14 hours later and my DD is better than new!

[AGAuto]

I'm going to start off by saying that I have been waiting forever for the right time to do this. Ever since I first received my Murano from the dealership, it was heavy swirls and buffer trails all over its black paint from the new car prep they do. I have always kept my car clean, but it has only been recently that I became completely confident using my Griots Garage random orbital (I know, not the best machine out there but I got it a year ago thinking I would stay on the safe side). I decided to detail cars for the summer before I head back to school, and have learned so much already from this forum its ridiculous. I just want to thank everyone for all your help with any questions I had...I am always learning



Now back to my car...I chose to do a complete exterior detail (wash, clay, polish, sealant) to get my car where I wanted it to be. I wish I took before pictures to show the complete transformation, but I wanted to get started. Here was the process:



WASH:



- Tires with Ardex New Wave & stiff brush

- Wheels with Ardex Proper & Car soap cause they weren't dirty at all w/ soft brush

- EZ Detail Wheel Brush (A must have in my opinion)

- Wheel wells received same All Purpose Cleaner as the tires

- Then washed the car using the two bucket method using Meguiars Hyper Wash w/ Griots Microfiber Mitt



- I then dried the car with some towels and also cleaned the door jambs



POLISH:



- Taped off ALL rubber & plastic so polish would not stain it

- Removed all old wax by wiping the car down with a 50/50 mixture of IPA

- I started off using Meguiars Ultimate Compound on a 6" Lake Country Orange pad w/ Griots orbital to remove the heavy swirls

- IPA wipe down to remove any leftover polish/oils

- Followed up using Meguaris #205 on a 6" LC white pad w/ Griots orbital to clean up and holograms/marring

-IPA wipe down again



I was not aiming for 100% perfection in getting all the swirls out, but I would say that I got about 85-90% out, which I am very satisfied with.



SEALANT:



Since I was basically preparing the car to withstand all the elements of being parked outside at my school from August - May, I chose to use Klasse High Gloss Sealant Glaze to protect the paint. I chose to apply 4 coats, waiting about 20 hours in between each coat. I plan to apply at least 2 or 3 more coats after I wash it again before I head off to school.



DRESSING:



Tires were dressed with Ardex Dull Away (rubber brightener usually for the interior & engine hoses but I use it for the tires with good results. However, I just bought a gallon of Optimum Opti-Bond Tire Gel which I can't wait to use)



Wheel Wells and mud flaps were dressed with CG Bare Bones



Here is the time breakdown:



Wash & Dry: 1.5 hours

Prep for Polish: 1/2 hour

Polish: 9 hours

Sealant: 3 hours



Also, I purchased silver vinyl overlays and put them on right before the pictures. I really am pleased with the way they look – in my opinion, it completely changes the front and looks great.



Please feel free to give constructive criticism. Its supposed to rain all week here so I wasn't looking to make it look like a showroom car, just wanted to give her a lot of protection.



Now for the pictures...I really apologize for the lack of before pictures, but the first one sums up what the entire paint was like

and with my trip to the jersey shore over the past weekend, someone was nice enough to leave me a nice scrap on my front bumper...

and now for the afters:

now for some garage pictures...

and my cart with the essentials..

Thanks for looking!