imported_Picus
New member
Hola! So, I just recently started detailing via a PC. Hilariously enough (well, not so much) I've managed to do 4 or 5 other cars before I got around to mine and have had awesome results. I don't really have the perfect setup for a wash/clay/polish job since I live in a loft style building with community underground parking. In any event I got to it Tuesday outside but didn't make much progress due to the heat. Big thanks go out to JDookie and toml who helped me in this thread after Tuesdays failure:
http://autopia.org/forum/showthread.php?t=60958
Anyway I got back to it today. 10 hours later here I am. I honestly don't know how you pro detailers do it. It's incredibly time consuming, detail oriented, and laborious work. I don't have any befores handy because as you'll see the light in the garage is terrible. I will have some befores from previous outside adventures soon, though. The paint was heavily swirled and had a lot of random marring from road debris, and a few good scratches. The previous owner put a lot of miles on in one year all on the highway, and it showed. The paint looked almost grey-ish because of all the swirls.
There is also one spots on the rear drivers side fender that had been re-painted, so a lot of overspray came off. OK so here's what I did today.
Wash with Zaino Z7
Clay with Z16 clay
Wash again with Z7, dry
PC with SSR2.5 on LC orange cutting pad x3
PC with SSR2.5 on white LC polishing pad x1
PC with SSR1 on black LC finishing pad x1 (this wasn't really necessary, but hey why not)
I was going to glaze after this, but Zaino doesn't like bonding to a glaze, so I moved right to it.
Z5x2 with ZFX
Z2prox2 with ZFX
Tires got Zaino tire dressing, wheel wells and plasting trim got 303. Interior got Z10, but was in great shape already. Sorry, no pics of the interior atm, it's black leather and I'm sure you've all seen that a million times.
Engine bay was done with 3:1 soylent green...er, simple green mist, wait 10 minutes then wipe down. It wasn't that dirty.
Sorry for the poor light. I'll add some befores and some better lit afters as soon as I can. I do admit to adjusting the brightness/contrast of the pictures. The light was so bad I took like 50 shots and came away with almost no good ones without post processing them a bit. I am extremely happy with the results. There is literally no swirling left at all. Some of the deeper scratches still remain but they are so few and far between the car looks brand new.
Mmmm, wet. Can't wait to put some Natty's on it.
A 2003 BMW 330xi looks on in the background. My car and it are eachothers nemesis'
Hi! This angle was like one of those circus mirrors. I look all stumpy. I love it!
I think as soon as I get some more Optimum polish I am going to give the car a pass with it then some Clearkote RMG, then seal it with PB's EX-P, followed by Natty's blue and some CMW 24 hours later. Not that I dislike Zaino, I love it's durabilty, but I like the look of real wax on black cars.
http://autopia.org/forum/showthread.php?t=60958
Anyway I got back to it today. 10 hours later here I am. I honestly don't know how you pro detailers do it. It's incredibly time consuming, detail oriented, and laborious work. I don't have any befores handy because as you'll see the light in the garage is terrible. I will have some befores from previous outside adventures soon, though. The paint was heavily swirled and had a lot of random marring from road debris, and a few good scratches. The previous owner put a lot of miles on in one year all on the highway, and it showed. The paint looked almost grey-ish because of all the swirls.
There is also one spots on the rear drivers side fender that had been re-painted, so a lot of overspray came off. OK so here's what I did today.Wash with Zaino Z7
Clay with Z16 clay
Wash again with Z7, dry
PC with SSR2.5 on LC orange cutting pad x3
PC with SSR2.5 on white LC polishing pad x1
PC with SSR1 on black LC finishing pad x1 (this wasn't really necessary, but hey why not)
I was going to glaze after this, but Zaino doesn't like bonding to a glaze, so I moved right to it.
Z5x2 with ZFX
Z2prox2 with ZFX
Tires got Zaino tire dressing, wheel wells and plasting trim got 303. Interior got Z10, but was in great shape already. Sorry, no pics of the interior atm, it's black leather and I'm sure you've all seen that a million times.
Engine bay was done with 3:1 soylent green...er, simple green mist, wait 10 minutes then wipe down. It wasn't that dirty.
Sorry for the poor light. I'll add some befores and some better lit afters as soon as I can. I do admit to adjusting the brightness/contrast of the pictures. The light was so bad I took like 50 shots and came away with almost no good ones without post processing them a bit. I am extremely happy with the results. There is literally no swirling left at all. Some of the deeper scratches still remain but they are so few and far between the car looks brand new.
Mmmm, wet. Can't wait to put some Natty's on it.
A 2003 BMW 330xi looks on in the background. My car and it are eachothers nemesis'
Hi! This angle was like one of those circus mirrors. I look all stumpy. I love it!
I think as soon as I get some more Optimum polish I am going to give the car a pass with it then some Clearkote RMG, then seal it with PB's EX-P, followed by Natty's blue and some CMW 24 hours later. Not that I dislike Zaino, I love it's durabilty, but I like the look of real wax on black cars.
.
Oh well, Nissan paint, right?
