[From 11am to 140am] - My First Detail Ever

Gabe007 · 06-24-09, 11:57

This is my first detail job ever...and my first post.

A friend of mine helped me detail my time-and-money-sucking-mistress, I mean my car. But I love this monster anyway.

Day 1, we washed the car (~1.5hrs). Day 2-3, we detailed the car (~14hrs). We clayed, polished, and waxed it that day. I didn't know it would take that long to detail.... In the end, we didn't even fully finish the passenger side doors/fenders and the entire back bumper and back part of the trunk! We polished it but with only one pass and without checking if the scratches were taken out...time was running out! We also only had one coat of wax on it. I'm a bit disappointed in that because of all the time spent... Oh and we didn't get to clean the interior....

The products I used are:
- Meguiars (MEG) NXT Generation Car Wash
- MEG Quik Detailer Detail Spray
- MEG Smooth Surface Clay
- MEG G100 polisher
- MEG M80 Speed Glaze
- MEG Ultimate Compound (for the deeper scratches)
- MEG NXT Generation Tech Wax 2.0
- MEG Gold Class All Wheel Cleaner
- MEG Hot Shine Liquid Tire Dressing
- Vinegar (to clean the exterior windows)

As you can tell, he is a MEG fan. He swears by it. I don't have a clue about what to use but his car looks nice with it.

Anyway, the pictures below are taken the day after being detailed... This would probably look nicer if I applied a second coat of wax. All comments/suggestions are welcome. I want to hear from you "Joe/Jolie the Detailer".

If you have a product that you swear by, let me know! I want to know more about other products that really work well on black cars!

-

Thanks for reading.

Aviator16 · 06-26-09, 01:28

it looks well worth the time, a hell of alot better than my first detail.
i'm only 17 but i'll swear by poorboys natty's blue wax, looks really nice on my black truck

89gt-stanger · 06-26-09, 02:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aviator16

it looks well worth the time, a hell of alot better than my first detail.
i'm only 17 but i'll swear by poorboys natty's blue wax, looks really nice on my black truck

Yeah, a lot better than my first real detail also. I am also a teenager haha.

Natty blue looks very nice on black paints. It also looks great on my sonic blue 03 mustang gt. I get a deep wet look out of OEM Ford paint

Thats Fresh · 06-26-09, 02:12

great shine!

did you get to get closer shots in the sun to check your work?

Gabe007 · 06-28-09, 09:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by 89gt-stanger

Yeah, a lot better than my first real detail also. I am also a teenager haha.

Natty blue looks very nice on black paints. It also looks great on my sonic blue 03 mustang gt. I get a deep wet look out of OEM Ford paint

Thanks for the kind words. Sounds like I'll look into Natty and Sonic.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thats Fresh

great shine!

did you get to get closer shots in the sun to check your work?

Nah, I didn't have a chance because we were late for an appointment. But stay tuned because I'm detailing my brother-in-law's Benz in a couple of weeks!

Aviator16 · 06-29-09, 07:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by 89gt-stanger

Natty blue looks very nice on black paints. It also looks great on my sonic blue 03 mustang gt. I get a deep wet look out of OEM Ford paint

Oh fine, drive the mustang gt, while i'm stuck with the f150xl lol same year model though haha

Aviator16 · 06-29-09, 07:49

i cant complain though that truck is great and i drive so its alot better than some

Phillyz · 06-30-09, 07:51

Nice ride and good work. Your car looks great

kaotikdt · 06-30-09, 08:30

I think it looks really nice. Nice shine. One thing I can say is detailing a car is not an easy job and depending on how anal you are for the outcome you can improve way more on a good job. Key thing specially if new to the scene is patience. But really it takes time and effort, so just be calm and at the end of the day (maybe two or three lol) you will love the outcome and won't let go of staring at your car.

Keep it up!

jmkiang · 06-30-09, 11:47

Shine looks good. There are a lot of good products out there so it really comes down to personal preference IMO.

Four Star UPP looks great on its own.

Zaino Z2/5 look great.

Collinite 915 looks great but it was a b*tch to buff off.

Like many people will tell you, its all in the polishing stage. If you can get the car looking great pre-LSP, then it'll look amazing after a sealant or wax.

gamby · 07-01-09, 08:19

I'm a big fan of the Megs UC. Great correction ability and no dust.

Lots of Menzerna fans on this board, but the dust from the Menz Super Intensive Polish (referred to here as SIP) is a bit too annoying for me. Thus, I save it for the heavy-duty stuff.

MobileJay · 07-01-09, 08:29

Looks great man, plus its a sweet car as well. For Mercedes clear coats you should try out the Menzerna line of polishes. As gamby said they do dust a bit but work great. Megs 105 is a phenomonal compound on hard clears like the newer Benz has. Waxes and sealants you are going to have to play with them and see which ones you like better. I have used Dodo Juice's Super Natural and its amazing on black. There are TONS of products, and this site will make you buy a bunch of them trying them out and finding what you like best.
Car looks great, now cut up your credit cards so you don't go broke now that you have been bitten by the bug. Take care