My attempt at polishing a 97 VW Jetta

[canairb]

My first post after lurking for quite a while now. Actually my first post to any forum on the internet.

I am just a weekend warrior that has caught the detailing bug. I've read a lot of posts and I have learned a lot from everyone's contributions to this forum. :thankyousign:

I know that posting a thread on a forum isn't rocket science, but it is quite a bit more complicated and time consuming than I thought it might be. Special thanks to Mike for posting the instructions on uploading photos! :xyxthumbs: But I still don't know how to delete photos.

Here are before pictures of swirls on a 97 VW Jetta that I tried my hand at correcting. The swirls seemed a lot worse than what I could capture in the pictures.

So I started with a wash using Duragloss 901 and an Autogeek foam gun. Then followed with Meguiar's clay bar kit.

I used a PC7424 (original version) and the Mequiar's 105/205 combo on LC orange and white ccs pads. I tried 105 before and did not get great results, user error i'm sure. After reading up on the Kevin Brown Method (KBM), I thought I'd give it a try. I think it actually worked very well. It didn't dry out as quick or dust that much at all, and I was even working outside in 95 degree heat. I did use a canopy to try and stay out of direct sunlight as much as possible. Thanks Kevin.

I used DG 253 Tire and Rubber dressing on all the black rubber and plastic trim. This stuff is great, ya gotta try it.

Finally I sealed it up with the Duragloss 601/105 combo.



Here are some after pictures. Still a lot of rids and some spots I missed, but I think it looks a lot better than before.

Again, I thank everyone on this forum for passing on all their knowledge for others.

Thanks for looking! Any feedback or questions are welcome.

 

[SeaJay's]

Looks good!

 

[Jerryn206]

Looks much better. Nice job.

Btw, I love those rota grids on that jetta. They look good on just about any car.

 

[canairb]

Thanks for the feedback!

Looks much better. Nice job.

Btw, I love those rota grids on that jetta. They look good on just about any car.

Gotta laugh, this is not my car. It is my sons girlfriend's car. I didn't know what a Rota Grid was... I had to Google it. :laughing:

 

[sgtmillhouse648]

Car looks great, grids look great!

I just recently buffed my dad's '98 Golf...I actually took care of all of the swirls with 205 which caught me off guard

Care to elaborate on the Kevin Brown method of compounding with 105?

 

[canairb]

Care to elaborate on the Kevin Brown method of compounding with 105?

From my understanding...

To start with, you need to prime the pad really good with 105. Try to get all the *surface* pores filled with product. Then add a few pea size dots of 105 to the pad. No need to spread the product around on the surface of the car, just go straight to buffing at speed 5 or 6. You want to put enough pressure on the PC so the pad is still rotating, but not spinning fast. Work in small sections. Don't cover too much of a panel or the product will dry out.

No slinging because the pad isn't moving fast and very little dust if you brush your pad often. After priming, you only need to add about 3 pea size drops each time.

I cleaned the pad often with a soft brush and rotated the pads out after a panel or two. When starting with a new pad, you need to remember to prime the pad again.

I did this with an older version PC. The newer ones with more power will probably work better/faster, but I think I got decent cut with this method and the older PC.

Hopefully someone with more experience than me will chime in and see if I got it right.

Hope it helps.

 

[sgtmillhouse648]

I think the big difference with that approach is that the pad is nice and saturated! I use a rotary vs a PC, but i'll have to give a similar method a try with it!

Thanks
M

 

[canairb]

I think the big difference with that approach is that the pad is nice and saturated!

Just to clarify, again, from my understanding, the pad isn't really saturated so to speak, but just the surface of the pad is covered/primed. I pour a circle of product on the pad and then lightly spread and rub it in to the top layer pores with my finger. I add more product as needed to cover the surface.

This is supposed to help *prevent* the pad from absurbing too much product and getting saturated too quickly, and also helps the surface of the pad act like a sanding disk since the surface pores and entire surface of the pad are initially covered with product.

 

[NiSyam]

wooow i wish my gf had a nice car like your sons!

good job!

 

[Diskat]

Very good looking !! 10 / 10 !