Detailing Show and Shine thread

[Vivant511]

 

I noticed there's no showroom to share some of the hard work detailer's here go through. Care to post some before, during, after pictures of your work and products used?

 

NB: Please don't use this to market other people's/groomers work.

 

Anyone wish to start?

[Vivant511]

Ok, since everyone shy shy, I'll start

 

This 2003 Nissan Silvia S15 Spec R was in need of a two-stage paint correction and Opticoat 2.0 coating

From the initial walk around inspection it was found that the car was

[Vivant511]

 

 

Reflection off the roof

 

Wheels were blow dried and tires dressed with Meguiars Endurance

 

 

One final artistic shot to show off the car.

 

 

Thanks for looking! Now join in the fun!

[Skchiu]

how many times did u apply meguire ultimate polish to remove the scour marks?

 

i've tried 1 time but still looks the same to me

[Optivax]

Nice work How I wish I had a garage like yours here

 

Sound like there lots of paint transfer? I heard good reviews about scholl S3 but yet to have a chance to try..How is Opticoat 2.0 doing there?

Edited June 13, 2013 by Optivax

[Vivant511]

how many times did u apply meguire ultimate polish to remove the scour marks?

 

i've tried 1 time but still looks the same to me

 

I used Ultimate Compound, which is more aggressive than the polish. This was coupled firstly with a cutting foam pad then on refined on light cutting pad using a random orbital polisher. This got the scratches and oxidisation off side skirts and mirrors no problems leaving a very good finish.

 

I believe if you're doing one time by hand with something like a microfibre cloth won't do much, especially if it's on a hard paint like more euro cars. Try the Ultimate Compound on hand held polishing pad (assuming you dont access to polisher) two rounds, then refine with polish and hopefully that would do the job.

 

[Vivant511]

Nice work How I wish I had a garage like yours here

 

Sound like there lots of paint transfer? I heard good reviews about scholl S3 but yet to have a chance to try..How is Opticoat 2.0 doing there?

 

Thanks Benny, praise from a figure like you means a lot.

 

Yeah, having an enclosed garage is a luxury Singapore misses out on and I'm so glad I have access to one.

 

There was paint transfer only from the mirrors and sideskirts as they seem to be aftermarket products or not painted the same as the rest of the car. None of the larger panels transferred as it was all clear over base, not single stage. The orginal panels were very nice to work with, but the resprayed panels were extremely hard and needed much more efort to correct.

 

S3 is absolutely fantastic. It does dust a bit, like Menzerna, but as a cutting compound, it finishes down very well.

 

I have Opticoat 2.0 on my car too, it holds up very well...beading is fantastic and I find my car doesn't get dirty as much and so often after application.

 

[Vivant511]

2007 Mercedes Benz S350 with original AMG 2010 body kit and AMG 19 inch wheels wrapped in Michelin PS3. Here are some before pics:

 

 

 

 

 

The process followed:

 

• Wheels decontaminated with Sonax Extreme Wheel Cleaner

• Single bucket wash with MF sponge, unknown brand car wash and dish washing liquid (I wasn’t too fuss with 2 buckets as firstly I didn’t have one, and secondly it was all going to be corrected out anyway)

• Clayed using Megs Quick detailer and Wilsson Clay

• Lake Country purple wool and Menzerna FG500 (tried with LC yellow pad first but it quite didn’t cut it…lol…pun intended)

• Refined with Lake Country white pad and PF2500

• CarPro Eraser wipe down to remove polishing oils

 

The paint was entirely covered with water spots and medium swirling and being a newer Benz with Ceramiclear it was incredibly hard and took a few passes on purple wool to correct decently.

 

Before:

 

After one pass with FG500 you can now see the details in my hand and camera...and no more water spots:

 

Contamination from rear bumper only:

 

From one side door, the rest of the car was like this. A thing to note is that I clayed and waxed this car 6 months ago.

 

She's all taped up ;)

 

I used Soft99 Triz as sealant, but the application being quite straight forward, I’m still skeptical whether it really did anything! Basically, whilst the car is still wet, you simply spray on the product and spread with the supplied sponge it the box! No curing needed, just wipe dry and you’re done.

 

As the Last Step Protection (LSP), I used Soft99 Premium Authentic, which is applied in the same manner as most Japanese waxes – Miyagi style wipe on with spritz of water and damp applicator pad then wipe off. I

 

Final Front Passenger door after Premium Authentic coat:

 

Boot lid:

 

Under lights:

 

I got bored the next afternoon I thought I’d top up with another coat of wax using Soft99 King of Gloss. The gloss was clearer and reflections were deeper...

 

Dodgy Ipad pics after KoG:

 

 

Semi-dodgy Iphone pics after KoG:

 

Finished wheel and lightly coated tire with Soft99 Pure Shine:

 

 

 

 

 

KoG was very easy to apply and went a loooong way, and easier to polish off than Premium Authentic also.

 

Rain-X anti-fog was applied to inside glass then cleaned with Sonax glass cleaner both in and out.

 

All up this detail took 11 hours. I wish I could’ve spent more time and Opti-coated or C-Quartz instead but I was about to go on holidays so had plenty of commitments lined up.

 

This is all for sharing and learning so please join in

Edited June 17, 2013 by Vivant511

[Vivant511]

Some quick pics of a black Toyota Aurion :)

 

Bonnet Before

 

50/50 of the bonnet after compounding

 

C-Pillar before

 

and after

[SheliaSmithson]

Get a sexy bikini online au. Put it on your body. Fat or thin, toned or soft and squidgy, you look beautiful! Getting your body ready for bikini season will take some hard work and dedication, but it doesn't have to be torture.

[Wesleyoh]

bro where to get the blue painters tape?

[Vivant511]

bro where to get the blue painters tape?

 

Bro, I'm staying in Australia now so been lucky to buy 3M blue and green at the local tool shop.

 

I've tried looking EVERYWHERE in SG but can't find it. You probably need to buy some internationally on Ebay.

 

It makes a world of a difference having quality masking tape...well worth it in my opinion.

[Forte3737]

bro where to get the blue painters tape?

 

3m singapore?

[Vivant511]

3m singapore?

 

Didn't think of that...but if you need to do that, pretty poor marketing and brand promotion in my view...

[Vivant511]

ok, adding a few more cars...blue Lexus IS200

 

Before

 

After

 

Before (right mirror)

 

After (left mirror)

 

 

 

 

[Vivant511]

This metallic black Ford Focus ST (XR5) was in for a two stage full correction. The brief was to remove as much of the swirl marks presented taking into account some areas where the clear coat has failed due to bird droppings.

 

The first step I done before touching the car was to do an initial walk around to inspect the general condition of the car and identify potential and obvious issues such as deep scratches or signs of failed clear coat.

I also spotted the clear coat peeling on both side mirrors leaving the colour coat exposed. Also, at the top edge of the right rear door the clear has failed and so too a small section as the lower part of the door. I rang the customer to advise but was told that he already knew of these issues, so where I could improve would be great, but not expected to be entirely remedied. It was evident that the car was washed and dried using an incorrect method such as traditional sponges or brush at the coin operated car wash. Tell tail signs included heavy swirl marks on every panel of the car and some long, straight scratches, which looks to be the work of a brush.

 

 

 

The wheels were firstly tackled with a liberal spray of Iron-X, which removes iron filings from brake dust and airborne iron contamination coming from places such as railways and factories. You can see the product working as it reacts with iron and turns colour from clear to a browny-purple. A rinse then washing the wheels with various brushes and mitt allowing me to clean the back of the wheels as well as the face, crevices and wheel nuts then follows this. Tyres were sprayed with all purpose cleaner and scrubbed with a brush to remove dirt which has built up making them turn brown over time. This is also necessary as preparation to apply tyre dressing as being clean will allow the product so better bond and perform more effectively.

 

Before

 

Iron-X

 

Once again another rinse then a product was applied to remove tar build up that melts and sticks to the wheels. The product is left to dwell for a few minutes and agitated with a brush and given another rinse. The wheel wells are also given a scrub too.

 

Tar-X

 

The car is then given a pre-wash with snow-foam before the washing begins to remove as much of the dirt as possible to avoid inducing further scratches to the car. Whilst the product is left to soak (dwelling), badge-work, windowsills and crevices are brushed.

 

 

Rinsed off again, the car is then safely washed using the two bucket method with a soft mircrofibre mitt and Amourall HD wash. As there looked to be little to no protection (was or sealant) on the car to begin with, this product was strong enough to ensure oils or old waxes are removed.

 

The paintwork is the decontaminated using a clay bar which removes the bonded contaminants which aren

[Vivant511]

Completed pics

 

 

 

All trim protected with Autoglym Bumper and Trim protectant. 50/50 shot, below section dressed

 

 

 

 

 

 

In all, this was a 14 hour detail. This was easily the most rewarding car I

[Enzomatrix]

 

Still have quite a bit of swirls and watermarks since Im doing it by hand.

 

All meguiars products, claybar, polish, colour restore, wax, sealant.