[diesel007]

This is where I get my detailing products and information.
http://www.rightlook.com/

[JOYRIIDE1113]

Originally Posted by diesel007

If I am doing something wrong please let me know.

Here is what I do:

Wash car, I use a Separate bucket soap and mitt for wheels
Replace soap and clean mitt
Cut medium compound (Blue) clay into 5 pieces
Roll them into balls and flatten like a hamburger
Starting with the roof, apply soapy water and rub down the panel with clay. Repeat for the rest of the car.
Wash all soap off car and dry with an absorber towel
Buff all panels with a clear coat compound
Remove compound with micro fiber towel
Buff all panels with a polish
Remove polish with a micro fiber towel
Buff all panels with a sealant
Remove sealant residue with micro fiber towel
Follow with a wax if I have the energy.

I don’t consider my-self to be an expert at this, just through my experience a very small amount of residue was left over in certain spots, probably not noticeable to most people.

I was assisted through a professional shop for all my detailing needs not Kragen Auto Parts.

no! if u look at the process, everyhting is fine. everything is in order, and u're sealant/lsp should last optimally.

i do know first hand that medium grade clay does leave residue, but it does not need an orbital buffer to remove.

are u sure the shop assisted u in using an orbital buffer?

most detailing shops use a rotory or at the very least a random orbital buffer. but an orbital buffer doesnt sound like it would have done much of anything to breakdown the coumpounds and polishes.

[RyBMW]

Originally Posted by diesel007

If I am doing something wrong please let me know.

Here is what I do:

Wash car, I use a Separate bucket soap and mitt for wheels
Replace soap and clean mitt
Cut medium compound (Blue) clay into 5 pieces
Roll them into balls and flatten like a hamburger
Starting with the roof, apply soapy water and rub down the panel with clay. Repeat for the rest of the car.
Wash all soap off car and dry with an absorber towel
Buff all panels with a clear coat compound
Remove compound with micro fiber towel
Buff all panels with a polish
Remove polish with a micro fiber towel
Buff all panels with a sealant
Remove sealant residue with micro fiber towel
Follow with a wax if I have the energy.

I don’t consider my-self to be an expert at this, just through my experience a very small amount of residue was left over in certain spots, probably not noticeable to most people.

I was assisted through a professional shop for all my detailing needs not Kragen Auto Parts.

After you clay your car, you have to wash the car again. There is no need to cut the clay bar into 5 pieces. Just keep rolling into a ball and flatten as much as possible. Make sure you apply enough of the lube(soapy water if you like).

If you do polish after you clay, the polish should remove the residue. What kind of polish, sealant, and wax are you using? If you use too much of a certain product, it can leave residues if you don't buff all of it off. Some polish requires the use of a orbital buffer. It's not meant to be used by hand.
Also some sealants require at least a 24hrs before you can layer it with wax. Make sure the wax is pure carnuba. If it's not, it'll contain cleaning agents that can remove the sealant.

[diesel007]

Originally Posted by JOYRIIDE1113

no! if u look at the process, everyhting is fine. everything is in order, and u're sealant/lsp should last optimally.

i do know first hand that medium grade clay does leave residue, but it does not need an orbital buffer to remove.

are u sure the shop assisted u in using an orbital buffer?

most detailing shops use a rotory or at the very least a random orbital buffer. but an orbital buffer doesnt sound like it would have done much of anything to breakdown the coumpounds and polishes.

I have a rotary, NOT a orbital sorry for the confusion.

[diesel007]

Originally Posted by RyBMW

If you do polish after you clay, the polish should remove the residue. What kind of polish, sealant, and wax are you using? If you use too much of a certain product, it can leave residues if you don't buff all of it off. Some polish requires the use of a orbital buffer. It's not meant to be used by hand.
Also some sealants require at least a 24hrs before you can layer it with wax. Make sure the wax is pure carnuba. If it's not, it'll contain cleaning agents that can remove the sealant.

The residue was left after the clay'ing step and was not rubbing off with soap. After buffing with the clear coat cutter the residue and surface swirl marks were removed.

And I use 100% Carnauba. I keep it in the refrigerator and I only use it once or twice a year though because it’s so pricy.

Thanks for the helpful replies.

[seh]

Originally Posted by RyBMW

After you clay your car, you have to wash the car again.

Is this still true even if you use diluted car wash soap (such as Zaino Z-7) as lubricant? The second washing is one step I'd really like to be able to skip.

[Xens]

Originally Posted by JOYRIIDE1113

i still cant believe a lot of u guys are having trouble with this and are blaming it on waxing a windshield.

and just to clarify, aio is a strong chemical cleaner with protective acrylic properties (sealant) not wax. rainx is the same thing.

not sure about u guys, but when i purchased my e90 330i it had hardwater stains all over the windshield, back glass and sunroof.

i cleaned it all up with some clay, water/vinger, and aio. left my windshield sparkling and beading water very nice. also made my wipers work BETTER as they easily lifted and swept water off the windshield much easier.

its like blaming a wax for leaving a hazy residue, not lasting a good while, or not looking like u thought it was, when in reality it was the fact the u didnt do proper prep on the paint first.

car detailing, including glass, is about process and patience and i doubt grabing and applicator and rubbing some aio in a circle over the windshield was gonna make it perfect...

as an example: would u guyz use zaino without preping the finsh first? no, why? because sal zaino said so. well toher than the fact that he says so, its because polymer sealants need a clean surface to bond. sal zaino uses dawn (even tho i think dawn should be left in the kitchen and isnt strong enough to remove acrylic selants as well as a simple paint cleaner polish would) because of its high alkaline properties that disolve waxes. leaving a clean slate. well same with glass. same with dressing tires, same with conditioning leather, same with everything when it comes to automotive detailing. its all about prep, and without that u got nothing.

sorry for the rant guys, i know im fairly new to posting information on the boards here, its just i feel, some are taking a wrong road in the direction to detailing and making their rides nice.

Well, first you said that's not AIO but my wiper blades being old when it's not the case. Then you suggested that I leave AIO off of the front windshield and were "sorry that AIO didn't work for me."

Neither time did you offer any other suggestion to actually make AIO work like you thought it should. So here I am, what are the procedures of properly preparing the front windshield so AIO will "make the wipers work better"? Thanks.

[JOYRIIDE1113]

Originally Posted by Xens

Well, first you said that's not AIO but my wiper blades being old when it's not the case. Then you suggested that I leave AIO off of the front windshield and were "sorry that AIO didn't work for me."

Neither time did you offer any other suggestion to actually make AIO work like you thought it should. So here I am, what are the procedures of properly preparing the front windshield so AIO will "make the wipers work better"? Thanks.

sorry about that. the rant really was towards people giving THEIR opinion on how it shouldnt have gone on glass, and then giving u a different perspective on the product.

when u treat glass, one of the things that should always be done is to clay the glass. when used with lube properly it should not leave hard to remove residue. no matter what grade the clay is. then clean the glass with some vinegar/water mix (if u have waterspots to remove) and finally aio for its cleaning and protective properties. although if u clean u're vehicle weekly, aio isnt need, but will help in reducing waterspots and sweeping the water off the glass.

edit: the only reason msot insist on washing the car again after clay is because sal zaino says so. it insures that even if enough lube wasnt used and residue did remain, that it would be washed off.

when u clay you should work on a 2x2 foot area and wipe off lube and residue with a mf, so that the residue and lube does nto dry by the time u finish the whole car.

again, im sorry for ranting and complainging without giving much help myself at first.

please feel free to post more question on anything u need as the more quesstions asked, the more RIGHT information can be given.

[bimmernotbeamer]

Your car is new. Chances are the windshield is free of contaminants and is already smoothe on its own. Adding an acrylic layer over top of an already very smoothe surface will make it even smoother. This is why your wipers are giving you prlblems. The glass is actually too smoothe. Just remove the AIO. Get a spray bottle and mix it 50/50 with water and isopropyl alcohol. Spary onto the windshield, let sit for a few seconds, then wipe off. The AIO will be gone and your windshield should squeak, and no more wiper problems1

[Xens]

Originally Posted by JOYRIIDE1113

sorry about that. the rant really was towards people giving THEIR opinion on how it shouldnt have gone on glass, and then giving u a different perspective on the product.

when u treat glass, one of the things that should always be done is to clay the glass. when used with lube properly it should not leave hard to remove residue. no matter what grade the clay is. then clean the glass with some vinegar/water mix (if u have waterspots to remove) and finally aio for its cleaning and protective properties. although if u clean u're vehicle weekly, aio isnt need, but will help in reducing waterspots and sweeping the water off the glass.

edit: the only reason msot insist on washing the car again after clay is because sal zaino says so. it insures that even if enough lube wasnt used and residue did remain, that it would be washed off.

when u clay you should work on a 2x2 foot area and wipe off lube and residue with a mf, so that the residue and lube does nto dry by the time u finish the whole car.

again, im sorry for ranting and complainging without giving much help myself at first.

please feel free to post more question on anything u need as the more quesstions asked, the more RIGHT information can be given.

Thank you very much!

Now, I've done putting a bunch of fine scratches on the glass from all that scrubbing with a dishwashing sponge (LOL, I know). Is there any product you can recommend to perhaps mend it? Thanks!

[Xens]

Originally Posted by DavidN

Your car is new. Chances are the windshield is free of contaminants and is already smoothe on its own. Adding an acrylic layer over top of an already very smoothe surface will make it even smoother. This is why your wipers are giving you prlblems. The glass is actually too smoothe. Just remove the AIO. Get a spray bottle and mix it 50/50 with water and isopropyl alcohol. Spary onto the windshield, let sit for a few seconds, then wipe off. The AIO will be gone and your windshield should squeak, and no more wiper problems1

Thank you so much DavidN! Please see my post above, is there anything you can recommend that might fix my glass? Thanks!

[jcoo085]

Originally Posted by Xens

Thank you so much DavidN! Please see my post above, is there anything you can recommend that might fix my glass? Thanks!

Some Klasse AIO and elbow grease should do the trick . Sorry. Couldn't resist.

I don't know how you can go out about getting scratches out of glass without doing any more damage. Maybe a glass company nearby may have some suggestions..

[zdognaylor]

The owners manual says do not wax the windshield. It will cause the blades to skip.

[Xens]

Originally Posted by jcoo085

Some Klasse AIO and elbow grease should do the trick . Sorry. Couldn't resist.

I don't know how you can go out about getting scratches out of glass without doing any more damage. Maybe a glass company nearby may have some suggestions..

LOL!

Well, I learned my lesson, and I'm glad that I ended up with nothing more than a scratched windshield. Could have been worse.

[jcoo085]

Does your insurance have windscreen cover that won't affect your premium or excess? I think you can probably guess where I'm going with this one.

"Gee, I don't recall how I got a rock chip, but now I have one. Pay for a new windscreen!!"

[bimmernotbeamer]

Originally Posted by Xens

Thank you so much DavidN! Please see my post above, is there anything you can recommend that might fix my glass? Thanks!

Buffing scratches out of glassis very hard to do correctly. It requires a lot of skill, a rotary polisher (for the heat) and the appropriate glass polishing compound. You'll be hard pressed to remove them yourself unless you really know what you are doing.

Just try to live with them if they are not tthat bad, otherwise try finding someone that knows how to correct defects in glass.

[Xens]

Originally Posted by jcoo085

Does your insurance have windscreen cover that won't affect your premium or excess? I think you can probably guess where I'm going with this one.

"Gee, I don't recall how I got a rock chip, but now I have one. Pay for a new windscreen!!"

Hahaha, thanks for the advice but it's not worth it IMO. My insurance covers it but replacing the OEM windshield for something this small is unnecessary. Bright light need to be shining at the glass at a certain angle for the scratches to be seen. I think I'll live with them.

[Xens]

Originally Posted by DavidN

Buffing scratches out of glassis very hard to do correctly. It requires a lot of skill, a rotary polisher (for the heat) and the appropriate glass polishing compound. You'll be hard pressed to remove them yourself unless you really know what you are doing.

Just try to live with them if they are not tthat bad, otherwise try finding someone that knows how to correct defects in glass.

Thanks! I had to ask so I'll feel better. Now that I know there's nothing I can do I'll live with them just fine.