hi guys i was planning on doing a really nice washing of my car
first of all i don't have any equipment so im coming to you guys to get suggestions
i am looking at buffers? what should i be looking for what pads compounds etc.
I have a bunch of paint drips etc, so im toying around with the idea of wet sanding the parts of the car with like 1000-2000 grit? im not sure about that
then some sort of protectant? its a red car if that matters but i would really appreciate input

 

I use a Makita high speed, and love it! its absolutly perfect! now with that being said the rest of the materials u choose are going to dictate the final product.
I use a Foam cutting, polishing, and finishing pad. (you can pick some up at autozone or advance for roughly $10-$13 (you wont burn through the edges if you use foam. whool could possibly tear through your clear coat on sharp edges) & the 3M 3 step compound system. yu should be able to pick it up at autozone. the stuff works miracles.

This is what I do.

start off with a clay bar to get off the surace contaminants. any should do Im a mothers fan.

then Id take something around 1200-1000 grit. and go panel by panel dont go to crazy on the runs. depending on how bad they are is the deciding factor on whether or not you can get them out. if its a really bad run and u take it down to much youll eat through the paint. wetsanding will reduce the appearance of the run not get rid of it. unless its a baby run...but it will really bring out the shine, and remove orange peel.

use the step one polish with the cutting pad to remove the scratches and oxidation..what have you.
use the second with the polishing pad to get rid of the light haze youll see, which also polishes. this is usually the step that leaves you with the swirls.

then the third step with the finishing pad to remove the swirls add an additional layer of protection and REALLLY make that Red shine.

that alone should yield you the results your looking for but just incase it doesnt...(i tend to over due things) throw a layer of Mothers Carnuba on it from the tin. (not the liquid) hand apply and remove.

The Car will look like you just rolled it out of a paint booth.

 

Okay ill assemble a quick general enthusiast grade detail kit for you. First though if you have paint drips you have to make sure of what you have, single stage or bc/cc. If you have SS you can wet sand them down with some effort, if you have a bc/cc system you will have to find out if it was the clear or the bc that dripped. If it was the clear you can wet sand out and buff if it was the bc there is a whole lot more time and money that goes into correcting it might not be worth it for you.

Your detailers arsenal should include-At the least
Dual action random orbital such as the flex or porter cable
Lake country foam pads(yellow, orange, white, green, black) Lake country CCS pads are nice
Clay- Pinnacle, DP, Sonus, wolfgang..
Wash- Meguairs #62 or #00
Polish- Meguiars 105, 205, 3m microfina or po85rd
Pre wax cleaner- SONAX or Prime lime lite
Wax- Dodo juice orange crush, rubbish boys juiced, or Onyx
Sealer- Colinite insulator wax, Klasse all in one

As far as the detailing list goes you want to start off with your shampoo. If your paint is still new(within 3 months) you will want a mild shampoo like meguiars #62 or #00. If paint is of age for products then just about any wash of your choice will do. \

Next step after a quick wash down is clay bar. You are going to want to get a nice clay bar for removing over spray, dust, particles that have impregnated themselves in the outer layers of your paint. I use Pinnacal Ultra poly but you can use any decent clay like Griots, DP, Sonus, wolfgang ect.
PS. If you buy the Meguiars #62 due to its highly lubricating properties you can use with water in a spray bottle to create a spray lube. If you didnt you will want to use a dedicated spray lube. Pinnical is the only clay lube I have used aside from clay magic until I started making my own

After the clay you will want to wash again leaving you with a fresh pallet to work with.

You are going to want to use a DA RO like the flex, or porter cable. Also an assortment of foam pads are necissary. In your arsenal you want 5.5-6" pads of yellow/orange, white, green and grey. Those are in order of how hard they cut.

For neglected paint you want to start with a heavy system something like meguiars 2-step 105/205. 105 with the yellow/orange then 205 with a white pad after. For that special touch you can add in a "jeweling stage" with 3m micro fine or p085rd and a black pad to get the most gloss from polishing.

If you paint is not so neglected you can go with just a swirl remover like the meguiars 205 and then a finish jeweling polish like the p085rd. Followed

If your paint is new you want to go with just a pre wax cleaner like SONAX which is the best I have used. The next best and a step lighter is the Dodo Juice lime prime lite. Both amazing cleaners can be applied with a white pad on the DA or by hand.

Next you want to finish with a quality wax. I have use many waxes and nothing has done me better on a red car than Swissvax's Onyx but Dodo juice seems to do the job just as well with their rubbish boy juiced edition you just cant beat it on a red car.

If your engine bay has fresh paint you want to apply colonite insulator wax it stands up to higher temps and if you have a metal hood you can also use it on your hood for more durability.

You also want to have a paint sealant on hand for the colder months when you may not wash your car as much. Klasse all in one is one of the best I have used and lasts almost 6 months of beading.

 

oh my godness thank you guys so much!!

 

1 more quick qestion i found an old wax master Random orbital thing in my garage but i don't know if i can use it. it uses these bonet things not the foam pads, all i can find online are terry cloths and microfibres i don't think those would work if i were to sand down would they?

 

I won't say that list isn't full of great products, but the most important product isn't listed. Patience. You have to take your time and do it right. I used to use elaborate products, but found that my time and attention to detail made a far greater impact than WHAT I used. If you go to a carshow, and ask the 10 best paintjobs what they use, some will have $1000 of mailorder products, some will have $100 of off the shelf products. They will ALL have countless hours and dedication.

 

No product is going to outshine a 10,000$ paint job. You can use dish soap and windex on a high dollar custom paint job and it will still look amazing.

You are right though patience, experience and dedication go much further than products. But once you are there the difference between OTC products and proffesional/enthusiast grade products means the world especially on average paint jobs.

I never listed 1000's of dollars worth of stuff. Those are all products that are introductory/beginner proffesional grade. All of that in the same cart would not even come close to 1000$. There are products out there that i wouldnt even dare to spend the money on being in the business 10+ years

 

My neighbor had his '89 IROC-Z repainted two years ago and we finally got around to cleaning it up. It was correctly painted by removing everything, so it came out looking great, except for the inconsistent orange peel. In one day, we wet sanded the car with 2000 to smooth out the finish, used a Flex buffer with a wool pad and 3M rubbing compound and finished it off with a Porter Cable random orbital and Meguiar's 205 polish. The car looks absolutely amazing now without a single swirl mark or blemish.

Time to completion, 7 hours of two people working. We also didn't wet sand below the body line, so that was time saved. Take your time and the finished product will be amazing.