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First Detail (picture heavy)

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  • First Detail (picture heavy)

    Here we go guys and girls. I finally got to put my 7 months of forum noob posts and lurking too work. I'm going to step by step my process, and go into detail with what I thought of each one. Please critic me where it is needed.

    Here she is. The first day of ownership. Only the miles from the dealership home on her, along with some bugs.


    This is where I made my first mistake. I've never opened or prepped any of my detailing material, so I had to take a half hour to get all that stuff ready.

    I decided to work on the engine bay first.
    Here are a few before photos.





    My first step was to lightly spray with my firemans nozzle over the entire bay.



    The next step was to spray a 1:4 dilution of APC over the entire engine bay and scrub with a small brush.


    While that was setting up, I got started on the wheels.
    This is a picture of them before I started.


    I first, sprayed them down with water, then followed up with a solution of APC 1:4 over the wheels.


    I agitated the rims like so

    And got around the lug nuts with this little guy


    I rinsed the wheels off and moved onto washing my baby.

    Two buckets, grit guards in both. I'm very glad that I chose white buckets, You can really see if there is any dirt in them, to ensure that you have a clean start. I used a mothers lambs wool wash mitt, and Meguiars gold class.



    I filled the buckets up with water, and then added in the shampoo, as to make sure to get my dilutions right.

    It was starting too warm up, so I didn't take pictures of the wash and dry. We have hard water though, and that made water spots the devil, even without letting the water dry. Is there any solution short of a water purification system to remedy this?
    I dried with two water magnets.
    And used a third to sop up remaining water in areas that might contain dirt.

    Here are a couple, after wash pictures.



    I really liked the gold class shampoo. That along with a quality mitt really gives you the confidence to wash your car without adding any swirls into the finish.

    On to my first experience with the G110v2

    This was my plan of attack, on setting 3


    I prepped the pad


    And then did a quick pass as a test spot.


    After that seemed to work well, I laid a line and went too town.




    One thing I noticed, was that the pad never really seemed to be very saturated with the NXT 2.0. I always felt like I didn't have enough product. Is this the natural way the product behaves?

    I waxed the whole car, removing the wax after 15 minutes dry time. Wipe off was a breeze.
    I couldn't tell much difference in appearance after the wax, as the car is brand new anyway. But I wanted to know that I had the protection.

    And that was it.
    I applied some All Season Dressing too the tires, and admired my work.










    Over all, I spent 5-6 hours. But I nit picked, went slow. And made sure I did a good job.

    Any suggestions as too what I can do to make things better?

    Also, clean up. Now I have a bunch of dirty applicators and MF towels. What's safe to wash with what? Is there a washing instructions thread?

    Thanks for looking everyone
    Click for more pictures of my tC

  • #2
    Re: First Detail (picture heavy)

    Nice work Paul, the car looks awesome The paint, wheels, tires, and engine all look great. I enjoyed the writeup as well.

    Next time you may want to try applying NXT 2.0 with a W9207 foam finishing pad, the finishing pad will tend to glide over the paint a little better and you will not have to apply the product as much. They pretty much spread out waxes and sealant a little nicer than the W8207 foam polishing pads.
    Nick
    Tucker's Detailing Services
    815-954-0773
    2012 Ford Transit Connect

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: First Detail (picture heavy)

      Nice job on the Scion...and I agree with Tuck on the pad choice. Write up was good too. Car looks great!
      Don
      "In the game of life, I have no need for tickets on the 50-yard line, I brought my shoes, I came to play." unknown

      http://www.facebook.com/pages/OC-Det...7770507?v=wall

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: First Detail (picture heavy)

        Is that the purple pad? I can't remember just what I have, but thank you. I'll certainly have too remember to get those if I don't have them.

        Also, thank you for the kind words!
        Click for more pictures of my tC

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: First Detail (picture heavy)

          Originally posted by paul.segovich View Post
          Is that the purple pad? I can't remember just what I have, but thank you. I'll certainly have too remember to get those if I don't have them.

          Also, thank you for the kind words!
          Here you go:

          SoftBuff 2.0 Finishing Pad - (7”)

          Nick
          Tucker's Detailing Services
          815-954-0773
          2012 Ford Transit Connect

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: First Detail (picture heavy)

            Thank you!
            I'll definitely have too get some of those!
            Click for more pictures of my tC

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: First Detail (picture heavy)

              Hey man! Excellent work! I need a car like that! How much yours run you if you don't mind me asking?

              Oh and btw, if you want to show off any more detailing work you do, there is a section in the forums where you can show off your work. It's called "Show Off Your Latest Detail Work". You'd be amazed the transformations you can find in there. Just food for thought bro, but congrats on the new car!
              "When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.
              When Barry gives you Meguiar's, you get one HECK OF A SHINE!"

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: First Detail (picture heavy)

                Nice work! I think a finishing pad will take care of your concerns.
                "Cars make great banks but they don't pay interest"

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: First Detail (picture heavy)

                  Beautiful work Paul! + =

                  Spending 4-6 hours is not uncommon with the folks here. I did two hours tonight just washing the wife's TBSS and I'll be up with the birds in the AM for a coat of NXT 2.0, M40 on the tires and wheel wells plus I'm experimenting with the new Armor All wheel sealing stuff. My only suggestion to make things look better is to hit the wheel wells with All Season dressing.

                  I wash my applicators by hand w/APC, then rinse and let dry. The MF towels get washed with Woolite at half strength, two rinse cycles, then dried on delicate cycle. Then my wife asks if she should fold "my precious babies" or leave them for me.... Just remember to wash MF products together & never with anything else!!

                  Another suggestion is to get some inexpensive MF towels from Sam's or Costco or Wally World for door jambs, trunk margins and under hood. They're also good for wiping down your wheels. You really don't want to be using a Supreme Shine towel down there.

                  I also noticed you learned something that is hard to teach. When I wax I always apply wax at a rate that has me wondering "am I using enough wax?" A second coat the following morning of NXT 2.0 is now second nature to me. Two thin coats are better than one thick and it's a heck of a lot easier to remove. I agree with Nick that a dedicated finishing pad makes a big difference.

                  For the hard water I use an RV water filter on my hose. Got it at Wally World or Menard's, not remembering which one though. It attaches on the hose at the spigot end. I do suggest taking nozzle off of hose for final rinse. The sheeting of the water will pull off a lot of water. I usually just need one Meg's Water Magnet to dry my car's exterior by doing this.
                  2014 Cadillac ATS4 Performance in White Diamond Tricoat. It's loaded with everything but frickin' lasers!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: First Detail (picture heavy)

                    Originally posted by SuburbanGuy20 View Post
                    Hey man! Excellent work! I need a car like that! How much yours run you if you don't mind me asking?

                    Oh and btw, if you want to show off any more detailing work you do, there is a section in the forums where you can show off your work. It's called "Show Off Your Latest Detail Work". You'd be amazed the transformations you can find in there. Just food for thought bro, but congrats on the new car!
                    That car base stock is 18,000. Give or take a bit, I had extras and ordered it and all said and done, tax, title, plates, delivery, service charge it came to almost 24,000. But I added a bunch of factory extras.
                    It's a great little car, I highly suggest it.

                    I thought about posting it in there, but I didn't really transform anything, and I was more looking for criticism than to show off what I did.
                    Eventually I hope to fix up a finish nice enough to put in there.




                    Originally posted by FastFish71 View Post
                    Nice work! I think a finishing pad will take care of your concerns.
                    Thank you, I can't believe I made that mistake really. It still turned out fine, just seemed a bit awkward.
                    Click for more pictures of my tC

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: First Detail (picture heavy)

                      Originally posted by paulcr39 View Post
                      Beautiful work Paul! + =

                      Spending 4-6 hours is not uncommon with the folks here. I did two hours tonight just washing the wife's TBSS and I'll be up with the birds in the AM for a coat of NXT 2.0, M40 on the tires and wheel wells plus I'm experimenting with the new Armor All wheel sealing stuff. My only suggestion to make things look better is to hit the wheel wells with All Season dressing.

                      I wash my applicators by hand w/APC, then rinse and let dry. The MF towels get washed with Woolite at half strength, two rinse cycles, then dried on delicate cycle. Then my wife asks if she should fold "my precious babies" or leave them for me.... Just remember to wash MF products together & never with anything else!!

                      Another suggestion is to get some inexpensive MF towels from Sam's or Costco or Wally World for door jambs, trunk margins and under hood. They're also good for wiping down your wheels. You really don't want to be using a Supreme Shine towel down there.

                      I also noticed you learned something that is hard to teach. When I wax I always apply wax at a rate that has me wondering "am I using enough wax?" A second coat the following morning of NXT 2.0 is now second nature to me. Two thin coats are better than one thick and it's a heck of a lot easier to remove. I agree with Nick that a dedicated finishing pad makes a big difference.

                      For the hard water I use an RV water filter on my hose. Got it at Wally World or Menard's, not remembering which one though. It attaches on the hose at the spigot end. I do suggest taking nozzle off of hose for final rinse. The sheeting of the water will pull off a lot of water. I usually just need one Meg's Water Magnet to dry my car's exterior by doing this.
                      Thank you for the suggestion. I actually didn't forget the wheel wells, I just drove over gravel and it kicked up what you saw. :|

                      I'm sure using the wrong pad wasn't helping out the situation any, but I only went with one coat, as in two weeks I'm going to re apply before my car goes into storage for a few months.
                      I meant to pick up some cheap ones but I forgot, so I did use one of my SS MF towels on the Jambs. =/

                      I'll have to look into that RV filter, as I work at Menards anyway haha.
                      Click for more pictures of my tC

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: First Detail (picture heavy)

                        Just got around to reading your post. Very well done, like your writeup. The only thing is the same as the others suggested. Get a couple of finishing pads.

                        Congrats on a job well done.
                        quality creates its own demand

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: First Detail (picture heavy)

                          Thank you!

                          I guess it was a pretty bone-head mistake to not purchase finishing pads when I ordered, but I've already placed my order for them so I don't make that same mistake.

                          I'm really interested to see how long the All Season Dressing lasts on the tires. I put 50 miles on it yesterday after the detail, and they still look great.
                          Click for more pictures of my tC

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: First Detail (picture heavy)

                            Great job my friend. It came out great.

                            You used, APC+ not the APC

                            I love how the engine bay looks.

                            Great Job i usually spend from 6 to 9 hours in a simple wash

                            Great Job.

                            Next time as tuck recommended try to use a Foam Finishing pad to apply wax.
                            Ryan's Auto Detailing, S.A
                            Mobile Auto Detailing Company.
                            Dominican Republic.

                            Passion for Detailing, do it with love.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: First Detail (picture heavy)

                              Nice car! Way to start it off right as well. Keep it up and it will always look new.
                              -James
                              2012 Chevy Silverado ECSB. Z71 4x4. 5.3


                              Comment

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