DER Shiney Stuff

[Dylan06SS]

This writeup is intended as a BEST PRACTICES tutorial for using DER Stuff by hand and you can replace any step you see fit with your own process. Better results can be achieved by using a DA polisher but phenomenal results can be seen simply by following these instructions. As for my qualifications I have been detailing vehicles for 12 years professionally and while I don't claim to be the authority on all aspects, I am well versed enough that I think my process can help the average guy get the most from his paint. It should also be noted I DO NOT work for, sell, or endorse DER products for any compensation. I simply recommend them for the fact that in all my years detailing I haven't found a better product for the AVERAGE do-it-yourself detailer to achieve great results, long lasting protection, and with minimal effort/cost.

 

Best of luck and happy detailing!!

 

Dylan von Kleist

Deep Reflections Detailing

 

*last updated 8/9/2007

 

For anyone interested the product can be purchased here: DER REAL STUFF

 

Heres some basic instructions and tips to help your paint look this shiney:

 

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

• Clean water source
  
• 2 buckets (recommended with grit guards)
  
• Sheep skin or microfiber wash mit
  
• DER wash stuff (yellow bottle)
  
• DER clay stuff (teal container)
  
• DER lube stuff (teal spray bottle)
  
• 2 Microfiber applicator pads
  
• 4 Microfiber polishing towels
  
• 1 Microfiber waffle weave drying towel or lambskin chamois (impregnated w/ cod liver oil)
  
• DER Real Stuff (red bottle) *Note: DER Tuff Stuff (black bottle) for more aggressive treatments may be used
  
• DER Shiney Stuff (blue bottle)
  
• DER Mist Stuff or your preferred Quick Detail spray
  

PREP:

If this is your first time using DER or any acrylic based polish/sealer you need to get rid of all your old waxes. This process can be done a number of ways. The cheap and easy process is to use dish soap. I do NOT, however, recommend dish soap as a product you continue to use on your paint as it will dry your paint out over time and does not offer the same "high lubricity" of a quality car wash soap.

 

Using a heavy mixture of dishsoap (Dawn works well) and warm-hot water give your paint a complete scrub down. I recommend a sheepskin or microfiber mit. Sponges are a big mistake because they trap particles in their surface that you will drag around your paint. Overtime sponges will cause a lot of small surface scratches.

 

TIP - 2 BUCKET METHOD: Use 2 buckets. The first bucket should contain nothing but clean water, the second should be your soap bucket. Before putting your wash mit to the surface of the vehicle each time rinse it thoroughly in the rinse water bucket, this keeps the dirt and contaminants you pulled off the paint from being redeposited or dragged across the paint with the mit. TAKE IT A STEP FURTHER and invest in Grit Guards for your buckets... these can be purchased for around $10 thru a number of websites... they're a cheap investment in your paint.

 

Wash the vehicle from top to bottom. A good rule of thumb is to start at the roof and work down about 2/3rds the way. DO NOT RINSE UNTIL THE ENTIRE VEHICLE HAS BEEN HIT WITH SOAP. I suggest rinsing the wash mit after every 1-2 panels you complete... the key is to keep a good amount of soap in the mit, the more lubricity (soap) you have the less chance you have of introducing new scratches.

 

Rinse completely when all the panels are done with a heavy stream of water. Also a great idea to continue the "top to bottom" process here... rinse the roof and work down from there.

 

CLAY BAR:

After its been completely washed pull the truck into a shady spot. DO NOT DRY IT YET! Before starting this run the back of your fingers over a spot on the paint to get a feel... remember this for later... I'll explain why at the end. Simply use your DER Clay Stuff & DER Lube Stuff on all painted surfaces and glass. Its also a good idea to hit the headlights, tailights, and glass to remove any water spots, baked on bug guts, etc. Lightly mist the lube onto the surface and work small areas w/ the claybar. Your claybar should be flexible but not sticky/tacky... if its sticking to the paint its either too hot or you're not using enough lube. The bar should be no bigger than 3 fingers across and should slide fairly easily across the surface. Spend extra time going over the hood and other horizontal surfaces. These parts get the most punishment from rain and sun so going over them a couple of times isn't a bad idea. Clay is NON-ABRASIVE so you don't have to worry about it damaging the paint, but occasionally fold it into itself and stretch it back out again to move the surface impurities from the paint into the clay... otherwise your just dragging the crap all over the paint. Its normal to get a brownish liquid if you're a first time claybar user... the clay is pulling up stuff a normal washing never would. Make sure to look at the clay and note the amount of stuff coming off your paint... THIS IS WHY CLAYBARS ARE THE DETAILERS SECRET!!!

 

TIP - PATTERN OF MOVEMENT: Be sure to vary the direction you move the claybar. Ideally you want to move the claybar back and forth, not in circles. Also vary the direction you move the clay... if you hit a spot going left to right then go back over it with an up and down pattern also. This will give the clay the best opportunity to hit the surface contaminants from multiple angles.

 

Concentrate on one area at a time and don't get too far ahead of yourself. The claybar is small and theres alot of areas to hit so the more methodical and organized you are the faster it will go. If you drop your claybar THROW IT AWAY! Just like it picks up small particles from your paint, it will grab stuff off of the ground and this will make the clay more like a sanding block than a surface cleaner. DON'T DROP THE CLAY

 

PREP PART II:

After the claying is done get a new bucket of water going, but this time use DER car shampoo. If you're reusing the same mit as the first wash make sure its completely rinsed out and free of dishsoap. ALSO DON'T FORGET TO CLEAN THE BUCKETS OUT & REFILL THEM WITH FRESH WATER. Wash the entire truck and make sure to get any residue left behind by the claybar. As with the first wash job start at the top and work your way down. Wash your wheels and tires w/ a seperate rag, spongue, or mit to avoid contaminating your freshly clayed paint w/ road gunk.

 

After this wash you can dry the entire vehicle. I recommend White Microfiber waffle weave drying towels or 100% sheep skin chamois impregnated with cod liver oil. Either of these can be bought online thru a number of car detail supply websites. NOTE: a microfiber drying towel IS VERY DIFFERENT from a microfiber polishing towel... make sure you're using the right one. If you have a compressor now is a good time to use it... blast all the water out of the door jams, door handles, cracks and crevices. Theres nothing worse than finishing your detail only to have water streak down the surfaces right after you back out of the garage.

 

TIP - SPRAY DETAILER: If you are using a MF waffle weave drying towel lightly mist the entire vehicle with your preferred quick detail spray or the DER clay lube. It will help to limit water spots and also trap any remaining particulate (dust) that might be on the surface.

 

POLISHING:

Bust out the red bottle of DER Real Stuff. For you guys with black paint or badly oxidize/swirled/scratched surfaces it might be a good idea to use DER Tuff Stuff in place of DER Real, but its not necessary. Using a microfiber applicator pad apply a coat of DER Real Stuff to all the painted surfaces. USE SPARINGLY. This stuff is concentrated and a little bit goes a long ways so a thin skim coat is good for most of the surfaces, but use a little more in areas with a lot of swirl marks or surface scratches. This step is a polish so if you have a particularly bad spot multiple applications to those spots may be helpful. Once dryed to a haze use a microfiber polishing cloth folded into 4ths to remove like you would any wax. Be sure to shake out and rotate the surface of the polishing towel frequently, this polish has a tendency to clog up a cloth so make sure its dry before you start removing.

 

TIP - PRIME THE APPLICATOR: Give the surface of your MF applicator a light shot of your preferred quick detailer or the DER clay lube before starting the application of the polish. This will keep the polish from clogging the applicator too much and make application a little easier. Repeat occasionally during the polishing process.

 

Inspect the paint for any severe surface scratches and repeat the polishing steps on those spots as many times as desired. 2-3 times should remove even tough scratches.

 

SEALING:

Time for the "BLING" Using a microfiber applicator apply the blue bottle of DER Shiney Stuff. Be sure to use a NEW applicator... do not reuse the one from the polishing step. DER Shiney is extremely liquid so be carful not to spill. A little goes a long ways and this coat only needs to be very thin. Apply to the entire painted surface and even the glass, headlights, and taillights. Because its acrylic it bonds w/ plastic and paint to create a protective glossy topcoat that makes it hard for anything to stick to.

 

Remove this coat with a microfiber polishing cloth. Make sure to shake out the microfiber repeatedly while on this step. The sealer creates alot of acrylic dust and the more often you shake out the microfiber the better you'll be.

 

TIP - PRIME THE POLISHING CLOTH: Much like priming the applicator from the previous step. Use a light spray of quick detailer directly on the cloth to help your microfiber from clogging up and get the loose dust from the product.

 

Repeat this step as much as desired. DER Shiney dries quick so this step doesn't take long... the more coats the shinier it'll be when your done. Because this step creates a lot of residual product dust its a good idea to go over the truck once w/ a car duster when your done or a fresh microfiber towel and some quick detailer.

 

TIP - WANT MORE DEPTH??: Its pretty much fact that you can't beat the depth and wet look of a good old school carnuba based wax, but it lacks long term protection. To get the best of both worlds add a VERY thin coat of a high quality carnuba or carnuba/polymer blend wax AFTER the polishing step and BEFORE applying DER shiney stuff. Note that the type of wax you use needs to be taken into consideration. Many pure carnuba waxes require curing time before sealing over. Consult the products instructions before applying.

 

STEP BACK AND ADMIRE:

Thats it! You're done! REMEMBER WHEN I TOLD YOU TO FEEL THE PAINT BEFORE CLAYBARING?: Using the back of your fingers gently run them accross the surface of the paint and you'll appreciate how smooth the paint is compared to when you started. From this point forward claying is only necessary every 3-5 months or so. Each time you wash apply a fresh coat of DER Shiney to keep up the gloss and if the paint gets bad use a coat of DER Real Stuff before the DER Shiney.

 

For touchups between washes a microfiber towel and a light sprits of DER Mist Stuff works well. Hint: DER Mist and DER Lube are actually the same so you don't need to buy both

 

Hope this helps guys... and if you do it right your truck should look this good too

 

 

CLEAN UP:

Yeah... pretty crappy... you just finished all this work and you want to enjoy that freshly polished paint, but if you want to keep it looking good you need to have your supplies ready for the next detail.

 

BUCKETS AND WASH MITS -

Rinse and ring out, rinse and ring out, rinse and ring out.... just use lots of water to get your wash mits clean. Keep an eye out for any large particles or grime stuck in the knap of sheep skin mits. Completely rinse your buckets out after every wash, especially the rinse bucket. There will be a lot of gunk at the bottom usually.

 

APPLICATOR PADS -

Spray the pad with a little bit of simple green or an automotive all purpose cleaner (APC). Rub the pad against itself to aggitate the caked on product and get the cleaner worked in. Use a heavy stream of water to rinse (repeat if necessary). Ring the pads out well and let air dry so they're ready for next use. A small amount of residual product is OK, but if the pad is heavily caked and you can't get it clean discontinue use... in some cases boiling in a pot of hot water may release heavily caked on product.

 

DRYING AND POLISHING TOWELS -

Machine wash SEPERATE from your regular laundry. I recommend the use of a microfiber specific detergent like MicroRestore, but regular LIQUID laundry detergent is acceptable. Use only liquid detergent as the granulated kind can leave particle in the towels that will ultimately lead to scratches in your paint.

 

Machine dry WITHOUT any fabric softener. Fabric softeners are full of chemicals and particles that will damage your microfiber towels and eventually your paint. USE ABSOLUTELY NO FABRIC SOFTENER!!

[fox_forma]

WOW thats a good How To. One question, i use a teflon polish/sealer on my truck once a year, would i still be able to use just the polish part to make it shine. The teflon does a great job after a wash but i could use more shine. So i figured i'd ask and see if ya knew. All i was told was not to use actual wax after the teflon is applied, so I dont really know what that means.

[Dylan06SS]

I occasionally use a teflon sealer on my glass to prevent water spots, but I've never used it on my paint. As I understand the rule is to not mix things like this. You don't mix silicone and acrylic processes so I think the same would be true for teflon and acrylic, but I really don't know for sure.

[fox_forma]

I kinda figured that, but I would imagine that there is something that I can put on top of the teflon to make it shine more after each couple of washes or so. i guess i have to do some research now

[Dylan06SS]

ONE THING I FORGOT TO ADD:

 

the bottles ship w/ red plastic plugs under the pour/spout lid.

 

DO NOT LOSE OR TRASH THESE!!! They need to be put back in between uses. The regular lids are not air tight and the polishes are quick drying... if you don't re-insert the red plugs between uses you may find youself w/ a bottle of evaporated acrylic polish

[Big O]

And do not drop the bottle while polishing the roof ... the lid will break off and spill DER STUFF all over the ground making you a very angry boy. lol .. oh well.

[WEEZARR1&SS]

WoW that is clean Great looking SS!!

[RembaSS 1SG]

Looks like the perfect detailing setup for a new (less than a month old) truck. However, I think the dealership used something like this on my truck before I picked it up. When I use the windshield wiper fluid at high speed it just beads and flies off the windshield. Same with rain.

[z28plus]

Looks like the perfect detailing setup for a new (less than a month old) truck. However, I think the dealership used something like this on my truck before I picked it up. When I use the windshield wiper fluid at high speed it just beads and flies off the windshield. Same with rain.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Great Instructions............thanks. Got One Question. My truck sits outside and it gets covered in tree sap, and it sucks gettin it off. Will the clay take it off in that one step, or do I need to buy something else? I am tired of the little nasty spots

[Dylan06SS]

Great Instructions............thanks. Got One Question.  My truck sits outside and it gets covered in tree sap, and it sucks gettin it off. Will the clay take it off in that one step, or do I need to buy something else? I am tired of the little nasty spots

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

A claybar is specifically made to remove stuck on particles (i.e. - tree sap, overspray, water deposits, baked on bugs, industrial fallout, etc.)

 

So to answer your question... yes... a claybar will remove the sap, but you need to obviously wash it first and do the other steps in order to protect the paint. If you JUST claybar you're stripping off all the wax and protection that was there before so its imparitive you reapply some type of protection after the clay.

[CraigW]

Just to back up Dylan DER Stuff is some of the best stuff out there. But yes you need to start with a clean waxless surface if you do you wont be disappointed with the results.

Perfect instruction Dylan couldnt have said it any better.

[CoolBlueSS]

How does it compare to Meguire's or Zaino? I've used Meguire's for years with good results, but have seen Zaino and it looks good, too. Thinking of making a change.

[misterp]

How does it compare to Meguire's or Zaino? I've used Meguire's for years with good results, but have seen Zaino and it looks good, too. Thinking of making a change.

Which Maguire's product you using right now? The Gold Class stuff?

[CoolBlueSS]

How does it compare to Meguire's or Zaino? I've used Meguire's for years with good results, but have seen Zaino and it looks good, too. Thinking of making a change.

Which Maguire's product you using right now? The Gold Class stuff?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, but I have used Deep Crystal, and Mirror Glaze. The Mirror Glaze works really well, but with so many steps and a large vehicle, it would take a week to finish. I have the Gold Class stuff, but haven't used it yet.

[misterp]

Which Maguire's product you using right now?  The Gold Class stuff?

Yes, but I have used Deep Crystal, and Mirror Glaze. The Mirror Glaze works really well, but with so many steps and a large vehicle, it would take a week to finish. I have the Gold Class stuff, but haven't used it yet.

If you still have the receipt for the Gold Class then I would recommend you return it and buy either the Zaino or DSS product, both are far superior in protection to the Maguires, easier to apply, and *much* easier to clean up after. The reason I say that, in my own experience (1) the Maguires just evaporates off in 2-3 weeks anyway, (2) road tar and bug splatter is easy to get off the Zaino vs. Maguires (even NXT), (3) the Maguires leaves a greasy finish, the Zaino finish actually 'feels' slick and clean. The acrylic sealers are hands down just a better class of products, and over a whole year I don't think they're all that much more expensive.

 

I can also tell a huge difference in the final color of the finish as well, the Maguires left my SS a deep ordinary black color (duh!) but the Zaino finish actually looks like a mirrored steeley black, you can see the subtle light graphite shade in the paint and I really like that. You saw my truck last Saturday, it has Zaino on it and is almost 3 years old now.

 

I think Dylan is the only person that has used both Zaino and DSS so he will have to say how they compare to each other, but to me it appears both are very similar in product and performance.

 

Mr. P.