Newbie plan of attack and product selection

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RichWentFishing

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I'll be doing my truck (almost 2 weeks old) and my girlfriend's SUV (six months old) and am new to detailing my own vehicles. Hoping to tackle 1 vehicle each weekend. Here's my plan of attack with my manhour estimates and equipment/product choices. Please give me some recommendations and comments:

Saturday

1. Wash vehicle (2 hours)

2 buckets, Grit Guards, Wolfgang Autobathe, 2 Microfiber Wash Mitts (one black), Wheel Brush

2. Dry vehicle (1 hour)

1 Ultimate Guzzler, 3 Regular Guzzlers, 4 Black MF towels

3. Clean and protect interior (2 hours)

Wolfgang Leather Care Cockpit Kit, 4 extra cheapie MF towels.

4. Treat exterior plastics (1 hour)

Foam applicator, Wolfgang Exterior Trim Sealant, 1 cheapie MF towel

5. Treat Wheels/Tires

DP wheel glaze, Wolfgang Exterior Trim Sealant.

Sunday

2. IronX entire vehicle (.5 hours)

Carpro IronX

3. Thorough rinse (.5 hours)

4. Claybar/nanoskin (2 hours)

3M Automotive Performance Masking Tape 3 PackNano Skin Mitt, Nano Skin Glide, 12 Gold Plush Jr. MF towels

5. Tape off vehicle (1 hours)

3M Automotive Performance Masking Tape 3 Pack

6. Polish (4 hours)

Flex 3401 with.....
Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover (if necessary) - 3 CCS Orange pads, 12 Super Plush MF towels
Wolfgang Finishing Glaze - 3 CCS white pads, 12 Supreme Plush

7. Sealant/Wax (1 hours)

Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant - 1 CCS blue pad, 12 Arctic White MF towels.

8. Glass Cleaning

No idea. Haven't thought this far.


Okay that's it. I've almost gone blind watching all of Mike's videos and reading a bunch of articles. Any feedback is much appreciated.

Rich
 
We don't really know what condition the vehicles are starting in, but those durations seem a bit long. Although they may be about right if you're a beginner.

Also, you seem to be using a LOT of MF towels! :D
 
The one thing I would change is to do the interior first. If you do it after a wash (and you're not moving the car), you could track dirt into the vehicle from the wet/damp ground.
 
Yeah, shouldn't take as long as you have laid out. Looks like you are prepared. Have you picked a test spot? This will save you time.
 
Where can I cut down on the towels? I'm about to place my mega order and they are starting to add up.
 
davey g-force said:
Also, you seem to be using a LOT of MF towels! :D
Click to expand...

That was the thing that stood out to me too. I don't know if you'd use the number of towels laid out in each step to do a rinseless wash! The numbers are way too high.

The only other comment I'd make was regarding the Wolfgang line. You can probably mix and match products from other companies for things like wash shampoo, interior treatments, etc and get equal results while saving a little money. Save the Wolfgang stuff for the paint. IMHO of course...I'm cheap and always looking to save a dollar or two.
 
8 glass, don't forget to polish and put a coat of sealant on all the windows
 
RichWentFishing said:
Where can I cut down on the towels? I'm about to place my mega order and they are starting to add up.
Click to expand...

You have 45 MF towels listed above. I'd get about 25 in total - that should be plenty. Dedicate certain towels to certain products / procedures.
 
I would wash then do the paint and do the interior later. This way you only need a second wash after the polishing step.

I would dress tires after you have finished polishing. Be sure to clean the wells and I would apply trim sealant to these if they are plastic lined.

If you treat the trim with some trim sealants (thinking Blackfire), sometimes the tape will not stick to it very well soon after application.
 
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