Hi all,
I've been lurking for a couple of weeks, trying to get my head around how much I don't know about detailing!
I'm based on the Gold Coast in Australia, and am an avid car enthusiast. As it stands, my garage consists of her '04 Toyota Caldina GT-FOUR (I imported this from Japan myself), my '07 Skoda Octavia RS (daily driver), and my pride and joy: a heavily modified '97 Nissan Stagea that I have built over the last 9 years as a pure street car (not one area remains unmodified: big HP, custom interior, brakes, engine, body, etc).
Although I am well versed in the modification scene, I have come to realise after lurking on these forums how little I knew about he art of detailing a car. Traditionally, I've been a "basic wash and drop it off at the detailers a couple of time a year" kind of a guy, but I've always had the intention of undertaking the detailing side of things myself...
Fast forward to the present, and after reading and researching, I now feel that I'm ready to start tackling this side of things. I'm a rank amateur, but keen as mustard to get my hands dirty!
With that in mind, I am currently putting together a basic detailing kit that will at least allow me to experiment and learn how to effectively make my cars look their best. My intention is to start simple: clay barring, basic polishing and waxing, and move on from there. I am (un)fortunate in that her car has not been detailed since we purchased it 4 years ago, and would benefit from a thorough going over. The same could be said of my Skoda, which is bright yellow, and has been neglected (filthy and some sun-fading) up until I purchased it about a month ago.
The Stagea has been treated to relatively regular professional details (a couple of times per year, but it only does
an average of 2000-3000km per year, and is garaged when not in use), but I would like to be able to maintain it myself.
I currently have a large tub of car care products, but to date have not been able to claim ownership of a polisher (and many other pieces of detailing hardware), and was under the impression that a thorough wash and some hand polishing of headlights etc was sufficient to maintain my cars.
I've already come to see that I was kidding myself, and since its my birthday next week, have requested that the minister for war and finances get me my first DA polisher. It's not much, but it's a start; I'm also currently sourcing a foam gun, clay bars and various products. I believe I scored a win today when I found that a local supplier had a special on 1kg packs of microfibre towels for $10AUD; I chose one with mostly waffle weave towels, and my $10 bought me 18 MF towels.
I'm looking forward to drawing on the mass of experience here, and hopefully making contributions of my own...
MickeyB
No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy
I've been lurking for a couple of weeks, trying to get my head around how much I don't know about detailing!
I'm based on the Gold Coast in Australia, and am an avid car enthusiast. As it stands, my garage consists of her '04 Toyota Caldina GT-FOUR (I imported this from Japan myself), my '07 Skoda Octavia RS (daily driver), and my pride and joy: a heavily modified '97 Nissan Stagea that I have built over the last 9 years as a pure street car (not one area remains unmodified: big HP, custom interior, brakes, engine, body, etc).
Although I am well versed in the modification scene, I have come to realise after lurking on these forums how little I knew about he art of detailing a car. Traditionally, I've been a "basic wash and drop it off at the detailers a couple of time a year" kind of a guy, but I've always had the intention of undertaking the detailing side of things myself...
Fast forward to the present, and after reading and researching, I now feel that I'm ready to start tackling this side of things. I'm a rank amateur, but keen as mustard to get my hands dirty!
With that in mind, I am currently putting together a basic detailing kit that will at least allow me to experiment and learn how to effectively make my cars look their best. My intention is to start simple: clay barring, basic polishing and waxing, and move on from there. I am (un)fortunate in that her car has not been detailed since we purchased it 4 years ago, and would benefit from a thorough going over. The same could be said of my Skoda, which is bright yellow, and has been neglected (filthy and some sun-fading) up until I purchased it about a month ago.
The Stagea has been treated to relatively regular professional details (a couple of times per year, but it only does
an average of 2000-3000km per year, and is garaged when not in use), but I would like to be able to maintain it myself.
I currently have a large tub of car care products, but to date have not been able to claim ownership of a polisher (and many other pieces of detailing hardware), and was under the impression that a thorough wash and some hand polishing of headlights etc was sufficient to maintain my cars.
I've already come to see that I was kidding myself, and since its my birthday next week, have requested that the minister for war and finances get me my first DA polisher. It's not much, but it's a start; I'm also currently sourcing a foam gun, clay bars and various products. I believe I scored a win today when I found that a local supplier had a special on 1kg packs of microfibre towels for $10AUD; I chose one with mostly waffle weave towels, and my $10 bought me 18 MF towels.
I'm looking forward to drawing on the mass of experience here, and hopefully making contributions of my own...
MickeyB
No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy
