kevincwelch
New member
- May 12, 2013
- 2,686
- 0
So, I learned a lot by detailing my wife's Subaru Outback last weekend.
What I primarily learned is probably what a lot of beginners experience:
I will say that for the Model S, I think I improved on those points. Still, looking at my finished product and the finished products of a lot of the cars here, I have a lot to learn!
Anyway, my Model S wasn't that dirty, so I don't have a great deal of "before" shots to show you. I keep it pretty clean, but I was frustrated with all the swirls and some scratches that I have seen over the past 6 months. Some were dealer inflicted, some were inflicted by a hand wash company, and some were inflicted by me when I was careless.
Here's what I used for the project.
Interior
A good vacuum was needed. Lot's of crumbs and Mum-Mum dust.
All surfaces: DP Total Interior Cleaner
Leather: Lexol 3-in-1 Leather Care (got this on BOGO)
Vinyl: Poorboy's Natural Look Dressing
Glass: Meguiar's glass cleaner
Exterior
Used spray gun to lube up car with Ultima Waterless Wash
Foam: DP Xtreme Foam
Wash: Dawn
Wheels: GG rubber cleaner + GG Heavy Duty Wheel Cleaner
Decontamination: Nanoskin followed by Iron X
Compound: m105 (a few areas needed it)
Polish: Menzerna IP2000 -> FF3000 -> SF4000
17.5% IPA wipe down
Sealant: Menzerna PL
Wax: Collinite 845
Exterior Trim: Poorboy's Trim Restorer
Windows: Pinnacle water spot remover + sealant
Tires: Pinnacle Onyx gel
Some before shots
Iron X wash-off even after using GG Heavy Duty Cleaner!
Shot of the swirling that was representative of the whole car.
Swirling on the nose cone.
Not a good picture, but this is where the scratch (caused by my pager) was (to the right and above my finger)
Workin' it!
The only place I wasn't going to washout the compound/polish dust!
Some pictures of the paint afterwards...
Corrected nose cone
Take her out, Mr. Sulu.
Exterior Shots.
Hope you enjoyed that.
I'd say that if I were lucky, I probably got out 75% of what I wanted to eliminate from the car. I'm good with this since it is my DD and it's a start.
Working on these two cars over the past two weekends gives me a better understanding of what you guys do every day -- it's hard work!
What I primarily learned is probably what a lot of beginners experience:
- They use too much product
- They move the DA polisher too fast
- They burn through pads
- They take shortcuts.
I will say that for the Model S, I think I improved on those points. Still, looking at my finished product and the finished products of a lot of the cars here, I have a lot to learn!
Anyway, my Model S wasn't that dirty, so I don't have a great deal of "before" shots to show you. I keep it pretty clean, but I was frustrated with all the swirls and some scratches that I have seen over the past 6 months. Some were dealer inflicted, some were inflicted by a hand wash company, and some were inflicted by me when I was careless.
Here's what I used for the project.
Interior
A good vacuum was needed. Lot's of crumbs and Mum-Mum dust.
All surfaces: DP Total Interior Cleaner
Leather: Lexol 3-in-1 Leather Care (got this on BOGO)
Vinyl: Poorboy's Natural Look Dressing
Glass: Meguiar's glass cleaner
Exterior
Used spray gun to lube up car with Ultima Waterless Wash
Foam: DP Xtreme Foam
Wash: Dawn
Wheels: GG rubber cleaner + GG Heavy Duty Wheel Cleaner
Decontamination: Nanoskin followed by Iron X
Compound: m105 (a few areas needed it)
Polish: Menzerna IP2000 -> FF3000 -> SF4000
17.5% IPA wipe down
Sealant: Menzerna PL
Wax: Collinite 845
Exterior Trim: Poorboy's Trim Restorer
Windows: Pinnacle water spot remover + sealant
Tires: Pinnacle Onyx gel
Some before shots
Iron X wash-off even after using GG Heavy Duty Cleaner!
Shot of the swirling that was representative of the whole car.
Swirling on the nose cone.
Not a good picture, but this is where the scratch (caused by my pager) was (to the right and above my finger)
Workin' it!
The only place I wasn't going to washout the compound/polish dust!
Some pictures of the paint afterwards...
Corrected nose cone
Take her out, Mr. Sulu.
Exterior Shots.
Hope you enjoyed that.
I'd say that if I were lucky, I probably got out 75% of what I wanted to eliminate from the car. I'm good with this since it is my DD and it's a start.
Working on these two cars over the past two weekends gives me a better understanding of what you guys do every day -- it's hard work!