New Car Detail `18 Mustang

**showbbq** · 02-03-2018, 01:26 PM

Here`s a quick rundown of how I detailed and applied an LSP to my new daily driver, a 2018 Mustang GT. As an enthusiast and not a pro, I learned a few things from the entire process. To give some background, I purchased the car in 2017 and slapped on some Ccquartz UK + Reload. This combo worked great. Unfortunately when I applied CQUK, the lighting was poor and I ended up with a handful of pesky high spots. So my goal this time around was to polish the paint to eliminate as many defects as possible before trying out a new LSP (I went with Kamikaze ISM + Overcoat...probably because of the great marketing from Esoteric). I only have final result photos due to time constraints.

Decon. The wheels were fairly clean so they were given a basic wash with carguys wheel cleaner (great stuff by the way).

Rinse with a power washer -> Foam cannon

So I`ve found this step to be optional because of its limited effectiveness but hey if there`s time, foaming up a car is pretty fun. This step would probably make more sense if you were using a soap designed to break down wax, etc.

After foaming -> Rinse -> Two bucket wash -> Rinse -> Iron X

At this point, I used my wash mitt to make sure the Iron X covered the entire vehicle. Unfortunately I didn`t see my car bleed as advertised but the paint is dark blue. FYI this stuff smells like it was formulated from rotten eggs and skunk balls. Cherry scent my ***, hah!

After iron decon -> Clay bar -> Rinse -> Dry (leaf blower and WW microfiber towels) -> Polish

Polish

I used a Griots Garage G15 DA with a combo of GG Correcting Cream, GG Finishing Sealant, and orange/white/black foam pads. My plan of attack at this point was to go after the most visible defects first, then do a once over with the finishing sealant. For the deepest clear coat scratches, I only went far enough to blend them instead of removing them completely. Looking back, there are some micro scratches here and there but I`ll live with them for now. I also should`ve been more diligent with taping off the plastic trim prior to polishing. Decent lighting and time are probably the most important parts of this step.

After polish -> Gyeon prep to remove all oils etc -> Coating

Coating

Kamikaze ISM is pretty easy to apply. It goes on the paint easily enough and leaves a rainbow haze which makes it easy to track your progress panel by panel. I`d say ISM is easier to remove than CQUK. If you don`t have indoor lighting, a cloudy day is really the best time. After 30 minutes, I applied Overcoat. Simple spray and wipe. Immediately after coating, the paint shines and looks freshly waxed. Visually it may be slightly better than CQUK. I`ll leave more impressions with how the coating behaves in the rain and how it holds up to dirt and grime.

My next steps for this car are to polish the door jambs, detail the exhaust tips, and address the plastic trim on the outside of the car.

**Mike lambert** · 02-03-2018, 03:06 PM

Nice job, love that color!

**WaxAddict** · 02-04-2018, 11:01 AM

Nice, I like these new `stangs.
so, you used a sealant then a coating? I didn`t know that was a thing.

**SWETM** · 02-04-2018, 01:24 PM

Great work and nice finish!

Is it something you have counted in to use the finishing sealant cream and not the perfecting cream?

**showbbq** · 02-04-2018, 03:05 PM

Oh man so I realized the misstep I made after the fact when I decided to use the sealant. Thanks for giving me the benefit of the doubt though! I’ll perfect the paint in a few months. After I have more practice on other cars.

**Ronkh** · 02-04-2018, 03:32 PM

Looks good!

**SWETM** · 02-04-2018, 04:01 PM

Originally Posted by showbbq

Oh man so I realized the misstep I made after the fact when I decided to use the sealant. Thanks for giving me the benefit of the doubt though! I’ll perfect the paint in a few months. After I have more practice on other cars.

Things happens

I totaly screwed up on a application with Ultima pgp. Think that the the prep work took to long. And the cure didnt happened before the dew came. It where totaly failed after the first wash. Man I scratch my head when the rinse was not haveing any beading or sheeting. Got tired of it and did a gyeon wet coat on it. The strange thing is that it was failed again after a month. Need to do a complete polish to that car and start from scratch.

Do share what happens to your protection if anything happens with it. Who knows what of impact it has. Very interesting to hear about it.

**showbbq** · 02-05-2018, 11:34 AM

Originally Posted by SWETM

Things happens

I totaly screwed up on a application with Ultima pgp. Think that the the prep work took to long. And the cure didnt happened before the dew came. It where totaly failed after the first wash. Man I scratch my head when the rinse was not haveing any beading or sheeting. Got tired of it and did a gyeon wet coat on it. The strange thing is that it was failed again after a month. Need to do a complete polish to that car and start from scratch.

Do share what happens to your protection if anything happens with it. Who knows what of impact it has. Very interesting to hear about it.

Ah that`s strange. Maybe a Sio2 sealant on top of your ceramic would help protect against the water spotting etc in the first week.

Update: I`m very happy with how water behaves on the paint. Maybe it`s the Overcoat but water beads and flies off the paint when driving in the rain, much more so than CQUK. Hope this helps anyone on the fence between the two. Also just a tip for those who need to polish off a previous coating, you can check by seeing how water behaves on the surface after a polish.