First time DA Polishing and Waxing & Reviews
 

After a long, harsh winter for the Northeast US. I decided to give the exterior a good detail. I have always been partial to do things like this by hand. But after watching the Autogeek channel on youtube, I decided maybe this is a thing of the past.

So I guess I'll start by telling you the products I used and tools i used and a brief summary on how I feel about each one as I used none of these products before:

STEP 1.
I started with a soft touch and dry wash from the local car wash... Never do this but my Toyota dealer gave me free coupons for their service. Initially I don't like the thought of the same bristles that are used on dirty, muddy, brake dusted etc cars to touch the same surface on my car's exterior. But I was running about 4 hours of sunlight left in the day and gave it a go... I WAS PLEASED WITH THE RESULTS. Not a day to day wash but it gave me a very good surface to start the next step.

Step 2.
I used a Simoniz Blue Magic Clay kit. I usually go with Turtle Wax ICE or whatever their new line is called. However the local Pep Boys didn't seem too stock that anymore and figured was just clayed before the winter and it wasn't bad. So I was glad to spend the 13.99 on the clay kit. Initial impressions it was decent and did its job. The clay seems harder to kneed to a clean surface but served its purpose. Overall will probably not buy this product again because of the stiff hard to use clay.
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps1056a182.png

Step 3.
At last I finally am able to use my new Harbor Freight 6 inch dual action variable speed polisher I bought over winter. My review on this item, worked great wasn't very balanced but hey $60 including both foam pads. Vibrated very harsh at first but eventually either got used to it or "broke it in"
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/o...psd1a0345e.jpg

Meguiar's Ultimate Polish is what i used next. The product worked great at removing the light swirls I had on my paint. However wiping off the excess residue was a nightmare. Maybe I was doing too big of sections at a time (one body panel at a time) Overall pleased with the final result. Left my paint scratch/swirl free, with the expense of some good ol' fashion elbow grease.
(Used the Harbor Freight blue foam pad)
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/o...psfd756ff1.jpg
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps3bb11603.jpg

Step 4.
The wax I used next was something that always caught my eye, never read reviews, never bought it. Today it was on "clearance table" for 50% off and decided to buy and try it. The wax is Surf City Garage Carnuba Wax. This product blew me away and will definitely buy/try their products again. Wax went on great and easy, hazed up and wiped up with ease! LOVE IT!
(Used the Harbor Freight black pad)
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/o...psaf19008b.jpg
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps4b6997bd.jpg
Step 5.
Okay guy's ill admit I used this one before and love it, the Meguiar's Ultimate Quick Detail spray. Not much to say about this, it dries streak free and leaves the finish feeling more protected. If nothing else its just another reason to go over the car and make sure I get all the dried up wax off, I may have missed.
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps49f21980.jpg

Overall: Pleased with the results and let the pictures speak for themselves(note summer wheels are on and will be lowering, please don't bust my balls lol)

http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps88542184.jpg
[URL=http://s358.photobucket.com/user/yellowscionxb/media/Detail/20140413_030835_zpscf089be4.jpg.html]
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps94c040f1.jpg
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/o...psf6c33a84.jpg
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/o...pscf089be4.jpg

Good job. Great results.

I wouldn't use any electrical HF tools around my car, but that's only because I've heard so many good stories from friends who used/broke electrical HF tools. The Griot's Garage random orbital buffer is like $30 more than the HF one and comes balanced...

Thanks for the heads up with the griots's garage buffer. If my harbor freight one ever dies out I'm definitely gonna buy a better unit. This was more experimental on my behalf to see if I could actually run the machine properly.