Ok, i know there are ALOT of pictures, but i tried to narrow it down. It doesn't help that i wanted to pretty much document every step i took really. Some of the pics were at different stages of polishing, some were after megs 80 and was lsp ready, others were after 83 and still needed a go-over of 80 before being lsp, but hopefully you will all still be impressed! This detail took me the better part of the week to complete, although i wasn't really able to go at it for any "full days", just parts of each day here and there. Anyways lets get started! Products Used: Wash -Grit guards with the 2 bucket method -Microfiber wash mitt -Dehydrator waffle weave drying towel -Duragloss #461 Ultra Orange Polishing -Riccardo Yellow Clay -ONR diluted to clay lube strength -Meguiars #80 -Meguiars #83 -Meguiars Ultimate Compound -Yellow/orange/white LC spot pads -Yellow/White Sonus SFX pads -Flex DA LSP -Collonite #845 Insulator Wax -Black foam applicator pads Extra's -Aerospace 303 protectant (roof/vinyl interior parts/black plastic trim around windows) -Duragloss #221 Leather Conditioner (for all the leather parts obviously lol) -Stoners Invisible Glass -Stoners Trim Shine -Armor all tire shine (i know i know, AA is usually tried to stay away from...) -Engine finish spray (found at a local store) -Nevr Dull Wadding Polish Overall the car was in pretty decent shape. The type of swirls/scratches and paint defects one might think are quite normal for a car thats now 5 years old, and not always been in the hands of a wacko. Lets start with the washing of the engine bay! - lots of dirt/dust in there, everything looking a bit dull. - Covered up the alternator, rinsed with diluted Duragloss Ultra Orange, and sprayed low pressure water to rinse it all nice and clean. -Final dressing applied with stuff i found locally called "engine finish" from canadian tire. Seemed to work pretty well, easy to apply, leaves a pretty high shine, but doesn't feel greasy at all to the touch, in fact, feels like its perfectly dry. I guess we'll find out the long term effects if any with this stuff! The rest of the car before washing too: And after the wash! After this, I was ready to go ahead with the clay bar. I used riccardo yellow clay and ONR diluted down to be used as clay lube. Sorry I didn’t get any pics of the clay after I was done, it was fairly filthy, but definitely not as bad as I’d seen before on some details here! So, lets skip over to polishing: I decided to try and start most areas with Megs #80 on a white pad. This worked for most of the panels on the rear of the car, however, moving towards the front, the doors/fenders/hood needed some Megs #83 on a yellow pad (orange in LC terms). Anything done in 83 was followed up by #80 to finesse the paint and get rid of anything 83 might have left behind (although I sure as heck couldn’t see anything, 83 finishes up very nicely too) Heres the trunk: 50/50’s on the trunk Full trunk done 50/50 on the wing Full wing polished Front portion of trunk 50/50 LSP ready back portion polished up! Taillights Before After Rear Passenger ¼ panel 50/50 90% done another 50/50 on the last portion all done Passenger Door 50/50 bottom not polished finished panel, front area shown even the bottom portion lookin good! full panel done! passenger front fender before after 50/50 all done and now my most troubling panel, the hood. There must still be a few rids in there somewhere, but anyone would be hard pressed to find them, otherwise, the hood is about 98% corrected 50/50 yeaaa….lots of dust wasn’t able to get a finished shot of the hood, other than after lsp, end of the work day and I was toast Front driver fender done driver door driver door 50/50 and heres the scratch that was there when I bought the car. It truly was an eyesore during the purchase, but I wasn’t gunna let it hinder getting into an s2k. I didn’t think I was going to be able to correct this fully, since my nail would grab the scratch in certain spots. BUT, using a yellow LC spot pad on an eshine “handjobber” handle, and the meguiars ultimate compound I picked up at wal mart while I was on vacation in florida last month, I was able to work it in by hand, 2 applications, and basically remove the scratch, or at least to a level that I can’t see it with the naked eye. I even used a little “KBM” theory when doing this since UC is non-diminishing, and the results will speak for themselves. Thank you UC! Before: after With the paint looking all nice and shiny, did a 50/50 IPA wipedown and applied collonite 845 with a black foam pad by hand. Final pics at end of course Onto the other parts of the car: Top before (all dull and faded) after 303 was applied ( I know the pictures are a little deceiving, but its still a lot better trust me) dirty windows… AND, its not as bad as the civic, but WOW was the S ever dusty or what…all the vinyl in the interior was dressed with 303, leather with Duragloss 221 leather conditioner. Carpets were vacuumed and shampooed to the best of my ability using the products I have. I wish I had an extractor though! built up dust in the headrest helmet holes AND AFTER! Love the smell that the DG221 leaves….not so much the 303 though lol Exhaust tips Before After Things I didn’t get pics of: - The 1Z gummi I applied to all the seals, easy to use and apply, we’ll see how the stuff is long term. - Stoners trim shine used to brighten up those fender liners - AA tire foam for the tires And for the final product… some reflections And that concludes this detail, thanks for sticking with it for the whole lot of reading/photo viewing that it must take to read this! Comments/criticism are always welcome, always looking to improve my techniques and skill. I’m really happy with the turnout of this one, the gf’s mazda3 comes next…and it wont be easy!
Great job, the pictures are awesome. PS there is nothing wrong with using AA for tires and wheel wells
Nope, car is basically stock! Taillights were done with m80, my friend has some plastx I'd like to try though
