Mike02z
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2016
- Threads
- 22
- Messages
- 1,247
- Reaction score
- 612
- Location
- Bucks County, PA
- First Name
- Mike
- Vehicle(s)
- 2018 Ford Explorer Platinum
There are step by step instructions in a lot of places but I will give you my routine.Thanks for your comments but do you mind to go deeper on this? I have been toying with the idea here for a while now of using a self-applied coating. Based on the longevity of yours and the time it took to apply, would you recommend WG or any other particular products? Any other details/hints would be appreciate.
TIA.
Items needed:
1.) Clay Bar
2.) Detail spray or water with a little soap in it.
3.) D/A polisher. I use Griots, some like Porter Cable and some like the Flex. PC is the cheapest and Flex is most expensive. You can do this by hand but I use my buffer/polisher all the time as I have multiple cars.Well worth the 200.00 bucks in my opinion.
4.) Paint correction kit. I use a Mequires kit. Best I have used to date
5.) Ceramic coating
6.) If you want a real high shine, you can use wax after the ceramic coating.
7.) GOOD microfiber towels. Not the ones you get a BJ's or Costco
1.) Wash the car thoroughly.
2.) Do not bother drying the car.
3.) Do one panel at a time. Spray it down with the detail spray.
4.) Kneed the clay bar in your hands until it softens a bit.
5.) Make the clay bar flat so it can cover the larger area.
6.) Wipe the clay bar over the paint. The panel MUST be wet or you can damage your paint. DO NOT rub the clay bar. If you feel any resistance, the panel is not wet enough. You can keep spraying the panel as you go.Let it glide over the paint.
7.) Do the entire painted surface of the car with the clay bar. Keep folding it over and kneed it is as you go.
8.) If you accidentally drop the clay bar, throw it away and use a new clay bar. Anything that gets on the clay will scratch your paint.
9.) Wash the car once you have finished with the clay bar.
10.) You can dry your car but I typically don't if doing paint correction.
11.) Follow the instructions that come with the paint correction kit.
12.) Do one 2' x 2' area at a time.
13.) Wipe off the hazed paint correction. Do not wait too long. It should haze over but if you wait too long it will be a bit*h to get off.
14.) Go over all the painted surfaces with some detail spray. Use bright lights to find any spots of the paint correction/polish. This step is critical as once you use the ceramic coating that will need to come off if you missed a spot and went over it with the coating.
15.) Apply the ceramic coating as directed.
16) most ceramic coatings come off very easily. Work on small areas and wipe the hazed coating off.
17.) OPTIONAL: Add you favorite wax
I still wash and wax my cars regularly but the ceramic coating will last between 18-24 months. The more your car is in the weather, the more often you'll need to repeat the above procedure.
This is just my procedure. I'm sure everyone has a different way to do this. Some prefer just to take it to a detail shop. I sent a car to one once. It was a black car and they wrecked the paint but using a rotary and burned through the clear in spots. They also left thousands of micro scratches in the paint. This was a very reputable shop that got great reviews.
Sponsored