just bored and am postig up a few things i have been pondering lately: firstly, i love Autoglym custom wheel cleaner, but wouldnt it be amazing if they made a gel formula like P21S or the like? if they did, i would never use anything else. (hint, i add CG CWC to my custom wheel cleaner to thicken it up). i asked ken about a gel formula, and basically said dont get your hopes up. second, holograms VS. swirls. see, i was taught and have always known swirls or swirling as being the fine scatches on a paints surface, which "swirl" or "spiderweb" around your light source. hologramming, being the trails left by improper rotary use, or lack of finishing an aggressive step, etc. here's where i start to get pissed. i work at a dealership as a detailer, and everyone else, including body shop people and other detailers, call what are actually holograms, swirls or swirling. and then they refer to ACTUAL swirls as simply scratches. at first i just figured everyone who's not at our level was simply taught wrong, but it seems even product manufacturers as prominent as 3M are tainted by this incorrect nomenclature as well. the detail department as well as the body shop at work have and use some 3M body shop polishes that are denoted as "swirl removers". now i know that what they actually should be called are hologram removers, as they are simply finishing polishes, and i have attempted using them to correct ACTUAL swirls, with little success. if you're still following, you can now see that even 3M incorrectly labels their products to "dumb-down" their products for their misinformed clientele. third, im contemplating not washing my car all winter, on purpose. im talking about just the paint. i am thinking about doing no more than cleaning my wheels and powerwashing salt etc off when necessary. im really curious to see how the DG Enviroshield will hold up with two layers of CG Petes 53 on top. EDIT AND ADDITION: im mad at my mom right now. i just found out she bought a 2010 VW CC in BLACK last week, and failed to tell me. i knew she was looking into and probably going to get one, but i wanted to know when she decided to actually get one, as i would go with her and make sure she was taking delivery of a car in decent shape, and make sure it was NOT dealer prepped. i wanted her driving the car off the lot with ALL plastics still on the car. well i just saw it for the first time, and its not horrible, but its gonna need some work to say the least. writeup coming in the spring...
I actually thought about not washing all winter either. just 2 see how 2 coats of AJT topped with 2 coats of 845 would hold up. just powerwash the salt off, clean the windows, and keep up with the interior. great minds think alike.
rinsed salt off yesterday. didnt wash it at all. need to get mr clean car wash couse water in my area is very hard and leaves deposits behind. they should call polishes by numbers and thats all. i thought they gave names to OTC stuff for dumb customers. menzerna doesnt do that
Curious why you want cwc to be a gel? Why fix something that ain't broke. I feel it cleans perfectly fine they way it is :shrug:
for the most part i agree, but the only reason i would want custom wheel cleaner in a gel would be to get a little more cling out of it. i've found its a little too runny on some of the mesh/thin multi spoke aftermarket wheels i've used it on.
What bottle are you using it in? I got the small bottle then the 5L and the small normal bottle it comes in foams it up amazingly well. It comes out a thick foam in small "squirts" and then I use that to agitate. I have pictures That i'll be putting up soon :thumb:
All i've been doing is cleaning the wheels and just foaming and rinsing (no agitation) the body for winter time. I'm curious how my two layers of 845 topped with Crystal Rock will hold up. So far so good.
Polishes are identified by a (grit) number - Grit Numbers Sandpaper or finishing paper is the most common item from a larger group of products known as "coated abrasives" i.e. Aluminium oxide. When talking about "grit" is a reference to the number of abrasive particles per inch of finishing paper (sandpaper). The lower the grit the more abrasive and conversely, the higher the grit number the lesser (smoother) the finishing paper When talking about abrasive finishing paper, "grit" is a reference to the number of abrasive particles per inch of paper. It eliminates the risk of deep sanding scratches by providing a uniform grit size. The lower the grit numbers the rougher the paper and conversely, the higher the grit numbers the smoother the paper. This makes sense if you imagine how small the grit particles on a 1000-grit finishing paper would need to be to fit into a 1" square. Grit finishing paper is referred to by the size of its abrasives (i.e. 1500-grit paper) the grit you use depends on what you are trying to do. a) Polishes have a grit number) most polishes will state the level of scratch removed by stating grit numbers, 2000 polish i.e. will remove 2000 grit scratches caused by using 2000 grit finishing paper b) Foam Pads are also rated on a grit number, that is to say the scratches they will remove after using grit finishing paper along with a similarly rated polish (i.e. 2000 grit rated pad and polish will remove the marks left after using 2000 grit finishing paper) Once you have identified the scratch ‘grit’ marks you can match a polish and a foam pad (i.e. 2500 grit marks, require a polish that is capable of removing 2500 grit (number) marks, matched with a suitable cutting pad (e.g. Menzerna Power Finish (PO203S) this is a one-step scratch remover polish that will remove 2500 grit, matched with a LC White 2500 grit cutting foam pad) 1. 1000 < grit Heavy - (Compound) levels and removes heavy defects 2. 1200 grit Heavy - levels moderate to heavy defects 3. 1500 grit Medium - levels light to moderate defects 4. 2000 grit Moderate - levels light defects and removes hazing 5. 2500 grit Light - levels swirl marks, light defects and removes hazing 6. 3000 grit Fine - very minor corrective ability, burnishes paint to high gloss An extract from one of a series of unbiased Detailing Technical Papers © TOGWT ™ Ltd Copyright 2002-2009, all rights reserved.
They ain't wrong actually, if you see the definition of swirls and holograms, it is quite debatable. Maybe is the online community created the word hologram to be more precise. Many of my country bodyshops and dealerships also don't use the word hologram, they call it swirls, spider web, machine mark etc instead and I doubt 3M would want to create something to confuse the majority user.
Billy..I'm really curious to see your thoughts on Enviroshield. You actually don't need to top it with anything..it's very, very strong. Wait till you hit it with the hose, the water will sheet like crazy. Here is a video I had posted after using it. As far as the difference in terms, I agree with Ken..who cares? A defect is a defect. It just needs to be corrected, that's all. My :2cents:
As you’re bored I provide a little reading matter - Scratches Technically we have two types of scratches because of the two different ways they are introduced into the paint. • We have "halo-scratches" (swirl marks or spider webs) which, when the light reflects off the raised edges of the scratches, appear to be circular but in reality they are made up of numerous straight line random scratches which are caused by washing, drying and everyday wear and tear. Some are surface marring, whereas others can be deep into the clear coat. • Then we have holograms (also called buffer marks or buffer trails) which again are scratches but these scratches are fine patterned scratches which are caused by a high speed polisher and an operator who doesn't know how to properly finish down his or her work. They take on a 3D effect and if the car is moving or you move around the car they seem to "flow" through the paint. Removing a scratch requires removing the layer of paint that contains the defect; you need to level the paint to the lowest point of the scratch. The dual action of a random orbital motion will require more applied pressure to work the compound into the scratch as opposed to the singular action motion of a rotary spinning with less applied pressure. Due partly to its indirect application of pressure; it removes more clear by putting an uneven pressure on the abrasives Whatever you or they choose to call them they need an abrasive polish to remove them or a glaze to cover them
Thanks for the responses guys. TOGWT: I've been meaning to ask you, is there some kind of detailing book or something that you have written or collaborated on? I saw your introduction post on Audizine and if I remember correctly it seemed to allude to the fact that you had a book or manual of sorts. If so, I'd love to get my hands on it.
