Realistic Detail -- eight year old Jeep

[tguil]

I told my sister that I'd detail her 2004 Jeep Liberty..dark metallic green. The last time I saw it, it wasn't into too bad a shape. At least she doesn't run it through car washes that have brushes. I don't want this to be a premium detail. Only something that is good enough for an eight year old daily driver. My plan is to wash it, follow with clay, Ultimate Compound and ColorX. I'll be using a pc. I'm choosing to use Ultimate Compound because I know the Jeep has surface marring. No sense wasting my time with a less aggressive product. From work that I have done on my trucks, I have found that Ultimate Compound really doesn't need a followup polish. I think that ColorX should work just fine. She can apply another coat of wax in a few months if she wants to.

Does this sound good?

Tom

[Marc08EX]

Re: Realistic Detail -- eight year old Jeep

If the paint responds well to Ultimate Compound (meaning no micro-marring - you don't have soft paint), I would follow it up with a sealant instead of ColorX to make sure it lasts. If it gets a little bit of hazing from UC, then ColorX sounds good as a follow up.

[ChevyNick]

Yeah like marc said, may be a better idea to follow up with a sealent like Ultimate Paste Wax. I don't think Color X's protection is going to last a couple months on a daily driver.

[tguil]

Re: Realistic Detail -- eight year old Jeep

It's getting closer to the time that I have to detail my sister's Jeep. It is getting hotter and I am getting lazier. If I use Ultimate Compound with "vigor" do you think that it would remove the surface particles that we typically use clay for. Back "in the day" before clay, compounds seemed to "git-r-done" just fine. How hot..... 97 degrees with a heat index of 105.

Tom

[Murr1525]

Re: Realistic Detail -- eight year old Jeep

I think you would find clay quicker and easier...

[ffboy]

Re: Realistic Detail -- eight year old Jeep

Ultimate COmpound, while a good consumer product for paint correction and while it can remove particles and emedded dirt and contaminants, it's not what it was designed for. Clay is the way to go for those issues. You will find that clay works fast and after claying, any paint cleaner, polish, wax or sealant will apply and remove a lot easier and the paint will have certain softness and even gloss. And since there is nothing hindering the wax from bonding to the paint, your wax/sealant will last longer.

If you want a "quick" detail, a potent cleaner wax (colorX) followed by a finishing sealant (ultimate wax/NXT 2) or gold class carnauba plus. Results may not be sensational, but it may be sufficient for the "realistic detail" and the difference will still be significant enough compared to how the jeep looked before it was detailed. Even if not fully corrected, making sure that all the nooks and crannies have been cleaned well will make a significant difference.

If there are more imperfections, you can go the Ultimate Trio (Ultimate Compound, ultimate polish, ultimate wax) but it will take more time and effort, but it will yield superior results.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Realistic Detail -- eight year old Jeep

One word, followed by two more: Evaluate. Test spot.


If the surface contaminants are extremely light (as in very widely scattered or you can barely feel them) and you really aren't looking for a high end detail but just a nice clean up, then Ultimate Compound should suffice for this type of project. It is important to remember that even though an aggressive compound can remove a lot of above surface contaminants, using such a product for this purpose sort of defeats it's ability to do it's real job. And if the bonded contaminants are heavy you risk picking them up and basically grinding them into the paint, further compromising the defect correction process. Ideally, however, clay is going to be the way to go, especially considering this vehicle's age. We'd be surprised to find only extremely light levels of bonded contaminants.

As for the use of UC to remove below surface defects, that's where the test spot comes in. Odds are UC will give you exactly what you're looking for here, especially considering the level of correction you're looking for. It's very rare that we see any sort of micromarring with UC, but it is possible, and that will ultimate dictate which LSP to go with. If there is any level of micro marring present then ColorX is a great choice, but if not, we're with Marc that a good synthetic like NXT Tech Wax 2.0 or Ultimate Wax is probably a better choice.

[tguil]

Re: Realistic Detail -- eight year old Jeep

Thanks, guys. The Jeep showed up this afternoon. Very little in the way of surface contaminants. I haven't washed it yet. but ColorX "with vigor" may be enough. Whatever, this is going to be a four hour detail max. 98 degrees expected tomorrow afternoon.

Tom

[Murr1525]

Re: Realistic Detail -- eight year old Jeep

I used to use glass cleaner 'with vigor' to clean glass... then I realized claying and glass cleaner after was faster and easier... just depends how much vigor it takes.

[tguil]

Got-r-done

Got-r-done. Minimal (almost none) contamination on the horizontal surfaces. A good number of "tiny" tar specs on the side panels. No micro-marrring to speak of. Removed the tar specs with 3M Adhesive Remover. (Not Meguiar's, but darn good stuff.) Followed up with..................ColorX applied with "vigor" using a PC and an 8006 pad. What the heck.......she's only my sister.

Actually it turned out well enough that I'd be OK driving it and I am a recovering OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Detailer). ColorX is often my "go to" product.

Tom