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The weather has been sketchy around here lately, but my in-laws have done a lot for us over the years, so I gave them an 'open' appointment to have me detail their car, a strawberry-red Ford Edge. Yesterday the weather cooperated enough so I could get a good wash, including tires & rims along with a one-step (Meguiar's D151) and top it off with Ult. Fast Finish.
The car normally gets washed when it rains, seriously ... There was built up dirt and debris everywhere, bird bombs, caked on mud etc, BUT since it does see any bad wash techniques (or any washing techniques at all) there were no induced swirls anywhere, just the random RIDS and scuff marks from everyday use.
The car needs clayed, BADLY, but due to the weather, I didn't think I would have the window of opportunity to do a proper job ... I don't like to half-way do things. As it turns out, I was right. As soon as I was done with the wheels (had to scrub them twice with a stiff brush and Meguiar's Non-Acid Wheel/Tire Cleaner at a 1:1 ratio) it started to rain - HARD. It rained for about an hour, during which time I took a nap. The wife said she would wake me when the storm passed and it didn't look like it was going to rain anymore.
Since there wasn't a trace of anything on the paint, the water stuck to the car like glue and I had to take it for a drive to get the water out of all the cracks & crevices. A blast down the highway later, the car was dry, with minimal spotting and (unbelievably) no road dust ... I guess the rain had washed the roads clean, at least long enough for me to take my dry off ride.
I used my PC, with a maroon flat pad (cutting) from Meg's. Since I wasn't claying, I figured I would need the extra cut to help clean off the built up grunge & grime that was embedded into the paint. After a test spot on the hood, I discovered I was right with my pad choice, no swirling or scratching, just smooth, clear and vibrant paint.
After I finished polishing out the body (I treat the front and rear bumper covers separately from the rest of the car, because I sit on my butt and do all the steps one right after the other and I don't feel like getting up and down all the time), I went over the body panels with the Ult Fast Finish. Instead of one panel at a time, I applied it to an entire side, THEN buffed it off, then I went and did the other side the same way. This REALLY worked well since Meg's FF tends to smear around just a little bit when applied 'too heavy,' doing it this way seemed to give it a bit more 'flash time' and it came off great. Just as I began to work on the back bumper cover with the D151, the humidity shot up and it got colder ... here comes the rain again. I tried to at least get the clean & polishing step done, but the polish wasn't cooperating (see my next post: "Difficulties with D151 application).
Difficulties with D151 hand application
By then it had started to rain again, and I was losing daylight anyway, so I called it a night. I did get one pic in the fading light though - just try to be kind in your judgement of it, the details still haven't been taken care of (windows, trim etc).
SO here it is, a 2013 (I think) strawberry red Ford Edge:
PS: The microfiber on the ground was previously reassigned to wheel & tire duty.
PPS: My phone usually takes better pictures than this, but the light was fading.
PPPS: I used Meguiar's 'Hot Shine/Reflect on the tires. I know I said I didn't like the "glittery" look on the Camaro, but in the overcast light, it looked pretty good, deep, dark and rich. I'll just have to see today (if the sun comes out) how blatant the 'glitter effect' is.
Pics from this morning after the 2nd application of UFF:
Sorry for the fuzzy pics, it was still really overcast today and my phone takes better pics in brighter light.
The car normally gets washed when it rains, seriously ... There was built up dirt and debris everywhere, bird bombs, caked on mud etc, BUT since it does see any bad wash techniques (or any washing techniques at all) there were no induced swirls anywhere, just the random RIDS and scuff marks from everyday use.
The car needs clayed, BADLY, but due to the weather, I didn't think I would have the window of opportunity to do a proper job ... I don't like to half-way do things. As it turns out, I was right. As soon as I was done with the wheels (had to scrub them twice with a stiff brush and Meguiar's Non-Acid Wheel/Tire Cleaner at a 1:1 ratio) it started to rain - HARD. It rained for about an hour, during which time I took a nap. The wife said she would wake me when the storm passed and it didn't look like it was going to rain anymore.
Since there wasn't a trace of anything on the paint, the water stuck to the car like glue and I had to take it for a drive to get the water out of all the cracks & crevices. A blast down the highway later, the car was dry, with minimal spotting and (unbelievably) no road dust ... I guess the rain had washed the roads clean, at least long enough for me to take my dry off ride.
I used my PC, with a maroon flat pad (cutting) from Meg's. Since I wasn't claying, I figured I would need the extra cut to help clean off the built up grunge & grime that was embedded into the paint. After a test spot on the hood, I discovered I was right with my pad choice, no swirling or scratching, just smooth, clear and vibrant paint.
After I finished polishing out the body (I treat the front and rear bumper covers separately from the rest of the car, because I sit on my butt and do all the steps one right after the other and I don't feel like getting up and down all the time), I went over the body panels with the Ult Fast Finish. Instead of one panel at a time, I applied it to an entire side, THEN buffed it off, then I went and did the other side the same way. This REALLY worked well since Meg's FF tends to smear around just a little bit when applied 'too heavy,' doing it this way seemed to give it a bit more 'flash time' and it came off great. Just as I began to work on the back bumper cover with the D151, the humidity shot up and it got colder ... here comes the rain again. I tried to at least get the clean & polishing step done, but the polish wasn't cooperating (see my next post: "Difficulties with D151 application).
Difficulties with D151 hand application
By then it had started to rain again, and I was losing daylight anyway, so I called it a night. I did get one pic in the fading light though - just try to be kind in your judgement of it, the details still haven't been taken care of (windows, trim etc).
SO here it is, a 2013 (I think) strawberry red Ford Edge:
PS: The microfiber on the ground was previously reassigned to wheel & tire duty.
PPS: My phone usually takes better pictures than this, but
PPPS: I used Meguiar's 'Hot Shine/Reflect on the tires. I know I said I didn't like the "glittery" look on the Camaro, but in the overcast light, it looked pretty good, deep, dark and rich. I'll just have to see today (if the sun comes out) how blatant the 'glitter effect' is.
Pics from this morning after the 2nd application of UFF:
Sorry for the fuzzy pics, it was still really overcast today and my phone takes better pics in brighter light.
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