Sorry for the repeat posts, apparently I named the previous ones poorly and caused an error.
I've been teaching myself how to do more advanced (from where I'd been) car detailing recently and my neighbor let me use his car as a guinea pig for testing my restorative skills. I've never worked on any cars other than mine and my wife's. I've been learning slowly over the past five years, but only discovered products beyond those sold in auto parts stores early last year (as well as DA polishers). This was done this past summer and I've since settled into a more regimented system. This was a bit scatter-shot, but still turned out well.
I did a good wash followed by a clay bar, followed by another wash.
Next was a using a Chemical Guys Hex-Logic yellow heavy cut pad with Meguiar's Ultimate Compound.
Following the compounding step I moved on to the Hex-Logic gray medium polish pad with Blackfire SRC Finishing Polish.
The next step was a Hex-Logic black finishing pad with Blackfire Gloss Enhancing Polish. (I've since come to understand that this was unnecessary having just used the SRC finishing polish)
Once that was done I used CarPro Eraser to remove all of the left over polishing oils and get down to a nice clean finish. (Though I've since come to understand that this might actually have been a step backwards by removing glaze type materials left behind by the polish)
I used a Griot's One-Step-Sealant paint sealant on a Hex-Logic red fine finishing pad as a first layer of protection and to really bring out the shine.
The final layer was NXT Tech Wax 2.0 and a good buffing. (I now have settled in on the Wet ice Over Fire system after using it this fall and seeing how well it's held up to the (admittedly light) Minnesota winter.
I ran out of time to dress the wheels and tires.
In general I've learned more about pad selection since this was done, and have narrowed in on the Blackfire SRC products and a few CCS pads instead of being all over the map. This was a big experiment and I was able to learn a ton. One of the biggest surprises was how soft the Honda paint was compared to my Audi. I didn't expect that the tools which barely touch my paint would work so well on his.
Now I'm getting the itch for warmer weather so I can go and work on my car again
Anyhow, here are the pictures
Before:
After:
Hood prior to starting:
Hood after:
Before:
After:
Before:
After:
I've been teaching myself how to do more advanced (from where I'd been) car detailing recently and my neighbor let me use his car as a guinea pig for testing my restorative skills. I've never worked on any cars other than mine and my wife's. I've been learning slowly over the past five years, but only discovered products beyond those sold in auto parts stores early last year (as well as DA polishers). This was done this past summer and I've since settled into a more regimented system. This was a bit scatter-shot, but still turned out well.
I did a good wash followed by a clay bar, followed by another wash.
Next was a using a Chemical Guys Hex-Logic yellow heavy cut pad with Meguiar's Ultimate Compound.
Following the compounding step I moved on to the Hex-Logic gray medium polish pad with Blackfire SRC Finishing Polish.
The next step was a Hex-Logic black finishing pad with Blackfire Gloss Enhancing Polish. (I've since come to understand that this was unnecessary having just used the SRC finishing polish)
Once that was done I used CarPro Eraser to remove all of the left over polishing oils and get down to a nice clean finish. (Though I've since come to understand that this might actually have been a step backwards by removing glaze type materials left behind by the polish)
I used a Griot's One-Step-Sealant paint sealant on a Hex-Logic red fine finishing pad as a first layer of protection and to really bring out the shine.
The final layer was NXT Tech Wax 2.0 and a good buffing. (I now have settled in on the Wet ice Over Fire system after using it this fall and seeing how well it's held up to the (admittedly light) Minnesota winter.
I ran out of time to dress the wheels and tires.
In general I've learned more about pad selection since this was done, and have narrowed in on the Blackfire SRC products and a few CCS pads instead of being all over the map. This was a big experiment and I was able to learn a ton. One of the biggest surprises was how soft the Honda paint was compared to my Audi. I didn't expect that the tools which barely touch my paint would work so well on his.
Now I'm getting the itch for warmer weather so I can go and work on my car again
Anyhow, here are the pictures
Before:
After:
Hood prior to starting:
Hood after:
Before:
After:
Before:
After:
