The detailing and washing thread

[Omnis]

Here's my spot test on the trunk. The paint is just completely ravaged by near constant daily sun exposure and is more intensely affected than any other area of the car. There are areas of what appear to be blistering splotchy patches to the base color in addition to the top layer clear coat. This is also present to the rear pillars of the car which also experience similar sun exposure without as dramatically obvious clear coat clouding. The car has a history of rear-end collision damage, the extent of which I am unsure of to this day as it was not part of its original Carfax. Perhaps this blistering appearance is due to crumpling of the metal or evidence of a Bondo job, although the trunk lid I'm pretty sure is an aftermarket nonmetal replacement. If it is metal it certainly doesn't feel like Lexus quality and is radically different from the other panels of the car. Anyway enough with my speech-to-text rambling. Here are some pics. I think it came out pretty well, but it's too bad about that base coat blistering I described. I would have done the whole trunk but I can't get the little 3-inch pad off of my machine without a special wrench that did not come included.

 

[Mike Rotch]

That said, if you don't have an orbital DA, I can't recommend one enough.

You are doing a fine job of tempting me! I can't fit / accommodate a pressure washer but i could swing a DAP....

How fool proof are they though, in terms of not burning paint or clearcoat? The thing holding me back is "practising" on a tri-layer pearlescent paint job...

On the Collinite, I was quite shocked to see so much beading given the last treatment was in May....Cannot see myself moving away from it, which kinda sucks, I wanted to try Liquid Glass LG100

 

[boiltheocean]

How fool proof are they though, in terms of not burning paint or clearcoat? The thing holding me back is "practising" on a tri-layer pearlescent paint job...

I spent ages debating this before I bought my DAS-6 Pro orbital DA a few months back after my car has really thin paint from the factory. From reviews I read and Youtube tutorials I watched you basically have to be completely brain dead to do any sort of damage with an orbital DA. I'm talking pushing it hard into a single spot for several minutes at a time.

Don't be put off by the relatively low price of the DAS-6 either, all the detailing sites I visited said this was basically the best entry level tool out there. https://www.carcareproducts.com.au/product/mint/ro_polisher_das6_pro

 

[Omnis]

That's why I practiced on my crusty headlights lol. With a large pad it's gotta be nearly impossible to screw up. Just don't hang out in one area. When I did my other light, I noticed the headlight become extraordinarily shiny, and then all of a sudden it clouded and started looking even more crusty. I stopped and felt that the light was actually quite hot. A quick wipedown with a wet cloth showed that the cloudiness was caked on compound, and that the lens had been polished regardless.

I was using compound very very sparingly, so I think it was a case where a bit more was required to move along a greater area without camping out so much in a single spot. It was exacerbated by using a teeny 3 inch pad and plate which was free to spin much faster than it was orbiting. That and the weight of the G21 was bearing down on the tiny little pad.

Once you get a feel for your pads and compounds, it's a piece of cake.

 

[Mike Rotch]

I read and Youtube tutorials I watched you basically have to be completely brain dead to do any sort of damage with an orbital DA. I'm talking pushing it hard into a single spot for several minutes at a time.

Hmm. Muchos tempted. Not so much for waxing/ buffing, but more so for when cutting and polishing is one day needed. Thanks giving me a recommended DA too 👍

 

[Omnis]

Just get the G21 kit, or the equivalent in your country. The BOSS polishes are phenomenal, and the trigger on the polishers is easy to modulate unlike the Rupes which is simply on/off and ramps up to speed on its own. I got mine because it came 30% off plus they gave me a free bag to hold everything (huge high-quality detailer's bag custom made for the machine and all polishes) and a complete set of standard-size polishes and compounds for free. Basically, they gave you the whole system as part of one package, for only the price of the machine. And then 30% off of that.

One thing I realize is that detailing stuff is just like bodybuilding supplements. It's 90% marketing, and most everything is exactly the same given it has similar types of ingredients. Just find something that works well for you at the best price.

 

[Murcie_LP640]

Hmm. Muchos tempted. Not so much for waxing/ buffing, but more so for when cutting and polishing is one day needed.

The Shine Mate range is also highly regarded and also comes in kits like the DAS-6. I don't have one myself yet though, at work we use traditional direct drive buffers and while you do have to be quite cautious it's mostly just a case of keeping it on the go and making sure you don't press on it like an absolute animal. I started my detailing job having had no prior machine experience but it was actually quite easy to pick up.

The fun part is that it really does make every single part of the buffing, polishing and waxing process so, so much easier.

 

[SVX]

The fun part is that it really does make every single part of the buffing, polishing and waxing process so, so much easier.

This is what I'm looking forward to the most when it comes to using my polisher. I've been polishing cars for a year or two now just by hand - going to MPVs and the like, and gosh is it tiring.

 

[Omnis]

I finally got that 3-inch pad off of my polisher. Griots was awesome and sent me a flat sheet-stamped wrench for free. Only problem was that it was 1/16th of an inch too small. Out of frustration, I just took my dremel to it with a cut-off disc. Worked like a charm. 👍 So that's finally solved and I can finish doing my trunk lid tomorrow. Will post pics of before/after.

 

[RocZX]

Not sure if anyone could help I been trying to get my weathertech floormats clean? I soaked them in warm water and car wash soap and then scrubbed them with a brush. I even contracted Weathertech to ask them and they gave me a general response that some staining and discoloration may occur with use.

 

[CinnamonOD]

Dish soap and warm water helps a lot in removing dirt stains, just don't use it too often because it can damage the material.

 

[RocZX]

Dish soap and warm water helps a lot in removing dirt stains, just don't use it too often because it can damage the material.

I will try it over the weekend

 

[Omnis]

Headlight restoration day. I actually got the protectant spray this time, so they should be nice and clear for the year. Using my experience from the last time, I think I've got this art pretty down pat now. Start out with a citrus degreaser that won't kill your clearcoat. I used very dilute simple green to clean the dirt off, but only the degreaser turned my headlights from yellow to white. It's amazing the amount of road grime and emissions that get adsorbed onto the sun-eaten plastic. A yellow-brown sludge drips right off of each light, leaving behind clean, foggy frosted-white lenses. This time, I went all the way and decided to wetsand the lights first. In hindsight, I would 100% recommend doing this every time. Do it just like using a claybar. Don't use below 1000 grit, and if they're not that bad then just hit them with 2000-3000 real quick and buff it out.
Pictures:

Does the rest of the car being filthy highlight how stunning the headlights look now? LOL
You want to use isopropyl alcohol (No, I will never refer to this as IPA) between each round of sanding. I sand it like Kosilla does it on his autoblog article, except I keep it super wet as opposed to damp. Lexus plastic is too soft.

Then I follow it with Griot's BOSS white fast correcting cream. If you're gonna use Griot's, you probably only need to get the white cream. It breaks down fantastically so that you don't really need to use a second step or "finishing" polish. And everything smells like Pina Colada, which is a bonus.

 

[Omnis]

Here's my spot test on the trunk. The paint is just completely ravaged by near constant daily sun exposure and is more intensely affected than any other area of the car. There are areas of what appear to be blistering splotchy patches to the base color in addition to the top layer clear coat. This is also present to the rear pillars of the car which also experience similar sun exposure without as dramatically obvious clear coat clouding. The car has a history of rear-end collision damage, the extent of which I am unsure of to this day as it was not part of its original Carfax. Perhaps this blistering appearance is due to crumpling of the metal or evidence of a Bondo job, although the trunk lid I'm pretty sure is an aftermarket nonmetal replacement. If it is metal it certainly doesn't feel like Lexus quality and is radically different from the other panels of the car. Anyway enough with my speech-to-text rambling. Here are some pics. I think it came out pretty well, but it's too bad about that base coat blistering I described. I would have done the whole trunk but I can't get the little 3-inch pad off of my machine without a special wrench that did not come included.

View attachment 690987 View attachment 690988

Hi.

It's been a long time coming, but man it looks good.

Oye @TB finish your car cleenz in here.

 

[MedigoFlame]

What brushes would you guys recommend for cleaning leather interiors? Just plan on doing a car my brother might end up buying, but the dealership's recon department did a poor job. (I work for the dealership, but not in the detailing department.) I don't trust them to redo their work (honestly, they're not the worst, but they are far from good.), so I'd rather do the work myself. Plan on doing Larry's first method in the video with the brushes.

 

[Speedy6543]

Thread found,
Let's see if we can kick some life back into it.

I don't even remember how but a couple months back I got to know the world of detailing. I got quite obsessed with it watching videos on youtube from Pan the organizer, Ammo NYC, Forensic detailing, Wilson auto detailing, meguiar's uk, etc. And I decided to try some thing for myself. First, I ordered the regular carwashing products, wheel cleaner, carshampoo, spraycoating, etc. My curiousity grew and I wanted to know more about paint correction/enhancement. Order a dual-action polishing machine and contacted a local scrapyard and asked if I could get some body pieces. The owner was very friendly and handed me a hood and a door for free for me to learn how to polish the paintwork. How easy it turned out to be with a DA-polisher. Next thing for me to do was taking on an entire car and what better car than an 12year-old beat up Mercedes Vito from my father in law. The results were beyond amazing for just a 1-step polish with Meguiar's compound polish.






I'm even looking to see if there's a market for me to start doing this as a sidebusiness.

 

[Swagger897]

Thread found,
Let's see if we can kick some life back into it.

I don't even remember how but a couple months back I got to know the world of detailing. I got quite obsessed with it watching videos on youtube from Pan the organizer, Ammo NYC, Forensic detailing, Wilson auto detailing, meguiar's uk, etc. And I decided to try some thing for myself. First, I ordered the regular carwashing products, wheel cleaner, carshampoo, spraycoating, etc. My curiousity grew and I wanted to know more about paint correction/enhancement. Order a dual-action polishing machine and contacted a local scrapyard and asked if I could get some body pieces. The owner was very friendly and handed me a hood and a door for free for me to learn how to polish the paintwork. How easy it turned out to be with a DA-polisher. Next thing for me to do was taking on an entire car and what better car than an 12year-old beat up Mercedes Vito from my father in law. The results were beyond amazing for just a 1-step polish with Meguiar's compound polish.

View attachment 1137193 View attachment 1137194 View attachment 1137195 View attachment 1137196
View attachment 1137197 View attachment 1137198

View attachment 1137200

I'm even looking to see if there's a market for me to start doing this as a sidebusiness.

If you’re good at it there’s definitely a market. Friend of mine does it at work on the side and also does ceramic coating. For my car (mustang) it’s about 800 usd to detail and coat the outside, 1200 for interior too

 

[Speedy6543]

Has anybody tried this to get the sand out of the carpets yet?



Seems legit and I'm tempted to try it but I don't own a massagegun (yet )

 

[Swagger897]

Has anybody tried this to get the sand out of the carpets yet?



Seems legit and I'm tempted to try it but I don't own a massagegun (yet )

Detail friend uses them, works great.

 

[Omnis]

Headlight restoration day. I actually got the protectant spray this time, so they should be nice and clear for the year. Using my experience from the last time, I think I've got this art pretty down pat now. Start out with a citrus degreaser that won't kill your clearcoat. I used very dilute simple green to clean the dirt off, but only the degreaser turned my headlights from yellow to white. It's amazing the amount of road grime and emissions that get adsorbed onto the sun-eaten plastic. A yellow-brown sludge drips right off of each light, leaving behind clean, foggy frosted-white lenses. This time, I went all the way and decided to wetsand the lights first. In hindsight, I would 100% recommend doing this every time. Do it just like using a claybar. Don't use below 1000 grit, and if they're not that bad then just hit them with 2000-3000 real quick and buff it out.
Pictures:

Does the rest of the car being filthy highlight how stunning the headlights look now? LOL
You want to use isopropyl alcohol (No, I will never refer to this as IPA) between each round of sanding. I sand it like Kosilla does it on his autoblog article, except I keep it super wet as opposed to damp. Lexus plastic is too soft.

Then I follow it with Griot's BOSS white fast correcting cream. If you're gonna use Griot's, you probably only need to get the white cream. It breaks down fantastically so that you don't really need to use a second step or "finishing" polish. And everything smells like Pina Colada, which is a bonus.

It became time again to refresh my headlights. The Meguiar's UV coating looks for have lasted a good 4 years. It had started yellowing again and over the past several months had become completely opaque. Headlights haven't really illuminated much of anything. Over our exceedingly hot summer I also noticed what looked like runs in the polycarbonate-- maybe the old varnish melting off?

This time I used sanding sponges and it made the process MUCH easier than using wet paper. I also used my white Griot's foam pad on the 5.5" backing plate instead of switching out to the smaller 3" microfiber. Came out beautiful and was actually a lot easier than manuevering the smaller plate. With the way the market has matured since I got my Boss DA, I would just go cordless for any small work instead of worrying about switching backplates, etc etc.

 

[Team THRT Drift]

@Omnis

I feel like before/after cataract surgery would have been a better visual representation lol

 

[Omnis]

@Omnis

I feel like before/after cataract surgery would have been a better visual representation lol

Nah man them thangs woz CRUSTY. The wet sanding of that first layer actually looked like pancake batter.

 

[Swagger897]

It became time again to refresh my headlights. The Meguiar's UV coating looks for have lasted a good 4 years. It had started yellowing again and over the past several months had become completely opaque. Headlights haven't really illuminated much of anything. Over our exceedingly hot summer I also noticed what looked like runs in the polycarbonate-- maybe the old varnish melting off?

This time I used sanding sponges and it made the process MUCH easier than using wet paper. I also used my white Griot's foam pad on the 5.5" backing plate instead of switching out to the smaller 3" microfiber. Came out beautiful and was actually a lot easier than manuevering the smaller plate. With the way the market has matured since I got my Boss DA, I would just go cordless for any small work instead of worrying about switching backplates, etc etc.

View attachment 1304964

My ES looked exactly like this and I think I used the 3m kit. Get some UV protectant or clear to save it again.

 

[Omnis]

My ES looked exactly like this and I think I used the 3m kit. Get some UV protectant or clear to save it again.

Used the same exact can of Megs coating from the first time. Who knew a little can would last potentially 20 years?

 

[Carethusiast]

Today was the day of the show n shine,it was boiling hot and I spent a lot of the day answering questions about the car and the products used, and in the end I walked away with 3rd prize! Considering the cars that beat me though, I'm absolutely chuffed to bits.

Here's the car that finished 1st;

and the heavily modded 2nd place!

What I was up against;

How mine looked in the end;

The prize was a tub of Lusso Oro Wax & Lusso Revitalizing Creme. Very pleased with that, especially the wax!

Today was the day of the show n shine,it was boiling hot and I spent a lot of the day answering questions about the car and the products used, and in the end I walked away with 3rd prize! Considering the cars that beat me though, I'm absolutely chuffed to bits.

Here's the car that finished 1st;

and the heavily modded 2nd place!

What I was up against;

How mine looked in the end;

The prize was a tub of Lusso Oro Wax & Lusso Revitalizing Creme. Very pleased with that, especially the wax!

Hi mate,

They're some outstanding cars there! this is going to sound really crazy, but in your first picture, in the back ground there an MG BGT in Primrose yellow, do you have any idea who the owner of the car is?

Cheers! Rafe

 

[Tornado]

I mean maybe Moglet does but you'll have to forgive any potential gaps in memory over the ensuing 15 years.

 

[Pupik]

Fifteen years ago, I used to wash my car every 2-4 weeks. Those were the days of carefree living in dealerships. Now I might wash my cars 4-5 times a year, getting waxed yearly at most. They're garage-kept and my car is parked in a building about 98% of the time, whereas it was all outdoors back then.

I get worn out in a few hours (spare time and spare energy is much less than before) if it's more an 80 degrees outside, so the washings are done in small batches; might do interiors one weekend and exteriors on another. Moving to a climate that doesn't always allow warm car washes for at least 4 months also reduces the total number of chances. And I no longer wash my rental cars... 😅