[nh50i]

Hey Folks, love all the information here, it has been hugely helpful so far. I am like to have my car corrected and coated once a year if possible, which can add up. In reading how its done, I do sometimes get the feeling its a skill that can be learned and for basic swirl correction may not be overly complex. Is that accurate? Really debating getting my own machine,products etc and starting to do it myself, is this a naive thought?

[Greg876]

Originally Posted by nh50i

Hey Folks, love all the information here, it has been hugely helpful so far. I am like to have my car corrected and coated once a year if possible, which can add up. In reading how its done, I do sometimes get the feeling its a skill that can be learned and for basic swirl correction may not be overly complex. Is that accurate? Really debating getting my own machine,products etc and starting to do it myself, is this a naive thought?

A hand for small detail and patience

[chefwong]

There indeed is a skill to polishing before coating, but you don't need coating once a year if you use the right products. And BOTH won't prevent washing/drying induced swirls so if you're new to -paint maintaince-, put your $ and learning into proper wash techniques, proper drying techniques, and you're far ahead of the game knowing how to properly wash and dry the car, IMO. And btw, ceramic doesn't prevent swirls...it just makes maintenance easier

[Blueboxer]

I have personally found that doing things that appeared complex or difficult are typically just that initially, but far from impossible or beyond most individual's abilities. The key difference is the time it takes to learn how to do something and doing it well. Using a high quality orbital, products, and patience will typically provide you with decent results. The experience of understanding the correct amount of pressure, passes, and combo of products in the correct order is the difference between decent results and great results. Best advice I received was to get a door panel or hood from a junk yard and practice on that panel to get the experience and results you want. This is especially true with a rotary, a lot cheaper to ruin a panel than your actual paint job.

No brand will automatically give you magical results, I have seen folks use 3M and Meguiars and achieve equal results as Adam's, Gyeon, or Menzerna. A lot of my preference comes down to ease of use, removal, and durability among other factors. Start with a quality line of products and matching pads. Take your time and do one panel at a time, not each will require the same level of correction as others and seeing the difference between each step will help you learn just what is needed when. I like doing one medium correction a year and using a quality AIO product to maintain the finish in-between corrections to help maintain the look and minimize the amount of clearcoat being removed.

Read/view some of the tutorials multiple times and refer to them as needed during your first attempt. Just make sure you don't skip the prep work before starting the actual correction. Stripping away contaminants, old wax, etc. will make a noticeable difference and is unfortunately what most people neglect.

[Tejas1836]

Find an older car with less than ideal paint, one of your other cars, lawn tractor, neighbors car (offer to detail for them) and do a practice run for buffing. Start with lightest polish, watch videos.

[malvern_man]

Originally Posted by nh50i

Hey Folks, love all the information here, it has been hugely helpful so far. I am like to have my car corrected and coated once a year if possible, which can add up. In reading how its done, I do sometimes get the feeling its a skill that can be learned and for basic swirl correction may not be overly complex. Is that accurate? Really debating getting my own machine,products etc and starting to do it myself, is this a naive thought?

Machine polishing my own car is one thing that I'd personally never attempt.

The amount of different polishing machines, different machines for different kinds of polishing, dozens of different pads and a myriad of different cutting compounds makes it a no for me...plus my car's PPF'd and ceramic coated.

If you want to have a go I suggest you watch lots of YouTube videos and get yourself a few old car panels from a local scrap yard. If you bugger up a scrap panel you've lost nothing, if you burn through the clear coat on your own car then it's respray time.

[Blueboxer]

There are plenty of random orbital buffers available that offer enough cutting power without the risk of burning thru your clearcoat or paint like you could with a rotary. As long as you aren't using a wool pad or heavy compound you should be fine. I have used those options only a handful of times in the last twenty years or so, but with a newer car and basic care you should hopefully never need them.

[nh50i]

Thanks all, mixed opinions it seems, perhaps as I should have expected. The two bucket method did not work all that well for me this summer, so I will likely go with the one mitt per panel approach this year, but ahead of that will need to get the paint back to where it was at the start of the year. Blue boxer has an opinion I was hooping to hear more of, mostly because I think a lot of folks avoid trying for the fear of catastrophic results that perhaps could be avoided by going slow and not using aggressive products when likely not needed. I am still undecided, but really do like the idea of being able to gain the ability to do it when needed if possible. I appreciate all the opinions and tips!

[nh50i]

I would be interested to hear what products one might recommend to a novice looking to correct light swirling on ceramic coating. Both tools and products along the lines of what blueboxer mentioned would be appreciated!

[Tejas1836]

Originally Posted by nh50i

I would be interested to hear what products one might recommend to a novice looking to correct light swirling on ceramic coating. Both tools and products along the lines of what blueboxer mentioned would be appreciated!

GrussGott

[icj_45e]

How much skill for basic detailing? Not much. I'd be willing to bet most "professional" detailers are self taught or learned from a mentor. Pros certainly have more experience and time, but I don't think they spent years in a official school learning and honing their skills.
Spend a few weeks on youtube and the forums, buy a few hundred dollars worth of tools and products, practice on a lesser valuable car if you can and you can definitely perform basic detailing by yourself.
My 2 cents, we're all a little OCD on this forum, we need to remember most of us are talking about daily driven X5s, not showpiece exotics

[malvern_man]

Originally Posted by nh50i

I would be interested to hear what products one might recommend to a novice looking to correct light swirling on ceramic coating. Both tools and products along the lines of what blueboxer mentioned would be appreciated!

If depends on if you want any of the ceramic coating left after you've tried the polish the swirls out.

As they say...Google is your friend...

A ceramic coated car cannot be polished unless the intention is to remove it. Polishes contain abrasives which will damage the ceramic coating. To fix minor scratches and swirl marks in the coating, use a non-abrasive solution such as CarPro Essence Plus to repair the coating.

[nh50i]

Yea, I am assuming I am looking at removing the coating and reapplying after. I suppose I wasn’t aware there was an option that would remove the swirls in the coating. Is that really possible?

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by nh50i

I would be interested to hear what products one might recommend to a novice looking to correct light swirling on ceramic coating. Both tools and products along the lines of what blueboxer mentioned would be appreciated!

You have two options:

(1.) Hide the swirls
The best product I've seen to fill in swirls is NV's Nova Lustre which makes them disappear especially on dark colors, but it's best to coat the entire car which is easy to do ... though you probably want to prep the car first, i.e., a strip wash (an APC, or Car Pro Reset or Lift, or Koch-Chemie touchless, or similar), then blow dry, then panel wipe with a 50/50 IPA solution, or Nova Clarity, or Car Pro Eraser, or similar. Then do the coating.

(2.) Physically remove them
You have polish them off with a random orbital polisher like Grigots on the cheap side or Rupes or Flex.

Polishing really isn't hard to do even for a noob, it's your ABSOLUTE BEST WAY to increase gloss, and it's kinda the reason no DIY detailer type should be putting on a long-lasting expensive pro-applied ceramic coating: you're gonna end up just polishing it off!

There's almost no risk to an RO polisher as long as you don't use heavy cut pads & polish. Some youtube dudes did an RO burn-through test and it took them like 15 minutes holding the polisher in just one spot. It's pretty fool-proof.

Light swirls only require a 1-step or "step 2" polish.

Rupes polishers are more expensive but I like them the best and the they have a simple color-coded pad/polish system.

[nh50i]

Thanks all, this is super helpful. I really like the idea of going route 1 that Guss outlined above. Also really like the info around polishing and coating if you are like me and wash yourself or are new to detailing. I appreciate all the info!

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by nh50i

Thanks all, this is super helpful. I really like the idea of going route 1 that Guss outlined above. Also really like the info around polishing and coating if you are like me and wash yourself or are new to detailing. I appreciate all the info!

sure! basically it's the road to hell

first you figure out how to do a good strip wash & coat and you're

but eventually, no matter what, it leads wanting a new look or just a stitch more gloss, or whatever and now you're polishing.

Then you figure out, damn, polishing is super easy and DAMN gloss off the charts yo!

Next thing you know you're polishing twice a year, and using the RO every month to slap on coatings just, cuz,


Here's the thing:

1. Yes it's true that automakers have been putting on thinner & thinner clear coat

2. But it's also true you've got about 5-10 years to work with unless ...

3. Unless you do something psycho like trying to remove orange peel which is intentionally put there. In that case just get a respray.

so, like someone said, learn to do a good rinseless wash avoiding all the marring you can and you'll be down the rabbit hole in no time!

[nh50i]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

You have two options:

(1.) Hide the swirls
The best product I've seen to fill in swirls is NV's Nova Lustre which makes them disappear especially on dark colors, but it's best to coat the entire car which is easy to do ... though you probably want to prep the car first, i.e., a strip wash (an APC, or Car Pro Reset or Lift, or Koch-Chemie touchless, or similar), then blow dry, then panel wipe with a 50/50 IPA solution, or Nova Clarity, or Car Pro Eraser, or similar. Then do the coating.

(2.) Physically remove them
You have polish them off with a random orbital polisher like Grigots on the cheap side or Rupes or Flex.

Polishing really isn't hard to do even for a noob, it's your ABSOLUTE BEST WAY to increase gloss, and it's kinda the reason no DIY detailer type should be putting on a long-lasting expensive pro-applied ceramic coating: you're gonna end up just polishing it off!

There's almost no risk to an RO polisher as long as you don't use heavy cut pads & polish. Some youtube dudes did an RO burn-through test and it took them like 15 minutes holding the polisher in just one spot. It's pretty fool-proof.

Light swirls only require a 1-step or "step 2" polish.

Rupes polishers are more expensive but I like them the best and the they have a simple color-coded pad/polish system.

I think I will at least start with the Nova Lustre route. On the site it says useage of approximately 25ml per application. Does that sound right to you? Would love to try the product a bit before going with the larger bottle, but will be doing my entire vehicle, including summer wheels.

[P1]

I've been detailing for nearly 20 years and it's nothing to be worried about. Buying a DA polisher and it's nearly impossible to cause damage to your paint unless you're using the most aggressive polish in combination with the most aggressive pad.

Look into a Porter Cable 7424. Great for beginners. Then buy a few pads that aren't aggressive (Lake Country) along with a polish or two (Menzerna).

But be aware... it's very addicting! Before you know it, you'll have an entire cabinet full of detailing products!

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by nh50i

I think I will at least start with the Nova Lustre route. On the site it says useage of approximately 25ml per application. Does that sound right to you? Would love to try the product a bit before going with the larger bottle, but will be doing my entire vehicle, including summer wheels.

lol, tbh I have no idea, I'm more of a spray & go guy. Also I think a big part of it is what media you prefer to apply it with & how (some people leave 50% of the product in their media!)

Personally I like an extra large MF sponge which, for water-based coatings, I dampen with de-i water and then squeeze out, then spray the coating onto the sponge, and apply, then use a low to med GSM tight-weave high quality MF (s Korea) to buff dry.

Their small bottle should be fine but if you don't mind spending the extra $$ might as well get the liter because you'll probably want to re-apply every few washes. You don't NEED to do that really, but you'll WANT to do it

Beyond that, the most important things are:

(1.) Do your own maintenance washes & do them right!!

(2.) Clean off bug guts, bird poo, tree sap, etc right away. I carry around a small spray bottle of rinseless wash pre-mixed and some MF in my trunk. DON'T LET IT SIT! And try not to let your dirty car sit in the Sun as it'll bake on & bond road spray, etc that makes it harder to wipe off

(3.) If your car is dirty, don't let anyone touch it before you wash it!

With all that, you'll get micro-marring, just how it is, but if you do all the stuff above it'll take a year or so.

THAT'S when you get a polisher. And, really, it's SUPER easy and not dangerous in any way. You'd really have to try double extra hard for quite awhile to do any damage.

[nh50i]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

lol, tbh I have no idea, I'm more of a spray & go guy. Also I think a big part of it is what media you prefer to apply it with & how (some people leave 50% of the product in their media!)

Personally I like an extra large MF sponge which, for water-based coatings, I dampen with de-i water and then squeeze out, then spray the coating onto the sponge, and apply, then use a low to med GSM tight-weave high quality MF (s Korea) to buff dry.

Their small bottle should be fine but if you don't mind spending the extra $$ might as well get the liter because you'll probably want to re-apply every few washes. You don't NEED to do that really, but you'll WANT to do it

Beyond that, the most important things are:

(1.) Do your own maintenance washes & do them right!!

(2.) Clean off bug guts, bird poo, tree sap, etc right away. I carry around a small spray bottle of rinseless wash pre-mixed and some MF in my trunk. DON'T LET IT SIT! And try not to let your dirty car sit in the Sun as it'll bake on & bond road spray, etc that makes it harder to wipe off

(3.) If your car is dirty, don't let anyone touch it before you wash it!

With all that, you'll get micro-marring, just how it is, but if you do all the stuff above it'll take a year or so.

THAT'S when you get a polisher. And, really, it's SUPER easy and not dangerous in any way. You'd really have to try double extra hard for quite awhile to do any damage.

Fantastic info as always! Ready to get roasted for this, but without a full system setup, where are you buying de-I water? I can find it online but it seems pricey, is there a known brand widely available at stores but not advertised as deionized?

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by nh50i

Fantastic info as always! Ready to get roasted for this, but without a full system setup, where are you buying de-I water? I can find it online but it seems pricey, is there a known brand widely available at stores but not advertised as deionized?

Is there a Whole Foods nearby? They sell in the bulk water section as do most large grocery stores with a bulk water section:

[nh50i]

There sure is, thanks!