L.P.

I see more swirls in hats car than I do m-dubs....I vote M-dubs paint FTW. hehe. I have been detailing a little bit so far and I do like m-dub all by hand, though my car is silver so I really don't have a horse in this race haha. I use meguiars products all the way though I would like to try some poor boys products soon.

hatrickstu

iTrader: (1)

pleaes for the love of God join on autopia.org and tell me hand is better

L.P.

It may not be better but I feel more comfrontable doing it by hand and it has yeilded good results for me. Though I have only drove the car about 8 times in the rain so ya know lol.

M-Dub

It's okay Stu... I don't have any hard feelings over this... I'm actually flattered that someone thinks my car looks good enough to spawn this!

The reason I said it like that is because I am not even supposed to have it... But I can PM you what it is!

hatrickstu

iTrader: (1)

m-dub your car does look great, but it could honestly look better for longer. please open your mind up and join up on www.autopia.org you will see what im talking about. NONE of them use hand applied **** and they do ungodly good jobs

ChrisAult2004

One of the main reasons that polishing with a machine is better, most of the best, longest lasting, highest quality car polishes are activated by heat. The pad running over the panel rubbing the compound/polish into the finish heats the chemicals up and activates them. another thing is, the buffer/polisher doesn't get tired like your hand does, and it much easier to keep the pressure and chemical distribution even over the entire car. When you are polishing things like the bumpers and the rocker panels, your hand tends to be forced into an awkward position, and you may not get the entire surface you well as you could have. The machine is easy to glaze over the surface and continuously rub the polishes in. Another point to using a machine polisher, some chemicals will not work in by hand, example, Maguire's Swirl Free Polish. I have tried to rub scratches out by hand, and no matter how long I rub at it, there is still a residue that I cannot fully work in. When I use a polishing wheel, I can work the polish until it is completely gone, and leaving the appearance of no residue! I say leaving the appearance of, because any detailer knows that no matter how hard you work in a quality polish, you will never get it completely off... this is why you should use a good quality wax/sealant over a polish job. The polish itself may tend to attract dust that can scratch your freshly rubbed paint more easily than normal.

The point is... nothing against your detailing Dub, the car looks amazing! but unless you are Superman, your hand is only going to do so well when polishing the car. The machine polisher are what it takes to take that shine to the next level, and to remove any and all imperfections from your paintjob.

signed... Your Resident Detailer....

Adding to the above book......

I WANT IN ON THIS DETAIL-OFF!!! In the spring I say that all three of us detail the **** out of our cars and take pics... everything, interiors, sun shots of the paint, close up of the rims/wheel wells, engine bays... EVERYTHING! I'm not kidding either, this could be fun. You may have the edge though.... since my car is a little older and was obviously beat to hell by the person that owned it before me...

Rangerondubz

Thats racist lol

I know how hard it is to make it look good, so

hatrickstu

iTrader: (1)

it was resolved yesterday guys, i think he will be stepping up to the machine world!

BriantheLion26

What machine do you use Stu and what products? If it isn't too much and easy to pick up I may have to try some stuff out. We do have a buffer with different pads but I really don't trust myself with it. I would like to remove all those spider webs / swirls out of mine by myself.

Rangerondubz

Did he give more pictures?

M-Dub

Yes I did... we never really had a clear cut winner! But as far as the votes went in the thread I had open for about 2 hours!

I did win, but oh well STU and I had a little convo about it... and we shall see what the spring shall bring!

Rangerondubz

I want to see the thread, did you close it?

hatrickstu

iTrader: (1)

i am using a porter cable 7424

go to www.autogeek.net and check out the packages

no you didnt! it was 6-9 in favor of you having more marks im serious. the poll question was something to the effect of "whos paint has more swirls/marks in it?" final tally me-6, you-9

i have the pics saved, but in order to keep from having another huge debate i will keep them to myself, or i can PM them

2K5SS/SC?

Wow, I never knew people got into detailing their cars so much! I used to be crazy **** retentive on detailing my rides when I had the free time theat I no longer have.

My thoughts on this debate are as follows:

1. I am a Mothers car products fan hands down no questions asked and absolutely dislike Meguires products since all the ones I've tried and used won't hold **** against even the old Mothers products like the Carnuba Cleaner paste wax. I've also tried this on my buddies cars and they get pissed when they do hald their hood with whatever they use, and I do the other half with Mothers, and then they have to do the whole car with Mothers because it always comes out that much better!

2. I always hand detail my rides. Yes my friggin hand gets tired as hell, but that's just how I roll. You can use a wheel all you want, and I agree there are some situations where it's very useful, but it's just not the way I do it. Call me old school in that respect. I used to detail cars as well, and have been complimented on how clean my car is when it's dirty!

3. With that said to do a good detail it'll take a minimum of 3-4 hours. Most of that time spent on the exterior. Waxing must be done in the shade only. Sunlight/excessive humidity causes wax not to dry properly causing swirls. Under the hood needs to be detailed as well, and a lot of people don't do that half the time either.

4. I'd love to get in on this detail off, but my car is Silver and really won't show the effort as the blue or black cars would. I could do my truck if I was back in the states and not deployed, but I bought the truck used and it wasn't taken care of the way I would've so it's black paint would show its 4 years of prior owner's abuse.

Good luck with the clean offs though! I like both rides and respect both persons here for keeping it clean.

ChrisAult2004

I feel that... the week I bought my car I wetsanded and buffed the entire car. It was hard work, but it's helped in making it easier to care for the paint..... it only took like 5.5 hours lol.

2K5SS/SC?

Yeah wet sanding and buffing wouldn't help me out. The trucks exterior was clean with not dents/dings or major blemishes, but it does have some scratches and a lot of chips on the hood that the previous owner decided to use touch up paint for. I bought the truck mainly because it was mechanically sound, fairly clean, and straight.

This is what she looked like after a quick wash and wax though right after picking her up.





And a couple of the Cobalt just for some love!




And one of the old Z24 that showed my hard work in that beautiful blue paint!

REIGN SS

i love your truck, i almost bought one...

2K5SS/SC?

Thanks. I love it too. It's all stock and it's reliable, that's why I love it!

REIGN SS

haha, the one i looked at was an extended cab w/ the 5cyl, it was black... i liked it but it seems slow to me, and i was dissapointed with it overall.

2K5SS/SC?

Yeah, she has the 5 cyl and an auto. I wish she was a manual, but I got a deal I couldn't refuse on it. It's pretty quick for a truck though. Ok, sorry for invading the thread.

CobaltSS 16

iTrader: (3)

Dude, nice freaking cars/trucks. I always loved your balt... nice to see you're keep them clean

2K5SS/SC?

I love keeping it clean and just accentuating the nice lines the cars come with. I will say though that the Z24 was my most favorite because the Indigo Ink Pearl was awesome! I'm impartial to blue, but the silver gets less attention from the Popo's! Clean and fast is the way I like it.