quick question about detailing
 

my cars paint has quite a few swirl marks all over, and i dont have the money to pay someone to detail my car atm, and im worried id mess something up if i attempted detailing it myself, but for the meantime can i just wash the car and just use a hand wax and or glaze or sealant, (ill have to do my homework on the differences between wax/glaze/sealant) other than sealants last longer than wax...

and if you can recommend brands of wax/g/s you use, ideally on a black Z

A wax is just there to help protect your paint. It won't help with your swirl problems but it will help with preventing more swirls. What will help more with preventing swirls is how you wash the car. Look up the junkman for how to wash your car properly.

A sealant is a last step product that is, for all intents and purposes, permanent. Most sealants create a chemical bond to your clear coat which means you should NOT apply it before your paint is corrected (swirl free).

For something easy to apply, just go with optimum car wax. Best car wax out there for the amount of work required.

ive read these tips in the past but its easy to forget since i havent done any of this to my car yet, so thanks for the quick recap, it really helped, especially when you said not to use the sealant when i have swirls already. this is why i love this forum.

i just wanted to use a wax to help with the water beading when it rains, because its such a pita after i wash my car and maybe a day or so later it rains, and the car looks like crap again.

and i cant pull out the leaf blower late at night and wake everyone up to dry my car in the garage after it gets rained on.

so when it gets rained on, hopefully most of it will bead off with the help of the wax, and the rest of it i can dab dry with a mf towel

Look through Junkman2008's videos for lots of good info on how to pamper your paint.

There are a lot of waxes that will provide some swirl-filling capabilities. But they're temporary. Anything with silicone in it will help some, but don't expect it to last for more than a couple washes / rains.
When mine gets swirled - and I don't have time to polish- I'll WOWO some s100 and it helps some. Doesn't hide them completely but softens the edges so they're not as noticeable.

i've used mequiars for close to 20 years. check their website out for their products and info.

meg scratch-x2.0 with foam pads to polish by hand.
meg nxt tech wax


good for someone with time and energy.. and limited budget.

You're thinking of coatings. Sealants can be applied just like waxes.

OP, typically you'll need a random orbital to take the swirls/scratches out.

Sealants are synthetic and typically last longer than waxes. Waxes don't last as long, however some people prefer the look compared to a sealant. Most sealants/waxes will "fill" in minor swirls to hide them, but they're still there. I recommend Meguiars Ultimate line. They last and you can get them mostly anywhere.

Well OP, before you can fix your own paint, you need an A-Z course on what it takes, what to use and how to use it. So pull up a comfortable chair, a snack and beverage because this thread has 5 videos that are going show you exactly what it takes. Oh, you'll need about 2-hours of free time too. Don't forget your pen and paper because you won't remotely be able to remember a fraction of what I'm going to cover in those videos. :tiphat:

Here's the real question... what's your washing technique? You can relatively easily remove swirls BUT if you have crap washing technique you will re-swirl your car.

I used to use only 1 bucket and managed to leave a few minor scratches here and there... I changed to the 2 bucket method and no noticeable new scratched appear. (disclosure I wash my car once a week).

Watch Junkman's videos... they will be super informative. The point stresses Technique > Product.

Also after you drive in the rain I would NOT dab it dry... you are potentially rubbing grit into your baby. Wax will help bead the water but it won't stop the grit from drying onto your car. In the rain my baby looks sweet with the beading, then you see the dirt dry after.

If you're worried about appearance don't drive in the rain so you don't have to wash as frequently =)

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That's a MAJOR NO-NO. So many people do this and it will create swirls like nobody's business. Very bad practice.

If you have super-light surface scuffs that you can't see in all light and you can't catch with your nail, you might get away with a hand-friendly swirl remover. Expect to spend a lot of time and have sore arms, lol. Most likely, though, you will need the assistance of a machine.

Ive attempted at a few techniques I "learned" from online videos with a DA. The best tip I can give; use the least abrasive method possible. It requires a lot of trial/error; different pads/chemicals. Some scratches buff out pretty easily, and the ones that don't can easily cause additional, lighter scratches in the hands of an inexperienced detailer :shakes head:. I did end up with a line if Optimum products and would recommend giving them a shot.

But unless you truly know what you're doing, it's going to cost more to find out what works for you/your car than to just have it professionally buffed. A decent DA alone is over $100, and you'll still need a multitude of pads/chemicals. Around here we have professionals who give a solid polishing for under $150.

They also detail your car :inoutroflpuke:

But keep in mind that if you buy all that stuff, you won't have to pay a detailer every time some scratches show up. Thus, all that stuff pays for itself the second time you use it. ;)

It can, and very well will for someone like me. I've let the husband know to get used to seeing my current baby. Notwithstanding a natural disaster or horrible wreck, I'll be keeping my Z until the engine stops spinning... by then I should have enough saved for a rebuild and FI :rofl2:

But that's up to the OP. It takes time, patience, and $$ to properly detail. For some it might be better to pay someone else.

I agree that there is an initial start up cost but I have shown through my videos that maintaining perfect paint is all about being preventive and not reactive. If you practice perfect paint touching methods, the cost of maintaining that shine is very minimal.