First full detail attempt...any suggestions?

[reggie11]

I want to start out that ever since I found this site I can't get enough of it...it is friggin addicting. I can't wait to clean my car. I plan on doing a full detail in the below steps. Please let me know if you have any suggestions



>Interior

I am not really sure on the order of the interior so let me know if I have something wrong.



>Vacuum

>Wash windows (NXT and two towel method) FYI..I am not a big fan of stoners and was also thinking of the surfcity stuff also

>Clean dash (Armor all cleaning wipes) any other recommendations?

>Clean leather (Lexol)

>Condition Leather (Sonus)



Exterior

>Wash and Dry (2 bucket method and dry with a WW)

>Clay (Perfect Shine Clay bar) any other recommendations?

>Fix scratches and nicks ect (I will do a separate post on this with pics)

>Polish (SFX3) I will be using a Makita Rotary (very carefully) unless I splurge and buy a PC. Do you have any other polishes you would recommend for a first timer? I have a metallic blue G35 with mild to moderate swirls.

>Wax (P21S)

>Clean/Polish headlights (plan on using 3M products based on a thread I read here)

>Clean exterior windows (any other recommendation other then NXT?) also should I clay them?

>Clean and polish rims and tires (will probably use Eagle 1 stuff and maybe mothers) do you recommend using a sealant on the rims?



Sorry for such a long post and I appreciate all the help!

 

[Accumulator]

... I plan on doing a full detail in the below steps. Please let me know if you have any suggestions..

OK, I'll take a stab at this, just IMO though and there are lots of ways to do this stuff.

>Interior

I am not really sure on the order of the interior so let me know if I have something wrong.



>Vacuum

>Wash windows (NXT and two towel method) FYI..I am not a big fan of stoners and was also thinking of the surfcity stuff also

>Clean dash (Armor all cleaning wipes) any other recommendations?

>Clean leather (Lexol)

>Condition Leather (Sonus)

I do windows last as I always seem to smear something on them. But then the window cleaner can disrupt any previously applied dressings, so think it over and pick which way you want to accept the risk.



I'd rather use a regular Interior Cleaner and a MF cloth (or a sponge or a brush or whatever) than those cleaner wipes. I'd also want to wipe things down with a cloth dampened with water as a rinse.

Exterior

>Wash and Dry (2 bucket method and dry with a WW)

Note you'll probably need more than one WW to dry. Make sure your wash mitts are good (soft enough they won't mar, etc.) and have a few of them on hand. Use a good, high-lubricity shampoo and good technique (that'd take too much time to go over now).

>Clay (Perfect Shine Clay bar) any other recommendations?

Which of their clays is that one? The green is good but *VERY* mild, probably too mild for an initial claying. The gray can mar (did on my hard-clear BMW and I'm pretty good at claying gently). Perhaps the ClayMagic Blue or the Mother's/Griot's yellow would be a better choice (but get some of the Sonus Green Ultra-fine for later use).

>Fix scratches and nicks ect (I will do a separate post on this with pics)

I'd let the touchup paint cure for a while before doing the correction. How many days do you plan to spend on this? Even if you left this step out you'd be looking at a lot of work.

>Polish (SFX3) I will be using a Makita Rotary (very carefully) unless I splurge and buy a PC. Do you have any other polishes you would recommend for a first timer? I have a metallic blue G35 with mild to moderate swirls.

There's no way I'd ever recommend that a beginner start with a rotary (and *I* did so I speak from experience). I worry that you'll do some irreparable damage or at *least* end up with holograms (I'd almost guarantee that one). Seriously, get a PC/Flex/UDM/Cyclo. And yeah, the Makita is nice (I have one)...but it should *NOT* be the only polisher in your toolbox at this point. The PC/etc. would cost less than getting a single damaged panel repainted



I'm not familiar with the SFX line, but I always recommend 1Z brand Paint Polish for people just starting to get serious with this stuff (and it's not just for beginners, I use it too). Sources: Welcome to Exceldetail.com! or Aloha & Welcome to Our Oasis for All Your Auto Detailing, Auto Detailing Supplies, Auto Detailing Equipment, Auto Detailing Products, & Auto Detailing Accessories for all your Automobile Detailing .

>Wax (P21S)

OK, if that's the wax that floats your boat. I'd recommend Collinite instead (same sources as above) but some people do like the P21s. Put it on thin and I like to let it dry instead of wiping it off immediately the way the directions say to do. But I gotta say that P21s just sits on my shelf while I use other products instead (almost all of which last a lot longer and look just as good IMO).

>Clean/Polish headlights (plan on using 3M products based on a thread I read here)

That 3M approach slips my mind, but again, how bid a job is this gonna be? I'd probably just do them with the same polish as the rest of the car and say "good enough". If you *do* do a big job on them, do them before the paint in case some of the abrasive stuff gets *on* the paint, which will cause more marring (might as well just do all the paint correction at once so take the chance of this happening *before* you do the "regular" polishing).

>Clean exterior windows (any other recommendation other then NXT?) also should I clay them?

Yeah, I'd clay them during the wash but I can see doing it later in case you get some polish on them. No real suggestions for glass cleaner, I'd expect the NXT to be OK.

>Clean and polish rims and tires (will probably use Eagle 1 stuff and maybe mothers) do you recommend using a sealant on the rims?

I'd clean them during the wash (I do them first) unless you're taking them off the car to do "right". I do polish/seal the wheels on many of our vehicles but note that then you have to clean them with shampoo mix (lest wheel cleaners clean off the sealant) and that can mean not letting them get *too* dirty between cleanings.



If you use Collinite 845 Insulator Wax on the car you could just use that on the wheels too



Hope something in the above was helpful, if only the suggestion to get a PC/etc. And seriously, give some thought to how big a job you want this to be. A wash/clay/polish/wax alone would be a pretty big job IMO/IME.

 

[ZeroDfx]

Your basic exterior process is what I used on my wife's 2003 Caribbean Blue G35 with a small exception: I used a sealant after the polish as opposed to a wax. (see photos)



I washed, clayed, polished (FPII), then applied Blackfire AFPP. After each wash I maintain it w/ Aquawax or HGAS. I am pleased w/ the results and trust you will be too.



Good luck & have fun.

 

[reggie11]

OK, if that's the wax that floats your boat. I'd recommend Collinite instead (same sources as above) but some people do like the P21s. Put it on thin and I like to let it dry instead of wiping it off immediately the way the directions say to do. But I gotta say that P21s just sits on my shelf while I use other products instead (almost all of which last a lot longer and look just as good IMO).

I meant to ask this in the original post I am looking for a wax that gives that deep, wet look. Does Collinite give this look?



Also does anyone have a wax preference to give this type of look?

 

[reggie11]

Your basic exterior process is what I used on my wife's 2003 Caribbean Blue G35 with a small exception: I used a sealant after the polish as opposed to a wax. (see photos)



I washed, clayed, polished (FPII), then applied Blackfire AFPP. After each wash I maintain it w/ Aquawax or HGAS. I am pleased w/ the results and trust you will be too.



Good luck & have fun.

Is there a particular reason you used a sealant rather then a wax? I am not 100% sure on the difference.

 

[Neofate]

A sealant seals the vehicle. It protects for longer than a wax.



Example, Meguiers NXT 2.0 is a sealant and wax combo. These sealants seal through synthetic compounds that bond to your paint.



Wax , ie: Carnuba based, just sits on top of the paint as a layer.



The good part, is you can seal.. wait a little while for it to cure (or not),.. then apply your favorite wax on top of that. Double protection and they do layer just fine.



Generally a good wax will look better than a sealant, which is why people put wax on top of sealants.. But sealants alone don't look terrible.

 

[Accumulator]

A sealant seals the vehicle. It protects for longer than a wax..

Well, Collinite will give any sealant a good run for its money (and it's not like I don't like sealants, I use 'em on two of our vehicles and one of those used to get BlackFire ). I don't mean that to sound like an :argue I just love sticking up for Collinite

I meant to ask this in the original post I am looking for a wax that gives that deep, wet look. Does Collinite give this look?



Also does anyone have a wax preference to give this type of look?

This gets into hair-splitting and subjective areas....hard to say how other people will view stuff :think:



I don't think most people would be dissatisfied with Collinite. The 845 looks a little "brighter" than the 476S, which might look a little deeper. Both look pretty "wet" to me. Note that I got ebpsivicsi to try the 476S and, to his surprise, he was so wowed by how it looks that he's now using it on most of his customers' cars.



For ultra deep/wet looks, a good OTC wax is Meg's #26, but it won't last a fraction of the time that Collinite will.



I consider P21s to be rather "bright" wax; it didn't have nearly the depth of Souveran when I tried it on my Jag and I gotta say that the P21s disappointed me. Souveran is great for looks by any measure, but it's so short-lived that I never really recommend it except for garage queens.



But I truly believe that 99% of "which LSP looks [whatever]" is kinda BSing ourselves as so much of it depends on the prep. There *are* a few LSPs I really do/don't like on certain paints, but hey, I'm nutty about this stuff and I dunno if any "normal" people would see what I see, and even if they did they might have different opinions about what looks good/bad.