Noob's First Detail, opinions please?

[sn95nik]

Hello all,



I've just completed my first detail over the memorial day weekend. I had a blast and was left with a very nice looking car. What a rewarding experience. I guess I'm hooked, whether my wife likes it or not . Anyway, here's my process followed by some pics and a couple ?'s



-Washed with Meg's NXT soap in a foam gun

-Clayed with Meg's quik clay system

-Removed heavy swirls and trouble spots with SSR2.5 on a light cutting pad

-Final polishing with SSR1 on a polishing pad.

-Two layers of NXT, topped with two layers of Megs #26



I know how most of you feel about NXT, but I love the shine it creates and have found it to be fairly durable, especially when topped with #26



-Wheels cleaned with Megs All Wheel Cleaner, sealed with PB's Wheel Sealant

-Megs Insane Shine Tire Spray on tires and wells (wells not dressed in these pics)

-PB's Trim Restorer on black vinyl trim

-PB's Natural Look on the vinyl and leather inside

-NXT glass cleaner on all glass surfaces, windshield treated with Rain-X

-Final wipe down with DP 4-in-1 Rinseless Wash & Shine diluted as a QD (love this stuff )



And now the pics, sorry, no before's

Now, I have a question for those of you more experiened then me (pretty much everybody). While I was really happy with the defect and swirl removal, I would have liked to have seen more depth and clarity in the reflections in the paint afterwards. Granted, it was a dreary, overcast day, but I'm not sure that full sunlight will brighten the reflections that much. What can I do differently in the future to help with this? Is it mostly a function of the polishing, or is it something to do with the NXT, #26 combo? I have DP Max Wax now, which I recieved as a free gift in my last Autogeek order :righton: , would that produce better results over NXT and #26? Thanks for all of your help :cheers:

 

[. r i c h 9 9 0]

im new to the detailing scene too, that looks good man!!!!

 

[Scottwax]

#26 is going to give you a really deep, wet look but reflections won't be quite as sharp. Just using NXT would probably be more reflective.



Looks really good to me as it is.

 

[sn95nik]

Looks really good to me as it is.

Thanks Scott, this means a ton coming from you. :bigups

 

[RTexasF]

I'd be VERY proud to drive it. Nice work!

 

[Neo62381]

You might try the SSR 1 on a LC Black Finishing pad, and it might clear things up a bit, as far as depth and refelctions go. You may not be able to tell because you have red paint, but the polishing pad you used might have been to agressive for the last step, and could have left some haze, you could also have softer paint than usual, and the haze could be clouding things up.

 

[sn95nik]

You might try the SSR 1 on a LC Black Finishing pad, and it might clear things up a bit, as far as depth and refelctions go.

Neo, I had considered this, but didn't do it. I may try cleaning the hood or the roof of the car again, then hit it with the SSR1 on a finishing pad, and try different combinations of LSP's. Like I said above, I like th shine of NXT, but have also seen evidence of the color-shift that a lot of people experience. I may try #26 and the Max Wax by themselves, with no NXT. Now all I need to do is find the time to try it Thanks for the suggestions and compliments everybody.