Paint Swirls - Wash, Clay, Compound, Polish, Wax

Hey guys, I just picked up a black 2018 DCSB TRD OR 4x4. The truck only has 19k miles on it but the paint is not in great condition. There are fine scratches & swirls that are only visible in certain lighting. I'm planning on doing a full detail tomorrow including wash, clay, compound, polish, and wax to help correct the paint. I'm planning on going with Megs Ultimate wash, Megs Clay kit, Megs Ultimate Compound, Megs Ultimate Polish, and megs Ultimate wax. I plan on using my Ryobi 10" orbital buffer to make it easier on my arms. I'm fairly new to auto detailing so I am a total newb.
Questions are as follows:
1. Is this is a good plan?
2. Will this work?
3. Would you guys recommend any products other than what I'm planning on using?
4. Will one clay bar work for the entire truck?
5. How many microfiber towels do you guys think I need?

 

Do yourself a favor and try this first. This is the only product I use Griots Speed shine. I had buffers, wax all that crap and always ended up swirling the paint on my black vehicles. You really have to know what you are doing with all the stuff. I use speed shine with 3 microfiber towels only, no other stuff. I am not an expert but it seems to really work well without a lot of aggravation.

 

@Yodeville Thank you for your quick response. Your truck looks pristine. I will most certainly try this prior to the "full" detail job. It looks like it's available at my local Advanced Auto store.

 

Since you're doing a full detail, I'd add using some iron removal and after polishing, some Isopropyl alcohol, IPA, to get all the polish off and allow your protection to adhere more. Check out Pan the organizers videos on youtube.

 

@714reyesj Thanks for the recommendations. I'm currently watching him do a full detail on a black M3.

 

One item to note is the buffer you have is not going to do paint correction. Truthfully the pad is too big on it and it does not have the rpm to do correction. I started off with a very similar machine and it was practically useless (sorry probably not what you want to hear). With that said, if you are serious about learning how to do this and getting your truck where you want it then there are plenty of resources out there. Highly recommend joining forum at Autogeek.

The Griot's product mentioned above is a highly regarded product, but it will not remove swirls or scratches. It is a detail spray which is used between details. Griot's also recommends using on a vehicle that has already been waxed for best results.

Oh and more importantly congrats on the truck.

 

@ace96 Thanks for the advice. If that is the case, I may just bite the bullet and pay a reputable local detailer for a full detail. I wouldn't trust someone with my experience using a high speed buffer. I feel that I could cause more damage good.

 

Nonsense dude. You can do it. I didn't know shit about detailing either. Just educate yourself and go out there and do it. Get a good quality DA polisher. With a DA, it's pretty hard to fuck up enough to damage your paint. I watched a bunch of videos, bought my gear and went out there and did it. It's going to take you hours and hours by the time you're done but the sense of accomplishment is well worth it.

 

It is pretty easy to pick up and use a DA like a Porter Cable 7424 or Griots. You would probably have to hold it in one spot all day to burn off the paint. It is not that difficult to learn and use if you are interested in learning. I would recommend Adam's Polishes detailing videos for a good step by step how to.

No one starts off knowing how to use a DA. I know it sounds intimidating but they are relatively easy to use. I had the same exact fears as you. Next thing I knew after using a Porter Cable for a few years, I was upgrading to a better machine.

 

That is absolutely beautiful! I will definitely look into that myself.

 

I’ve got a $40 harbor freight da and it does very well for paint correction. It’s not the lightest thing tho. Just make sure to keep your pads and surfaces super clean and you’ll be fine. If you can get ahold of an old body panel practice on it first.

 

What kinds of pads do you guys use?

 

i bought a bunch of pads on clearance from Detailers Domain. They were from Adams Polishes. Buff n Shine and Lake Country are popular.

 

Lake Country is one of many pad makers and they have multiple lines of pads. Assuming you're going to get a DA similar to the Porter Cable their thin pad is a good fit for that machine. It's highly recommended to change the backing plate to 5" (they come with a 6") as it will perform better. The new Griot's G9 comes with a 6" and has plenty of power to run those sized pads. However you can change it's backing plate to 5" as well.

Here is a link to a 6 pack, these are meant for a 5" backing plate: Autogeek has many sales that run up to 25% off so that is the time to buy. They are having one right now, but generally have one every few days. One reason why I'm posting a 6 pack is you really want multiple pads, more the better rather than trying to clean and dry them on the fly. This is more critical for cutting as the pad fills up with clear coat. Changing pads every panel for cutting and maybe ever other or third panel for polishing. As the pad fills up it just gets less effective and you just end up running through the motions and getting no results.

If you have nor purchased anything I would check out as many videos on polishing as you can. Ammo NYC has some good info as well as Apex Detail. Apex covers a lot of products too so don't get carried away on what he's using in any particular video. Get the basics down and decide how far you want take it since you're already talking about compounding and not just a light polishing.

 

1. Its a pretty good plan. But I would tweak a few things. I'm not a big fan of megs ultimate line. If you haven't bought everything already, see if you can get megs M105 compound and M205 polish, honestly you can probably get away with just the 205. To get heavy polish/cut, oversaturate the pad and use a lot of the 205 using a lake country hdo orange pad. Then go back with a black pad using the normal 4 or 5 drops per 2ft area. Megs also makes a microfiber DA line of polishes to go with their MF pads. It had good reviews.
2. Yes itll work. But I wouldn't use a rotary buffer if you're not experienced, try to find a DA like the others have said. Also a 5" backing plate does a better job with paint correction. You'll also want 3-5 of each color pad. If using foam go with lake country hdo orange for heavy polishing and black for light polishing. Or get megs MF pads a few cutting and a few polishing, especially if you get their MF DA polish system.
3. I would definitely recommend other products, like the M105 and M205. That griots speed shine is a great clay lube, and detail spray. Different polisher, lake country foam pads, of megs microfiber discs. Skip the ultimate wax and get a good sealant. Jescar powerlock is a liquid and lasts a long time. You could also spend more and get carpro reload or hydro2, or megs hybrid ceramic spray, and get 4+ months of protection vs a few weeks with the ultimate wax.
4. I would get an iron remover spray to use before you clay. If you haven't already bought the clay, do yourself a favor and get a clay mit or towel. Get a good clay lube like griots speed shine. And get or make some kind of panel wipe/eraser / IPA mixture spray to clean the paint of polishing oils before you put down your layer of protection(wax or sealant).
5. Between washing, drying, waxing, buffing and so on you should have 15+ towels probably depending on size and quality.

You're asking all the right questions and have a pretty good plan. Since your truck is black and you'll be doing this often lol. I think it's a good investment to get a decent DA like the PC7424 or better yet a griots GG6 or G9. The M205 is so versatile and fairly cheap, so maybe grab a big jug. I got mine at harbor freight with a coupon.

I know I repeated myself a few times and maybe some stuff doesn't make sense but in my mind it does lol. Keep asking questions and we will help you along. You can definitely do this.

 

@gorram Thanks for the info and link! What color pads do you recommend buying? Do I need different types for applying compound, polish, and wax?

 

@pudge151 Thanks x 1000 for your detailed response. I’m at Lowes at the moment. Checking out the PC7424. I haven’t bought any products yet. I’m going to try to gather all do the products whenever I leave here. I may have to order a few things online and wait until next weekend to start. A few of quick questions for you
1. Does applying compound and polish require the same type of pads?
2. Do I only need Lake Country orange and black pads for these applications?

 

Your truck looks great. Thanks for the advice! I think I’m going to do it myself.

 

Generally you pair the pad and abrasive, so a heavy cutting pad with a compound, a light polishing pad with a polish. However there are some abrasives out there like 3D One (hybrid compound/polish) where you can use the same product to with two different pads, one to cut and another to finish. Some lines have a waxing pad that use to apply wax. Unless you're using some $500 tin of wax and want to thin it out as much as possible, spread a wax or sealant by hand.

The real answer is you need to do a test section on your truck and how much cutting you're going to do. Depending on what line of pads you get, you'll want something in the middle of the range like orange, white and black in the line I posted. Keep in mind that any given line may have their own colors.

Pudge made a lot of great points but the comment: "you'll be doing this often" you can't compound your paint often. You can polish more often, but in that case you'd want to be using the lightest combination of products you can find. Also if you do intend to compound, I would get the Griot's g9 over the Porter Cable.

I still urge you not to buy anything until you've watched a few videos and some of this will make sense as will all the extra prep stuff pudge mentioned a few posts up.

Depending on the defects you have, you need to think of improving rather than correcting. Swirls are one thing, but if you try to remove a scratch, it means you need to level the paint surrounding it. Good for the look today, but you've possibly removed too much clear coat for a truck that is still brand new.

In addition to videos, seek out the Autogeek forum and read some of the posts by Mike Philips.