Big detail job with some questions.

[GLOCKer]

Re: Big detail job with some questions.

Thanks guys! Here is a picture someone else took of my car at the show. I think this photo really shows how nice the paint popped!

[davey g-force]

Re: Big detail job with some questions.

The car looks beautiful. Congrats on the prize! :

[Eldorado2k]

Re: Big detail job with some questions.

Congratulations! Man, it's nice to see 1 of our own shine above the rest! Car looks great. Bravo

[The Guz]

Re: Big detail job with some questions.

Very nice.

[GLOCKer]

Re: Big detail job with some questions.

So this is the final result...

[davey g-force]

Re: Big detail job with some questions.

Yep

[Don]

Re: Big detail job with some questions.

Looks really good from here.

[GLOCKer]

Re: Big detail job with some questions.

Thanks! It looks like I can piece together a DA system.

I finished polishing the car today and waxed it with UW. It's still in the garage, so I can't really tell how well it came out, but here are some in-garage shots.

[The Guz]

Re: Big detail job with some questions.

If you want to get those deeper RIDS, a DA will be the way to go. The harbor freight DA is always available. It's affordable. You would just need pads and a better backing plate. Check out the classifieds section every now and then.

My brother has a HF DA. It gets the job done.

Pick that up and these and you should be good.

http://www.autodetailingsolutions.net/lake-country-5-inch-da-backing-plate.html

http://www.autodetailingsolutions.net/lake-country-5-5-inch-flat-foam-6-pack-special.html

You're looking to spend around $120-130 for everything. That's still pretty good.

If you spend a little more you can get the new Meguiar's pads and backing plate.

http://www.autodetailingsolutions.net/meguiars-foam-disc-5-inch-bundle.html

Hopefully your wife doesn't lose her job. Best of luck.

[GLOCKer]

Re: Big detail job with some questions.

Ugh. I just tried editing my last post and I had typed a whole bunch of stuff, and it said I couldn't edit my post because it's been longer than 10 minutes. So I just lost everything I typed! ARGHHHHHH

Anyways...
I know Harbor Freight doesn't sell the best stuff, but I heard their DA polisher isn't bad for a beginner. But I've also heard that at the price, by the time you bought the backing plates (?) to make it work right, you are into some money and you should have just bought a good DA from the beginning. Is this the polisher that I've heard about? http://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-57...her-69924.html It appears to be on sale, and with the sale price, is it worth getting and fooling with? What else would I need to make it work right and where do I get it? Thanks again for the help guys.

[GLOCKer]

Re: Big detail job with some questions.

Thanks again for the suggestions and help guys. I'm using the DA Power System, and the pad it came with to use with the UP. I did some spot corrections with the pad DA Power System specifically for compounding and UC and it diminished, but not totally erased, some deeper scratches. I know the deeper scratches are correctable on my car, but I'm hesitant to invest in a proper DA right now. I've got a house project in the works and my wife's company is in the process of being bought out so she is probably going to loose her job in the next 9 to 12 months... The whole sob story. Maybe I need to start hitting up the garage sales to see if anybody is trying to chuck theirs!

[The Guz]

Re: Big detail job with some questions.

Thanks for all of the suggestions guys. When my wife got home yesterday from work, I was sitting on the floor in front of the car after using UP on the front bumper, and apparently she could see I was frustrated. I had gotten out my flashlight to see how good my car was looking in the relatively dim light of the garage and I was surprised to see tons of those micro scratches in the illuminated area. It was really disheartening. I was also getting annoyed with the QD; when I would use it to knock dust off a panel, I would end up having to wipe and wipe to get smudges off. When I get home today, I've got to polish the rear valance, and then wax the whole car. I'm not looking forward to this and I don't have the time to take a step backwards to try to clear up the micro scratches between now and Saturday morning.

I took a couple of pictures trying to capture the scratches but this is the only one that came out.

UP more than likely doesn't have the ability to remove those deeper defects. Might have to step up to something more aggressive like M205 or UC.

What pad are you using?

[Top Gear]

Re: Big detail job with some questions.

...I had gotten out my flashlight to see how good my car was looking in the relatively dim light of the garage and I was surprised to see tons of those micro scratches in the illuminated area. It was really disheartening. I was also getting annoyed with the QD; when I would use it to knock dust off a panel, I would end up having to wipe and wipe to get smudges off.

Quik Wax will be your friend for the show, not Quik Detailer. Your paint actually looks pretty good up close, at least in that one shot, so I'd finish the various correcting projects and re-wax - sounds like that's what you're doing. It may rain or get dusty again before the show, so you might have to wash again. Don't drive in the rain. Don't wipe the re-waxed surfaces with anything but QW until the show, ensuring it is buffed out thoroughly (because it can cloud up) and you'll be in very good shape.

Also, do you have a "California" duster? That can, but not always, be a big help.

[Top Gear]

Re: Big detail job with some questions.

Don, these are hard water spots that happen with or without sunlight. By the time the car is moved, enough beads can dry (and even partially dry under beads, and the areas around the visible beads) to leave rings and spots all over the glass, trim, panels, and that creates much more work. Also, a leaf blower in an enclosed space? That's gonna blow dust and debris everywhere, some sticking to the wet paint, as well as being that much more loud. If drying by wiping, good luck, as it's going to soak and soil many towels to get spot-free, yet introduce swirling, and it will wipe off polish and wax. If it's really muggy, wiping doesn't actually dry all the surfaces, anyway. Also, spraying QW to wipe-dry is a complete waste of QW, time, clean towels, and effort, and the car will need to be washed again to get all the residue and streaks off.

Shade helps, but the spotting is just going to happen unless the surfaces are blown dry thoroughly. With unfiltered city water, spots can happen in 10-20 minutes even in the shade and you still have beads everywhere else. "Flooding" changes nothing, because the non-beaded surfaces are still actually wet. When it's dry out, it's often windy, so spotting can be faster. When it's really muggy, the spotting process takes a lot longer, perhaps hours, but blow drying is the only reliable way to thoroughly dry the surfaces without touching and without leaving wipe streaks or creating swirls.

Trust me, I've tried everything. In hot-n-humid weather, there is only one way to properly dry a car. Have that leaf blower plugged in and ready to go as soon as you put the water hose down. You have 20 minutes or less. Dry the roof, glass, hood, trunk and sunny parts first. Move the blower slowly, don't just wave it around because you're in a hurry. Also dry the wheels and wells. Confine any spotting that's going to happen to a corner or door that's easy to re-wash and re-blow if you have to without wetting a larger area.

Sorry to go on about it, but I've been there, done that, bought the t-shirt, thrown the torn t-shirt out, etc, etc...

[GLOCKer]

Re: Big detail job with some questions.

Thanks for all of the suggestions guys. When my wife got home yesterday from work, I was sitting on the floor in front of the car after using UP on the front bumper, and apparently she could see I was frustrated. I had gotten out my flashlight to see how good my car was looking in the relatively dim light of the garage and I was surprised to see tons of those micro scratches in the illuminated area. It was really disheartening. I was also getting annoyed with the QD; when I would use it to knock dust off a panel, I would end up having to wipe and wipe to get smudges off. When I get home today, I've got to polish the rear valance, and then wax the whole car. I'm not looking forward to this and I don't have the time to take a step backwards to try to clear up the micro scratches between now and Saturday morning.

I took a couple of pictures trying to capture the scratches but this is the only one that came out.