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Old 09-05-2014, 11:21 AM   #26
Astronautalis
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Pay a professional to do it. Is my motto in life.
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Old 09-05-2014, 11:23 AM   #27
MidnightSti05
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Quote:
Originally Posted by -=C=- View Post
gloss black metallic...like your...
Meguiars has some really nice write-ups about the different approaches to black vs. white paint, whether it is clear coat cleaning or it is filling. With black, you really should go with a nice carnauba wax after a nice filler. Polishing is a good idea to level out the clear coat, but to get that reflection you'd need to pour in the paste.

There is a 'back to black' and 'jet black' line, both of which I think are really nice. They have a tone of darkness to them that, when applied right works magic. My suggestion is, play around with some easy off the shelf stuff like scratch X (great for removing swirls and light scratches) and then move on to the full fledged abrasive polishing compounds.

I found more of then then not, application is the most important skill when it comes to detailing...Good Luck!
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Old 09-05-2014, 11:24 AM   #28
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Also take a look at his channel


and Chemical guys. Good videos.
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Old 09-05-2014, 11:29 AM   #29
.brian.
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5) Take your car there and pay them $150 to detail your car. It's cheaper in the
What exactly do you get done for $150? What products are used?
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Old 09-05-2014, 11:40 AM   #30
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C go do what 99% of the posts here suggested. Have it done by somebody else and be done.

Like Badler, I have the same thing only that mine are in a shoe box. if you want send me $50 via paypal and $50 for FAQURUG Font charity I will ship the shoe box with the stuff for free.
I've had my old car detailed twice.

The first time for $50 (exterior only) and they drove it through an auto wash there and then hand detailed it (clean/polish/wax with a buffer). It looked good overall but nothing that made me say it was totally worth $50. Took about 1 hour.

Second time, I paid $100 for an interior and exterior. Interior looked like crap IMO. They made everything too glossy and a lot of cracks/crevices still had dirt/debris. Exterior wasn't impressive to me either.

Both times the car looked clean on the exterior, but not OMGhi2U. I'm not about to pay $150 to have it done unless I'm looking to sell the car.

And I actually enjoy cleaning the cars I've owned. Crank on the stereo, enjoy the outside air, and spend some time not thinking about much of anything.
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Old 09-05-2014, 11:43 AM   #31
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WORD CASTLE TIME

I usually do a big detail on my DD Mazda 3 in the spring, right before the inchworms start crapping on everything. It's pearl white, and it gets dirty fast. I have a stockpile of detailing stuff from my days of being able to get discounts from my parts slinging days, so I have stuff in my arsenal that's mostly available from the auto parts/big box stores. That said, stuff from Autogeek and similar sites is great.

What I do:

-Wash with the 2-bucket method. I like Meguiar's Deep Crystal car wash. It's usually under $5.

-Dry the car with a chamois, towel, etc. I recommend The Absorber. I've had mine for about 10 years now and it still works great. Also, they work well for drying dogs after you give them a bath. But anyway...

-Clay bar and/or rubbing compound. This past winter was really brutal on my paint, and the car had all these little flecks of rust embedded in the paint. My clay bar was not doing the job, so I busted out some 3M liquid rubbing compound and my Harbor Freight random orbit polisher and a good pad, and they came right out. I highly recommend that setup, as it's pretty cheap and works great.

-I did all light lenses with Meguiar's Plast-X. If they are really nasty, there are other methods (like using toothpaste) but mine were not too bad. I used the machine and polishing pad here too.

-Sealer/Glaze came next. I applied by hand. I think I used Meguiar's Swirl-X this time around, but I really like the Mother's Sealer/Glaze too.

-Zymol liquid wax was next. I applied by hand and buffed with the machine. Came out looking great.

-After all of the buffing/polishing/waxing is done, I always do the outside windows and trim with Sprayaway Glass Cleaner to remove excess wax. The stuff is usually around $3/can at the big box stores. It's the best glass cleaner I've used yet.

-If you have painted wheels, and they are off the car (I usually do this part when I witch off my winter wheels), clean them well with the car wash suds and then use spray wax on them. It helps with keeping the brake dust from getting baked on there.
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Old 09-05-2014, 11:48 AM   #32
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How long does that take you? Just for ****s and giggles I'm going to guess 5+ hours and a bad back.
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Old 09-05-2014, 11:58 AM   #33
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Clean it, use McGuier's products. Rubbing Compound for the swirls, polishing compound for the shine, Pick a wax you like. If you have metal, use the metal polish. If it needs more attention, use the mwdium cut first.

Use a wheel cleaner and use a wheel brush, scrub the tires with a stiff bristled brush and use a tire shine.

If your lamp lenses look pretty good, use the PlastX, I have used the restoration kit on lenses that look "foggy" on the outside with good results.

They make a good polisher(Dual Action)

There is are forums on their site as well. http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/forum.php

Last edited by chapstien; 09-05-2014 at 04:47 PM.
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Old 09-05-2014, 12:01 PM   #34
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I like you, C, so here is what Imma show you.

I took these pics right after it was professionally detailed in August of 2009:












And I just took these pics in July of this year when me and my wife did a charity run to raise money for wounded veterans. The event raised over $100,000!





C4s look so dinky when next to their older siblings.
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Old 09-05-2014, 12:03 PM   #35
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Quote:
Originally Posted by -=C=- View Post
I've had my old car detailed twice.

The first time for $50 (exterior only) and they drove it through an auto wash there and then hand detailed it (clean/polish/wax with a buffer). It looked good overall but nothing that made me say it was totally worth $50. Took about 1 hour.

Second time, I paid $100 for an interior and exterior. Interior looked like crap IMO. They made everything too glossy and a lot of cracks/crevices still had dirt/debris. Exterior wasn't impressive to me either.

Both times the car looked clean on the exterior, but not OMGhi2U. I'm not about to pay $150 to have it done unless I'm looking to sell the car.

And I actually enjoy cleaning the cars I've owned. Crank on the stereo, enjoy the outside air, and spend some time not thinking about much of anything.
I enjoy cleaning my cars too. You know, like 1-2 hours. I don't think you really have any idea what is involved in a full real professional detail. You are easily looking at 4+ hours of work. **** all that.
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Old 09-05-2014, 12:11 PM   #36
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Badler View Post
How long does that take you? Just for ****s and giggles I'm going to guess 5+ hours and a bad back.
Yeah, that's about right. And my hands hurt for a while after too.

And that's not even including the interior!

But hey, in the end, it's done right, and it keeps it from rusting in half. It is a Mazda after all. It's a 2012 and the door hinges are already starting to rust.
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Old 09-05-2014, 12:12 PM   #37
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aod View Post
I enjoy cleaning my cars too. You know, like 1-2 hours. I don't think you really have any idea what is involved in a full real professional detail. You are easily looking at 4+ hours of work. **** all that.
Yeah I get that. I'm OK with 4+ hours twice a year.

Your car looks great, no argument here. I just want to get 90% of that for cheap.

Think built-in TV speakers vs. Onkyo home stereo system vs. high end components. I'm wanting the Onkyo solution...
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Old 09-05-2014, 12:15 PM   #38
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Suit yourself. I can only find 4-5 hours of time during the weekend and those are for grilling and beer drinking. Nope.
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Old 09-05-2014, 12:21 PM   #39
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Two words:

Chemical Guys.

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Old 09-05-2014, 12:23 PM   #40
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To get orange peel out of paint, you'll need to wet sand. This will take a long time and can ruin your paint if you sand too deep.

After wet sanding out all the orange peel, get rid of the sanding scratches with a cutting compound and aggressive compound pad on your orbital buffer of choice.

After you're done compounding, your paint will still look like crap, so you'll need to polish out those compound scratches using polishing compound on a polishing pad on your orbital buffer.

Once you're done with that step, your paint should look pretty damn good, but it won't last unless you seal the paint. Wait! You need to wash the car of all the previous compounds. Try not to scratch your car. Try really hard.

Seal the paint with whatever paint sealant you want to use. If you're going to do this twice a year, maybe look into Sonax Polymer Netshield.

After you've sealed the paint, put some wax on that thing to give a nice deep gloss.

All in, this should take you about 18 weeks of labor and $5000 in new paint.
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Old 09-05-2014, 12:25 PM   #41
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Old 09-05-2014, 12:27 PM   #42
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aod View Post
Suit yourself. I can only find 4-5 hours of time during the weekend and those are for grilling and beer drinking. Nope.


There's something about engines that calms me down...you know?




It's a sort of therapy for me. I like early Saturday mornings (around 6am) alone with just the car. No kids, no wife. I don't woodwork or have some other "DIY" hobby, so wrenching on the car or cleaning it is my Saturday morning hobby.
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Old 09-05-2014, 12:28 PM   #43
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My Saturday morning hobby is sleeping off a hangover from Friday night.
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Old 09-05-2014, 12:30 PM   #44
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aod View Post
Suit yourself. I can only find 4-5 hours of time during the weekend and those are for grilling and beer drinking. Nope.
Drink beer and clean car.

Spray car down, have a sip
Wash roof, have a sip
Wash 1/2 of drivers side, have a sip
...
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Old 09-05-2014, 12:42 PM   #45
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If you only have basic carwash stuff, you're likely going to pretty much spend what it would cost to have it professionally detailed to acquire what you need to detail it yourself. Compound that with the time you'll also spend actually detailing the car and your opportunity cost just skyrocketed.

Now, unless you plan on making this a regular activity, then the initial investment in supplies and tools is worthwhile.
But if you're just looking for a one time proper detail, and only want to focus on normal car washed in the future, then you're better off dropping it off at a local detailer in the morning and picking it up in the afternoon when it's done.
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Old 09-05-2014, 12:47 PM   #46
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Originally Posted by teamjordan23 View Post
Also take a look at his channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeIi6XTZYaE

and Chemical guys. Good videos.
This.

AmmoNYC's videos and youtube channel are excellent:

http://www.ammonyc.com/videos/
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Old 09-05-2014, 12:48 PM   #47
Hawkeye
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Wash, Clay Bar the whole car, then wax one panel at a time.

And most important........Thin to Win.
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Old 09-05-2014, 12:50 PM   #48
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Tips I have picked up:

3 bucked method. One bucket only for wheels and wheel wells. Those tools never touch paint and vice versa

Foaming gun on a hose works really well.

I last about a year with a car doing it myself before I get tired of it SO MUCH ADD!
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Old 09-05-2014, 01:03 PM   #49
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Quote:
Originally Posted by -=C=- View Post
I've had my old car detailed twice.

The first time for $50 (exterior only) and they drove it through an auto wash there...
If they drove it through the tunnel , that's not a detailer. It's a car wash selling you expensive add-ons. The tunnel is death to your finish, esp. on a black car. Your first detailing 201 homework is: never use the tunnel again.

Quote:
Originally Posted by -=C=- View Post
Your car looks great, no argument here. I just want to get 90% of that for cheap.

Think built-in TV speakers vs. Onkyo home stereo system vs. high end components. I'm wanting the Onkyo solution...
- 2 bucket method wash (any quality soap)
- Clay bar kit
- Swirl remover (Scratch-X or boutique - be sure it has diminishing abrasives and be prepared to put in serious sweat equity without a DA buffer)
- Sealant/wax LSP
- Low gloss tire/trim dressing (I like Chem Guys Natural Shine Satin)

I'm a little surprised I'm the only one in the thread so far to recommend a non-traditional sealant LSP over wax. These have made the biggest difference in my car care regimen of any new product in the last 5 years. They're easy to apply, protect well, and can be put on virtually all surfaces (paint, plastic, trim, even glass). If you're wary of a liquid spray on product (but seriously, you shouldn't be), there are versions that have more 'traditional' application techniques:

http://www.autogeek.net/blackfire-we...d-sealant.html
http://www.autogeek.net/wg5500.html
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Old 09-05-2014, 01:04 PM   #50
thebanker
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Any guys like CarPro TRIX as an alternative to clay bar? I think it's pretty sweet stuff.
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