Weekend Details - 56K Warning, Lots of Pictures

[hirosh]

This past weekend, I washed my other Mustang, a 1989 LX 5.0 Hatchback with a single stage dark red paint, as I had detailed it the previous weekend, and as it sits outside 24-hours a day, 7 days a week under a tree, it obviously got dirty. So as I proceeded to hose it down, I noticed the way the water is rolling off the vertical panels of the car. It almost looked like ball bearings rolling down the side of the car! So I hose down the hood and take a closer look. Upon closer inspection, I see this:


Holy moly, that's some surface tension! I never saw anything like this in person. Needless to say, I was totally blown away.

The process for that detail was:
Wash with Meg's Gold Class car wash shampoo
Polish with Poorboy's SSR 2 and 1
Sealed with Poorboy's EX-P x2
Waxed with Poorboy's Natty's Paste Wax x2
Tire Dressing - don't laugh, No Touch

I waited approximately 24 hours between coats of sealant and wax. I also allowed the wax to 'cure' for 24 hours after the last coat of wax went on. I think this helped the paint retain most of its slickness. I also painted the front and rear bumper trim, as they were nasty and showing yellow plastic. I also painted the rear bump in a similar dark red, which isn't a perfect match but I can't complain for a spray paint can job.

Anyways, onto the pictures:



And my usual hood reflection shot:

[hirosh]

I also decided to clean up my dad's 1994 Nissan Altima, which is pretty bad inside and out. Inside, well, let's just say he doesn't vacuum ever, and doesn't care if he spills coffee. I obviously did not get my detailing genes from him. I didn't take any pictures of the interior as I didn't do a good job of cleaning it up because I was too tired.

The paint was pretty swirled all over, well, except for the hood which was my test bed about a month ago. But basically the whole car was like this


So I gave it a good wash with Meg's Gold Class car shampoo, followed by claying it with Mother's Clay on the horizontal surfaces. The paint was dirty because as I was claying, it sounded like I was sand papering! but turned out to be all the dirty and crap coming off the paint.

I then busted out the PC and Poorboy's SSR 2.5, and started polishing. Here's a picture of the rear door, half done with SSR 2.5, and also showing how badly swirled this car was.


Here is the whole door polished out.

[hirosh]

So after doing SSR 2.5 over the whole car, I used SSR 1 to clean up any hazing, as evident in the above shots. It really cleaned the paint up and allowed the metallic to shine through, as evident in this picture.
This is after polishing and before any sealant/wax was applied. This is also a good example of how the proper prep is critical as using a sealant/wax shouldn't really add that much more to your paint (compare this picture to the next picture). It also surprised me that the paint was metallic!

I decided to trying something else besides Poorboy's, so out came the Clearkote Caranuba Moose Wax. Easy on, easy off, nice clear look, a great product. It ROCKS!
Here's the paint after two coats of CMW.

BTW, this was taken outside, and that's the sun. The hazy areas are clouds. I am also curious as to the durability of CMW, and since this car is outside all the time and never washed, it be a good test subject.

[hirosh]

Anyways, more info on the details.
Tires - No Touch again. Wiped it off and used NXT Protectant instead.
Black side view mirrors, black trim - Poorboy's Trim Restorer.

Rest of the pictures:



My usual roof reflection picture



Overall I was quite happy (and tired) getting this car back into shape. There were some scratches that I couldn't get out, but overall, I'm happy with how SSR 2.5 & 1 polishes out the paint. I really believe they were more of an influence in getting the paint to look this good, more so than the CMW.
I think someone said 'It's 99% prep work, 1% LSP." I couldn't agree more!

[edschwab1]

Great work. I really like the roof reflection of the Altima.

Was the work done using a PC? If so which pads did you use?

You just added value to the Altima.

Eric

[GoodnClean]

Great work! I don't know why but the one shot after the 2 coats of CMW close in on the paint looked like a camrea flash to me at first...odd.

[G35stilez]

Both look awesome!

That '89 is in exceptional shape. Is it a project car?

Night and day on the Altima! I love the door and reflection shot.

How do you like PB TS?

[hirosh]

thanks all for the compliments!

edschwab - sorry, i forgot to mention that the polishing was done by PC. on the Mustang, with the SSR 2 & 1 it was with a white polishing pad. for the Altima, SSR 2.5 with yellow cutting pad, SSR 1 with white polishing pad. speeds for all were about 5-6.

Sean - the 89 Stang was my previous driver until i bought the mach1. right now, it's just the car that takes up space. i might fix the A/C and other miscellaneous stuff and make it my daily driver again, ie beater car, and just use the mach1 on the weekends.
PB's TS? do you mean the Trim Restorer? if so, i love it, it works good at removing wax residue on the textured plastic, and if i apply it, let it dry, and buff it out, it leaves a nice finish, not shiney but not dull. plus it doesn't run when it rains or after a wash. durability wise, i think it lasts about 3 weeks with one wash per week.

[1 Clean WS6]

Just GORGEOUS work Hirosh!!! Those fox body Stangs have a sweet spot in my heart...good to see one as well kept as your's.

[hirosh]

Originally posted by 1 Clean WS6
Just GORGEOUS work Hirosh!!! Those fox body Stangs have a sweet spot in my heart...good to see one as well kept as your's.

Thanks. Unfortunately, this Mustang isn't as nice as I want it to be. Okay, maybe the paint is but even then, it could use a new paint job, and it is in need of some mechanical work.

[tpgsr]

Looks great. You do good work!

Umm hate to intrude, but may i have permission to use that amazing looking upclose shot of the beading. It has perfect composition, and i would love to make it into a focus element on my new site. Please?

[hirosh]

tpgsr - check your PM.