or a good web site for reliable information. Also, when I used leatherique I naturally got some on the plastic and stainless parts. Now the interior is carbon fiber. Does anyone know if leatherique is harmful to carbon fiber. MODERATOR: feel free top move to showroom and detailing forum. Guess I'll do some reading there first.
Try Adam's Polishes. Priced a little on the high side, but their website is very well put together with videos for just about everything. Very good site for persnickety people. Carnauba Paste Wax | Premium Car Wax | Car Detailing Supplies
if these sites don't answer your questions.......you probably don't need them answered Autopia Forums Auto Geek Online Auto Detailing Forum ShowCarDetailing look in the show & shine sections to see what true professionals accomplish Todd from Esoteric Car Care - Auto Detailing and Car Care Products! is an FChat sponsor and one of those aforementioned pros
^The Auto Geek and Autopia forums are great places to acquire some detailing knowledge. Detailer's Domain is a good place to purchase products. http://www.detailersdomain.com/ Esoteric Auto Detailing also sells some of the coatings... my favorite is 22Ple.
i have learned so much from those 2 forums, they're awesome some of the threads showing the entire paint correction process are absolutely amazing particularly when they do Ferrari's & the 'other' high end cars
I'd only shudder if their garage floor wasn't cleaner than any surface of the car you brought in to be detailed... At home, I can't even manage to transfer my clothes from the washing machine to the drier on a regular basis without one or more items falling on the floor...
Autogeek and Autotopia are great sites with lots of wonderful information. I also have ordered from Detailed image.
Swissvax is among the best, and is recommended by many high-end oems. Swissvax USA LLC I have found that detailing products are like many other things in life, you get what you pay for. I know that it is hard for people to think ahead this far, but long term use of cheaper products compared to the more expensive products really shows a difference. From paint to leather, you want to use the best for these nice cars!
I have also used Zaino for some 12 years, but I just recently decided to step it up. I bought a Rupes polisher and I'm starting out with their line of polishes. We'll see how it goes. I've started with my wife's car. The funny thing is she thinks it's because I'm putting her first. I didn't want to tell her it was because if I made any newbie mistakes I didn't want it to be on one of my cars!
Do not kid yourself. She loves you. That's the best news of all. And you should be putting her first cause you love her. And that's what it's all about anyway. You will be a hero. Best
i just bought a Rupes myself.......but haven't had a chance to use it yet let us know how you like yours I was going to do my wife's car 1st as well
Yes she does, I am a lucky guy! I used my Rupes Duetto on my wife's car the other day. It was fairly easy to use and I was quite pleased with the results of the first pass to take out the scratches and other assorted marks and blemishes. I used the Rupes medium coarse polish and perhaps I should have gotten the heavier coarse version because I did have to make multiple passes on bad areas, but that may have been normal. I was a little apprehensive to use a polisher because of horror stories about burning the paint. I think this is more an issue when using a rotary polisher. The DA polishers are pretty safe to use if you are careful. When I hit some heavily scratched areas, like under the door handles, I could take a few passes with pressure and then feel the spot and tell that it was getting slightly warm. So it was easy to know when to back off for a bit. Unfortunately at the end of the first medium coarse polishing I re-aggravated an injury to my right elbow so now I am going to have to delay doing the fine polish. It's killing me because I am dying to get to my dd and then my 612.
Thanks for the great write up. It's difficult to damage your paint with a good DA machine. Regular rotary buffer, be very,very careful. Sounds like you mastered the process. Now you need the right supplies. I'm going to use mine on my wife's new car and my new daily driver. Since I had the 'yellow car' professionally corrected, I don't need the heavy artillery for that car Get well soon so you can keep at it.
See this thread guys: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/348-355-sponsored-bradan/408492-my-exterior-adventure.html I've not been a huge fan of 22PLE. The idea that the gloss deepens does not jive to me. But, I will say, it does help with foreign materials sticking to the paint. The Rupes DA and other polish and compound in that thread provide fantastic results.
Sounds interesting. There isn't much on the interwebs, or even on Autopia(!). Is it more like a detailer than a polish since you use it every wash?
Correct. It's more of a "maintenance" product. Does a fantastic job of maintaining a waxed/polished finish. I use it EVERY time I wash any of my cars. All 3 of them are black and all 3 look like Steinways. It's a product that can only be purchased from the website ~ no one else carries it. Get the sponges, too.
great comparison chart showing a wide range of products from the popular mfg. ranging from less agressive to more agressive: Printable Autopia-CarCare Polish Comparison Chart PDF - Autopia Forums - Auto Detailing & Car Care Discussion Forum
I like the idea of the product. I have a clear bra (rock protection film) on the front and I read that you should only use liquid waxes because paste will get under the edges of the film and be visible. The Tech Shine product videos show a paste like product applied with a sponge. Do you have any problem with clear film seams?
"Tech Shine is a highly specialized moisture activated cross-linking polymeric clear coat film" Well it certainly has all the adjectives I need!
I use Croftgate Project X for a detailing product. Great shine and seems to outlast the over the counter detailing products.
The liquid will collect as well. Just be patient and thorough when buffing out. Go along the seams with an mf cloth and you should be ok. I'm thinking about gel waxes now.