This is my way of saying THANK YOU to Autopia and everyone who has responded to my posts here for helping me figure out how to do my first real detail. I won't have much time to post here (starting law school next month) so I figured pics of my car I did with duragloss would be a good contribution.
Vehicle:
2003 White MR2 Spyder SMT. I purchased the vehicle on 06/22/06.
Goal:
Detail it 'right', and protect the paint for as long as possible with easy cleaning. Won't have time to detail the car. Also on a budget; wanted to spend as little as possible without any sacrifice of quality. Was going to go with Zaino and other products, but on top of everything else, shipping was a rip off when you buy from a few places. Decided to go with Duragloss.
Process:
The car was very dirty when I started. I didn't take any before pics.
1) Rinsed the car with garden hose to get the biggest debris off
2) Hand washed using Duragloss 901 Car Wash in a bucket and a Meguiar's Chenille Wash Mitt
3) Clayed the whole car with an AutoZone Clay Magic Clay Bar Kit
4) Used Duragloss 671 Swirl Mark Remover as a pre-polish and cleaning agent
5) Applied Duragloss 601 Polish Bonding Agent, which works like an epoxy to form a chemical reaction with the paint and the next step (makes the protection last much longer)
6) Applied Duragloss 105 Total Performance Polish. Later added a second layer.
7) Applied Duragloss 951 AquaWax as a finishing layer for extra protection and gloss.
8) Washed the wheels by hand and applied a layer of AquaWax on them
8) Exterior Rubber, like tires, I used Duragloss 201 Vinyl & Leather Dressing. I didn't think this was a rubber product, but on the bottle it recommends it for dressing and waterproofing tires.
9) All glass was cleaned inside and out with Stoner's Invisible Glass. (had this already, and its good, so I didn't buy Duragloss)
Total time: 5 hours of hard labor - NOT taking it easy at all, no real breaks. Boy was I drenched in sweat when done. Probably would've taken much less time if I wasn't new to detailing.
Results:
Awesome! I'm very happy with them. Hard to describe, but it has sort of an ethereal look to it -- like an extreme depth WITHOUT a lot of reflection. I was very surprised by this, as most of the detailed cars I've seen are ultra reflective. I think it looks great on my car -- it's more of a "WOW!! That car looks AMAZING!!" not "WOW!! That car is so SHINY!!!". The smootheness is incredible. Not only is there no orange peel, but it looks like a show/museum car with a $15,000 for a top of the line paint job. Extremely slippery and smoothe surface when you run your finger on it. Also I have driven the car quite a bit and nothing seems to stick to it -- still looks 100% flawless.
Vehicle:
2003 White MR2 Spyder SMT. I purchased the vehicle on 06/22/06.
Goal:
Detail it 'right', and protect the paint for as long as possible with easy cleaning. Won't have time to detail the car. Also on a budget; wanted to spend as little as possible without any sacrifice of quality. Was going to go with Zaino and other products, but on top of everything else, shipping was a rip off when you buy from a few places. Decided to go with Duragloss.
Process:
The car was very dirty when I started. I didn't take any before pics.
1) Rinsed the car with garden hose to get the biggest debris off
2) Hand washed using Duragloss 901 Car Wash in a bucket and a Meguiar's Chenille Wash Mitt
3) Clayed the whole car with an AutoZone Clay Magic Clay Bar Kit
4) Used Duragloss 671 Swirl Mark Remover as a pre-polish and cleaning agent
5) Applied Duragloss 601 Polish Bonding Agent, which works like an epoxy to form a chemical reaction with the paint and the next step (makes the protection last much longer)
6) Applied Duragloss 105 Total Performance Polish. Later added a second layer.
7) Applied Duragloss 951 AquaWax as a finishing layer for extra protection and gloss.
8) Washed the wheels by hand and applied a layer of AquaWax on them
8) Exterior Rubber, like tires, I used Duragloss 201 Vinyl & Leather Dressing. I didn't think this was a rubber product, but on the bottle it recommends it for dressing and waterproofing tires.
9) All glass was cleaned inside and out with Stoner's Invisible Glass. (had this already, and its good, so I didn't buy Duragloss)
Total time: 5 hours of hard labor - NOT taking it easy at all, no real breaks. Boy was I drenched in sweat when done. Probably would've taken much less time if I wasn't new to detailing.
Results:
Awesome! I'm very happy with them. Hard to describe, but it has sort of an ethereal look to it -- like an extreme depth WITHOUT a lot of reflection. I was very surprised by this, as most of the detailed cars I've seen are ultra reflective. I think it looks great on my car -- it's more of a "WOW!! That car looks AMAZING!!" not "WOW!! That car is so SHINY!!!". The smootheness is incredible. Not only is there no orange peel, but it looks like a show/museum car with a $15,000 for a top of the line paint job. Extremely slippery and smoothe surface when you run your finger on it. Also I have driven the car quite a bit and nothing seems to stick to it -- still looks 100% flawless.
(actually I will be doing it later this summer on my 24/7 daily driver once my WG is used up).
