Matt S.
New member
- Jan 24, 2007
- 1,909
- 0
Hey guys, I’ve been taking my time detailing this red 2006 S2000 over the past couple days and finally got a chance to do a little write-up since my CF card reader broke and I had to wait on a new one. The car started out in great shape, as it is a garage queen with 10k miles and I couldn’t find a single rock chip anywhere. Unfortunately, I don’t have any full car “before” shots as it was dark when I got it.
The entire front end and mirrors had a 3M clear bra applied when the car was brand new. And as some of you may already know, the paint is single stage.
When I picked the car up, I noticed that there were no major defects, but there were some deeper swirls here and there. I decided to aim for ~95% correction as the paint on these cars is very soft and thin, and I didn’t want to go crazy using compounds just to get out every single last RID.
I did not expect clay to do much on this car as it was in such good shape, but I was wrong. The WG clay I used actually had to go in the trash – the back bumper was especially terrible.
For correction, I started by playing with Meguiar’s 205 and Optimum Polish II with a polishing pad on the Flex 3401, but neither provided satisfactory results. I decided to step up to Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover, also with a polishing pad, which did the trick. As you may know, the formula for this polish is based off Menzerna SIP, but with longer working time and less dusting. Due to the longer working time and the fact that a cutting pad was not used, I was actually left with a very nice finish with no noticeable hazing or microscratches. I decided to finish with 3M Ultrafina and a gray pad and the finish really began to pop. Also, I had to use my PC with 4” pads to get into the crevices of the front and rear bumpers as they are pretty curvy. The same process was used on the areas with clear bra applied to them.
I was going to bring Souveran out of retirement as I haven’t used it in awhile, but I love Fuzion so much that I just used that instead. I’m happy with my choice as it really made the red pop but look absolutely dripping wet at the same time.
The next day I got started on the interior, which looked brand new. To keep it that way, I applied some 303 to the dash, and when the sun got stronger, I let the car out in the sun and got some Leatherique Rejuvenator Oil on the seats, steering wheel, center console, and door panels – anything with leather. The top was beading water slightly when I washed the car, but I also opted to add a fresh coat of 303 to the top as well (vinyl top). Sprayway Glass Cleaner was used on all windows. Tires were dressed with Poorboy’s Bold ‘N Bright (I was using Optimum Opti-Bond for awhile; now I go back and forth between the two).
Process used:
-Wash with Meguiar’s Gold Class Shampoo, dried with Cobra Guzzlers
-Clay with Wolfgang Elastic Poly Clay (this actually pulled more out of the paint than I had expected for such a clean car)
-Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover 3.0 w/white polishing pad, Flex 3401 speed 6
-3M Ultrafina w/gray finishing pad, Flex 3401 speed 5
-Wolfgang Fuzion w/red finishing pad, Flex 3401 speed 3-4
-Optimum Opti-Seal on all door/hood/trunk jambs and wheels
-303 Aerospace Protectant on dash and convertible top
-Leatherique on all leather
-Sprayway Glass Cleaner on all glass surfaces
-Poorboy’s Bold ‘N Bright on tires
I think that covers pretty much everything…on with the pics.
Here is the car under the halogens in my messy garage after washing/claying:
Couple after shots:
The following morning @ sunrise:
The entire front end and mirrors had a 3M clear bra applied when the car was brand new. And as some of you may already know, the paint is single stage.
When I picked the car up, I noticed that there were no major defects, but there were some deeper swirls here and there. I decided to aim for ~95% correction as the paint on these cars is very soft and thin, and I didn’t want to go crazy using compounds just to get out every single last RID.
I did not expect clay to do much on this car as it was in such good shape, but I was wrong. The WG clay I used actually had to go in the trash – the back bumper was especially terrible.
For correction, I started by playing with Meguiar’s 205 and Optimum Polish II with a polishing pad on the Flex 3401, but neither provided satisfactory results. I decided to step up to Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover, also with a polishing pad, which did the trick. As you may know, the formula for this polish is based off Menzerna SIP, but with longer working time and less dusting. Due to the longer working time and the fact that a cutting pad was not used, I was actually left with a very nice finish with no noticeable hazing or microscratches. I decided to finish with 3M Ultrafina and a gray pad and the finish really began to pop. Also, I had to use my PC with 4” pads to get into the crevices of the front and rear bumpers as they are pretty curvy. The same process was used on the areas with clear bra applied to them.
I was going to bring Souveran out of retirement as I haven’t used it in awhile, but I love Fuzion so much that I just used that instead. I’m happy with my choice as it really made the red pop but look absolutely dripping wet at the same time.
The next day I got started on the interior, which looked brand new. To keep it that way, I applied some 303 to the dash, and when the sun got stronger, I let the car out in the sun and got some Leatherique Rejuvenator Oil on the seats, steering wheel, center console, and door panels – anything with leather. The top was beading water slightly when I washed the car, but I also opted to add a fresh coat of 303 to the top as well (vinyl top). Sprayway Glass Cleaner was used on all windows. Tires were dressed with Poorboy’s Bold ‘N Bright (I was using Optimum Opti-Bond for awhile; now I go back and forth between the two).
Process used:
-Wash with Meguiar’s Gold Class Shampoo, dried with Cobra Guzzlers
-Clay with Wolfgang Elastic Poly Clay (this actually pulled more out of the paint than I had expected for such a clean car)
-Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover 3.0 w/white polishing pad, Flex 3401 speed 6
-3M Ultrafina w/gray finishing pad, Flex 3401 speed 5
-Wolfgang Fuzion w/red finishing pad, Flex 3401 speed 3-4
-Optimum Opti-Seal on all door/hood/trunk jambs and wheels
-303 Aerospace Protectant on dash and convertible top
-Leatherique on all leather
-Sprayway Glass Cleaner on all glass surfaces
-Poorboy’s Bold ‘N Bright on tires
I think that covers pretty much everything…on with the pics.
Here is the car under the halogens in my messy garage after washing/claying:
Couple after shots:
The following morning @ sunrise:
