syee99

I remember reading somewhere here where people had used a woolite/water combination to make a lubricant? Does anyone have the ratio still?

Was thinking of claying the car and detailing this weekend. Figured Woolite/water was cheaper than going out and buying some quick detailer. (since I already got some Woolite at home)

Also, was wondering if you folks could critique my arsenal for this weekend...want to give it a full detail this weekend, so want to make sure I'm not missing anything:

1. Wash and Clay
2. Optiumum Compound with Orange pad
3. Megs #9 with white pad
4. Klasse sealent/glaze with black pad
5. 4 Star UPP with black pad

Speed setting on PC would be 5 or 6? Last time I tried this, I had it set to 2-3 and it pretty much left a lot of swirls on my car. (I've got an NHB)

And I'll be doing some spot correction with some Turtle Wax polishing compound/Scratch X for the really stubborn spots.

lusid

soapy water works too.

syee99

Yep. It essentially what Woolite is. Gentle laundry detergent.

Was just wondering what ratio people had used...

joerockt

Why waste it? Woolite is relatively expensive. A cheap car wash mixed with water will do just as good. I like to use Optimum NRWS...Makes a perfect clay lube...

joerockt

Reason for going right to the compound instead of the regular Optimum polish?

Skip the Klasse and go right to the UPP. Or skip the UPP and use AIO/SG. I would use UPP.

syee99

I guess I wanted to start with the compound because of the swirls I got on my paint right now. Was trying to clean up as much of that as possible before doing the Megs #9 swirl remover.

I don't have any Optimum polish (only have the compound). Was trying to use up what I have first before getting any new products.

I always thought that it was always clay->polish->seal->wax? I'd love to cut out a step if I could. It'll save me a bunch of time.

Good suggestion on the car wash as lubricant. Got plenty of that stuff too. What ratio do you recommend? 1:5 carwash:water mix? Perhaps more diluted than that?

joerockt

You dont have anything lighter then that? Should always start with the least abrasive process, do a small section, dosent look good, then bump it up.

Right. You've got the clay->Optimum Polish-> and UPP for the sealant. Top that with any wax you want. I use Natty's blue on dark cars. Works for me...

micvog

I never heard of using diluted Woolite as a clay lubricant. Instead I have heard of it used for cleaning leather and interior trim. Are you sure you aren't confusing the two?

syee99

Aahh...good thing I ran that by you guys. I always thought that UPP was a poly wax...

syee99

I think any "detergent" will work...as long as it creates a slippery surface for the clay to glide on, it should work as a lubricant. I just remember seeing Woolite one time...but like joerockt mentioned, car wash should work too...

Jesstzn

Woolite ratio is 6 parts water to 1 part Woolite ... and no its not expensive but I have never tried it for a clay lube.

Some soaps will break the clay down. I just use QD .. and its not expensive.

exceldetail

1. Wash and Clay
2. Optiumum Compound with Orange pad
Even this combination I still consider a polishing step, you should be safe with it. Thats one of the nice things about the Optimum Compound (OC), is its ability to break down to a fine polish as well. Dark colors (not sure what NHB is) make take some practice, but it can be done. I would like to have you throw in a light polish as well. Also consider if you do get a light polish, in particular Optimum Polish (OP), you could weaken OC with a little polish, just as you could strengthen OP with a little compound.
3. Megs #9 with white pad
Not sure where this fits in. Good to ok with Nubas, but not acrylics (Klasse) or Polymers (UPP). You could theoretically seal the surface with either Klasse SG or UPP, wait a couple days and use the #9 to maybe deepen the NHB. It will wash out after a week or two though (Environmental exposure)
#9 is really a temporary appearance product.
4. Klasse sealent/glaze with black pad
Klasse SG can be difficult to use if you havent used it before. Its not the "best" looking on dark colors, looks a little "artificial", just something funky. Great reflective qualities, but I never liked the way it looked.
5. 4 Star UPP with black pad
Ahhhhhhhh, UPP...........Perfect on everything.....

syee99

NHB = Nighthawk Black.

I was originally thinking of using Megs #9 (the antiswirl) as something that was lighter than OC. I never really did check if OC left a smooth enough finish or not - I always just did a once over of Megs 9 after the OC.

If I'm getting this right, I should just do an Wash & Clay->OC->UPP and leave it at that?

joerockt

It is compared to just using a cheap ass car wash, which will more then do the trick.

BOB001

you can use car soap & certain quick detailers as lube

Jesstzn

Well Maybe its a lot of money in the US .. Up here it isn't .. I prolly use more than most here for cleaning etc .. its mixed 6:1 ... and if you read my post I don't use it for claying .. so don't compare it to QD cost wise. In reality even if you did use it for claying the amount used for a car is about a cup full or so.


His original Q was what was the ratio .. its 6:1 ... and he already has it as opposed to driving somewhere and buying a QD.

Yes car wash soaps will work but through experience I have found some soaps will break the clay bars down so there is a possible saw off there.

exceldetail

Is there a difference between NHB (nighthawk black) and NBP (nighthawk black pearl)? Is the NHB flat, where as NBP is metallic............???

lusid

I think it's a mixup in letters, i'm pretty sure that it's all the same.

syee99

haha...sorry...you're right...NBP...I guess I just used nighthawk black all the time I thought it was NHB.

I'll go by the local auto store and see how much QD is. I also have a bit lying around so I may just use that too...but yea, got a jug of woolite in the laundry so that's what came to mind rather than spending $8-10 on QD. (us Canadians don't have it as good as you Americans down there!)

exceldetail

Hey you still have elastic clay!!

syee99

hehe...what's elastic clay? The claybar I'm using is the one I bought from you a while back.

Might be slightly hard now from sitting in the cold though

exceldetail

Cold? Whats that? Is going to be 82 here Sat!
Elastic clays.......Well, it has to do with a lawsuit,and patent infringement. Auto Magic has a patent on detailing clay, and every GD thingresembling it. Well, the folks over at Optimum designed a totally S U P E R I O R clay. Many others followed. Auto Magic caught wind, sued the manufacturer. No one is allowed to sell this elastic type clay in the USA anymore. But you folks in Canada still can but it somewhere..........
I think Auto Magic (And i forget the name of the owner these days) has redesigned theres slightly. Its alot less "clay'ish" and more elastic these days. Pretty good actually, but not quite what Optimum had a couple years ago......
Sit on that clay before using next time! I know some folks who actually nuke it too.......

joerockt

He already has the car wash too.

And I've never heard of a soap breaking down a clay bar. Only time that's ever happened to me is when I was using the ABC decon and was claying while the B was dwelling. The B is an acid, which is the opposite of what a soap is...soooo...

I'm simply stating that car wash is usually less expensive then Woolite. And since he already has the carwash, he dosent need to use the woolite.

syee99

hehe...yep...got Woolite and car wash. Got a little bit of QD as well, so I guess I've got enough lubricant to last a lifetime. I guess I'll go safest route with the QD, and switch to carwash and/or Woolite if I run out.

That kinda sucks...people are always out to make money saying they have ownership of some ambiguous product.

It's a nice balmy 42F right now here in Vancouver...I'm thinking of just bringing it into the house and keeping it at room temp for a few days before I start using it. Maybe I'll start up a side business selling grey market clay.

syee99

Thought I'd give an update and a few pics...did the job on Saturday. Took a good 5 hours to complete.

Ended up claying it with some QD I had left behind, so I didn't use the Woolite. Perhaps I'll try it next year. No more detailing until summer...my poor back is still sore from all that work!

Anyways, did the claying...and like some have said...it marring is pretty noticeable.



That'll buff right out....I hope!

As mentioned previously, I did Optiumum Compound with the orange pad, then a Megs #9 with a white pad. The OC was a bitch to clean off after application...it kinda left a greasy look behind. I just cleaned off whatever I could with a MF, and did a round of Megs #9 which cleaned it off pretty good while putting a nice glossy finish on the paint.

After that, I applied the Four Star Ultimate Paint Protection.

Here's the final result!



And the reflection off the hood...



And...of course in typical Pacific Northwest fashion, it rained today...

For those that use FS UPP - is it supposed to look like water with white beads that look like grease? It was a little difficult to apply since it was kinda watery...

joerockt

I like to use a 50/50 mix of Iso Alcohol/Water sometimes after a polish to make sure its all clean for the sealant.

And no, FS UPP shouldnt look like that. Did you shake it up good?

TSX looks great!

syee99

I'll have to give that a shot next time. It seemed like the round with the Megs #9 took it off so I wasn't too concerned.

I shook up the UPP pretty good. The first squirt out came out like water with white beads in it...as I went on, it seemed to become more and more like the regular consistency I expected. I just thought it was weird...and definitely wasn't what I was expecting when I first squirted it out...

Anyways, it did it's job, and the car looked shiny and nice for a whopping 2 days. Now it's all wet and dirty from the rain and leaves again.