Best procedure to detail outside?

[Nagaz]

Hi all,

I am just about to finally get my new car , I have stocked up on many Meguiar's products, asked questions here on MOL and read what seems like thousands and thousands of other threads that although were not directly related to what I was looking for, gave me a HUGE amount of knowledge.

With all that though, I havent been able to find anything on the following.

What is the best method to use when detailing outside?

I unfortunately do not have a garage so I will be at the mercy of the weather. I know not to do pretty much anything in direct sun light, which is not an issue, but I am more concerned about wind and dust. (btw, those that detail for a living and are on the road, how do you work around this?)

Any pointer would be greatly appreciated..

Thanks again!

Nagaz

[yalerd]

Re: Best procedure to detail outside?

Depending on the job at hand, but you could use Last Touch or M34 Final Inspection or QD to mist the surface and remove any dust that has settled before you work on that section.

If you are doing a wash/wax then I don't think this could be a problem (but it depends on where are you doing the job), maybe if you are doing a 5 step process then you could use these detailers to remove any dust that could be present

[Calais]

Re: Best procedure to detail outside?

Dust isn't too much of a problem around here. I would suggest that you work one panel at a time if necessary: wash the whole car, dust off a panel, apply whatever steps you intend to and move onto the next panel when you have completed the previous one. Also: invest in a California Duster. They are great in between washes to pick up any loose dust that has settled onto your car.

[SVT Lightning]

Re: Best procedure to detail outside?

Dust isn't too much of a problem around here. I would suggest that you work one panel at a time if necessary: wash the whole car, dust off a panel, apply whatever steps you intend to and move onto the next panel when you have completed the previous one. Also: invest in a California Duster. They are great in between washes to pick up any loose dust that has settled onto your car.

+1.....this is exactly what I do.

[JuddGA]

Re: Best procedure to detail outside?

Be careful when working under a tree. All sorts of stuff falls down that can get caught in the buffing process. Maybe wait till the end of the day and you can catch some shade from a building or tree w/o being right underneath it.

I was watching a video and I think it was Barry in it. He said direct sunlight is not the issue, its the surface temp of the car. The high heat of the metal flashes off important parts of the wax. So make sure the car cools off

[CieraSL]

Re: Best procedure to detail outside?

Here's a good video for you to watch:
The video is from this thread: http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36266

[james0509]

Re: Best procedure to detail outside?

I do most of my detailing outside, the key here is to be in the shade and at the same time NOT under a tree.

I start by rinsing car, washing ( 2 buckets) , dry, clay, polish (#9) , then colorX (this step is optional) , finally applying NXT 2.0 wax.

This entire detail by hand took me 6 hours, I'm still waiting for my PC.

The dust factor should not matter unless you are doing your detailing by a busy road. Try to wax a small section at a time, then wipe off wax, buff clean. That way you can finish sections without worrying about the wax catching dust as it dries.

[Nagaz]

Re: Best procedure to detail outside?

yalerd, Calais & james0509,

This was what I was thinking, but wanted to confirm with the 'experts'...

Off-topic confusion...
I get real envious of you American/Canadian lot whith how cheap everything is for you.. Here in Aus, a bottle of NXT Wax 2.0 is AUD$50, about US$41.72... Even a single Supreme MF is AUD$14 about US$11.. I had to get all my cloths and stuff from eBay, spent US$300 including shipping to get over AUD$700 worth of products..

To put it simply, a single W8006 SoftBuff 2.0 in Australia costs on average AUD$30 (US$25) where as most sites i have seen have them listed for US$10-15... How is this pricing done??

A single gallon of any detailer line costs a minimum of AUD$40 with last touch costing AUD$53, uet in the US its sooooooo much cheaper... Ah well, what can I do really? I suppose you get what you pay for, and Megs is worth it... i guess..

Btw, its not just Megs that are priced like this... Every imported car care product is priced accordingly. It is unheard of to get a tin of wax (not some cheap turtlewax type stuff) for under AUD$30.. I guess the distance it has to travel has something to do with it...

Anyhow....
--End Rant

Thanks for the tips guys!!

Nagaz

[Ganesa]

Re: Best procedure to detail outside?

I have to agree with you Nagaz...
I live in Indonesia, and feel the prices are really high compared to the US...
I also envy all those detailers who can get Megs products at super cheap prices :]...
But the prices here in Indonesia are lower than the prices in Australia, maybe if you had a friend visiting Jakarta, you could ask him to buy a couple of products here ..

[Tim Lingor]

Re: Best procedure to detail outside?

Hey,

If it is dusty or smokey in my case due to forest fires (UGH! ), and the paint was just thoroughly washed, I will use a car duster (I use the now discontinued Meguiar's Body Duster though the California Duster also works well) to dust each panel at a time, followed by M34 Final Inspection. Then I will buff that panel. Do the same thing for the next panel and so on... You need to be very cognitive and extremely picky as any heavy dust or ash that gets under a buffing pad could do extreme damage to the paint. Also, be sure to do any taping before you use the M34 or Last Touch as the tape with not stick very well afterwards.

Just remember to be extra careful and you wil be just fine.

Tim