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Okay, I wanted to showcase the ability of the 3 main products in the Ultimate line that are available to consumers at any Walmart or auto store for a total of less than $40. For my canvas I used the hood of my mother's 2005 Subaru Forester. It is silver so it hides a lot of imperfections but the veterans here will definitely be able to see the defects. All of this was done in the direct sunlight in 87 degree weather. My goal is to demonstrate how three over the counter products can produce superior results even out in the field for the mobile detailer or the weekend warrior. In a perfect world I would have used a vehicle with a darker color but sometimes you just have to make the best of what you have to work with. The fact that these products made such a profound impact on a silver vehicle even makes the outcome that much more gratifying though. So here was my process:
- Sprayed paint down with CroftGateUSA Multi-Clean (let sit for about 20-30 seconds)
- Washed hood with CroftGateUSA Aquanil-X and microfiber towel
- Clayed hood with Meg's Smooth Surface Clay and Quik Detailer
- Compounded with Ultimate Compound on Softbuff 2.0 polishing pad with PC 7424 DA (speed setting 6) *I know this is not recommended but it actually worked better than setting 5*
- Applied Ultimate Polish with polishing pad on DA (speed setting 4)
- Topped off with Ultimate Wax as LSP (by hand)
On with the pictures!!!!!
This is the hood after washing. You can see the swirls in the paint. RIDS weren't too bad but the swirls, OH MY, OH MY!!! This is the way the entire hood was. Just covered in water marks and swirlies
I just wish the before pictures did more justice. Take my word for it, this paint was pretty trashed.
Another shot from a different angle. Here you can see a spot of oxidation below the reflection of the sun to the right. Yucky!
After one pass of UC on the DA at speed 5. Took a bunch out but still not good enough.
After a second pass at speed setting 6 and a pass of UP at speed 4. Much better!!!
Another angle:
And after I applied a coat of UW. You may notice some slight pitting in the paint. There is really nothing I can do about that without wet sanding I think. Some of it appears to be from acid rain and some actual looked like tiny tiny chips in the clear from years on the road.
Now for the 50/50 shots. Here is the left side of the hood. Say "Oooohhh, purtty!!!"
And the right side. My eyes!!! My eyes!!!
I went ahead and repeated my process on the right side of the hood and achieved the same great results. Here is the finish product:
The pad after the UC. Loaded up with dirt from the paint:
And a nice little placement of the three fantastic products I used
THANKS FOR LOOKING!!!!
~Andy
- Sprayed paint down with CroftGateUSA Multi-Clean (let sit for about 20-30 seconds)
- Washed hood with CroftGateUSA Aquanil-X and microfiber towel
- Clayed hood with Meg's Smooth Surface Clay and Quik Detailer
- Compounded with Ultimate Compound on Softbuff 2.0 polishing pad with PC 7424 DA (speed setting 6) *I know this is not recommended but it actually worked better than setting 5*
- Applied Ultimate Polish with polishing pad on DA (speed setting 4)
- Topped off with Ultimate Wax as LSP (by hand)
On with the pictures!!!!!
This is the hood after washing. You can see the swirls in the paint. RIDS weren't too bad but the swirls, OH MY, OH MY!!! This is the way the entire hood was. Just covered in water marks and swirlies
I just wish the before pictures did more justice. Take my word for it, this paint was pretty trashed.Another shot from a different angle. Here you can see a spot of oxidation below the reflection of the sun to the right. Yucky!
After one pass of UC on the DA at speed 5. Took a bunch out but still not good enough.
After a second pass at speed setting 6 and a pass of UP at speed 4. Much better!!!
Another angle:
And after I applied a coat of UW. You may notice some slight pitting in the paint. There is really nothing I can do about that without wet sanding I think. Some of it appears to be from acid rain and some actual looked like tiny tiny chips in the clear from years on the road.
Now for the 50/50 shots. Here is the left side of the hood. Say "Oooohhh, purtty!!!"
And the right side. My eyes!!! My eyes!!!
I went ahead and repeated my process on the right side of the hood and achieved the same great results. Here is the finish product:
The pad after the UC. Loaded up with dirt from the paint:
And a nice little placement of the three fantastic products I used
THANKS FOR LOOKING!!!!
~Andy
My goal is to use the same process and get my cars paint looking so darn purty.
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