okay enough of mind rebooting...
detailer session...well a detailer is a diluted form of wax is available in the market. Cheapest good one is by Armor all for some 500 odd rs. followed by turtle and eventually megs sitting at the upper end. this is normally used as:
a. final coat or a wax enhancer after you are done with all the waxing shaxing on your vehicle. This helps in bringing another layer of shine on the car and at the same time helps you get rid of any anomalies you might have incurred during your buffing process.
b. A wax softener to loosen up any hardened wax remains during your buffing process...
c. A very handy mid week cleaner when you want to swipe the dust of your car and doing it with a dry MF is a no no...an MF with a detailer is better than a water dampened MF...water just cleans but detailer also shines
d. Quick shine jobs, where you want your car to look as if it has just been waxed...however, detailers are not protectants and sealants and their life (as they are highly diluted) as a coat is very low...day or two...
Available in spray bottles...you simply spray on your car surface and wipe off wtih an MF...as easy as that. You can even apply it on your MF and then wipe it on the paint..just make sure that you wipe off the moist surface with the dry side of the MF after it.
Now moving on to surface prep.
Waxes and sealants are doing nothing but sealing in the look of your existing paint. Yes they do enhance a little bit of shine but they will be as good as the paint underneath. Imagine placing a glass over a dull table. Sure light will reflect but the dullness will still be there and all the spots on the table will be still there underneath that coat of glass.
Shampoo gets rid of dirt but there are spots, smudges and tough particles accumalated on the paint surface which a gentle shampoo cannot take out. Example...wash your face with a soap...apparently it is clean...immediatly after that take a facial cleanser, put on some cotton and rub it on your face...you will be shocked at how much dirt that cleanser will pick up from your face even after a thorough soap wash...so sir...this is how a shampoo works...you need it to get rid of the dirt but then you need to really clean the surface of the car and make it all smooth for wax application.
This can be done in three ways:
a. In case of stuck tough particles...you clay the car (you have a new car, you don't need to clay it...not atleast for the next 6 months or so)
b. in case of deep swirls and scratches...you need to apply an abrasive product such as a polish, swirl remover or a heavy duty cleaner or rubbing compounds, scratch removers...you don't need it on a new car as abrasive products are removing a layer of your paint/clear coat in order to make the surface even
c. light swirls, water marks, deep swipe marks, light scratches...non abrasive cleaners, clear coat safe compounds, light paint cleansers waghaira waghaira are used here and this is what you should use to make the surface of your car perfect for waxing.
Another product which comes under surface prep is called a GLAZE...it is applied to add even more shine to the paint before the wax and is very often used to mask out swirls and scratches.
I have a new car...and I use Big Orange by turtle an All purpose cleaner after rinsing twice by shampoo and now I am also adding in a clear coat safe rubbing compound before the waxing stage.
your last point about clear coat swirls and paint swirls...well....hmmmm...okay this is tough...well I know the surface of my car so well that I can tell whether the mark/web or swirl is in the clear coat of my paint or it is just an anomaly in my wax coat. This I am afraid you'll have to figure out on your own.
