Today I did some detailing...

YbFocus

6 hrs yesterday plus the evening before and now this thing is well cleaned up and sealed.
He loved the beading this morning!




Sneaking in the Viva La VLog sticker

Foxhole Norman

Been a busy bee recently, had a Mini in for an Exterior Decontamination and Wax:







RickyP's Passat Estate getting an Exterior Decontamination, Single Stage Gloss Enhancement, Sealed, Waxed and the interior tidied:







Robbiew's IS250 got an Exterior Decontamination and Wax:







A buddies Dad's Hemi V8 engined 300C getting a single stage compound and wax to remove oxidation and most swirls in prep for GASCC yesterday:







Gavman's ST getting a single stage to remove swirls and sealed with Fusso:







A few more polishing jobs lined up soon!

mik_da_man

Great work FN!

YbFocus

Some going Foxhole, I am killed after one machine

Ron Burgundy II

Cleaned the exhaust today and the car. Used Kleen Freaks metal polish, mighty stuff. Didn't take any before photos, but they were bad. 8000km in 6 months and never touched.

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Black_Knight

After my car being abused by TS Valeting (one mitt for the whole car, wheels included, dragging from bottom to top) last week, I decided to show the car some love. They also cracked a panel on the boot with their abusive washing (I dont have a pic, but its this panel on the boot lid)

Washed, clayed, detarred (tardis), washed, dried, hand polished and hand waxed.





Kerbing


Reflections :cool:


And a bit of autosol and tardis on the exhaust


To cap it all off, it rained:

MarkN

First time to use Bilt Hammer wheel and snow foam. More than happy with both.

Wheels before, during and after (no agitation) and final picture is after some very quick agitation with the large Wheel Woolie and then dressed. Cleaning the wheels took 1/10 of the time it used to. :cool:

Snow foam equally as brilliant, seemed to dwell a bit longer than Chemical Guys (not as foamy on the car though as expected).

Both great products!

Ron Burgundy II

Cleaned the car yesterday

Before:

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3 bucket wash
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After

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Curran Carpro TarX is an amazing product, it really helped with taking off bugs etc. Made the process much easier. My only problem is that the wind caught the gate which subsequently knocked the bottle over, so lost half before I started.

Curran

It is very good!
You make it sound like it's the products fault that the gate knocked it over.....jealous of its ability??

Nice work and motor!

*Kol*

Does TarX not come in a spray bottle like IronX?

YbFocus

*Kol* wrote: »

Does TarX not come in a spray bottle like IronX?

It does

YbFocus

My two cars this weekend

A friend of a friends Golf....



and a lovely 1930's Austin....
Paint was in bits on this, someone must have can sprayed it at some point.
While it is far from perfect the owner went crazy when he seen it, really should have got a before shot!

Cheensbo

Think this could be my first post in the detailing forum,

Gave the car a good going over yesterday, I'm not new to cleaning cars but I'm new to proper cleaning. So here's my first go at it.

What I did:

2 bucket wash with autoglym bodywork shampoo conditioner & microfibre mitt,

Took off tar with autoglym intensive tar remover,

Then iron x, worked wonders on it it seemed, there was a lot of stuff streaking off it.

Washed it again quickly and dried with a dry me crazy towel, great yoke, just keeps sucking up water.

Then used a meguiars clay bar with diluted demon shine as a lube,

Rinsed it down thoroughly, then used autoglym srp with a hand pad, most of the yellowing & fade went with a light enough pass but some areas like the edges of the doors, roof and bootlid needed a little more attention.


Next step was collinite 845, got it out and shook the sh1te out of it, then put it in a slightly warm pot of water because it was a little lumpy, went on and came off really easy.

Then I dressed the tyres with meguiars endurance tyre gel.

Very happy with the results, if there's something not right about my methods i'd be glad to hear pointers.

Iron X at work on the bootlid, stuff amazed me :pac:



On the wing:


I dont have any other 'during' photos but here's the aftermath:

Ron Burgundy II

*Kol* wrote: »

Does TarX not come in a spray bottle like IronX?

Well you're given a trigger to place into the bottle, however I needed to shorten the tube so that I could fit it.

Ron Burgundy II

Great work Cheensbo. Car looks great

Cheensbo

Thanks Ron,

One for the experts:

Just been doing more digging and find that the paint - Toyota super white II 040 - is a single stage paint, I.e no lacquer; should I have taken different steps / used different products due to the make up of the paint?

Not that I'm particularly worried because it looks super but going forward there's some scratching & swirling in places that I'd like to get rid of completely but would be afraid of going too far and removing too much paint with say - a DA.

Any suggestions/tips for the paint type?? Thanks guys.

edburg

Not saying I am expert answering this :pac: but I'd be starting with less abrasive cut polish and say you be better doing couple passes with that where as you get away with going straight to a cutting compound on 2 stage paints.

Curran

There isnt really any difference in the approach - the only thing is that you will see colour transfer onto your pads.

bbari

The car hood/bonnet isn't as shiny as the rest of the car. If I feel it with the back of my hand, it doesn't feel rough at all but its like covered with a layer of fog and it looks so dull compared with the rest of the body. I have AG SRP, should I apply that (with hand) if that can make a difference ? Any advise please ?

PS: Sorry for not sharing pics for the past few months, other priorities took over but I did keep the car clean!

Theboinkmaster

bbari wrote: »

The car hood/bonnet isn't as shiny as the rest of the car. If I feel it with the back of my hand, it doesn't feel rough at all but its like covered with a layer of fog and it looks so dull compared with the rest of the body. I have AG SRP, should I apply that (with hand) if that can make a difference ? Any advise please ?

PS: Sorry for not sharing pics for the past few months, other priorities took over but I did keep the car clean!

I assumed you've used a clay bar on it? To start afresh you could strip everything using IPA then:

Wash
de-tar
de-iron
Clay bar
Wash
Polish
Seal

I use SRP but I have a silver car, not sure what's best for black.

bbari

Theboinkmaster wrote: »

I assumed you've used a clay bar on it? To start afresh you could strip everything using IPA then:

Wash
de-tar
de-iron
Clay bar
Wash
Polish
Seal

I use SRP but I have a silver car, not sure what's best for black.

Thank you. No I never used the clay bar on it before.

Curran

Is just the bonnet or are the tops of the wings or the roof the same?

bbari

Curran wrote: »

Is just the bonnet or are the tops of the wings or the roof the same?

HI Curran, the top of the wings are ok, you can see it in the picture too. Its mainly the bonnet which is dull / hazy.

Curran

I'm mean the 1" or 2" of the wing that would be on the same level as the bonnet. ...if that makes sense

bbari

Curran wrote: »

I'm mean the 1" or 2" of the wing that would be on the same level as the bonnet. ...if that makes sense

I know what you mean, I think that part is ok but I'll double check later on.

vintagevrs

I might be wrong but what I think Curran is asking is are the parts of the wing close to the bonnet and therefore exposed to similar elements the same, or is there a noticeable difference in that the wings are much better? If so maybe the paint has been used on your bonnet in the past.

bbari

vintagevrs wrote:

I might be wrong but what I think Curran is asking is are the parts of the wing close to the bonnet and therefore exposed to similar elements the same, or is there a noticeable difference in that the wings are much better? If so maybe the paint has been used on your bonnet in the past.

Yeh i get that. I bought the car new 2 years ago so it's definitely not painted.

Curran

Reason I ask is two fold - perhaps you are getting contamination settling on the car; say if you parked it under a tree often; maybe in your driveway or in work. Or as vintagevrs says, its had some paint, that perhaps wasnt the best job. I'd imagine its the aforementioned, give that you would have noticed previously!

bbari

The top edge of wings is ok so it's mainly the bonnet which is a bit dull. What can i do to bring it to the same level as the rest of the car?

Curran

I'd assume that a quick routine will bring it up - wash, de-iron, clay, wash, dry, a bit of a hand polish (not sure if SRP will be effective enough, but try it) and then re-seal it.

bbari

Curran wrote: »

I'd assume that a quick routine will bring it up - wash, de-iron, clay, wash, dry, a bit of a hand polish (not sure if SRP will be effective enough, but try it) and then re-seal it.

Thanks Curran. I will give it a go. is Korrosol (the one used for alloys) is a de-ironing product ?

Curran

Yes Korrosol is Bilt Hamber's dedicated fallout remover - Auto Wheel is the one targeted more towards wheels (surprisingly), due to the added de-greasers to help cut through the contamination wheels suffer.

vectra

I wonder would it need a bit of Machine polishing?

Curran

Perhaps, but no harm attempting the lesser invasive option!

bbari

vectra wrote:

I wonder would it need a bit of Machine polishing?

It probably does but as i don't have access to one i will give hand polishing a go 1st.

tossy

Gave the engine bay a bit of a tidy up using meguiars APC, tomorrow i hope to tackle the outside.

before.





after.

ianobrien

Just did a quick wash on my car and Da's car. Two bucket wash with AG shampoo, Bilt-Hamber Autowheels and Wheel Woolies, dry with a Dry-me-Crazy and finish with a wash of the door shuts. No pics as its not really a detail.

I was going to do the tyres and glass, but "someone" has a flat tyre that needs sorting. I'll do the interiors tomorrow.......

Foxhole Norman

Ceramic Coated my buddies E46 over the weekend. I normally take care of it so it wasn't too bad, some hazing but other than that all that was really on it is scratches from his jerk of a cat :pac:





The finished product:

























Very happy with it!

MetzgerMeister

Blaming the cat again because you couldn't hold back with the Brillo pad?!

Foxhole Norman

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

Blaming the cat again because you couldn't hold back with the Brillo pad?!

I need to sneak in my signature somehow :pac:

shietpilot

Looks amazing! The detailing work really makes black cars shine

YbFocus

Is that Steve hiding away in the reflection

Foxhole Norman

YbFocus wrote: »

Is that Steve hiding away in the reflection

Yep :pac: he's back from Poland now to terrorise us

sebastianlieken

That E46 paintwork looks the biz!

With this ceramic coating, do you have to machine polish the paintwork before (or after) the ceramic application step? or does the liquid ceramic fill in all the swirls and light scratches anyway?

How long will the ceramic last, and can it be machine polished when swirls begin to show ... or is the point of ceramic that it's such a bad-ass coating that it essentially doesn't swirl or scratch and therefore negates the need for polishing?

sorry, ceramic coatings are all new to me. I'll go google the rest of the questions I have

vectra

With this ceramic coating, do you have to machine polish the paintwork before (or after) the ceramic application step? or does the liquid ceramic fill in all the swirls and light scratches anyway?


Machine polish prior to application to ensure best possible finish.



How long will the ceramic last, and can it be machine polished when swirls begin to show ... or is the point of ceramic that it's such a bad-ass coating that it essentially doesn't swirl or scratch and therefore negates the need for polishing?


I have a coating on my car with almost 11 months now and it is still holding up as good as day one.

I believe nothing will prevent swirls if you have a bad wash routine.

On saying that I do not believe it is possible to keep a car 100% swirl free.
Only last week I inspected my car under lighting and I could possibly count the amount of ( extremely light ) swilrs on 10 fingers.
I was pleasently surprised.
This week I must do a maintanence wash.

There is no need to be polished / waxed as long as it is effective.

There are maintanence sprays to "Top up " the caoting which is basically a misting of product and wipe of every so often.

It has made my life so much easier.
On another note the only way I can describe it is Live it it give the car a "slippery surface" and ther dirt literally runs off the car in the rain.

Whereas wax is like a " grease" that attracts dirt and dust which sticks to the surface and come wash time "could" get caught in the wash mitt and get dragged across the paintwork




sorry, ceramic coatings are all new to me. I'll go google the rest of the questions I have

I know of a guy in Melbourne that does detailing and as far as I am aware supplies ceramic coatings, You could paybe contact him?

Hope this helps.

Curran

Vectra has pretty much covered the questions asked.

You want the paintwork in a condition that you are satisfied with before applying, because if you see something afterwards, the only way to address it, is to machine polish the coating off the paintwork before you can get to the defect in the paint. Therefore, a machine polish, even a very light one, is advised....then a good wipedown to ensure a good surface for the coating to adhere to.

The coating will do a certain amount of filling of defects, but definitely wouldnt rely on it doing so, as if it doesnt, you're screwed for the reason outlined above!
They are durable for well over 12 months, some for 24 months, and other claim longer. They do offer resistance to swirling but if the wash technique is poor, then it will suffer the same as paintwork, just not to the same degree. Yes, it can be polished, as effectively the coating is like another layer of harder lacquer, but it would be advised to apply another layer of the coating on top, as you may have comprised the coating by polishing.

leupold90

Car recently cleaned with ODK Jet shampoo and finished off with ODK entourage - both sample sizes. Particularly impressed with the entourage, it goes on and buffs really easy and gives great beading.

Noccy_Mondy

Was eager to try out the polisher on the worst area of the focus. Something rubbed off it, combined with swirl marks (previous owner probably washed it with a brush), gave it a nasty look. Just prepped that area, will do the rest later. Still some marks left, but the results speak for themselves. Chuffed for a first attempt.

And yeah, thats the car whoms paintwork was "detailed" last summer.......

ronnie3585

I spent this afternoon cleaning the car. It was my first time using Iron X and clay, I'm extremely impressed with them both.

I treated the wheels with Iron X first, the effects were immediate with huge purple streaks running off them. Some light agitation and blast of the hose left them clean as a whistle. I washed, rinsed and dried the car. Then I de-ironed it, followed by another rinse.

Then came time for my first venture into the world of clay. After doing some research I decided to use a G3 clay mitt. I let is soak in a bucket of warm water and AG shampoo while I filled a spray bottle with a similar mixture but with a higher ratio of shampoo to use as lubricant. I started with the bonnet which was pretty bad. Seven or eight passes with the mitt, applying light pressure, had the paint smooth as glass. The car's 5 years old and I doubt the previous owner ever took more than a dirty sponge to it, so it took over 40mins to clay the whole car. The roof was particularly bad. The car is black so it's hard to see the contamination, but I was genuinely surprised with how much was on it. Thankfully it's silky smooth now:)

Another wash, rinse and dry and I was done. The car's going in for a paint correction and wheel refurb on Monday so no polishing or waxing to be done by me today. Even without any, it's looking really good. I can't wait to get it back and see it sparkle once I've a couple of coats of HD wax on it.

GustavoFring

Down to FN this morning for a wash. Got it home and applied some reload and hydro2 to finish it. The ceramic coating really is making it a doddle to keep, very little sticks to it.