2004 Volvo S60 - Daily Driver Cleanup

[Shawn Devlin]

I thought I would post a quick clean up of my daily driver I completed yesterday. The car was long overdue for some maintenance but I have simply not had time or compliant weather these past few weeks. I uploaded the photos and steps on my Picasa account but have not had time to try and crate thumbnails and upload to MOL, but wanted to share them nonetheless:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103019993185525733052/1016Detail?authkey=Gv1sRgCNG7zsHNj7e6dA#5664269975923275330

Total Time invested was approximately 4 hours. Questions and comments are welcome.

Products Used

Wash
P21 Bodywork Shampoo
Optimum No Rinse (ONR) in dirty bucket
2 Bucket Method (2BM) w/Grit Guard
Lambswool Wash Mitt
Lake Country Blue Grout Sponge
Generic Soft Bristle Brushes
AQuartz Iron Cut

Wheels & Tires
Mothers Foaming Wheel and Tire Cleaner
Raceglaze Wheel Brush
SchMitt Wash Mitt (Black)
EZ-Detail Wheel Brush (Large and Small)
AQuartz Iron Cut
Meguiar's #135 Synthetic Spray Detailer
Pinnacle Black Onyx Tire Dressing

Paint Protection
Meguiar's #20 Polymer Sealant (with LC Kompressor White)

LSP
Meguiar's Gold Class Wax (with LC Flat Gray)

[Shawn T.]

Re: 2004 Volvo S60 - Daily Driver Cleanup

Looks real good!!

The white paint really pops.

Is the Aquartz the predecessor to Cquartz Ironx?

[Marc08EX]

Re: 2004 Volvo S60 - Daily Driver Cleanup

I think you did a great job! The volvo looks new and the white looks glossy.

I can see that you're using very high quality products. How do you like the Kwazar spray bottles? Are they worth the money? I just can't justify paying that much for a spray bottle.

How do the raceglaze brushes compare to the Swissvax ones?

[Shawn Devlin]

Re: 2004 Volvo S60 - Daily Driver Cleanup

Looks real good!!

The white paint really pops.

Is the Aquartz the predecessor to Cquartz Ironx?

Thank you!

Aquartz and CQuartz are two separate companies, and though I am not completely familiar with their history I don't believe they are fans of each other as there has been some mud slinging between the two. I have used both Iron Cut and IronX and I cannot tell a difference between the two. They are nice to have around but I don't believe take the place of clay as I have seen some use. I will be trying the equivalent product from Wolf's Chemicals once my Iron Cut is depleted as the price is more reasonable and feedback seems to be positive.

I think you did a great job! The volvo looks new and the white looks glossy.

I can see that you're using very high quality products. How do you like the Kwazar spray bottles? Are they worth the money? I just can't justify paying that much for a spray bottle.

How do the raceglaze brushes compare to the Swissvax ones?

Thanks!

Good eye spotting the Kwazar Mecury Pro, I think I only got the sprayer nozzle in one shot and didn't mention it otherwise! They are very nice bottles, the biggest plus with these in my mind is the double action sprayer that greatly reduces fatigue with extensive use (clay lubricant for example). They are indeed pricey but well built, unfortunately I think they are overkill for most situations due to the Viton seals. Kwazar also makes the standard Mercury bottle that does not have the chemically resistant seals that I would make them much cheaper, these would be perfect for non-caustic liquids though I have never seen them offered in the US.

They are not invincible though, concidentally when I went to grab my Kwazar bottle filled with Mothers Wheel Cleaner I used on this detail I found the sprayer stopped working. It had been hanging on for a bit with single action sprays (nothing on the return action of the handle) but finally gave up. Mothers is a high alkaline cleaner I believe, and long term exposure seems to have eaten away the seals. My mistake that I won't make again.

The bottle in that picture is the only 1 liter Mercury Pro I own, the rest (6 or so) are .5 liter which are much easier to manage due to the lighter weight. I would recommend trying one, I don't think you will be disappointed.

As far as brushes I like both the Swissvax and Raceglaze brushes I own, they are delegated to different jobs so I can't provide any real comparison info though. The Raceglaze is plastic handled and seems to be synthetic brushes, the Swissvax is wooden handled and appears to be horsehair brushes. The Raceglaze brush is dedicated to wheels, the Swissvax I use only on paint. If either of them broke I would buy them again, which I think is a high compliment when talking about equipment.

Hope this helps!

[Michael Stoops]

Re: 2004 Volvo S60 - Daily Driver Cleanup

Excellent work, and nice write up with the pictures. You've got that white looking especially nice, and it's pretty impressive how much embedded dirt the M20 pulled up on that white pad. Looking at the first picture of that pad we thought for sure it was a black pad with a little too much product on it, but you set that record straight. Nice pad/liquid combination for that process and the end result really shows it off.

[Shawn Devlin]

Re: 2004 Volvo S60 - Daily Driver Cleanup

Excellent work, and nice write up with the pictures. You've got that white looking especially nice, and it's pretty impressive how much embedded dirt the M20 pulled up on that white pad. Looking at the first picture of that pad we thought for sure it was a black pad with a little too much product on it, but you set that record straight. Nice pad/liquid combination for that process and the end result really shows it off.

Thank you for the compliments, I appreciate the kind words, especially coming from the Meguiar's trainers!

LOL...now that I look again I see the white pad is actually so dirty that it could be confused for a black pad! #20 is a product that is actually fairly new to me, I had been passing it over for a few years but finally picked up some a few months back and am glad I did. In instances such as this in the past where no paint correction is needed I would have used a dedicated chemical paint cleaner like P21S Gloss Enhancing Paintwork Cleaner then topped with a sealant like #21, but #20 did the job of both steps in less time with an equally impressive result.

I did treat #20 a little like I would have a compound/polish, I primed the pad with product and worked it into the pores then used pea sized drops moving forward. I kept the PC spinning on speed 5 with moderate pressure, worked in overlapping passes in 2' x 2' sections and really watched the paint transform in front of my eyes. Wiping off the product was easy and the finished surface was super slick.

This is a product that now has a space reserved for it on my detailing shelves.

[wifpd4]

Re: 2004 Volvo S60 - Daily Driver Cleanup

After seeing the 50/50 of the washing I thought, "wow dirty car, washing really helped". Then reading and seeing the white pad turn black I thought, "never knew M20 could be used that way". Folks say white hides the dirt. It just the white slowly turns grey.

Nice, comprehensive photos and write-up. Superior job of making that grey car white again. You really brought it back to life.

[Shawn Devlin]

Re: 2004 Volvo S60 - Daily Driver Cleanup

After seeing the 50/50 of the washing I thought, "wow dirty car, washing really helped". Then reading and seeing the white pad turn black I thought, "never knew M20 could be used that way". Folks say white hides the dirt. It just the white slowly turns grey.

Nice, comprehensive photos and write-up. Superior job of making that grey car white again. You really brought it back to life.

Thanks! I agree with your comments about white, it tends to turn so slowly that the change is almost indiscernible. Only when you wash and/or decontaminate do you see what a difference you have made. Black paint gets the spotlight when it comes to dramatic makeovers, but I think white belongs right up there with it.

The cleaners in #20 are mild, so the white pad acted as what I would best describe as a multiplier to increase this. I believe #20 is overshadowed by #21 but I feel it is a complimentary product rather than a competing one. I will keep both of these products on hand depending on what I am trying to accomplish.

[tapp1]

Re: 2004 Volvo S60 - Daily Driver Cleanup

Nice work on that Volvo....For some reasons these cars look "beat" very easily when dirty, but really pop when they are clean....I have an 05 S60 in Ruby Red. That I love, except for the brake dust.

[Shawn Devlin]

Re: 2004 Volvo S60 - Daily Driver Cleanup

Nice work on that Volvo....For some reasons these cars look "beat" very easily when dirty, but really pop when they are clean....I have an 05 S60 in Ruby Red. That I love, except for the brake dust.

The brake dust on Volvos isn't as bad as BMW pads put off, but it seems to come close. I applied two coats of Collinite 476 to these wheels prior to winter last year and was very impressed with how well it resisted brake dust, salt, and dirt.

These wheels will be coming off in the next month or two in favor of a snow wheel/tire setup and I'll use the opportunity to apply GTechniq C5 Wheel Armor. I applied it on my girlfriend's Civic Si 6 months ago and have not had to use a wheel cleaner in all that time, just soap and water.