Almost ready for first detail

[richard200593]

Originally Posted by ihaveacamaro

Don't wait to wipe residue off but yes you can do all the compounding, then polish. You don't need to go back and forth, but if it's your first time, I recommend using a light over each section to verify your work

I wil be using a basic tripod shop light, I'm sure there are better options but I figure it will be better than not using one at all and its free.

[ihaveacamaro]

Originally Posted by richard200593

Very helpful! So should I apply vrt directly after polishing? Reason for thinking I had to do it before was so I don't stain the trim with polish but as long as I tape well that shouldn't be an issue correct?

Yup, exactly.

Originally Posted by richard200593

I wil be using a basic tripod shop light, I'm sure there are better options but I figure it will be better than not using one at all and its free.

Yup, as long as you can see the swirls, that should be fine. Still, I would go check in the sun every once in a while if you don't have a better light. Sometimes the sun will show marks the work light doesn't

[Joe M 2012 2SS]

I wouldn't drive in between steps, 1 grain of sand on your pad can wreck havoc on your clear coat.

I highly recommend a swirl finder light. Not only will this allow you to dial in your best combo, it will let you know when it's time to change pads during compounding and polishing as results will diminish.

Bring more towels than you think you will need, if you drop a towel or get unwanted product on one you'll have extra. Always use a fresh clean towel whenever possible.

Clean wheels and tires thoroughly first, nothing looks worse than corrected paint with dirty tires/wheels. Wash, clay, apply lsp, if your staying with Adams, the most durable product they have is Liquid Paint Sealant, which would work well for your wheels,(assuming they are factory clear coated), it would also provide you with the best protection on your newly polished paint.

Any towels or clay used on wheels is never to be used on rest of car.

[richard200593]

Originally Posted by Joe M 2012 2SS

I wouldn't drive in between steps, 1 grain of sand on your pad can wreck havoc on your clear coat.

I highly recommend a swirl finder light. Not only will this allow you to dial in your best combo, it will let you know when it's time to change pads during compounding and polishing as results will diminish.

Bring more towels than you think you will need, if you drop a towel or get unwanted product on one you'll have extra. Always use a fresh clean towel whenever possible.

Clean wheels and tires thoroughly first, nothing looks worse than corrected paint with dirty tires/wheels. Wash, clay, apply lsp, if your staying with Adams, the most durable product they have is Liquid Paint Sealant, which would work well for your wheels,(assuming they are factory clear coated), it would also provide you with the best protection on your newly polished paint.

Any towels or clay used on wheels is never to be used on rest of car.

Thank you for the advice, I have had allot of people tell me to bring extra material so will do that for sure, eventually I may get a swirl finder if I'm not happy with the light but for this first detail I need to cut a few costs considering the cost of what I just spent on everything else. I know to wash wheels first but I never thought of claying the wheels, I know to do glass, lights, and painted surfaces on the car, never thought of wheels thou thank you!

[richard200593]

Just finished my first exterior detail. started at 8am and finished around 4:30 with one 15 min lunch break. ran into a few issues but nothing major and im pretty happy with the outcome. was supposed to be overcast and foggy all day, washed and clayed the car in great weather than half way thru paint correction sun came out blazing and stayed out the rest of the day. unfortunately no place near shade i could go and still have access to everything i needed so i just delt and made the best with what i had.. only advantage to this was no need for the shop light as the sun was beaming down showing me any spot that needed correcting. i read a million times but still didnt listen... used blue painters tape (not the edgelock) and ended up with allot of residue leftover on the tape lines. also taped everything that was necessary except i didnt think to tape the gap on the side mirrors and i am now trying to pick polish out of that small gap. besides that everything went pretty smooth, h2o and buttery wax were almost to easy to put on made me feel like i was doing something wrong as there was very little hazing for either product but i followed directions as stated so i imagine everything was done correctly. still need to do an interior cleaning (windows also), under the hood, and go back over a few spots on the car with ds that have small smudges i may have missed. for anyone on the fence about doing this it really is easy if you pay attention and extremely hard to mess up. i think i used WAY to much detail spray thruout the day (almost an entire bottle) but needed a ton for the clay and also had to keep going back over what i was doing with ds to get smudged and dried product off.. if i could do it over i would have bought a canopy to detail under 8 hours in the sun wore my #$# out.
not sure why the first picture is sideways its not in photo view. deleted a bunch of other pictures for the same reason.

[ST1LE]

Originally Posted by richard200593

So I know I'm asking a ton of questions but Ibe been searching all morning and since so many people use so many different methods I'm a little confused on some things. First, is this the correct process I should be doing:
Wash normal (no dry)
Dawn wash/dry(polishing will remove anything on the paint so skip this step if you plan to polish)
Apply vrt
Mask off stripes/molding
Clay all surfaces
Correcting polish
Finishing polish(If you buy the right stuff this should not take 2 steps, unless you have MAJOR correcting to do)
Alcohol spray down
Water down
H2o sealant
Buttery wax
... After I do my test spot of polishing, I can go over the entire car with that paint correcting polish than wipe with mf, than paint finishing polish, or always do 2x2 sections of back and forth? Last after applying alcohol do I just wet my car to apply h2o sealant or should I just re wash completely. Thanks everyone for the help

Adams has some really great stuff, and there are some items I flat out prefer from Adams, like their Wool Wash Mitts. That being said, there are also just flat out better products out there in some cases, so don't be afraid to try something new along the way. Mazerna Polish is one I suggest you try out, it will save you money and time as it is a one step correction/finishing polish.

[scandata]

The canopy sounds like a good idea. It's never good to do correction work in direct sunlight anyway. Swirl lights start around $30.00, so that will be a small price to pay for when you're working in the shade.

Don't you love the feeling of having that done and the fact that you did it yourself? Now you have all the supplies you'll need for next time!

[myold88]

I just did a Spring detail on my engine compartment today. I do it twice a year and after 5 1/2 years still looked near new. Simple green and a 1 1/2" paint brush is all you need. No need to buy a bunch of specialty products imo. That same quality brush is also perfect for getting the factory wheels clean- fits perfectly into the lug nut holes and the back of the wheels.

[JTruck]

Originally Posted by myold88

I just did a Spring detail on my engine compartment today. I do it twice a year and after 5 1/2 years still looked near new. Simple green and a 1 1/2" paint brush is all you need. No need to buy a bunch of specialty products imo. That same quality brush is also perfect for getting the factory wheels clean- fits perfectly into the lug nut holes and the back of the wheels.

I haven't really heard of people suggesting different specialty products for engine bay detailing.

[richard200593]

Originally Posted by myold88

I just did a Spring detail on my engine compartment today. I do it twice a year and after 5 1/2 years still looked near new. Simple green and a 1 1/2" paint brush is all you need. No need to buy a bunch of specialty products imo. That same quality brush is also perfect for getting the factory wheels clean- fits perfectly into the lug nut holes and the back of the wheels.

That's a nice looking bay! That's one thing I have not done in the 3 years of having the car but it's also a 6 so I prefer not to pop my hood lol. It's what's on the outside that counts!

[myold88]

Originally Posted by richard200593

That's a nice looking bay! That's one thing I have not done in the 3 years of having the car but it's also a 6 so I prefer not to pop my hood lol. It's what's on the outside that counts!

I especially like to clean the radiator support and w/housing shock tower areas. In other words, all around the actual engine.
If it's not cleaned once in awhile the road grime will permanently set into and stain the paint. I just mist and wipe dry the actual engine and components as they don't get that dirty anyway. Even the engine block shows very little oil or dirt after 6 years and 37,000 miles.