Daily driver advice for a beginner


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Guys,

 

I'm very new to the Optimum product line and to detailing in general. But I have a new daily driver I love and want to take care of her right. I have learned a lot from this forum already, I'm very glad I found it.

 

My new truck (2008 seirra) has some light swirls, and I'm sure some surface contamination (no garage). I know ideally I would like to clay, OPS with orbital, and OS. This is a little daunting of a task for someone who hasn't ever clayed or used any kind of polishing machine. I want to make sure that when I take the plunge I have the whole day to myself to make sure I do it right. Will ONR and OSW on a weekly basis give me some pretty good protection until I can clay, OPS, and OS? Will I be doing any damage during this time (probably 2 or 3 months) by leaving the existing contamination in there before I remove it? I mainly want to prevent further contamination and swirls til I can OS. Thanks in advance.

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Guys,

 

I'm very new to the Optimum product line and to detailing in general. But I have a new daily driver I love and want to take care of her right. I have learned a lot from this forum already, I'm very glad I found it.

 

My new truck (2008 seirra) has some light swirls, and I'm sure some surface contamination (no garage). I know ideally I would like to clay, OPS with orbital, and OS. This is a little daunting of a task for someone who hasn't ever clayed or used any kind of polishing machine. I want to make sure that when I take the plunge I have the whole day to myself to make sure I do it right. Will ONR and OSW on a weekly basis give me some pretty good protection until I can clay, OPS, and OS? Will I be doing any damage during this time (probably 2 or 3 months) by leaving the existing contamination in there before I remove it? I mainly want to prevent further contamination and swirls til I can OS. Thanks in advance.

 

I would clay before you put anymore wax or sealant on your truck. My view is, you don't want to seal contaminants to your automobile. Claying is a very simple process to learn. You could go onto Youtube and put "detailers clay" into the search area and see a detailer doing it. Very easy to learn.

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Thanks for the advice. I guess I'm starting to realize that claying is a very important first step. I will definitely watch vids and read more about claying. Also it is nice to know that this can be done in stages. Since I've noticed that water isn't beading anymore I've been a little bit anxious to put something protective on. I am assuming that between the polymers in the ONR and OID, I will be okay until the next week when I OPS. I am a little more apprehensive about using an orbital than clay. Should I start with a hand application first? Thanks again.

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Thanks for the advice. I guess I'm starting to realize that claying is a very important first step. I will definitely watch vids and read more about claying. Also it is nice to know that this can be done in stages. Since I've noticed that water isn't beading anymore I've been a little bit anxious to put something protective on. I am assuming that between the polymers in the ONR and OID, I will be okay until the next week when I OPS. I am a little more apprehensive about using an orbital than clay. Should I start with a hand application first? Thanks again.

 

There are also numerous videos on Youtube of people polishing paint using a porter cable. Just put porter cable 7424 in the search area and they will come up. Like someone else said, to damage your paint with an orbital (such as the porter cable), you almost have to be trying to damage the paint. I guess if you are using a cutting pad smaller than 4 inches you may be able to do damage but just make sure your pads are in the 5 - 6.5 inch range and you will be fine.

 

If you are still a little nervous about damaging paint, you could always go to a junk yard and buy a hood for $30-50. I just recently purchased a hood for $35 to practice on with my rotary. A rotary is a little different from a orbtital in that it CAN damage your paint if you do not know what you are doing or are not paying attention.

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Alright...

 

I ordered everything but the PC, which I plan to buy this week. While I'm waiting for it to come in, I'm gonna do a regular wash and feel for contaminants with a plastic baggie. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna need to clay, though. I watched some PC videos and read some tutorials. I have some quick questions though:

 

1. When using OPS with a PC, is it important to tape off trim and weatherstripping?

 

2. I'm planning to debadge some of it, but how close to the remaining badges should I try to get with the PC.

 

3. I saw some overlapping buffing patterns that seem suitable for larger areas, but when it comes to smaller/thinner area like between the window and windshield do I just hit it back and forth a couple of times?

 

4. Is one bar of clay gonna be enough to do a full sized truck? I get the concept of reshaping, but I'm still worried about dragging stuff back across the paint. I'm not sure that I'll know the difference between needing more lube/reshapping, and needing a new bar of clay. In my mind it would seem that when you reshape, some of the stuff is gonna come back to the top no matter what.

 

Thanks again

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