How Can I Break Up My Spring Detail (into two days)?

[peacemaker]

Hi all,



I have been lurking around this forum for a little bit, reading/absorbing as much as I can. I am planning out my Spring detail as soon as I can.



My current problem is that I live in an apartment, so I have to schedule my detail at my friends garage. He has a nice space, but its an all day event for a detail, and I don`t want to rush (as I did last time). I would like to space it out into two days, the first one will be done in a driveway the day before, second in his garage:



Day 1 (driveway):

Spot treat bugs/tar/tires/wheels

Pressure rinse

Wash (don`t dry)

Clean rubber trim w/ APC

Hit rubber trim w/ Adam`s In & Out

Clay (paint, glass, plastics)

Rinse

Iron X (include wheels)

Wash/dry

Test panel



Day 2 (garage):

Wash/Dry

Tape seams; test rubber trim to see if it will stain after Adam`s spray

Setup lighting (white car) & test panel

Compound

Polish

Seal



Another day:

Vacuum/blow out interior

Light APC + brush interior surfaces

Wipe interior with interior cleaner/protectant (PB Natural Look)

Scrub leather with cleaner (not sure if I`m going to use APC and/or Leather cleaner/conditioner (PB Leather Stuff))



What do you guys think?

[Dan]

Seems fine, I might be temped to get the test panel in on day one though. Sleep on it, then attack the next day.

[Wasatch]

What about tires/wheels/interior/glass/headlamps.

[peacemaker]

Seems fine, I might be temped to get the test panel in on day one though. Sleep on it, then attack the next day.

That`s not a bad idea!

What about tires/wheels/interior/glass/headlamps.

Hm, I should add that to my list, but I am planning on including it in my original car wash (tires/wheels). Interior can be done on a different day. I may do it this weekend if I have time. I think I will clay the glass & headlamps. Otherwise, I have no plans to polish the headlights, they`re clear and I don`t have a UV sealant.



Updated the list!

[Accumulator]

Peacemaker- I`d "ABC" it instead of pretreating/APCing/claying/IronXing.



I`d just go ahead and tape the trim along with the gaps (prior to the correction).



I wouldn`t "slime" the exterior trim/etc. with the In/Out but rather use a trim-friendly AIO/LSP approach.



I`d also AIO/LSP the head/tail/side/etc. lights and the wheels (assuming they don`t need serious correction).



What color is the vehicle? I`m all about not spending more time/effort than necessary while still achieving satisfactory results.



What about the wells/undercarriage/etc.? While it might seem like a waste of time, those areas are where rustouts begin. IF this thing`s been driven in the winter I`d be all about *that*...moreso than correction and other such Autopian concerns.

[peacemaker]

Peacemaker- I`d "ABC" it instead of pretreating/APCing/claying/IronXing.



I`d just go ahead and tape the trim along with the gaps (prior to the correction).



I wouldn`t "slime" the exterior trim/etc. with the In/Out but rather use a trim-friendly AIO/LSP approach.



I`d also AIO/LSP the head/tail/side/etc. lights and the wheels (assuming they don`t need serious correction).



What color is the vehicle? I`m all about not spending more time/effort than necessary while still achieving satisfactory results.



What about the wells/undercarriage/etc.? While it might seem like a waste of time, those areas are where rustouts begin. IF this thing`s been driven in the winter I`d be all about *that*...moreso than correction and other such Autopian concerns.

Hm... interesting approach. I like the idea of spending LESS time than necessary. The car is candy white, and the wheels are gloss white.



Headlights don`t look bad; although I haven`t really looked under good lighting. Tails are swirled, front (plastic) bumper is terribly swirled. The whole car needs to be corrected.



At this point in time, I don`t have a trim friendly AIO/LSP. For sealants/lsp, I have: Griots Paint Sealant, Poorboys Polish & Seal, Collinite 845, 1Z Spray Wax, and P21S Concourse Wax.



As for the undercarriage, I didn`t really consider it really. I`m not sure how I can clean it effectively without purchasing a special tool. It did see winter weather. Thankfully, we didn`t get a lot of snow this past season (NJ). Wheel wells I scrubbed recently, but I`ll double check. Maybe I`ll put the car on jackstands, remove wheels, and spray the suspension components w/ APC and then rinse.



The car:

[Accumulator]

Peacemaker- Ah, white car (sorry if you`d posted about it before...didn`t remember). I`d absolutely ABC that. Let the "A" and the "B" do the decontamination work as opposed to clay/etc. And while I don`t want to knock IronX, I`d rather use the "B". Yeah, you`ll have product left over, but it lasts forever so you can use it again later.



And given all the black trim, I`d get something trim-friendly like Klasse AIO and finish up with the 845 (which is good on black trim).



Check with somebody who knows and see if the 3D Polish is trim-friendly, might make things a lot easier if it is.



The same products you use on the paint oughta be OK on the scratched tails.



At the risk of sounding less-than-Autopian, I wouldn`t go nuts getting the car 100% marring-free. Hey, it`s a white car that gets used in the real world. Do it to *your* satisfaction...no more, no less.



*DO* clean up the wells and undercarriage. Even if you don`t pull the wheels to "do it right" you`ll still be way ahead. Yeah, jack/stands oughta suffice. Do a bit of agitation, don`t just rely on the APC to do the work without the mechanical action. *REALLY*.... I`d be all about that aspect of the cleanup. Even if you have to, uhm....half-@$$ it, I`ll sleep better knowing you did something



Note that one of my daily drivers is a white car...and though it`s *far* from Autopian (hey, I consider it a cosmetic POS!) it gets all sorts of compliments. *CLEAN* white paint, in stark contrast to the *clean* black trim, will go a long, long way towards making it a real standout. So put your time/effort into the right things.

[peacemaker]

While I agree with your approach on do only what`s necessary, I also have to consider the products I have already purchased and that are at my disposal. Enter Iron-X, claybar (or autoscrub; prefer clay), APC on trim, etc.. I would clean and seal the trim because I want to protect it. As far as the marring, I`m going to see how far I get this time around. I have a bit more knowledge than I did the first go around (learning from mistakes).



Honestly, I may stop after my first step as FG400 finished down beautifully. I`m really not sure how much more gloss was brought out by the final polish last time.

[Accumulator]

peacemaker- OK, makes sense to use the stuff you already have. Just keep my suggestions in the back of your mind and consider which approach might be the best route for when you`re restocking your supplies in the future.



Glad to hear the polishing is going well! Don`t do more than it takes to satisfy *you*.

[peacemaker]

Oh, I haven`t actually started yet... but on my last go around, FG400 really did look great on its own.



Why should I use ABC over clay and iron x? is it simply faster/easier (and hopefully just as effective)?



Does Klasse AIO just polish or does it actually seal/protect? Just wondering what the difference would be from me using APC over AIO.



Thanks!!

[Accumulator]

..Why should I use ABC over clay and iron x? is it simply faster/easier (and hopefully just as effective)?

IMO ABC is the best decontamination system, period. And chemical decon. is *MUCH* better than claying (no hater here, I like/use/recommend clay, but not for this sort of work).



With clay, any contamination that is/was below the surface of the paint will still be there, and if you get some nasty rust-blooms on white they can be forever. And with ABC there`s less chance of marring than with clay.



I`ll reserve comment on IronX except to say that ABC is the stuff that the manufacturers have tested/use/recommend. The only IronX stuff I`ve tried is their "wash gel" (I think that`s the name) and while the color-change indicator was kinda cool, it didn`t work very effectively for me. ABC *does* work for me.

Does Klasse AIO just polish or does it actually seal/protect? Just wondering what the difference would be from me using APC over AIO.

34w2222\

34APC and KAIO just work differently. There`s better....uhm, "scrubbing" (for lack of a better description) 34with the KAIO as it`s a thicker product and it`s wiped away when dry/nearly dry which is different from being primarily "rinsed away" as with the APC. Eh, I`m finding it hard to verbalize :nixweiss



KAIO leaves minimal protection behind, IME it`s only about enough to get you to the next wash (you can pply the 845 then). I dunno...I just think it better preps the surface for