Alternative to Prime?

mudabi

Great forum folks I've been reading through here for days (completely new to detailing). Can anyone recommend a good alternative to Jeff's prime, preferably from an Irish online store.

Following the advice here I am going to do the following (Metallic Black Car):

1. Wash completely with a good shampoo using two bucket method
2. Wash again
3. Orchard De-Tar
4. Orchard De-Ironise
5. Bilt Hamber Clay bar
6. Jeffs Prime
7. Finis Wax

I don't see Jeff's Prime on detailingshed.ie
Whats a good alternative to clean the paint and base before the finis wax?
Any advice/suggestions appreciated

Curran

Just to re-direct you slightly...

1. Wash completely with a good shampoo using two bucket method
2. Wash again
3. Orchard De-Tar
4. Rinse
5. Orchard De-Ironise
6. Rinse
7. Bilt Hamber Clay bar
8. Decide on how you progress....


On #8...
From here you can polish if the paintwork needs it, or go straight to protection! Let me know your intention and I can advise further!

Colour of the car, budget, durability are all factors in choosing protection!!

Im a huge fan of Chemical Guys Pete's53 on Black - its what I use on my cars during the summer.


Do you mean Werkstat Jett - dont have much experience with it, but believe its a great product
Anyways, a product I would recommend is Orchard Autocare Perfection - spray on, buff off...simple to use - on paintwork, glass, plastic trim, etc. This would be a product that you would use after your regular washing to top up shine and protection!

Toyotafanboi

curiously i was just recommended not to use jeffs prime on my metallic black car on here so if you havn't bought it already, maybe reconsider.

that said, i am very happy with how it left the car and it's a treat to use.

Curran

Werkstat products look brilliant on white, silvers or anything light!

TomMc

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

curiously i was just recommended not to use jeffs prime on my metallic black car on here so if you havn't bought it already, maybe reconsider.

that said, i am very happy with how it left the car and it's a treat to use.

TFB, if you read again you were recommended to use Prime (the acrylic version) on all metallics including black and to use something with carnauba in it for solid colours like (non-metallic) black and red. Prime comes in a few different versions to suit all colours, the main ones are acrylic only which best suit metallics, but they also have a version which also includes carnauba which best suits solid colours.

Now people shouldn't get to caught up on one particular brand name (like Jeffs/Werkstat or Klasse, both American brand names) as there are several other products from Germany which are extremely similar (Carlack, Gollit, Wellpro, Remo), they all take exactly the same approach to car care - non abrasive chemical cleaners instead of abrasive polishes (gentle on paint, safer and easier to work with especially by hand, will not induce swirl marks), acrylic sealant (longer lasting protection than natural waxes) water-based (greener), nano-tech (smaller particles clean and seal paint and paint pores much better, less product residue so easier to buff) and with uv inhibitors (paint protection) - so they do the same type of job, in the same way and with similar results. Except the German versions are cheaper to buy because the American versions were made in Germany in the first place before been exported to the USA.


Focus more on the type of product it is. Cleaner sealant only, sealant with carnauba or carnauba cleaner wax. Acrylic products (sealants) are optical clearer than carnauba so they work best on metallics as they highlight the flakes better. On the negative side they can highlight swirl marks that little bit more too. Carnauba on the other hand can mute the flakes on metallic, but gives a deeper and warmer finish which suits blacks and reds most of all.

So in simple terms, if you only want to use one product to clean and protect then

On metallic colours use acrylic/polymer/synthetic cleaner sealant to (clean, polish and protect). On non-metallic/solid colours use carnauba based cleaner wax to clean, polish and protect. Some products are a mix of both sealant and wax, so best suit darker metallics.

If you want to add more protection afterwards, follow with either a sealant or wax. A sealant will usually look better (and last longer) on lighter colours and a wax will look better (warmer or deeper finish) on darker colours. But whatever you use, it must be able to bond or sit over what is underneath. Sealant over sealant, wax over wax, wax over sealant but seldom sealant over wax.

mudabi

Cheers for the replies, Ill do a bit more investigation before I start. I just want to make sure I'm doing the task right while I'm at it. I'm Ill post some before and after pics once I get going.