My First Detail- Questions

[nighthawkcoupe]

Hi guys, I have been lurking around here for a while, finally decided to join and pick up a bunch of detailing supplies. I got around to my first detail this weekend.



There is a huge improvement- although I am not entirely impressed with my work. I would say I got about 75% correction-not bad for the first time I guess. Maybe one of the experts here can critique my process/supplies.



Process:



Interior-carpets vacuumed and shampooed, surfaces wiped with Megs interior detailer

Wheels-Eagle One A-Z Wheel and Tire Cleaner- Tires treated with Mothers FX Tire Shine

Wash-Megs Gold Class Car Wash

Paint Cleaner- TW Liquid Clay (I actually liked this stuff-although it didn`t seem to remove many contaminants as advertised, it was extremely easy to use and stripped my last LSP right off the car and left the surface ready for clay.)

Clay Bar- Megs Smooth Surface Clay Bar w/ Megs Quick Detailer as lube

Trim, grille, lights taped with painter`s tape

Polish- Megs D151 via white CCS pad- here is where I have some questions. I was only able to get about 75% correction here. I tried starting with an orange pad, then moving to white- and still didn`t see much difference. What I did was spread the D151 at speed 3 on the UDM, then set it to 5-6 with moderate pressure, slowly easing up on the pressure. Maybe I didn`t use enough pressure? Or should have started with a more agressive polish?

Wax- Megs Gold Class paste wax- applied with foam pad by hand and removed with Sonus microfiber bonnets on the UDM.



On to the pics- I didn`t take many.



Clean Interior:

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm161/nighthawkcoupe/IMG_0605.jpg

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm161/nighthawkcoupe/IMG_0603.jpg



After claying 1/2 the hood-I had much more contaminants on the roof/trunk lid than the front bumper/hood. This surprised me-maybe it`s mainly from trees?

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm161/nighthawkcoupe/IMG_0592.jpg

All taped up after claying:

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm161/nighthawkcoupe/IMG_0593.jpg



50/50 of my hood-the right side is polished.

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm161/nighthawkcoupe/IMG_0595.jpg





http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm161/nighthawkcoupe/IMG_0594.jpg



http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm161/nighthawkcoupe/IMG_0597.jpg



http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm161/nighthawkcoupe/IMG_0596.jpg



One more question for the detailing gurus: What is this buildup/corrosion on my wheels? How can I get rid of it?- Claying didn`t help. It began to appear during winter despite the fact that I cleaned my wheels consistently

throughout:

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm161/nighthawkcoupe/IMG_0599.jpg

[elmy3111]

I`m a newbie myself and i did an 08 Honda Odyssey today that had that same stuff on the rims ...wouldn`t budge???? Any input pros?

[bigjizzles]

very good, im posting ym first detail soon also! when i get 10 posts! i love the pictures.

[nighthawkcoupe]

very good, im posting ym first detail soon also! when i get 10 posts! i love the pictures.



Thank you!

[lamby]

looks like embedded brake dust

[nighthawkcoupe]

looks like embedded brake dust



Thanks-I`m going to search for a way to get rid of this stuff.

[Bunky]

Polish- Megs D151 via white CCS pad- here is where I have some questions. I was only able to get about 75% correction here. I tried starting with an orange pad, then moving to white- and still didn`t see much difference.



Swirls always seem to be deeper than they appear.



The orange pad has more cut than the white pad so you should have seen the best results with the orange pad although you may need to come back with the white to clean up in marring, etc from the orange pad.



Things to consider:

1. Are you keeping your pad clean? This can really reduce the effectiveness of the polish?



2. Using a slow arm speed and letting polish breakdown?



You may need to go over a section more than once to get more out.

[nighthawkcoupe]

Thanks for your help! What do you mean by keeping the pad clean? I wasn`t sure how to clean it in the middle of the detail, but I switched pads about halfway through to a fresh white one. I cleaned them afterward with cobra pad cleanser. Is there something I should have been doing to keep them clean throughout?

[jmkiang]

Honda clearcoat is very soft. I just did an Accord (here (http://www.autopia.org/forum/click-brag/119441-jmk-detailing-7g-honda-accord-coupe.html)) and after my first pass with M205 / LC orange, I saw a ton of micro-marring:

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk120/jasonkiang/JMK%20Detailing/richaccord7g/richaccord7gprog1.jpg



After another pass with M205 / LC white, I achieved my desired results:

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk120/jasonkiang/JMK%20Detailing/richaccord7g/richaccord7gprog2.jpg

[nighthawkcoupe]

Thanks for your input- that blue accord came out great! The paint is very soft-mosquito farts can scratch it. I ended with a bit of micromarring even with the white pad a few times if I didn`t do enough passes with no pressure.

[Bunky]

Thanks for your help! What do you mean by keeping the pad clean? I wasn`t sure how to clean it in the middle of the detail, but I switched pads about halfway through to a fresh white one. I cleaned them afterward with cobra pad cleanser. Is there something I should have been doing to keep them clean throughout?



As you polish, your pad builds up with dried polish and what is being removed from the paint. This can keep the pad from contacting the paint as well as a clean pad so you are reducing your pad cut and affecting how polish breaks down.



You should remove the residue on the pad after a few panels. You can use a spur tool to do it or something like a terry cloth rag (Mike Phillips demo`ed this idea). The best approach is to get extra pads so you can switch out as they get clogged.

[nighthawkcoupe]

Cool, thanks- I will look into the terry cloth method. I didn`t clean the pad besides switching for another one halfway through the car..I guess that wasn`t enough.

[Joel_MD]

Thanks-I`m going to search for a way to get rid of this stuff.



Embedded brake dust is basically a mixture of iron dust (from the rotor) and brake pad particles that fuse to the wheel. They are almost impossible to remove without an acidic wheel cleaner. Meguiar`s Wheel Brightener is my favorite.

[nighthawkcoupe]

Thanks for the info. I`ll look into the wheel brightener.

[Freekin Kleen]

Ardex carries a very concentrated wheel acid cleaner. You have to dilute it first...but it works almost instantly.