Do I need to use cleaner between griots polish and 3in1 ceramic?

New to this detailing stuff and just got a big order from Griots. Going to do my wife’s one year old super white sequoia. Plan is wash, gg iron remover, clay, gg perfecting cream, gg 3in1 spray ceramic.
What I failed to order was any sort of alcohol panel wipe stuff. Would like to do the truck this weekend and not sure what I can find local.

is it an absolute necessity to use this stuff or am I ok to go from polish to 3in1?

thanks!

 

It'd be best to remove any residues/oils from the polish. I think you can dilute any isopropyl alcohol and be fine (probably best to dilute with distilled water!). That's effectively what the panel wipedown stuff is (thinking CarPro Eraser), but with fancy fragrances and colors.

 

I recently washed, clayed, and 3&1 my 06. I used Griots 'Speed Shine' as the clay lubricant which worked well.
I'm new to detailing as well and didn't know about using a 'cleaner' after I clay'd and went straight to 3&1. Ooops.
I did 1 coat over the entire truck/shell and let it dry overnight before applying the second coat later the next day.
No complaints here. Only bit of advice I can give is to use the 3&1 sparingly, a little does really go a long way. Keep plenty of dry microfibers for buffing as you go. Work in a small areas, and in a cool environment. I used a bit too much at first and had to use a little elbow grease to buff out a few streaks. Nothing major, just something to be aware of. And the 2nd coat can be applied even lighter the next day.

I'm very happy with the results, and if I had done my homework and used an iron remover to begin, and a cleaner after the clay process, I bet the results would have been even better. But so far it is holding up very well, especially considering i didn't really know what I was doing.

 

Just dilute alcohol and water and give it a wipe down as stated above. This will do the trick. I use CarPro eraser before any sealant I do but it’s effectively the same thing.

 

what would be the ratio?

 

This will help

https://avalonking.com/blog/how-to-mix-ipa-spray-for-ceramic-coating-prep/

 

10-25% is what your shooting for. So 1:4 should do the trick

 

thank you! can't wait to get started with this stuff. bought the g9, g8, pads, creams, whole nine yards.

 

You’ll be hooked. Can’t go wrong with griots products. Have fun and post up some pics to show off your work.

 

we were going to pay for a ceramic install but i opted instead to spend less than half that cost and get completely set up with detailing equipment. I just bought an army green sequoia so we've got two needy paint systems. figured i better get learning.

 

That’s awesome. Nice choice in trucks btw. To be honest if you are willing to take care of them it’s actually a lot of fun. It’s always a good feeling to keep your rides looking good. My neighbors are always coming by saying nice things. They call my truck the cleanest truck in Naples lol. It is great stress relief and very rewarding. Plus coatings take a lot of maintenance so you would probably need to invest anyway or pay all the time. If you can and money is not an issue I would buy CarPro reset soap it is hands down the best.

 

This. You can make your own. You want your final IPA to be between 10% and 25%; ~15% is good and you can always make it a little stronger an oz at a time. Using distilled water is a good idea, especially if you live in a hard water area. Your dilution depends on the strength of what you started with. (Final IPA %*Final volume)/Starting IPA % = Starting IPA volume; fill the rest with water until you reach you final volume. Avoid alcohols with additives such as Wintergreen oil.

General rule of thumb to mix 20oz of 15% IPA:

• 6 oz of 50% to 14 oz of water
• 4.25 oz of 70% to 15.75 oz of water
• 3 oz of 90% to 17 oz of water

 

What do u guys think about using 3 in 1 as a drying aid? I usually get a touch free wash and use speed shine when drying but thinking of using 3in1.

 

I have done this on white paint which is real forgiving. Makes sure it’s cool out and shade is your friend

 

Sounds good. Thanks

 

Which pads and how many of each?

 

2 yellow boss 6.5”
3 yellow boss 3”
2 orange 6.5
3 orange 3

 

In my experience, their pads are on the gentle side. The orange is somewhere between a light cutting pad and a heavy polishing pad.....and the yellow are a light polish pad....likely what you need for what you're tackling. Can not wait to see your results

 

i had planned to use the yellow since the truck is a '19.

 

Don't shy away from the orange if you have an area that needs a little extra cut. You will want to keep an eye on the pads if you end up using all yellow....that's a lot of real estate for two 6.5 inch pads and three of the three inch. You will likely need to stop and clean them at some point to keep them from loading up with product

 

Thanks I’ll keep an eye on them. I got the cleaner brush too. Order was so big they actually asked me to call in before shipping it out!

 

My only fear with the orange is this truck Is only a year and a half old. Not sure if that’s too much?

 

Start yellow and do a test spot if you need more switch.

 

^^^^^^this

 

Well that was one long weekend of washing/cleaning! Got both trucks done more or less. Still need to do bumpers and wheels.

Couple things I noticed-

-Griots pina colada spray foam wash worked pretty good on my truck (couple weeks old) and not so great on wifes. both got hand washes as well.
-The G8 polisher is the bomb. After claying my wifes paint looked and felt great so opted to just spot polish any scratches/imperfections i could find. The smaller G8 is perfect for that. Yellow pads got it done. Didn't even fire up the G9 yet.
-Machine polishing with a quality tool is 10,000 times easier than the old wax on/wax off by hand crap.
-Machine polishing is a miracle. Truly fixes all manner of minor paint issues. And it's easy!
-3 in 1 ceramic spray is not fun to work with in 40 degree temps. Doable but not fun.
-Super white looks awesome when cleaned up in part because it's so darned hard to find problems.
-Griots great big drying towel is unreal. Did my wifes entire truck with no trouble at all. Incredible.
-Love the microfibers from Griots as well. Edgeless for 3 in 1 (although when they grab they can frustrate) and really like the pfm rectangle long loop style they sell as a kit with speed shine. Those are perfect for that use.
-Best to do the 3 in 1 ceramic spray on a windless day. struggled with overspray on windows and other panels.
-The DIY panel wipe streaked big time so i gave up on it.
-Did 2 sequoias with the 3 in 1 and barely used any of the bottle. will do another application in March or April when we get some warmer weather.

Overall i'm absolutely thrilled with the Griots stuff i got and wish i hadn't waited so long to get a quality polisher. Had a cheapie converted angle grinder years back and gave up on that quickly. But a quality polisher with good pads/polish is worlds better to work with. I find myself now looking at other cars around our house thinking 'man i could get that looking really good in an afternoon!'. My truck took 3 beers. That's a perfect amount to enjoy the afternoon.

Lots more to learn but i'm a convert. This detailing thing is quite fun when you've got the right tools. Takes all the misery out of it. Big thanks to all who helped.

 

Not the best pics but an idea of how good the paint looks. Gotta get wheels and tires done!

 

Welcome to the obsession.....vehicles look awesome. Glad to hear you had a good experience. Griots 3 in 1 is an awesome product, but there is definitely a weather 'window' to use it in. For your tires, unless you're gonna use a coating on them, give Griots Black Satin aerosol a try. It lasts a little longer than a standard dressing, but not as long as one of the tire coatings on the market. It's the only aerosol tire dressing I've ever liked.

 

what do you recommend for tires that isn't shiny? would prefer a wipe on type product if possible.

 

What I've done with the aerosol is spray it into an applicator and then wipe onto the tire. The Black Satin starts a little shiny, but settles down quickly into a nice, deep black. You can also control the gloss by taking off any excess after application. I like it because it does not sling, and has decent longevity. I've been able to buy it locally too.....I believe Pep Boys, Autozone and Advance Auto Parts all carry it. You can control the shine of most of the dressings out there by removing any excess after the initial application.

 

Tire dressing | Toyota Tundra Forum (tundras.com)