Noob's first detail, opinions please.

[Sn95nik]

Hello all,

I've just completed my first detail over the memorial day weekend. I had a blast and was left with a very nice looking car. What a rewarding experience. I guess I'm hooked, whether my wife likes it or not . Anyway, here's my process followed by some pics and a couple ?'s

-Washed with Meg's NXT soap in a foam gun
-Clayed with Meg's quik clay system
-Removed heavy swirls and trouble spots with SSR2.5 on a light cutting pad
-Final polishing with SSR1 on a polishing pad.
-Two layers of NXT, topped with two layers of Megs #26

I know how most of you feel about NXT, but I love the shine it creates and have found it to be fairly durable, especially when topped with #26

-Wheels cleaned with Megs All Wheel Cleaner, sealed with PB's Wheel Sealant
-Megs Insane Shine Tire Spray on tires and wells (wells not dressed in these pics)
-PB's Trim Restorer on black vinyl trim
-PB's Natural Look on the vinyl and leather inside
-NXT glass cleaner on all glass surfaces, windshield treated with Rain-X
-Final wipe down with DP 4-in-1 Rinseless Wash & Shine diluted as a QD (love this stuff )

And now the pics, sorry, no before's

Now, I have a question for those of you more experiened then me (pretty much everybody). While I was really happy with the defect and swirl removal, I would have liked to have seen more depth and clarity in the reflections in the paint afterwards. Granted, it was a dreary, overcast day, but I'm not sure that full sunlight will brighten the reflections that much. What can I do differently in the future to help with this? Is it mostly a function of the polishing, or is it something to with the NXT, #26 combo? I have DP Max Wax now, which I recieved as a free gift in my last Autogeek order :righton: , would that produce better results over NXT and #26? Thanks for all of your help, I couldn't have done any of this without the help of autogeek! :cheers:

 

[ScottB]

I personally was never very anamored with NXT, not because of its durability, but more because of what I call a color-shift. It always seemed like it made most colors look slightly different. Pleasing to some, but not my cup of tea.

Metallic reds do very well with carnuabas and Wolfgang. Using any carnuaba over NXT might not make much of a difference other than adding some additional wetness. I would suggest at the next detailing session to try just the DP Max Wax or Pinnacle Sig Series II (its on sale) alone. You will see the same durability, but I suspect you might find the metallics POP more to your liking.

By the way .... pics look very nice !!

 

[Surfer]

How'd you like PB's Trim Restorer? I have it and it went on kinda greasy but looked liked it worked, then it rained and now the trim has an oily type look to it (like oil floating in water". Seems Ford trim absorbs the hell out of it as well, I think I'm going to use it again, and then seal with OCW or maybe even EX-P to lock in the look? I thought about AIO to seal as I heard others use it before, but not sure if the chemical cleaning of AIO would hurt trim or take away the Trim Restorer?

 

[Sn95nik]

How'd you like PB's Trim Restorer?

It did seem to go on pretty greasy. I came back about 45 minutes later and buffed it with a dry microfiber towel. This seemed to help even out the shine and take away some of the greasyness. The car hasn't been out int he rain yet, so no comment there. Also, I don't have any of the the other products you mentioned, so no dice there either. I do plan on using the TR again though, as I liked the cleaning (I had some white wax residue left over, especially at the base of the antenna) and the final look after buffing it was nice.


@ killrwheels

Thanks for the compliments. I hope one day to have a car as nice as that vette, but until I can get settled in a good job, and pay off my student loans and what not, I love my little V6. I've kind of noticed what you're talking about with the color-shift of NXT. It can be annoying sometimes. However, I wasn't planning on ordering anything new until I use what I have left here. I will try just the Max Wax next time, and reserve the NXT for, oh, I don't know, maybe the trash can if I really like the DP stuff. Thanks again.

 

[BlackRocks]

Looks very nice. I am surprised you get good longevity out of NXT. I found it to wear off very quickly. I have black cars and didn't like the look as much as other sealants/waxes I have used, either.

Todd

 

[Totoland Mach]

Great Looking Mustang! The color really jumps.

You might want to give the new Pinnacle XMT Carnuba Finishing Glaze a try for more depth of color. Check out some of the pics in my gallery on this site. I've really grown fond of this product for a nice, show car appearance.

Totoland Mach

 

[Sn95nik]

then it rained and now the trim has an oily type look to it (like oil floating in water".

Well, it rained yesterday, but I saw no signs of oily appearance from the TR. Maybe it was just because I buffed off any excess, or maybe something else, but the trim pieces still have a nice, deep black shine. My wifes car, which I had used the last of my Mothers Back-to-Black on, looks like it now needs another application of trim dressing. I'll probably switch it over to TR too.

 

[abrcrombe]

Very nice detail in deed! Keep up the good work man

 

[Surfer]

Well, it rained yesterday, but I saw no signs of oily appearance from the TR. Maybe it was just because I buffed off any excess, or maybe something else, but the trim pieces still have a nice, deep black shine. My wifes car, which I had used the last of my Mothers Back-to-Black on, looks like it now needs another application of trim dressing. I'll probably switch it over to TR too.

Weird, I'm gonna have to reapply and try buffing again. It seems to work very well on wiper blad coatings, the black plastic right below the windshield on Explorers/Mountaineers, and bumper etc. But seems greasy on the rubber molding/trim around the windows even though their cleaned.

 

[Neothin]

when doing the trim, you have to treat trim restorer like you would 303 protectant. After applying, you have to let the product sit/soak on the trim for a couple of minutes and then come back and vigorously buff the trim with a towel. if not, 303 runs, and trim restorer becomes greasy.

 

[Sn95nik]

After applying, you have to let the product sit/soak on the trim for a couple of minutes and then come back and vigorously buff the trim with a towel. if not, 303 runs, and trim restorer becomes greasy.

That sounds exactly like what we're experiencing then. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[justin_murphy]

Sn95nik,
Awesome job! It's very hard to get domestic reds to pop like that.
BTW....I just all of Megs stuff. Alot of NXT and #26. I am getting ready to try the XMT line up now. You might want to later also.

Once again, good work.

Justin

 

[Sn95nik]

Sn95nik,
Awesome job! It's very hard to get domestic reds to pop like that.
BTW....I just all of Megs stuff. Alot of NXT and #26. I am getting ready to try the XMT line up now. You might want to later also.

Justin, thanks. I'm thinking about the XMT products, specifically, the finishing glaze. I've heard nothing but good stuff about it. However, I'm wondering if I can spend more money on detailing products and not end up getting a divorce