I did the same on my tail lights aswell with the prima swirl by rotary. i coated it with some sealant as well. Crystal crear.

Recharge is the new name of this product and is still in development

However Driven quick spray is very hydrophobic on it's own and can be used on a wet car before a rinse

For your polishing pleasure

Here are the ultimate hand polishing pads
$8.00 each or 4 for $28
All six colours for $40.00 - RRP $48.00




Yellow - medium cut
orange - light cut
white - heavy polish
green - light polish
black - finessing
blue - finishing/glazing
red - wax/sealant application, ultra fine glazing

Much easier on the hands and arms than those silly meguiars applicators and more scratch and swirl removal power than even those white and blue pads that I have sold in the past

Thanks to a FM regular, mr Hans Hartman, I've now got some more tips for you

If you want to get maximum optical clarity from your paintwork, spend a long time with the clay bar
He spends a tonne of time per panel, claying and claying and claying

I decided to give it a go and instead of spending one hour, am now spending up to three hours and my god the clarity of the two black cars that I did last week is unbelievable and the body feels like water. It's super super slick and silky

Also, Dream machines has joined forces with two other companies to create a new, very exciting group that will specialise in stocking the worlds best products, conduct detailing training clinics for enthusiasts and provide the best detailing services in Australia

Now back to the clay, we will be sourcing a new type of clay - Bilt hamber soft and regular

These two clay bars are superior to all others as you can use water as a lubricant and they dont fall to bits after several uses

Easy to knead as well

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

http://www.driandshine.com.au/training.html

NEW TIPS

Why buying any bottle of polish won't give you the ultimate shine

CONTAMINANTS, SWIRL MARKS, SPIDER WEBS, ACID RAIN, DEFECTS, AUTO WASH MARRING

Contamination in the form of exhaust fumes, metal filings (industrial fallout from foundries), sulfuric acid rain and others.

These things that make paint feel gritty diffuse the light and hide the true gloss and colour

Once they are removed via a clay bar (bilt hamber or other brand) the clarity of the paint will be improved and ready to polish

The longer you clay, the clearer the paint will become, reflections will get sharper

Then it is time to polish the paint according to the condition of it

Some paint finishes of today are soft, medium or rock hard (german ceramiclear paints)

A japanese car is soft in most cases, australia - medium soft to medium hard

European - medium hard to rock hard

The contamination diffuses the light and Scratches, swirls, spiderwebs, acid rain and other blemishes make the light refract rather than reflect so the true lustre is again hidden away

See how the scratches hide the lustre
The reflection of that light should be crystal clear


After



Halogen light reflection (before)


AFTER


HSV ASTRA VXR

After three hour clay, Menzerna 106FF and 85RD finishing polishes by machine (will work as good by hand on a new car or paint in really good nick)

Roof reflection at Metro Holden



Wheels - the real thing and the door reflection


Only when the light is reflecting perfectly on the paint will the finish on your car be it's best

A 1992 to 2007 (BF II) paint finish is made from PPG 2K baked enamel

If the paint has serious scratches, anything from Menzerna Intensive polish and Powergloss, Prima Cut or swirl, Hi Temp Extreme cut plus or Driven to Perfection Finish Restorer will be needed to "LEVEL"
the paint by hand or machine

The best thing to do is to start at the lower end of the abrasive scale (menzerna 85RD, Prima Amigo or Finish) and a soft foam pad and work your way up (change pad before you change product) until the damage is removed

Once finished polishing and glazing (prima amigo, glare pro polish), apply your favourite sealant or wax

Light coloured cars require pure sealant for the light to radiate straight through (gives illusion of depth) whereas black cars can have sealant and wax

To get the best results from your polishes, use the correct pad and technique

We stock Lake country CCS euro foam hand pads in seven colored grades
Yellow (medium levelling), orange (light levelling), green (mild levelling), white (strong polishing), black (finish polishing), blue (jewelling/burnishing pad for maximum diamond finish), red (sealant glaze or wax application)

I have recently just gotten into washing the car frequently, and have learnt alot.

I have been through most polishes available in auto spares shops, and now only use mequires, mothers and my personal favourite turtle wax.

Will post some pics of my current get around car soon (BLACK jeep cherokee) which is a pain to keep clean


Turtle wax ftw, so easy to use, its effortless now!

turtle wax ice smells good to.... for the first 10 minutes

That is an excellent startup detailing product collection you have

If you ever wish to take it further and get the paint flawless and a saturated shine, let me know

Once you have used up your bottle of Meguiars Trim Detailer, try Trim Dream, my product will replace that and you will wish you bought that sooner

Do you have too many cleaning products on your garage shelves?

If so, perhaps I can help you get rid of some

1. Glass cleaner

In this day and age, quick detail sprays and spray sealants such as Aussie Gold Showroom sealer glaze, Driven to Perfection Quick Spray concentrate and Meguiars UQD are a far superior choice to ordinary old glass cleaner

No harmful butyl's, ammonia and rather than just clean glass, they protect it
Not all are safe on tinted windows, Aussie gold and Driven are totally safe on tint

2. Wheel cleaner

Many wheel cleaners are mostly acid based, great if you like cleaning concrete floors but not your precious wheels
Even safe wheel cleaners are alkaline and can effect certain types of wheels

The best way to eliminate the need to buy wheel cleaner is to clay bar, polish and apply a protective sealant to your wheels and then shampoo them before you wash your car (with separate sponges or mitts) or at the coin op car wash (don't use pre soak)

Once you have sealed them, just hand wash once a week or fortnight with your favourite body wash (my choice is the new improved Driven protective shampoo)

it is PH neutral (7.2) and contains a fine amount of sealant from the marine polish

Your wheels will stay clean for longer and easier washing is your reward

3. Trim care products

This is an easy one. Matts Magic Trim Dream is the answer to cutting out the need to buy Mothers back to black, Meguiars trim detailer, Autoglym bumper care or 07B rubber restorer, forever black and many other terrible dressings that run down your paint at the first rain shower that hits your car

Just ask millard, he has seen that first hand.

With trim dream you have a permanent solution to trim care, with just once in a blue moon reapplication of step 3 now and then for E series vehicles, your covered and won't have to worry about silicone oil or dye's running down your paintwork.

4. Waxes

Many are available, few are that much different
Carnauba waxes are a dinosaur now but still very much useable

The differences between all are minimal, choose a wax that compliments your cars colour

If it is metallic, try the higher end waxes as they do not mute the flakes as much or at all

if solid, a wax specially formulated for dark cars will suffice

The best wax is brazillian yellow, white carnauba (I have been told) is simply bleached yellow wax

If you are looking for a magnificent wax to make your paint come to life, don't bother

The shine comes from the preparation not the wax
The more prep you do the better the finish

Wax is just the icing on the cake

5. Polishes

Again like waxes, choose those that provide the shine properties that you want and that suit your finish

Clarity - Menzerna 106FF and 85RD

Super wetness - Ultra gloss superpolish, Driven marine sealant polish, Glare Pro Polish, Blackfire Gloss enhancing polish

Glass like Reflections - all four menzerna polishes by machine or Glare Knockout, Micro Finish, Spider and Professional Polish

Super rich colour - Prima Amigo, Aussie Gold Showroom glaze, Driven Quick spray

Depth - Menzerna IP, 106FF and 85RD (85rd twice) by machine

Limit your polishes to three to six
For instance - Prima Cut, Swirl, Finish and Amigo
Then a sealant polish like Driven marine polish or Glare Pro Polish

OR

menzerna Powergloss, Intensive Polish, 106FF and 85RD.
Then Driven marine polish, Glare, Toughseal step 1 and 2 or other brand sealants to protect the paint.

you will have all the abrasive cutters you may need and the non abrasive polishes and glazes to enhance the finish after the cutting or as I call it - LEVELING and the sealants to protect it

You may not need any levellers very often if at all but they will be there if you need them

6. Leather care/Interior cleaners

Three products are all that are needed
An environmentally safe Green earth cleaner/degreaser - Driven Multi surface cleaner concentrate is ideal for vinyl, rubber, plastic, woodgrain, velour, leather, fabric seats, glass (not tinted) and carpets as it does them all safely and conditions them very lightly - no drying out of the material like the traditional degreasers

Then a vinyl, rubber and leather conditioning and preserving lotion that is dry to the touch, never slippery or greasy and doesn't attract dust plus that softens the leather too and leaves a half matte - half satin finish

Driven VRL - everything it claims to do on the bottle it does and does brilliantly
Can even be used as a skin moisturiser if you don't have anything else around

Finally, an in and out spray to de dust dashboards, door skins and centre console plus provide protection for those surfaces

Driven Quick Spray, Prima Slick or Aussie Gold Showroom Sealer Glaze

All are totally safe for any surface. Will protect BA to BF falcon, Ford Territory and other branded vehicles hard and soft interior surfaces

FILLERS

I'll be doing a video this week on polishes, glazes and sealants that fill and showing you the better products that fill and the others that are outdated

Filling swirl marks and such has been around for decades but unlike many well known products, the new breed fill for a long time

Tip - when applying any polishing product you are currently using such as NXT tech wax, once you have finished applying it and you notice that the swirls in your paint are gone, get some wax and grease remover and wipe over the area with it using a microfibre towel and buff clean.

Examine again - I bet you that the swirls will come back straight away.

Even if you do not do this, the swirls will be back in no time and you are back to square one

the new age fillers will fill for many months if not several. this is the best way to polish and glaze older finishes that have been cut by machine too many times and to keep as much clearcoat on new cars so that maximum depth and gloss can be achieved

Hey all!!

Well i flew all the way from Sydney to spend a couple days with Matt(Aurora98) and get some hands on training and to see exactly what he does and I have to say that what he can do to a cars finish is amazing!!
Matt has really taken detailing to the next level with all his products and techniques.
If you are thinking about a deatil for your car or just wanna check out his work get in contact with him!
Trust me, it'll be worth it.

Once again, Thanks Matt

Thankyou Dave, more than welcome to come back in 09 for some more.
If I have improved my interior techniques and products then I'll bring you up to date there

So come on ford modders, lets keep this thread moving

What help can I be to you all, any advice you need, I am here

ok i have a question thanks

i want to respray small sections on the boot lid to fix up holes left from the spoiler.

What can i use to 'safely' remove wax from the surrounding paint without ruining the finish.

Ive used wax 'n grease remover on other small sections and its caused the clear coat to haze

Wow that must be some seriously strong prepsol
I was going to recommend that, however try isopropyl alcohol

That will strip waxes and is not quite as powerful

An even safer product is Dewaxer from Paint protection direct.