JustJesus
New member
Nearly two years ago, I embarked on my detailing journey. This is the story (booooorrinnnng) of the first paint correction I did. No free samples here. No giveaways. No hidden hot-dogs, nor ghosts. Just a short story (i`ll try) and a few pics. For those that will read...enjoy!
Four score and seven years ago, I was asked, "what can I do for my country?" Just kidding. For real, let`s get this started.
I started looking into DIY detailing/paint correction after I grew tired of seeing a few scratches on my daily driver (courtesy of a "designated driver" provided by my work, after going out for dinner and drinks), I also had two bird droppings that etched into the clear, Eventually, this would kill my clear coat. So I looked into detailing, waxes, etc, and got myself a DA Power System from Meguiar`s. Did so BEFORE I discovered Autopia. I figured it`s a cost efficient solution, as I owned a drill, and the kit had pads and polishes (Ultimate Line). Well yeah. Shortly thereafter I picked up the Porter Cable, M105/M205, and some pads to fit a 5" backing plate.
OK.. that was going too far back and on a slight tangent.
My coworker found out what I was doing and asked me to detail his car. He wanted simple wash, clay, and wax, That`s another (longish) story, and here was the result of that...
Well, a former roommate of mine saw me working on this, thought I was crazy for spending so much time on it. But after seeing the results, "Can you do that to mine?" - Suuuuure.
To give you an idea as to the person I was dealing with, here`s a pic of the drying towels she *used* to use. I eventually taught her better techniques,and gifted her some products. She absolutely fell in love with Meg`s Water Magnet. She bought two more of those.
After giving the Camry a good wash, I knew I would need to do more than clay and wax. I spoke to her in depth. With her broken English, I had to explain certain things, and in the end, she just understood "polish" and she referred to this type of work as just polishing. That`s cool. As long as we know what`s expected, and we agreed to a new price.
Here`s the Camry after the wash. Clean, but not quite "shiny" - and that`s what she wanted, right? Pay attention to the hood. Magic is around the corner.
Here is the set-up after I clay`d some panels, and just before polishing. I was doing this job panels at a time, over the course of I forget how many weekends. I was new to this, taking my time, and learning on the fly. Forgive my turtle pace! (Granted, I`m still slow, but not as slow as I once was).
A 50/50 shot of the trunk lid. Yes, you are seeing this right. There was absolutely no shine going on!
The trunk lid completed.
And because I was working around both our schedules, in a slightly "mobile" capacity, There were a couple of times I went into the night. And one time, the owner got curious as to what clay was. I explained it to her. She was still puzzled, yet still curious. I had her feel a panel before the clay. Then I clayed. Then I had her feel it again. She was amazed. It made her even more curious. She asked if she could try it!!!! Why not, right?
She kind of liked it, and ended up doing the front fender and a door! I thought that was funny and cool at the same time.
Here`s the finished hood
For the process above, the following was used/done:
Wash (forget what soap)
Clay`d
Tools:
Trunk
- DA Power System
- DeWalt 20v Max drill
- Ultimate Compound, Polish, M26 wax
- Meg`s pads for the DAPS
Rest of car
- PC 7424xp w/5" plate
- M105, M205
- HexLogic Orange, White
- Meg`s foam applicator for M26 paste wax
.......................................................................
Fast forward to a couple of months ago.
The owner of the Camry told me her car was recalled, and it sat with the dealer for several months, They gave it back to her "full of yellow dots" and dirty as heck. I went to inspect the car, and sure enough, there was a ton of little iron deposits ALL OVER. The hood and trunk were covered in those little yellow dots, as she called them.
Crazy me, I actually offered to remove them for free with a wash. I was all confident, equipped with my fancy chemical decon bottle, so I thought it would be easy. Boy was I wrong! And luckily, she wanted a light "polish" and wax again. What I understood, and made clear with her, was that she would be getting a light "cleaner" job, in the form of an AIO. She understood, and just cared for "making it shiny" again. We agreed on the price (lower than the first time, of course) and I got my mobile unit packed and ready.
MAN this sucker had some serious iron deposits!!! It was nuts!
Can we call this "Detailing Art?"
Yes, this thing was seriously contaminated. Big time. Ohhh the smell. (add to my cart, respirator mask)
I was beginning to think I was cursed. Right then, I thought I heard laughter. A deep, low, rumbling laughter. It came from nowhere...yet, everywhere. So I looked up and saw this (no kidding, true story)....
Isn`t that the "eye" or whatever, from Lord of the Rings? Sheesh. That looked like a bad sign.
Anyway... Car was washed again...
I thought I could proceed to the AIO. BZZZZZ. nope.
Another round of 3d BDX...shall we?
Seriously. Which one of you guys set me up with this job!?!?! This was insane. I figured I`ll go through the car again with the BDX. I also remembered Accumulator saying something about using clay while the car is wet with iron remover (for certain things, or something. If I`m wrong, I apologize!). So I went for it. Brought out my Poorboy`s World Clay and Clay Lube.
This helped. And Accumulator was very much right (I never had doubts!) this process will KILL the clay. The decon was getting done, moving quicker now, but it was killing the clay. In the end, I killed the entire clay bar that was broken down into three pieces. Almost an ENTIRE bottle of the Clay Lube (this almost made me cry) and almost an ENTIRE bottle of the BDX. This decon job was nuts, man.
Oh boy. You guys still with me? Or did you all just skip reading and went to looking through the pics? hehe. Hmm. I`m actually curious now. How many of you would be reading all my nonsense? Send me a PM if you read this. Do this in secret. shhh. Send me a PM. I might have a little drawing or something and send something your way if you win. haha...
Here is what the car looked like after the final decon and another wash.
Not too bad. But could be better and I`m paid for an AIO job. The AIO did improve it some. I liked it.
And the final results. I`m tired of typing. And my break time is over. Yay. You guys don`t have to read anymore!!! wooo hooooo
Products and Tools:
- PC 7424 (6" plate, with autoscrub on some sections)
- Meg`s MT300 w/5" plate
- GG3
- Flex 3401
- Black foam pad
- Poorboy`s Polish w/Sealant
- White foam
- Poorboy`s Pro Polish
- Poorboy`s EXP sealant
- HD Speed
- Lake Country hydroshed (tangerine)
- Poorboy`s clay and clay lube
I`m going into memory lapse / writer`s block now. Must...drink....coffeeeeeeeee
Thank you all for reading. Hope you enjoyed the read and/or the pics.
Four score and seven years ago, I was asked, "what can I do for my country?" Just kidding. For real, let`s get this started.
I started looking into DIY detailing/paint correction after I grew tired of seeing a few scratches on my daily driver (courtesy of a "designated driver" provided by my work, after going out for dinner and drinks), I also had two bird droppings that etched into the clear, Eventually, this would kill my clear coat. So I looked into detailing, waxes, etc, and got myself a DA Power System from Meguiar`s. Did so BEFORE I discovered Autopia. I figured it`s a cost efficient solution, as I owned a drill, and the kit had pads and polishes (Ultimate Line). Well yeah. Shortly thereafter I picked up the Porter Cable, M105/M205, and some pads to fit a 5" backing plate.
OK.. that was going too far back and on a slight tangent.
My coworker found out what I was doing and asked me to detail his car. He wanted simple wash, clay, and wax, That`s another (longish) story, and here was the result of that...
Well, a former roommate of mine saw me working on this, thought I was crazy for spending so much time on it. But after seeing the results, "Can you do that to mine?" - Suuuuure.
To give you an idea as to the person I was dealing with, here`s a pic of the drying towels she *used* to use. I eventually taught her better techniques,and gifted her some products. She absolutely fell in love with Meg`s Water Magnet. She bought two more of those.
After giving the Camry a good wash, I knew I would need to do more than clay and wax. I spoke to her in depth. With her broken English, I had to explain certain things, and in the end, she just understood "polish" and she referred to this type of work as just polishing. That`s cool. As long as we know what`s expected, and we agreed to a new price.
Here`s the Camry after the wash. Clean, but not quite "shiny" - and that`s what she wanted, right? Pay attention to the hood. Magic is around the corner.
Here is the set-up after I clay`d some panels, and just before polishing. I was doing this job panels at a time, over the course of I forget how many weekends. I was new to this, taking my time, and learning on the fly. Forgive my turtle pace! (Granted, I`m still slow, but not as slow as I once was).
A 50/50 shot of the trunk lid. Yes, you are seeing this right. There was absolutely no shine going on!
The trunk lid completed.
And because I was working around both our schedules, in a slightly "mobile" capacity, There were a couple of times I went into the night. And one time, the owner got curious as to what clay was. I explained it to her. She was still puzzled, yet still curious. I had her feel a panel before the clay. Then I clayed. Then I had her feel it again. She was amazed. It made her even more curious. She asked if she could try it!!!! Why not, right?
She kind of liked it, and ended up doing the front fender and a door! I thought that was funny and cool at the same time.
Here`s the finished hood
For the process above, the following was used/done:
Wash (forget what soap)
Clay`d
Tools:
Trunk
- DA Power System
- DeWalt 20v Max drill
- Ultimate Compound, Polish, M26 wax
- Meg`s pads for the DAPS
Rest of car
- PC 7424xp w/5" plate
- M105, M205
- HexLogic Orange, White
- Meg`s foam applicator for M26 paste wax
.......................................................................
Fast forward to a couple of months ago.
The owner of the Camry told me her car was recalled, and it sat with the dealer for several months, They gave it back to her "full of yellow dots" and dirty as heck. I went to inspect the car, and sure enough, there was a ton of little iron deposits ALL OVER. The hood and trunk were covered in those little yellow dots, as she called them.
Crazy me, I actually offered to remove them for free with a wash. I was all confident, equipped with my fancy chemical decon bottle, so I thought it would be easy. Boy was I wrong! And luckily, she wanted a light "polish" and wax again. What I understood, and made clear with her, was that she would be getting a light "cleaner" job, in the form of an AIO. She understood, and just cared for "making it shiny" again. We agreed on the price (lower than the first time, of course) and I got my mobile unit packed and ready.
MAN this sucker had some serious iron deposits!!! It was nuts!
Can we call this "Detailing Art?"
Yes, this thing was seriously contaminated. Big time. Ohhh the smell. (add to my cart, respirator mask)
I was beginning to think I was cursed. Right then, I thought I heard laughter. A deep, low, rumbling laughter. It came from nowhere...yet, everywhere. So I looked up and saw this (no kidding, true story)....
Isn`t that the "eye" or whatever, from Lord of the Rings? Sheesh. That looked like a bad sign.
Anyway... Car was washed again...
I thought I could proceed to the AIO. BZZZZZ. nope.
Another round of 3d BDX...shall we?
Seriously. Which one of you guys set me up with this job!?!?! This was insane. I figured I`ll go through the car again with the BDX. I also remembered Accumulator saying something about using clay while the car is wet with iron remover (for certain things, or something. If I`m wrong, I apologize!). So I went for it. Brought out my Poorboy`s World Clay and Clay Lube.
This helped. And Accumulator was very much right (I never had doubts!) this process will KILL the clay. The decon was getting done, moving quicker now, but it was killing the clay. In the end, I killed the entire clay bar that was broken down into three pieces. Almost an ENTIRE bottle of the Clay Lube (this almost made me cry) and almost an ENTIRE bottle of the BDX. This decon job was nuts, man.
Oh boy. You guys still with me? Or did you all just skip reading and went to looking through the pics? hehe. Hmm. I`m actually curious now. How many of you would be reading all my nonsense? Send me a PM if you read this. Do this in secret. shhh. Send me a PM. I might have a little drawing or something and send something your way if you win. haha...
Here is what the car looked like after the final decon and another wash.
Not too bad. But could be better and I`m paid for an AIO job. The AIO did improve it some. I liked it.
And the final results. I`m tired of typing. And my break time is over. Yay. You guys don`t have to read anymore!!! wooo hooooo
Products and Tools:
- PC 7424 (6" plate, with autoscrub on some sections)
- Meg`s MT300 w/5" plate
- GG3
- Flex 3401
- Black foam pad
- Poorboy`s Polish w/Sealant
- White foam
- Poorboy`s Pro Polish
- Poorboy`s EXP sealant
- HD Speed
- Lake Country hydroshed (tangerine)
- Poorboy`s clay and clay lube
I`m going into memory lapse / writer`s block now. Must...drink....coffeeeeeeeee
Thank you all for reading. Hope you enjoyed the read and/or the pics.
