The All-Elusive Detailing Plan

[Luminoso]

This is my first post, but I’ve been reading these forums for awhile now. Let me be the first to say (although I’m sure I’m not) that this forum is an excellent source of information. I haven’t been able to find any other forum that has such an extensive knowledge base.

With that said, I have a bunch of questions about the all-elusive perfect detailing plan.

Here’s my plan for the full int/ext detail option.

Interior Detail:

1. Vacuum
2. Clean Interior Glass and Mirrors
3. Clean Carpet
4. Treat Vinyl
5. Treat Leather/Fabric Upholstery

Exterior Detail:

1. Detail Engine

A. Cover Electrical/Important parts with foil or plastic bag
B. Degrease
C. Rinse
D. Dry

2. Clean Wheels

A. Wash Rims
B. Wash Tires
C. Dress Tires
D. Wax Rims

3. Paintwork

A. Wash with Dawn Dishwashing Detergent
B. Clay Surface
C. Wash with Sonax Gloss Shampoo
D. Polish
E. Glaze
F. Wax

4. Clean Exterior Glass (Including lights)
5. Exterior Trim

The reason I separated polish and glaze is because I think polishing removes defects within the paint while a glaze is purely cosmetic in that it makes the paint shinier.

Questions (Don’t you just love lists?):

Is wheel/metal wax worth it?
Should I wash with Dawn?
Should I wash with Sonax after claying?
How many times should I wash in the beginning?
Is polish the same thing as pre-wax cleaner?
Is the order fine or should I add another step of something?

I also have a few questions about the products I’m going to be using.
Here’s a list of all the products:

Shampoo:
Sonax Gloss Shampoo and Dawn Dishwashing Detergent

Clay:
Pinnacle PolyClay Bars or Clay Magic (Fine Grade)

Polish:
3M Swirl Mark Remover or UPP

Glaze:
3M Imperial Hand Glaze or Meguiar’s Show Car Glaze or some Zaino glaze

Wax:
P21S Paste Car Wax (although I’ve heard that S100 is the same thing but cheaper)

Tire Dressing:
303 Aerospace Protectant

Wheel Cleaner:
Eagle One A2Z Wheel Cleaner or 303 Aerospace Cleaner

Trim:
Black Again Exterior Trim Restorer

Engine:
Simple Green or 303 Aerospace Cleaner

Leather:
Lexol Leather Cleaner and Conditioner

Vinyl:
Lexol Vinylex or 303 Aerospace Protectant

Carpets and Cloth:
Eimann Fabrik or Four Star Carpet and Upholstery Cleaner

I’d really appreciate it if you guys could tell me which of the products in each category is best, and if there are any better products in that category. Also, if you have had experience with any product, please don’t hesitate to share. Oh, I didn’t include wheel wax, so if you think it’s necessary, please name a good one.

Some specific questions:

Is PolyClay worth it or should I just use clay magic?
Is a special glass cleaner worth the investment or should I just use Windex?
About UPP. I’ve heard that it’s almost as good as waxing the car. I just wanted to find out if that’s true—does glazing and waxing the car after UPPing it add anything to the shine? I’ve heard that it doesn’t and that it does, but I was wondering if there was a general consensus on the issue.

Sorry for the length of the post, but money’s tight and I’m trying to earn some extra cash for my family (I`m hoping my returns will exceed my investment) Having been a car buff for most of my life, detailing was the easy way for me to make some extra money. I’d really appreciate it if you could take a few minutes and respond.

Thanks guys.

[CharlesW]

Welcome to DC:
While I can`t give you a detailed procedure, I can comment on some of your proposals.
Remember, these are just my opinions. Hopefully a few others will jump in here.

Shampoo:
Sonax Gloss Shampoo and Dawn Dishwashing Detergent
>Skip the Dawn

Clay:
Pinnacle PolyClay Bars or Clay Magic (Fine Grade)
>I used Clay Magic. Seemed OK

Polish:
3M Swirl Mark Remover or UPP
>UPP is a sealant, not a polish. I happen to use Meguiar`s SMR, but 3M makes good products.
>Gotta put in a plug for AIO as a cleaner/polish to use as a base for about anything you want to put over it.

Glaze:
3M Imperial Hand Glaze or Meguiar’s Show Car Glaze or some Zaino glaze
>Used IHG and #7, don`t use them anymore. Not worth the effort for me.
>The Zaino is part of a system. I don`t think I would use it without using the complete system.

Wax:
P21S Paste Car Wax (although I’ve heard that S100 is the same thing but cheaper)
>S100 seems to do a great job for me.

Tire Dressing:
303 Aerospace Protectant
>Pricey, but I use it.

Wheel Cleaner:
Eagle One A2Z Wheel Cleaner or 303 Aerospace Cleaner
>My wheels get washed with car shampoo, no wheel cleaners.

Trim:
Black Again Exterior Trim Restorer
>Depends on the material. Soft plastic or rubber gets 303. Hard plastic gets AIO

Engine:
Simple Green or 303 Aerospace Cleaner
>Simple Green seemed to dull the underhood paint the one time I used it, even diluted 50-50 with water.
>My engine compartment is cleaned regularly, so car wash shampoo seems to be all it needs.

Leather:
Lexol Leather Cleaner and Conditioner
>Just started using a Woolite and water solution to clean leather.
>Platinum leather conditioner seems to work good and has a leather smell that is not overpowering.

Vinyl:
Lexol Vinylex or 303 Aerospace Protectant
>The Woolite solution for cleaning and 303 for a protectant.

Carpets and Cloth:
Eimann Fabrik or Four Star Carpet and Upholstery Cleaner
>Meguiar`s APC+ for carpet, Blue Coral Dri-Clean for upholstery.

:)

[Luminoso]

Thanks for your response CharlesW!

So do you not use a glaze before waxing (when you don`t go straight from AIO to UPP)?

Oh yeah, and is there anything wrong with cleaning wheels with an acid or base cleaner, or does cleaning with a carwash shampoo give a better shine?

Finally, do you use a water extractor (or wet vac) to vacuum your carpets?

[CharlesW]

Originally posted by Luminoso
(1) Thanks for your response CharlesW!

(2) So do you not use a glaze before waxing (when you don`t go straight from AIO to UPP)?

(3) Oh yeah, and is there anything wrong with cleaning wheels with an acid or base cleaner, or does cleaning with a carwash shampoo give a better shine?

(4) Finally, do you use a water extractor (or wet vac) to vacuum your carpets?

(1) You are quite welcome!

(2) In years past I have tried IHG and #7 and felt they were more effort than they were worth

(3) The idea of acid anything around my car makes me very nervous. I have heard a lot of horror stories about using the wrong products or using the products incorrectly. I keep my wheels waxed and carwash shampoo seems to clean them fine. I don`t think I can hurt anything with that system.

(4) No.

Keep in mind these are my opinions and may or may not be right for you. Also, while my cars quite often get very dirty, I try real hard to not let the bad stuff stick around too long. Carpet and upholstery stains are fairly easy to remove if you can get after them right away. Same with bird crap or tree sap. If it gets baked by the sun for a week or two, it can cause permanent damage. Get it in the first day or two and it`s not too bad.

[WarrenA]

When I detail a vehicle I always use the clay bar and do the windows especially the outside make the bugs and the rain fall off and will help make wiper scratches less noticeable. I like to buy car products in the concentrated form and dilute them myself. In my shop I don`t wash the engine compartment to many computer controls to mess up. All my customers are private indivuals and have no dealership accounts.

[NHBFAN]

You`re proposal will undoubltly produce a great shine, but keep in mind, no wax will provide the protection of a sealant.

Instead of the glaze (meg`s 7 or IHG) step consider using a sealant, e.g. UPP, AIO, or EX, then apply S100.

[WarrenA]

I know that I tell my customers that I have found a superior product but it will cost a little more to detail the car most if not all will say "let`s do it". Material cost have to be watched but most of a detailers bill is labor. Which sealer are you useing all I have ever put on paint is a polimer finish (wax?) What is the UPP AIO I am not familiar with these products.

[Cujo31]

This is just what I have/use :)

Shampoo:
Coats Products: Cherry Suds or Poorboy`s Spray & Wipe
--+ No need to Dawn since you will be polishing

Clay:
Poorboy`s or Clay Magic
--+ Had a bad experiance with Pinnacle so I wont use them again

Polish:
--+ Poorboy`s and Coats Products Mild and Heavy Buff
--+ Sealant I use Coats Ultra Seal or Klasse

Glaze:
--+ #7 can be a pain to use but it turns out very nice. Normally I go from Polish to a high end wax/sealer with excellent results.

Wax:
--+ Poorboy`s EX, Coat`s Products Cherry Wet Wax, Satin Cream from ProWax among a few others

Tire Dressing:
--+ Poorboys Bold & Brite or Natural Look.
--+ Went away from Eagle1 because of splatter :(

Wheel Cleaner:
--+ Soap and water. If that doesnt do it I use a non acidic spray and lightly spray, then go back over it with soap and water.
--+ Spray I do use tho is Wheel Wizard

Trim:
--+ Black Again, Poorboys products, and Coats Products.

Engine:
--+ All Eimann Fabrik

Leather:
--+ Poorboy`s Natural Look and Lexol. Sometimes 303 though.

Vinyl:
--+Same as above

Carpets and Cloth:
--+Eimann Fabrik

Ok I think I got it all. Let me know if I didnt :)

[WarrenA]

I use a lot of Wizards products because I can get a good sized order together and get a better discount. I buy very little locally just some PX glass cleaner. I figured that if I went with their system and had a problem they would have to stand behind their products. I really like the wizards clay bars they work well and are nice and flexable

[JeffBruce]

What a great thread..I mark`d this one..may print it
thks
everyone
jeff