This is a WIP thread with more comments and pics to come. Apologies for the long write up.
A little background first.
September 2008 VW EOS in metallic wheat beige. 39K miles mostly in the city. Car sits outside. New hood, front bumber and left fender as a result of a crash with a Porsche Cayenne (her fault :angry: ) 2 months into owning the car. The new paint was done by the dealer. It is not an absolute match unfortunately, but I learned to live with it.
Care regime evolution.
I started taking care of it from day one, slowly building up my detailing arsenal through all the great sites such as Autopia, Detailing world, Detailed Image and Cardetailing.gr. Many thanks to everyone for the continued solid advice and inspiration.
Initial care was done through the greek 'wallmart equivalent' store with 1Z products mainly, mf mitts etc. Through reading and seriously enjoying detailing, both for the results, but also for the 'meditation'/relaxation aspect of it, I got into using a PW, claying, machine polishing (investing in a flex3401 and a Buelle rotary), PTG, menz polishes, LC pads etc. etc..
I try to wash each week, wax once a month and do a full care/polishing session every six months.
The project at hand.
Initial plan was to do full paint decontamination, 3 step polishing and OS as LSP. Because of time constraints (run out of annual leave
) I settled for paint decon, 2 step polishing and OS. More specifically:
*Paint decon (I will use the FK decon kit next time if I can get my hands on it).
- Wash with FK118 (WW dry)
- Iron X
- Wash with FK118 (WW dry)
- Megs mild clay with ONR lub
- Wash with FK118 (WW dry)
- 1Z acrysol
*Polishing
- Flex 3401 + LC purple wool pad + Menz power gloss. 8 passes @ speed 6.
- Flex 3401 + LC white CCS foam pad + Menz 106 FA. 8 passes @ speed 6.
The initial plan was: step 1 as above, then 3401 + LC CCS orange + Menz 203S, then finally jeweling with the rotary + LC CCS gray + Menz 106 FA. Stages 2 + 3 were 'condensed' into one effectively.
Polishing oils were removed with Acrysol and cobra edgeless buffing mfs. Inspection was done by naked eye and sun light (not direct) as I could only work during day time. I could see improvement in the clarity of my finish, but definitely not anywhere near 100% (as one might expect from these steps). I think 80%ish is about right. Not sure if it is my technique, the VW hard clear or a combination of both leading to this 'poor' result.
*Glazing
- Flex 3401 + LC gray CCS foam pad + EZ creme glaze. 5 passes @ speed 4.
I cannot overstate the slickness boost provided by EZ (probably all glazes?). The way the mf slides on the paint with EZ on, as opposed to just the polished paint is remarkably different. Optically there may be a gloss enhancement as well, but for me it is the slickeness/LSP surface preparation that a glaze offers (EZ in my case) which makes it a useful addition to any paint care session.
*LSP
- OS (to be topped up with S100 Carnauba after next wash).
It is the first time I used OS. Up to now I used FK1000p. The reason for the change was mainly ease of use and time saving. From all the good reviews I knew that OS would be a worthwile product anyway, so I went ahead and tried it.
Optically I cannot distingush between OS and FK. Both give a mirror (sealant typical) reflection as opposed to depth, but flake pop (which I value) is definitely there with both. Slickness wise again a tie. In terms of 'perception' you get the feeling with FK that *something* is on the paint (the extra clearcote effect described elsewhere) and that may be attributed to the pasty nature of FK, as opposed to the 'vanishing act' of OS. Both products do go indeed a very long way with very little qty. Only 10%-15% of OS used for the whole car! Great VFM there.
The next 'battle ground' will be dirt shedding during the next wash.
Unfortunately for now I cannot post any pics due to PC limitations directly on the post. However it works through the galllery links, so here are some reflection shots. More to come after the washing session and waxing later this week hopefully.
Thanks for reading.
K
A little background first.
September 2008 VW EOS in metallic wheat beige. 39K miles mostly in the city. Car sits outside. New hood, front bumber and left fender as a result of a crash with a Porsche Cayenne (her fault :angry: ) 2 months into owning the car. The new paint was done by the dealer. It is not an absolute match unfortunately, but I learned to live with it.
Care regime evolution.
I started taking care of it from day one, slowly building up my detailing arsenal through all the great sites such as Autopia, Detailing world, Detailed Image and Cardetailing.gr. Many thanks to everyone for the continued solid advice and inspiration.
Initial care was done through the greek 'wallmart equivalent' store with 1Z products mainly, mf mitts etc. Through reading and seriously enjoying detailing, both for the results, but also for the 'meditation'/relaxation aspect of it, I got into using a PW, claying, machine polishing (investing in a flex3401 and a Buelle rotary), PTG, menz polishes, LC pads etc. etc..
I try to wash each week, wax once a month and do a full care/polishing session every six months.
The project at hand.
Initial plan was to do full paint decontamination, 3 step polishing and OS as LSP. Because of time constraints (run out of annual leave
) I settled for paint decon, 2 step polishing and OS. More specifically:*Paint decon (I will use the FK decon kit next time if I can get my hands on it).
- Wash with FK118 (WW dry)
- Iron X
- Wash with FK118 (WW dry)
- Megs mild clay with ONR lub
- Wash with FK118 (WW dry)
- 1Z acrysol
*Polishing
- Flex 3401 + LC purple wool pad + Menz power gloss. 8 passes @ speed 6.
- Flex 3401 + LC white CCS foam pad + Menz 106 FA. 8 passes @ speed 6.
The initial plan was: step 1 as above, then 3401 + LC CCS orange + Menz 203S, then finally jeweling with the rotary + LC CCS gray + Menz 106 FA. Stages 2 + 3 were 'condensed' into one effectively.
Polishing oils were removed with Acrysol and cobra edgeless buffing mfs. Inspection was done by naked eye and sun light (not direct) as I could only work during day time. I could see improvement in the clarity of my finish, but definitely not anywhere near 100% (as one might expect from these steps). I think 80%ish is about right. Not sure if it is my technique, the VW hard clear or a combination of both leading to this 'poor' result.
*Glazing
- Flex 3401 + LC gray CCS foam pad + EZ creme glaze. 5 passes @ speed 4.
I cannot overstate the slickness boost provided by EZ (probably all glazes?). The way the mf slides on the paint with EZ on, as opposed to just the polished paint is remarkably different. Optically there may be a gloss enhancement as well, but for me it is the slickeness/LSP surface preparation that a glaze offers (EZ in my case) which makes it a useful addition to any paint care session.
*LSP
- OS (to be topped up with S100 Carnauba after next wash).
It is the first time I used OS. Up to now I used FK1000p. The reason for the change was mainly ease of use and time saving. From all the good reviews I knew that OS would be a worthwile product anyway, so I went ahead and tried it.
Optically I cannot distingush between OS and FK. Both give a mirror (sealant typical) reflection as opposed to depth, but flake pop (which I value) is definitely there with both. Slickness wise again a tie. In terms of 'perception' you get the feeling with FK that *something* is on the paint (the extra clearcote effect described elsewhere) and that may be attributed to the pasty nature of FK, as opposed to the 'vanishing act' of OS. Both products do go indeed a very long way with very little qty. Only 10%-15% of OS used for the whole car! Great VFM there.
The next 'battle ground' will be dirt shedding during the next wash.
Unfortunately for now I cannot post any pics due to PC limitations directly on the post. However it works through the galllery links, so here are some reflection shots. More to come after the washing session and waxing later this week hopefully.
Thanks for reading.
K