New (to me) vehicle, how harcore do I go?

[skadet]

Hi all,



2002 Volvo S60, black metallic color. I am new to the hardcore detailing thing, but am eager to learn. I have downloaded the e-book and read 80% of it so far.



Here is a question: How hardcore do I need to go on the paint? The dealership is a small-ish, high end Volvo/Lotus dealer, and the detailers seemed to do a decent job, but I am beginning to question my own judgement since I feel like I don`t know what a "Decent job" is anymore.



Should I go wash -> clay -> polish -> wax kind of thing? I do not mind investing a lot of money in the process.



Thank you for your help, you guys have some AMAZING results in the click and brag section! Very, very impressive.





A little blurry, but maybe you can see a little of the condition of the finish?



http://cedantxl.cedant.com/skadet/s60side.jpg



http://cedantxl.cedant.com/skadet/backqtr.jpg

[Otravez]

:welcome to the forum!

I guess to answer your question I`d say that it really depends on how much time and effort you want to put into making your car beautiful. Black is the most difficult finish to keep perfect but it is also the most rewarding color (red being close second) when it is done correctly and up to `autopian` standards.



Three important things I can tell you is read, read, and read some more, then repeat. Remember there are no stupid questions, only stupid people who don`t use the search button. Last but not least, this http://autopia.org/forum/faq.php?faq=secret_decoder_ring#faq_detailing_term s will be your best friend for quite some time.



Have fun and good luck!

[Accumulator]

sakadet- Welcome to Autopia!



You should be as hardcore as you *want* to be ;) That is, be as fanatical as is fun. You can drive yourself nuts with this stuff and take the fun right out of the whole car thing, especially with black.



Learn how to wash without marring (you might oughta search on "foamgun" but be prepared for a lot of hits). IMO this is the number one thing to get down pat.



Then yeah, clay, polish, wax. The polish step is the tough one, getting all the marring out of the paint, so light reflects instead of refracts, isn`t easy.

[skadet]

Thanks for the welcome everybody!



I did half of the job last night. I went to Kragen, they had the Meguiars stuff I`ve been reaing about here, so I picked up nearly $200 worth of supplies.



I did the rims first, brushing the dust off then using Mother`s Billet polisher. Holy crap, those wheels are clean.



Then I washed the car, 2-bucket method. Squeegeed the water off, finished with a chamois, and touched up with a waffle-weave.



It looks like the car may not even have a coat of wax on it right now. It`s smooth, but not slick. The reflection isn`t mirror-like, and on the large, flat areas, I can see some marks that look like... I dunno, they get in the way of reflection? They don`t seem like scratches, just areas where the finish should be shinier.



On Sunday I`m going to start with clay, then #7, then #28 (I think it`s #28, it`s the show car yellow wax?). I also need to do the windows. Do you guys think Rain-X is a good idea? Or something similar? I`ll top it off with leather conditioner and I`ll be all done :)



Question: on chips/scratches that are deep (thru the color coat) how should I protect them if I don`t want to touch them up yet?



You guys are AWESOME, i`ll get some good pics with my roomies digital slr when I`m all done :)

[ceiol]

Thanks for the welcome everybody!



I did half of the job last night. I went to Kragen, they had the Meguiars stuff I`ve been reaing about here, so I picked up nearly $200 worth of supplies.



I did the rims first, brushing the dust off then using Mother`s Billet polisher. Holy crap, those wheels are clean.



Then I washed the car, 2-bucket method. Squeegeed the water off, finished with a chamois, and touched up with a waffle-weave.



It looks like the car may not even have a coat of wax on it right now. It`s smooth, but not slick. The reflection isn`t mirror-like, and on the large, flat areas, I can see some marks that look like... I dunno, they get in the way of reflection? They don`t seem like scratches, just areas where the finish should be shinier.



On Sunday I`m going to start with clay, then #7, then #28 (I think it`s #28, it`s the show car yellow wax?). I also need to do the windows. Do you guys think Rain-X is a good idea? Or something similar? I`ll top it off with leather conditioner and I`ll be all done :)



Question: on chips/scratches that are deep (thru the color coat) how should I protect them if I don`t want to touch them up yet?



You guys are AWESOME, i`ll get some good pics with my roomies digital slr when I`m all done :)



you skipped the polish step... look at the eighty series if you like Megs.

[zippymbr]

You will need to polish if you want to bring back that shine. Wax will not do it alone. If you posted some better pics of the paint we could reccomend a good course of action.

[Accumulator]

Elaborating on what they said, the #7 isn`t a "polish" in the sense that you might expect. It`s nonabrasive and you need something with a little cut to fix the imperfections. The "80 series" stuff they`re referring to would be something like #80, but that`s not too commonly available OTC.



I`m not sure what *is* available OTC, but it`ll go between the clay and the wax (or between the clay and the #7 if you`re determined to use that product).



FWIW opinions vary on RainX. If somebody put it on *my* windshield I`d do whatever`s necessary to get it off. I absolutely hate the stuff and I have plenty of experience to base my opinion on.



You`re close on the wax`s number ;) it`s #26.

[skadet]

Ok, I`ll get some better-quality pics and post them before I "go for it".



You guys are seriously kick-*** with your help. I really appreciate it.

[Accumulator]

You guys are seriously kick-*** with your help. I really appreciate it.



Heh heh, you`ve just picked good times to be online, lots of us here when you`re asking Qs ;)



You might oughta look in the yellow pages for an autobody/paint supply place. They often have great pro-type products that`re better then the normal OTC consumer stuff. When I was a kid (decades before the internet took off) I got almost all my stuff from the place that supplies local body shops. Brands like Pro and Meguiar`s professional series are great.