First attempt

[cartandpeg]

This is my first attempt at giving my car some form of detail,hope this is the right place.
Car was washed at 8.30am as temp was going to be 34 degrees celcius,now detail took place in small single garage,carpet on the floor and dirt surrounding the gritty carpet and all dirt driveway so the elements where not favourable for me.
I ended up dripping more sweat onto the car than water when it was washed,temp in garage rose to 42 celcius by lunch time,so you do the best with what you, got I suppose.
First time doing clay bar on the car,must say I was rapt with how it worked,ended up using one bar,mainly as I dropped the pieces I was using,went through countless mf as they only had to drag on the floor and where full of grit and I lost count the amount of times I had to rush in and wash the applicators from dropping them.

My main concern was removing swirls and scratches and a very light white haze on the bonnet and the roof,it seemed as though i was the only one who could see these hazes,all was done by hand with assistance of the good wife,who now has given me permission to buy a polisher and she said she is not going through that again,happy me for her saying that.

Swirls where removed but still some deep scratches left and the white haze is gone.

Hopefully first two pics are of swirls the rest of where I am up too now which was,clay and UC the whole car,still to polish and wax,tomorrow.Polish is Ultimate polish and wax is NXT 2.0





Hopefully these next pics are after ones.

The bonnet taken in garage,not best place to take the pic.As it does not look too good,compared to in the daylight.


Boot

Back door panel.

[Murr1525]

Re: First attempt

Looks like a big improvement, esp by hand which isnt easy.

What steps/products did you use?

[cartandpeg]

Re: First attempt

Thanks Murr,
I just got in from putting the polish on as it is cooler now it is evening.

First up I washed it in Ultimate wash and wax,had nothing else so that had to do,then I dried with MF cloths,I used Mother Clay Kit for the clay bar,only used Mothers as it had 2 bars clay and the meqs had one and I knew I would drop some.

Followed that up with foam applicators with Ultimate Compound,I found that ok to use as long as I buffed it off in time,then tonight put on one coat of Ultimate Liquid Polish,that really gave it more shine,used foam pads and mf to buff off.

Tomorrow I will put first coat of NXT Generation Tech Wax 2.0,I will let that dry the apply another coat.

Still disappointed on the scratches on the car,but,it is 4 yrs old,I suppose they could be buffed out or at least reduced,I may try that when I get a polisher.

Some the scratches look like where a cat may have gone across the bonnet and some looks as though they are from someone placing something on the boot and roof and sliding it along,not really bad,but after spending hrs and hrs on it today I know where every mark is on the car.

I was at the car yard where I purchased the car the other day and watched the guy washing the cars on the lot,he used a garden hose and chamios,hosed the car and wiped it down with the one chamios,each and every car,I can see where a lot of the fine scratches come from as each car had a certain amount of dust on it.

Over all I am happy with the result so far,as I said I am going to get a polisher for next time,it will make the whole proccess so much easier.

[Murr1525]

Re: First attempt

If going to get a machine of some sort, not much sense working too hard on the scratches and deep stuff right now.

Either a DA type, or the Power System type of machine can work well.

[cartandpeg]

Re: First attempt

I was thinking of one of these.

http://www.waxit.com.au/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=586&category_id=34&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1

[cartandpeg]

Re: First attempt

All finished after two coats of NXT Generation Tech Wax 2.0,checked car this morning after applying Ultimate Polish and it looked better than it was last night after wiping the UP off,so one coat of NXT this morn,wiped off and another late this arvo.Windows to be tinted still,hoping once I get a polisher the next detail will be better.

[jhhodges]

Re: First attempt

Wow; and by hand. Looks good.

[cartandpeg]

Re: First attempt

Thank you jh,the old arms and back are really feeling it today,do not think I will do it again any time soon,so shopping for a polisher,love retail therapy.

[davey g-force]

Re: First attempt

Great work Andy. That's a big improvement, especially since you did it all by hand!

That DA polisher you're thinking of getting should do the job nicely..

[davey g-force]

Re: First attempt

Have you got a plan for routine maintenance now?

e.g. washing / claying / wax / quick detailer / spray wax etc?

[cartandpeg]

Re: First attempt

Have you got a plan for routine maintenance now?

e.g. washing / claying / wax / quick detailer / spray wax etc?

Thanks Davey for the thumbs up,
in regards to what you asked,no not really,what I have got still is,ultimate wash wax,ultimate polish and nxt wax 2.0,plus interior cleaning stuff.

I suppose my first thoughts would be to clay bar when needed or every three months or so,for general maint I was thinking wash weekly,then polish and wax say every month,not thought of quick detailer or spray wax etc,will have to do some reading up on what the norm would be.

Open to suggestions though on a routine that works for you or others.

Wife took car to work today,horrid day here,stinking hot north wind and now she is full of dust(the car) so might give the girl bit of wash when we get cool change.

[Murr1525]

Re: First attempt

The Ult. Wash and Wax is a nice product. But you will get a better coat of wax using something like the Ult. Quick Wax after washing.

So Gold Class soap and then the spray wax probably would work out better for you.

[Guitar280Z]

Re: First attempt

Wow mate, we had 30 degrees here today! except we measure temperature in Fahrenheit (here at the house)

The best thing you can do for yourself is to take the time (a LOT of it) ad read everything you can about detailing. Just keep an open mind to the basics of what they are doing and try not to focus on the details. After you read a LOT of things, you will get a better idea of where to go for further reading, and whether you will want to go through your stash of products and equipment to keep what you'll need.

[ffboy]

Re: First attempt

Just my ideas:

For light dust removal, regular use of quick detailer, either Ultimate Quik Detailer for durability or Gold Class QD, or Last Touch.

Or Weekly carwash can be Wash and Wax or Gold class followed by (or more, depending on the frequency of use) followed by a quick wax (again either Ultimate Quik Wax or Gold Class).

[cartandpeg]

Re: First attempt

Thank you for the replies

I will do more reading and go the way of weekly wash and UQD,I had a look at the paint work tonight and lightly took some very fine dust that had settled on it and noticed what looked like marring,so I made the assumption that in some spots I had not cleaned any compound/polish or wax off correctly,so gave it a hard wipe with mf and that got rid of most of it,then in some spots I just gave a slight polish with UP and that took any thing else out.never noticed it after finishing,but the car has been outside today and another scorcher of a day,so that may have highlighted anything I may have left behind.