So what next?

[GLOCKer]

About a month ago, I detailed my Mustang (my first time detailing a car ever) in preparation for a car show. I washed the engine using S100 motorcycle engine cleaner, washed the car using the two bucket method and Meguiar's Wash & Wax. I clay bared the car with the Meguiar's kit, then used Ultimate Polish and Ultimate Wax. The car came out phenomenal!



Last night I just finished up polishing my new-to-me wheels from a 2012 Boss 302 that was driven and not babied, as evidenced by the condition of the wheels. They had a lot of fine scratched and some deep scratches. I washed, compounded, polished, and waxed the wheels; and that did a lot to diminish the appearance of the deeper scratches and wipe out the finer ones. I'm pretty happy with how the wheels turned out!



The car hasn't seen that many miles since I detailed it and I'm lucky to be able to keep it in the garage and drive a "company" car during the week. I did drive it a couple of weekends ago to a car club cruise in and meeting though, and it has some bug splats and dust on it.

I was told about a car show that's this Sunday at the last minute, so I'm going to spend some time this Saturday morning prepping the car. This causes me to ask, "What's next?" The car is still plenty shiny, just a touch less shiny than after rolling it out of the garage from that first good fresh waxing. What would you guys recommend for this go-around to get her presentable for Sunday's show? Will I be able to get away with a good application of Meguiar's Wash & Wax? My tentative plans right now are a car wash, and dry, door jam wipe, some cleaning up of the plastics with Meguiar's Ultimate Black, and a good wipe-down and vacuum of the interior. Should I consider a more detailed approach?

[drum1026]

Boss looks great and it sounds like you really gave some excellent TLC. I would recommend a good two bucket wash with Ultimate Wash and Wax, followed by some Ultimate Quik Wax as you dry, and whatever shine/dressing you like on your tires. You could also go over your wheels with some of the Ultimate Quik Wax as well. Best of luck to you with whatever you decide on. Have fun above all else. Im sure other members will have even better recommendations for that extra bit of pop.

[GLOCKer]

Re: So what next?

Thanks! How do you do the Ultimate Quick Wax as you dry? Are there any concerns about streaking? When I did my last wash with the full detail, I used a leaf blower to dry the car and get any water out of the nooks and crannies.

[Don]

Re: So what next?

Thanks! How do you do the Ultimate Quick Wax as you dry? Are there any concerns about streaking? When I did my last wash with the full detail, I used a leaf blower to dry the car and get any water out of the nooks and crannies.

After you blow out the crevices etc, there is still water that needs to be blotted/wiped off the surface of the car. That's when you use the UQW. Mist it on the panel you are about to dry and wipe it off as you normally would. The water is wiped away without scratching and you have a "layer" of UQW on the car.

[GLOCKer]

Re: So what next?

After you blow out the crevices etc, there is still water that needs to be blotted/wiped off the surface of the car. That's when you use the UQW. Mist it on the panel you are about to dry and wipe it off as you normally would. The water is wiped away without scratching and you have a "layer" of UQW on the car.

Okay. Sounds simple enough. Last time, when I did that full detail on my car, I started at the roof of the car and used the leaf blower on every panel to get the water off.

[The Guz]

Re: So what next?

The wheels came out good. They have some good gloss to them. Just be sure the blower you are using is electric and not gas. No sense in getting more contaminants on the paint with a gas powered one.

Give it a nice 2 bucket wash as seen in this video. Or 3 buckets if you have one dedicated for just wheels and tires. Give the tires a nice wipe to remove the dirt and grime and top off with some tire dressing.

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?41790-Meguiar-s-Quik-Tips-Video-Series-Washing

Then you can use UWQ as a drying aid as you dry the car with a towel. Preferably a waffle weave type. Two towels would be good. One for the initial wipe and the other to buff off any remaining UQW. You can use UQW on any surface.

Then on sunday at before you leave and maybe when you get to the club meet use some ultimate quik detailer. This will remove some of the light dust and add some shine to the paint.