My Detail

[dmsween]

I first got my '03 Vibe GT in October of 07 with 38,500 miles on it. I detailed it when I first got it and detailed it a few weeks ago.My detailing process:1.) Hosed the car off to get all the dirt off that I could.2.) Washed it with some good car wash soap going from top to botom and dried it off.3.) Got out the car bar and some lube and clayed the whole car doing sections at a time.4.) Rinsed the car off and dried again.5.) Got out the buffer and some polish and made her all shiny. ( I think the polish was Degroats, not sure on spelling)6.) Time for the wax. Used pure carnuba wax I believe ( again I think Degroats)7.) Hit the tires with some shine and wiped down the interior as needed.This was done at my buddies place both times as he owns his own place and I just do my car there and throw him some money for supplies.I also have done details at my parents house in the past and usually use Meguire's 3 step system.The pics are when I tinted the windows which was some time after the first detail.

[Kamikaze]

Nice and Shiney!

[VforVIBE]

she's looking good for an old gal I always find cleaning is the best time to take off those dealer stickers.

[dmsween]

Those stickers were removed on the 2nd detail that happened a few weeks ago. Didn't do it the first time around because it was still under warranty from the place that I bought it. I paid $9500 for '03 GT w/ 38,500 miles with 6 month / 6,000 mile warranty back in Sept / Oct.

[Whelan]

Quote, originally posted by dmsween »My detailing process:1.) Hosed the car off to get all the dirt off that I could.2.) Washed it with some good car wash soap going from top to botom and dried it off.3.) Got out the car bar and some lube and clayed the whole car doing sections at a time.4.) Rinsed the car off and dried again.5.) Got out the buffer and some polish and made her all shiny. ( I think the polish was Degroats, not sure on spelling)6.) Time for the wax. Used pure carnuba wax I believe ( again I think Degroats)7.) Hit the tires with some shine and wiped down the interior as needed.*taps his stick on the desk*"Class we are about to begin"Just kidding, but let me lend you a few hints along the way.Between 2 and 3 you say you dried the car off then did the clay bar. Clay barring will definitely work best if the car is still wet. The spray they give you is simply a lubricant to keep the clay from sticking. Giving the car a good bath, then going over it with a light spray again before using the clay goes a long way. It allows you to feel more of the imperfections on the paint. Then spraying the lubricant as you did, working in a straight front to back motion. Remember your not trying to work any product into the paint, just remove filfth and deposits. So a straight front to back will do fine. Then you rinsed and dried again. I like how you did sections, it's how I do it But what I typically do is since the car is already wet, do a section like you said, example being the hood, then get the hose and spray the hood, then go onto another section. One thing about the clay and lubricant is that it should not sit, especially in the sun. Wet the car, do a panel or section with the clay bar, then spray that section again to remove excess lubricant. It doesn't matter if the dry leaves some spots or not, you are polishing next anyways and a water spot for 5 minutes is not going to etch your paint.When drying the car, I use a water blade first, then a water magnet towel. Then I let it sit for a bit and go back and get all the small crevies and door jams with a towel to get it all out. When polishing if your buffer has a speed setting on it, I would recommend a higher setting. I use a Meguiar's G100 DA polisher on speed 5 out of 6. Be sure when polishing and removing swirl you are only doing small sections at a time say 2'x2' if even that much. The doors on my Matrix gets done in 4 sections each, the hood in 9, the trunk in 2 (not counting bumpers), and the roof in 9 again. (have a moonroof so less on the last portion). I also do the part above the windows and A-frame separately. I apply 10-15lbs. of pressure on the polisher and work each section in and up/down then side/side pattern. I repeat that so I get four passes on a section total. Then I remove the polish immediately, it is for cleaning, not sitting.To be honest, the type of product used makes a HUGE difference in the final appearance of your paint. Any wax can make it shiny and smooth, but to get that full effect, certain products do work better than others. And what I wrote above about the use of the polisher machine all ties into breaking the product down. It's like stretching dough. I could easily take the ball and roll it in sauce and cheese, but that would be nasty. Instead you work it, toss it, knead it into shape. Same goes for the product, it needs to be worked over the surface to smooth out your clearcoat and even out the surface, giving it a good clean. I always say, wash your car like your the dentist!Meaning your dentist doesn't hand you a toothbrush and send to into his bathroom. He takes his special tools and dives in there to get that squeaky clean.Back to the product used. I personally stick with Meguair's, been around for over 100 years and always been leaders in product enhancement and brand recognition. For a car with light swirls and markings I use #80 on my vehicle and others. It's called Speed Glaze. Comes in a tan bottle, as do all Meg's professional line products. You won't find it at your AutoZone, but you can order it online from many places. The stuff you see in the store is the 3 Step consumer product. Still very good, but meant for hand application more than a polisher use. And if going that route, I suggest getting foam applicator pads and switching their 3rd Step wax with something like Meg's Gold Class Mirror Glaze. That way if your lady kicks you out of the house, you can always shave using your hood as a mirror There are essentially two different kinds of waxes that can be used in the end. One is carnuba, the other is synthetic. Meguiar's Gold Class Mirror Glaze as mentioned above will do a fantastic job at getting a really deep showroom shine to a car. For me, I got for the full effect and make my paint and flec pop like you wouldn't believe. I use Meguiar's NXT Generation Tech Wax (#26). It has a nice smell and is a pure synthetic wax that does an insane job on any type of paint. They also have out now the Tech Wax 2.0 which is an enhancement over the current one, I have yet to get a bottle but once my #26 runs out I'll be there.Tires have always been troublesome. The gel is greasy and needs to be left to sit once wiped or else it can splatter on the side of the car while driving. Same goes for the sprays.I used the Meguiar's Tire spray with the adjustable cap. It allows you to select the tire width for low profile, medium, and wide for SUV tires. A quick shot around the tire and a good wipe down. Again as if you were polishing your tire, rub it in deep to prevent excess residue from building up.I almost forgot to mention applying the wax final coat. When doing this I put my machine on speed 3, slower so its more like a massage for your paint. 5-10lbs. of pressure on the wheel to rub the paint as if it was Jessica Alba's shoulders. I will cover the entire car with the product before I even think about removing it. Letting it sit, harden a bit and do it's work. Then when I'm done applying to the whole car, I will think about removing it some more before I get two microfiber towels, using one to wipe, and the other to dust off that section. Start from where you started and end where you ended. The results will speak for themselves. Enjoy!

[VforVIBE]

But Whelan, you cheat, you have a black car, black will always out shine any other color.

[Kamikaze]

Quote, originally posted by VforVIBE »But Whelan, you cheat, you have a black car, black will always out shine any other color. Actually, Whelan's car started out blue... but he's cleaned it soo much that he rubbed out all the blue.

[Whelan]

ACtually it started out white, but after so much cleaning I pushed it into a negative universe so it came back black Don't be jealous It's still the hardest color to keep clean.

[dmsween]

Whelan, that black looks pretty good. I bet it's since he's cheating and has Toyota paint. I do like the fact though that I can drive a snow storm and then through the rain and my car is clean again, not gonna lie about that. Most of my cars have been like that (90 Acura Legend LS Coupe 5spd, 92 Acura Legend L Sedan 5spd, pear white and gold respectively) The pearl white that 90 legend had was a beautiful color. I also had nothing better to do during the summers with that car so it got waxed about every other weekend. I remember taking that through PA to visit a buddy and all the road construction and tar that got caked on and I just washed it off when I got home.I also did wet it back down again before I did the clay bar. The original plan was I was just going to wash and dry it but then I decided it needed more.I'll have to try some of that synthetic wax sometime. It's nice just being able to take my car into my buddies shop and doing all the work there and giving him some money for product.

[Whelan]

Having a connection definitely helps with the process. Your car looks in very good shape. Especially those headlights being an 03. I typically do 2 big waxes a year with a full strip down and repolish.I dont usually wax inbetween but instead use Eagle One Wax-As-U Dry and then some Meguiar's Quick Detailer for dry cleaning it so to speak. First detail comes in Spring right after all the pollen and crap has run its course and made my car yellow. Then again in October/November before the temps drop too low. Temperature will affect products.

[wyatt89]

sorry if i sound dumb here, but what does the car bar do? isnt it made of clay or something?

[dmsween]

The Clay Bar helps to get contaminants out of the paint. It is made out of clay, hence the name clay bar. Clay is used because it will absorb the contaminants into the clay without scratching the paint. This is done because even with a good wash there is still some things left on your paint. If you try to buff and the car is not completely clean you will get nasty swirl marks.Whelan feel free to jump in if I left something out.

[wyatt89]

thats cool, makes sense although i would think the clay would smear on the car?

[Whelan]

Hence it comes with a lubricant to spray. It's not like your typical clay you see in art class, it's much finer than that. The lubricant is sprayed on the surface of the car to allow it to be rubbed on easily. Once you go over your car you will be amazed at what it pulls up. Here is an example.This is what I useCar after being just washed, looks clean right?After clay barring now, wow!side 1side 2 after doing some more

[dmsween]

It won't smear on the car unless the pain is really bad or the clay is old and not good anymore. When I helped my buddy with the detail place, we did 2 cars that got overspray from someone painting something outside. You could see the overspray on the car adn the finish felt like 30 grid sandpaper. We got it all off but you could see how it was using clay very fast and leaving some behind.

[wyatt89]

wow, that sounds awesome, can you still use it when its like 110 degrees out? If my current vehicle had a decent paintjob on it i would totally do it!

[Whelan]

LOL, yes you could. Now I feel like we're getting into infomercial territory. "But will it stay fresh?" "Oh, you bet Sally, just watch, I left this clay bar in the fridge for two weeks buried in olive juice, then let it sit on my grill for 45 MINUTES at 400 degrees!!!!!, watch how good it works!" "Wow, thats amazing!" "No Sally, That's Clay Magic!"

[MRCN RCE]

Quote, originally posted by Whelan »LOL, yes you could. Now I feel like we're getting into infomercial territory. "But will it stay fresh?" "Oh, you bet Sally, just watch, I left this clay bar in the fridge for two weeks buried in olive juice, then let it sit on my grill for 45 MINUTES at 400 degrees!!!!!, watch how good it works!" "Wow, thats amazing!" "No Sally, That's Clay Magic!"i LOLed i thought i was the only person that said this type of stuff