Black mps6 help/recommendations

[esp22]

Hi guys, just got a mazda6 mps. The paint has a lot of swirls and a few mini scratches all over it. It also looks like there are water marks imbedded in the clear coat!!

Basically...i like my cars looking schmico and sweet so want to spend a day or two cleaning it up getting back to its best.

Questions:
1. How would i get rid of the water marks in the clear coat?I was thinking meguairs fine cut and applying it by hand as i don't have a rotary buffer...or do you recomend buying one?I know this product doesnt leave that gloss finish i am looking for..so what product should i use after to get this?
2. Should i use a clay bar?And how often do i use a clay bar when cleaning a car?And should i use a mist spray when using clay bar or another form of lube
3. I normally use the armorall heavy duty wash but from what i hear armorall not the best products...what do you recommend instead?

Now for the process and products i intend on using. If there are any better products or order of process or anything you feel like adding in please feel free to do so.

PROCESS
1. Armorall Heavy Duty Wash
2. Clay Bar
3. Meguairs Fine Cut Polish (Or another cutting compound that is better/possible to be used to get rid of swirl marks and water marks in clear coat/ and remove scratches)
4. Super Resin Polish (To get that Gloss Finish)
5. A Turtle Wax/Carnuaba Wax/or Dodo Juice Blue velvet (a hard protective wax)
6. Speciality Brands Black WOW
7. Mothers' Mag & Aluminium Polish


Then Interior
8.. 303 Products Aerospace Protectant, 16oz for the vinyl/plastic trim (or anythign better/ to use)
9. Then any recommended leather treatments to clean the leather then condition then a product to protect leather.

Thanks guys. Any changes or extra recommendations on how to achieve the best look would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Steve

[LYNCHY]

Hey,

Hopefully Dan or Joel (detailers) will pop on and give you some advice, but i'll throw my 2c worth in to get you started.

1. Water Etching can be removed in different ways depeding on how deep it is. There are specific products designed for removing mild water marks, but yours sound deep so will probably require paint correction. If your Swirls and Mini scratches are as deep as you say it would require macine polishing. Hand polishes are avalible but may not have enough correction power for the job! It may be in your best interests to get a pro to do the initial detail and then maintain it yourself

2. Yes you should use clay before attempting any paint correction. Clay pulls bunded contaminates off the surface of your car. After the initial use every 6 ~ 8 months, but this will vary i.e how often the car is driven, wether its garaged, indusrtial fallout in your area e.c.t. . To see if your car requires claying after washing run your hand over the surface it should feel smooth like glass, if not clay away . Yes you should use a dedicated clay lube, spray liberally so the contaminates will glide off the paint and not induce scratches, also lube will prevent the clay marring espescially on black paint!

3. NO AMERALL !!!!!!!! There are a plethora of brands and products out there check out Car Detailing Products | Welcome to ZAS Detailing Products Store. Meguiars Car Care, Car Wax & More | Welcome

As for your process:

1. Wash with TBM (2 bucket method) NOT WITH AMERALL! Also give the wheels and arches a good clean too!

2. Clay with lube

(here you will need to rinse and dry the car)

3. and 4. Is where you may need prefessional help! As hand polishes can only correct so much before you ruin your shoulder

5. Again with waxes there are heaps out there to chose from. All differ in longevity, durability and look. Having your paint corrected first will make the difference to the look not the wax. Synthetic sealents last longer that traditional Carnuaba waxes but offer a different look. (also how often do you want to be re-applying LSP's?) Having a black car Swissvax is awesome pricey but awesome! Also remember to wax your wheels and dress the exterior rubber and tyres!

6. black wow is fine there are also other brads but black wow is good

7. again plenty of metal polishes out there maybe Joel and Dan can recommend some different ones

8. Again plenty out there but 303 if sweet.

9. Again heaps out there steer away from armerall and over the counter cheap stuff. Also need a leather cleaner and a conditioner!

Also check out Car Detailing Products | Welcome to ZAS Detailing Products Store. Meguiars Car Care, Car Wax & More | Detailing Library for some more bed time reading!

Hope this helped a little.

[Dan]

Personally i would

1. Wash
2. Clay with a good quality bar and lube
3. Polish with Menzerna Final Finish PO85U
4. Polish/cleanse with Dodo Lime Prime then Wax with the Blue Velvet
5. No need for black wow while the car is still new. Just use 303 on the exterior trims.

Mothers mag and aluminium polish is good, i quite like it.

The Duragloss leather system is awesome

[ZAS]

Comments I'll add to Lynchy's post:

1. Replace the Armorall Heavy duty Wash and get yourself a wax friendly wash. There are plenty to choose from and vary in price, but Meguiar's car wash is the best bang for your buck

2. If you are going to attempt to polish out the watermarks by hand, make sure you only polish the areas required. Don't try and do the whole car. Machine polishing is the best option. Get yourself a Meguiars G220. There are cheaper options, but none of them will perform to the level you want. Machines start at the G220 and go up from there for quality. Think of it as the entry level. And this is a RO machine. Stay away from rotary unless you have the skills. Especially on black
3. Clay bar initially, and then whenever required. Remember this will remove some of your protection. If you regularly maintain your car the only time you need clay is if you get covered in bugs, or go through roadworks or things like that. The rest of the time it's too clean to need it!
4. There are many options for your leather. We sell a lot of the Meguiars products and for conditioner a lot of the Prima Nourish. From the Megs range the Gold Class is most popular. You can take a look at some here Leather Care Products
5. Forget the Turtle Wax. Dodo is overrated. I've tested it myself, but out of those 2 it is the obvious choice. Take a look at our range of car wax. I'd recommend you take a look at the Finish Kare 1000p paste sealant. Extremely durable, looks awesome and is cheap.

[Dan]

Rather than the G220 try the DAS-6

For only $50 more than the G220 you get the machine, pads and polish.

Its a great machine that comes with a bag, spare brushes, side handle and D handle. So far its proving more reliable than the G220 which is a plus

[ZAS]

The DAS-6 is basically a cheap clone of the G220 made from cheap materials. We looked at importing these machines about 12 months ago and decided against it. I'm surprised they aren't even cheaper here considering the wholesale price (US$46.60 was my last quote). Big jump to 229.95

Like I mentioned. The G220 should be considered entry level. And the G220 model running around now is a V2 introduced earlier this year. Not a single one has come back to us. It's a great machine.

Are you using one of these machines yourself Dan?

[LYNCHY]

If the swirls were really heavy would the G220 have the ability to correct?

[ZAS]

Yep. There's a guy in the US actually that is supposed to be releasing some info on this. His name is Kevin Brown. One of the better known pros over there. It's basically all about a method using these machines to get the same results you would from a rotary.

This is obviously all about technique, but in general, these machines will correct. Just not as quickly and easily as others. The Flex XC3401 VRG for example.

I haven't been able to source the info yet, but plenty of people talk about it. When I do I plan to purchase it and give it freely to any of our clients that need it.

[Dan]

I dont own one but i did put a couple through some extensive testing to see if they were up to the job

[LYNCHY]

Yep. There's a guy in the US actually that is supposed to be releasing some info on this. His name is Kevin Brown. One of the better known pros over there. It's basically all about a method using these machines to get the same results you would from a rotary.

This is obviously all about technique, but in general, these machines will correct. Just not as quickly and easily as others. The Flex XC3401 VRG for example.

I haven't been able to source the info yet, but plenty of people talk about it. When I do I plan to purchase it and give it freely to any of our clients that need it.

Yeah the guy knows his stuff Kevin Brown Method - Detailing World ! Seen a few people using his mthod on that site too with good results. It just seems like a rotary would be easier than all that?