Okay, pretty new to car "detailing" but I'm a DIY-er and trying to learn. I used search, but I want to confirm, but first about my car.

Nighthawk Black Perl Acura CL-S (6MT) 03
28,000 miles
LOTS OF chips in various places (mostly on driver door, and driver OEM side skirt)
A few small scratches
SWIRLS EVERYWHERE!!

So here's the process I am going to take.

1. Touch up from www.touchup123.com
2. Wash/Dry
3. Clay (whole car)
4. Wash/Dry
5. Polish (to remove swirls)
6. Wax/Seal (X3)

I'm still a noobie and probably don't know what I am talking about, but for my situation, is this a good process? Any special products I should know about that will help me in my DIY. Also I am doing this all by hand, until I have the guts to use a PC.

 

your order of tasks is very good. let me make a few suggestions...

Try to clay while having the soap on your car. do this panel by panel and use the suds as your lubricant. i find this to be a huge time saver and i also find the soap to be the best lubricant. likewise, i advise using DP's Shampoo for this, it is an excellent lubricant.

When drying the car, be sure to use a method that will not impose new swirls and scratches. you can do this by either flooding the paint (low pressure water to sheet the water off) or by using autogeek.net's guzzler as your towel.

polishes that i suggest would be the XMT line, made by pinnacle, or Pinnacle's Advanced Swirl Remover. also, you need to pair these with appropriate pads (yellow is the most abrasive, to orange, and finally white, in that order).

as for wax and sealant, i suggest a glaze before that. the glaze will serve as a final finishing polish (for this I choose Wolfgang's Finishing Polish, which has no carnauba, and will let a carnauba bond to it correctly. after that, i advise using Wolfgang's Deep Gloss Paint Sealant, which is probably the BEST sealant on the market and allowing it to sure for 12 hour will provide excellent protection. after that, for the last step product, use a 100% carnauba of your choice. i chose pinnacle's souveran wax because its manufacturers extract 100% yellow brazilian carnauba for its makeup. I know this because i spend this past weekend at their warehouse. these products truly are amazing and are worth EVERY dime.

i do this for a living and i wouldnt suggest anything to you that i wouldnt use myself.

good luck man, welcome to your newest and most expensive addiction, DETAILING. lol.

 

My take:
Perform your chip and various paint repairs, let that cure for the 3 days as recommended.
Wash and rinse.
Clay with sudsy water or just water. (Do not clay while washing or you run the risk or abrading the dirt particles your attemting to wash off, back into the paint. So wash, rinse, and use the sudsy water or rinse water. Use enough pressure to manipulate the clay, dont bare down with unnecessary force.
Now a PC would be ideal, buy I understand your reservations. (You'll get over it soon enough and wish you had earlier) A good one step product you could use, which would eliminate marring from the clay, and also provide very light swirl and/or oxidation removal by hand would be Optimum PoliSeal. If you prefer to go a step further, Optimum Polish would be ideal. Both are very user friendly, the polish is actually easier to use then the one step due to its polishing oils. One the other hand, you never find a better one step then the PoliSeal. Both are available in 4oz versions as well for under $5.00. Another great choice as a one step would be Duragloss 105, which is a synthetic Polymer/wax and Duragloss 951 which is a spray sealant, capable of outlasting most Nubas with about 1/3 the effort. Duragloss is quickly becoming a favored product on various detailing forums.
Keep in mind, your efforts will definetly be noticeable, but about less then 1/2 of what you could accomplish with a PC. Just food for thought!

 

i cant speak for myself, but a close friend of mine didnt have a very long durability with duragloss. the Wolfgangs DGPS has, however, lasted for over 3 months for me.

 

thanks for the advice, i'll update you guys with pics asap!

 

what pads/towels do you guys recommend for each process?

 

For drying, I would highly recommend a MF Waffle Weave. Foam applicators for polish and sealant/wax. If you have a PC, then a polishing pad or a light cut pad for removal of surface defects and a finishing pad for sealant/wax application. MF towels for removing/buffing product from the vehicle's surface.

The bulk towels sold at warehouse clubs aren't all that great other than using them for GP cleaning. They're not as soft and supple. Most of the online detailing sites offer MF products and you won't go wrong with these.

 

i usually don't mind ordering things online, but this time i want to see the product before I order.

Anyone know where i can buy the products mentioned above?

 

Mf Waffle Weave


MF Buffing Towels



See this thread for a llisting of online detailing sites.

 

@hawhyen51: thanks for the link, I should have searched *doh*

 

i think i'll just pick up stuff from target, kragen, pep boys, walmart...

i don't feel like ordering online =\ i need it by this weekend

but i will order my next batch from online stores like exceldetail

thanks for the help everyone!