Being a complete newb to detailing I've been searching for cars to practice on. My dad's tan corolla and my black motorcycle were helpful but not enough. I wanted to practice on an older black car before even thinking about touching the "new to me" 2007 black civic si.
As luck would have it, my good friend offered up his sisters 2002 black mazda 626 for me to practice on. He's a diehard car guy and wanted to learn the process too. She moved to Manhattan and was no longer using the car so I was able to get a crack at it at his house.
After a good wash - clay - wash, we used this on the paint:
Griot's Garage DA
M105 on a 4" Hydrotech cyan
M205 on a 4" Hydrotech tangerine
Before:
Before:
50/50:
50/50:
After:
After:
Sorry for the lack of quantity and quality of pics. I had a hard time getting my point and shoot to cooperate with the halogen gun and the black paint. It kept autoadjusting making the light come out over exposed.
The car was in pretty rough shape and for areas with lots of swirling and defects we used 2 passes of m105 and 2 passes of 205. Some areas looked like a mirror with just 1 pass of each. I now can see the small amount of swirling left over in the after pics, those areas got hit with 2-3 passes of 105 and 2 passes of 205. As for the haziness, pretty sure it's from the camera. In person we were pretty blown away by the clear reflections.
With the friend getting impatient, underestimating the energy and time required for a full car using only 4" pads, we wound up resorting to 1 pass of 105/205 halfway through our session. We didn't even hit some last areas of the car unfortunately. I didn't have any sealant except for SRP, I guess that would be considered a sealant right, but the friend veto'd that out of exhaustion. We hit the whole car with a coat of some Ardex wax he had from a detailing store.
Some things that came to mind during this experience:
What should I use to clean off M105? Is IPA wipe down good enough?
I tried Meg's 34 final inspection but it was very hazy and swirly after wiping off. ONR at spray detailing dilution was much better but still a little hazy. IPA wipe seemed to be much better and we used this as a precursor to 205 for the rest of the car.
Would another polishing step like Menzerna PO85RD be beneficial if I'm going for that extra mile in shine?
I was very happy with the results of the combo I used but I have a gut feeling that another step with a finer polish can produce even better results. Would Menzerna polishes break down properly with my GG DA? Would it take forever?
Would these steps in order work properly?
Polish with 105/205 -> IPA wipedown -> Chemical guys or poorboys glaze -> Blackfire Wet Diamond Sealant -> Wax of my choice
Would a wait for curing be required in between any of those steps?
Does glaze go before sealant or sealant before wax. I've only seen conflicting threads when searching. Am I just wasting time with a glaze when doing that much polishing? I know I have deep scratches on my civic that will not come out with polishing.
How do I tell if car is SS or Base/clear without actually taking a pad to it?
Said friend has a very nice condition black 65 chevelle. Paint however isn't the greatest. Looks like it was repainted in the 90's or early 00's, no major scratches, cracks, flaking, or anything remotely close to that. Looks nice from afar but from what I can remember is not very glossy at all and looks like an older paint job. We pondered the idea of me taking a shot at it when I've had a lot more practice. Is it stupid to attempt a car like this with only a DA?
On a final note, thanks to all Autopians, especially Accumulator for all the advice. I can't believe what I've accomplished so far with just a couple months of research, some experienced advice taken, and jumping right in guns blazing!
As luck would have it, my good friend offered up his sisters 2002 black mazda 626 for me to practice on. He's a diehard car guy and wanted to learn the process too. She moved to Manhattan and was no longer using the car so I was able to get a crack at it at his house.
After a good wash - clay - wash, we used this on the paint:
Griot's Garage DA
M105 on a 4" Hydrotech cyan
M205 on a 4" Hydrotech tangerine
Before:
Before:
50/50:
50/50:
After:
After:
Sorry for the lack of quantity and quality of pics. I had a hard time getting my point and shoot to cooperate with the halogen gun and the black paint. It kept autoadjusting making the light come out over exposed.
The car was in pretty rough shape and for areas with lots of swirling and defects we used 2 passes of m105 and 2 passes of 205. Some areas looked like a mirror with just 1 pass of each. I now can see the small amount of swirling left over in the after pics, those areas got hit with 2-3 passes of 105 and 2 passes of 205. As for the haziness, pretty sure it's from the camera. In person we were pretty blown away by the clear reflections.
With the friend getting impatient, underestimating the energy and time required for a full car using only 4" pads, we wound up resorting to 1 pass of 105/205 halfway through our session. We didn't even hit some last areas of the car unfortunately. I didn't have any sealant except for SRP, I guess that would be considered a sealant right, but the friend veto'd that out of exhaustion. We hit the whole car with a coat of some Ardex wax he had from a detailing store.
Some things that came to mind during this experience:
What should I use to clean off M105? Is IPA wipe down good enough?
I tried Meg's 34 final inspection but it was very hazy and swirly after wiping off. ONR at spray detailing dilution was much better but still a little hazy. IPA wipe seemed to be much better and we used this as a precursor to 205 for the rest of the car.
Would another polishing step like Menzerna PO85RD be beneficial if I'm going for that extra mile in shine?
I was very happy with the results of the combo I used but I have a gut feeling that another step with a finer polish can produce even better results. Would Menzerna polishes break down properly with my GG DA? Would it take forever?
Would these steps in order work properly?
Polish with 105/205 -> IPA wipedown -> Chemical guys or poorboys glaze -> Blackfire Wet Diamond Sealant -> Wax of my choice
Would a wait for curing be required in between any of those steps?
Does glaze go before sealant or sealant before wax. I've only seen conflicting threads when searching. Am I just wasting time with a glaze when doing that much polishing? I know I have deep scratches on my civic that will not come out with polishing.
How do I tell if car is SS or Base/clear without actually taking a pad to it?
Said friend has a very nice condition black 65 chevelle. Paint however isn't the greatest. Looks like it was repainted in the 90's or early 00's, no major scratches, cracks, flaking, or anything remotely close to that. Looks nice from afar but from what I can remember is not very glossy at all and looks like an older paint job. We pondered the idea of me taking a shot at it when I've had a lot more practice. Is it stupid to attempt a car like this with only a DA?
On a final note, thanks to all Autopians, especially Accumulator for all the advice. I can't believe what I've accomplished so far with just a couple months of research, some experienced advice taken, and jumping right in guns blazing!
thnx accum