1974 Corvette Stingray, '07 Suburban, '00 Miata by hand, '06 Freestyle

[Scottwax]

2000 Mazda Miata. Should have taken some befores, the top was pretty bad, light holograms courtesy of a body shop and the interior, although not heavily stained, was that light tan that looks dirty the first time you touch it. Nowhere near the worst I have ever done, just needed some good TLC. This was at an apartment complex and for the first time in close to a year, I had no access to power. This was going to be a hand job.

Good thing I brought my Shark cordless vac, amazing power for a rechargable, plus it has a rotating brush attachment that really pulls dirt out of carpets. Holds a good 20 minute charge, more than enough for a 2 seater. My son sure missed using the Cyclo to clean the mats though, he sure likes the time it saves him. Mats weren't bad anyway.

My first 10 years in business, I did all polishing by hand, plus being a Mazda owner myself, I know the paint isn't particularly hard and is relatively easy to polish out by hand. The small size helps too. I started with Optimum Compounding using a folded terry cloth towel (refolding with each panel) and even by hand, it did an excellent job removing the light holograms and the vast majority of the halo swirls. I followed with Meguiars #80 using a green Propel lite cut pad by hand, which really worked out well. The large size of the pad fits my hand well and allows me to apply more even pressure than using a smaller foam hand pad. I topped with Poorboy's EX w/carnauba.

Would it have turned out better using my Cyclo or PC? Maybe a bit, but not so most people would notice. I hadn't polished one out by hand in a while but it all came back to me once I started.

[Scottwax]

2007 Chevy Suburban. He picked it up late last week, already had the wheels, tint, etc done when I got to it this week. No dealer prep so no dealer installed swirls. Paint looks really good on this one, minimal orange peel for a GM. Really nice interiors too, although the plastic on the door panels looks like it was made from the same stuff a Cavalier's console is made from.

Anyway, just an Optimum No Rinse Wash and sealed with Optimum Car Wax.







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2006 Ford Freestyle. I waxed it late last summer when it was new (belongs to my brother's Mother-in-Law) so it was definitely overdue. Plus, she and my brother's wife and daughter drove out to Arizona in it a couple weeks ago. Really wasn't that bad though, just some dog hair and a few minor spills. Exterior was in decent shape, polished it with Optimum Polish and the white Cyclo finishing pads, buffed off with OCW and topped with Werkstatt's Acrylic Jett Trigger. Really worked out nice.

[Scottwax]

1974 Chevy Corvette Stingray. Real garage queen, maybe driven every other weekend. Really easy to wash since it isn't driven in the rain. Interior was pretty nice too and all original. He wanted us to concentrate on the paint, so the interior just got a vacuum and Meguiars Interior Quick Detailer.





The owner of this Corvette lives across the street from my brother and we did it on the same day as the black Freestyle. Guess which one we preferred to put in the garage? That meant polishing a white car in the full sun. Real fun on the eyes, so as you can see, I had to wear sunglasses so I wouldn't see spots constantly. Seriously, it was very uncomfortable to look at the paint for any length of time without sunglasses.



As you can see, I was using the orange Cyclo cutting pad, along with Optimum's Hyper Compound. Pretty aggressive compound but as you can see, on rock hard Corvette paint (this one's a repaint though), it finished out with excellent gloss and removed a good 95% of the halo swirls...although I did have to go over the hood 3 times to get to that point.



This is after following the OHC/orange pad combo with Optimum Polish and white Cyclo finishing pads, buffing the OP off with OCW and topping with Meguiars #16 Paste. Not sure why the color is off but this shot really shows off how wet the finish turned out.

[Scottwax]

A few more shots of the Corvette:



The Cyclo barely fit between the bars on the luggage rack, no way would the PC have worked without 4" pads. I also used the white pad/OP combo on the bars of the rack.

[Bigpoppa3346]

Woah, beautiful Corvette! Nice work on all of them.

[Stickman81]

I'm a bit partial to the Vette.
Nice work.

[dtailmycar]

Just one word; EXCELLENCE! Scott can u comment a little bit more on your hand polishing technique?, I'll like to do a mini by hand detail on my ride. Also, what are u using to dress tires?, especially on the Miata and Sub (any given help will be much aprecciated)

[gmblack3a]

Scott, So no prime before trigger on the Freestyle. Be sure to let us know how long it lasts.

[Anthony Orosco]

Very nice work Scott..love the Vette

I have 5 Porsche details coming up soon in Houston and about that many in Dallas area also....If it's a go I'll let ya know. I'll need to stay there a few days.

Anthony

[Scottwax]

Originally Posted by dtailmycar

Just one word; EXCELLENCE! Scott can u comment a little bit more on your hand polishing technique?, I'll like to do a mini by hand detail on my ride. Also, what are u using to dress tires?, especially on the Miata and Sub (any given help will be much aprecciated)

I used Armor All on all the tires. Actually, it was my younger son who dressed the tires on all the vehicles. So, my son used Armor All on all the tires.

I use a terry cloth towel (16 x 16 or so) and I fold it in half, then once again so it makes a thick pad, plus terry cloth has more 'bite' than an MF towel or foam hand pad. Additionally, the thickness helps even out the pressure so you don't get tracer marring from the pressure of your finger tips. I wouldn't go more aggressive than Meguiars DACP or Optimum Compound since you don't want something that takes the heat of a rotary to break down. Just work a section at a time, use a firm even pressure. Spread in a circular motion and work the polish in a back and forth motion (as air flows over the vehicle).

Anthony-let me know if you come up, although I will be very busy as well. After detailing 10 cars for a law firm, I got an e-mail today from them asking if I could detail 7 more. Ca-ching! $$$

[1 Clean WS6]

The Vette turned out just beautiful!!!

[GrayHawk]

Awesome job on the Miata without the PC or Cyclo.
I don't think anyone could detect the difference.