Today I did some detailing...

A few more pics:

This was polishing the windows with cerium oxide (CarPro Ceriglass):



More fingerprints:



Done:

Hi all,
not sure if this is the right place for this or to start a new thread but I'll put here for now.
I have 1 large van camper conversion (single stage paint, Renault blue)
and two cars to detail. (Saab 93 , 07 Civic both black)

I have just got a new dual action polisher das6 pro plus with orange and blue hex pads.
Also have Maguire's compound and AG SRP and McGuire's gold class wash

I know I need to stock up on products but im at a loss where to start!

Both cars will need decontaminating & 2 stage polishs.
Neither has had much love.

The van is so big and single stage paint so I was hoping one pass with the maguire ultimate compound would be enough and then sealed somehow?

If you guys were doing these 3 on a relative small budget what products would you stock up on?
Clay bars/mats? How many/best value would be needed
IPA
Compound / polish - pad combos - no idea here
Microfibers/mitts
Waxes sealants, do I need a different one for van vs cars?


Any advice and links to a shop that does it all would be great

Thanks

After buying the GTi almost 4 years ago, I washed it religiously every 2 weeks and always kept it in tip-top condition and shining by applying the latest wax/sealant. However, the last year has been exceptionally busy with a house purchase then re-build/extension, wedding, busy job and a lot of travel. All of this meant that sadly the car was neglected and was not washed in almost a full year

With things easing off towards the end of the year, I got my ar*e in gear and finally had the shed finished (floored, electric'd and plumbed). This meant I could at long last take my detailing gear from my parents' shed and wash the car!

I started first on the interior. It wasn't too bad, a good hover and then a once over with ODK Cabin had it looking (and smelling) great again.

Next I got to work on the exterior. It was a sorry sight being absolutely caked in crap. I used Koch Chemie together with a dash of IPA and foamed the car with it. It removed a large amount of the dirt and softened the remainder. I then give it a 2BM wash using CarPro Reset, I like how slick it is and find it has great cleaning power.

I had foamed, pressure washed and then hand washed the wheels - they came up very nicely as I coated them with DLUX about 18 months ago and it's still very much alive. I then hit them with Korrosol and it was amazing how much fallout had built up, the fronts in particular lit up! (I didn't have time for a pic as I was racing the light).

Next job was to decontaminate the paint. First with Korrosol, then with Tar-X. Thereafter, I went to work with a G3 clay mitt. I'm a big fan of clay mitts, I've found them very effective at removing contaminants, very safe and much quicker to cover an entire car than traditional clay. Even though I had only driven about 6,000klms in the last year, the amount of contamination on the paint was surprising. Every panel needed work. Once the paint was nice and glassy, I rinsed her off and dried her down.

I had a few options in terms of an LSP, but I came back to my old reliable - Soft 99 Fusso. It met the brief in that it's easy to apply and remove, has good (but not amazing) gloss and would easily see the car through the rest of the winter.

I finished up just as dusk was coming in, so please excuse the poor quality of pics, but it was wonderful to see her shine again and it felt deeply satisfying to get back in the saddle so to speak.

Before:












After:










I was greeted by this bead-mobile the next morning. I had forgotten just how good Fusso is, the beading and sheeting is fantastic:










The final job was the engine bay. It was about as grubby as one would expect. I covered up the alternator and sprayed down the bay with a 30% solution of Surfex. I then went to work with a detailing brush. I then wiped it down with a damp microfibre. Once finished and dried off, I gave the plastics a coating of DLUX and I think it turned out well.

Before:



After:

Thanks. She's a 2011.

vectra wrote: »

Excellent work Ronnie.
I still am a big fan of Fusso,
It really is mighty stuff,
Recently I have topped mine with a coat of Soft99 Water block.

For the price, easy of application, protection and water action, I think it's unbeatable.

I applied a ceramic coating (C Quartz) soon after getting the car. The prep and application were a complete pain in the balls and it didn't even last two years. Fusso will easily last 9 months and is a breeze to apply.

I got a tin of King of Gloss free when I got the Fusso as there was an offer on at the time. Might top it with that, see how it looks.

Nice job Ronnie! You need to scrub your tyre walls, they're a bit brown looking

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

Nice job Ronnie! You need to scrub your tyre walls, they're a bit brown looking

Aye, left my tyre scrubbing brush in my folks' shed. Have it now so will be attacking them this weekend!

vectra wrote: »

KOG is excellent on top of Fusso

Does it change the water behavior much?

"Ceramic" wipes?...in a pack? Good lord

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

"Ceramic" wipes?...in a pack? Good lord

Ya use once throw away job.. like a johnny

keano25 wrote: »

Ya use once throw away job.. like a johnny

But it isn't how a ceramic coating works. A lot of prep work to do before just wiping......

"Ceramic" has become a buzz word in the valeting and car cleaning industry even for stuff like those wipes which are no more ceramic than a paper bag.

Both cars were looking a little the worse for wear so decided to get them sorted.



Pre-wash, gtechniq citrus wash as foam and shampoo, rinse, de-tar and iron x, rinse, C2v3 as a drying aid and another coat when it was dry.



Repeated on hers.





Too much tar remover for one day though, can feel it in my chest!

Just got a white car. Guess I may buy shares in tar-x

What wax do you guys use on the white?

I swapped tar-x for Reflect Auto Care tar remover, a litre is only 12 quid