Up for a detail was a co-workers VW Passat...hmmm....rock hard clearcoat...never been detailed...and metallic silver...always a tough combination to make a detail stand out...which makes it the perfect entry.... :support: Process: Wheels: Hmmm..... The wheels showed obvious signs of neglect so a little CG Citrus Wheel Cleaner was sprayed on and my trusty Wheel Shmitt and Wheel Sticks got the call of duty...in a bucket I had 2 oz of CG Citrus Wash Clear and 2 gallons of water to help do some of the dirty work... ready to go easy to get into the barrels of the wheel I found that the foldable wheel stick held together by a zip tie make a perfect lug nut and crevice cleaner...also helps to get behind the spokes of the wheel Engine Detail: The engine was loaded with typical dirt and grime from an engine never being cleaned.... So out came CG Carpet Cleaner in a chemical sprayer and the entire engine was sprayed down After spraying down things were rinsed of with the PW...no agitation Blew things dry with a leaf blower And CD-2 across everything I knew the drive back for customer drop off the CD-2 would get a chance to bake on and I would wipe up any residue that didn't bond to the engine before turning the keys over Wash: So to get everything squeaky clean (and I could see that someone had used a cheap cleaner wax before me) I went ahead with a heavy mix in the foam cannon...today's brew consisted of 3 oz of CG Citrus Wash Clear...1 oz of CG Waterspot Remover...and 1 oz of Super Snow Foam II....then in a bucket 2 oz of Citrus Wash Clear and 3 gallons of water and used my trusty grout sponge as my wash media the mix ready to go foaming it up Clay: After rinsing the car off I went ahead and broke out the Hi-Tech Body sponge using a new mix of soap and water in a bucket...I followed with a grout sponge loaded up with suds to help keep things lubricated the trunk lid all clayed up Paint Correction: The car has some minor swirling that typically would be really easy to remove with 106ff and a polishing pad...but VW clearcoat is not that forgiving...so out came SIP and a Yellow CG MPT pad...equal probably to somewhere in between LC Orange and Green....the hood, trunk lid, and roof got a quick pass of wool and SIP as they needed a little leveling to get the paint fully correct...then the entire car got 106ff and CG MPT White Pad... No after pics as it was hard to get my camera to take a good pic as the metallic flake and direct sun was wreaking havoc on trying to capture a pic....those of you who have tried to get pics of this know what I am talking about A quick detour of the detail at hand: After polishing I busted out the pad washer...just wanted to show it off :applause2: All clean and fluffy...works just as well on foam pads... Interior: Thankfully the interior was well maintained...all it needed was a wipedown with CG Total Interior Cleaner (now called Green Clean on their website), vacuumed, carpets extracted, and all leather and vinyl was dressed using CG Silkshine and CG Leather Conditioner Glass: All glass was polished using 0000 steel wool and CG Revive Glaze...got rid of all the water spots and left the glass silky smooth...Sprayway Glass Cleaner and a Walmart waffle weave kitchen towel took care of the final wipedown ALL DONE!!!!!! The LSP of choice was a once over with CG Revive Glaze and topped with CG 50/50 Outdoor Shots: How the wheels should look!!! something to note: VW for some reason decided to put the most fade happy plastic trim along the bottom of their cars...CG Restore Gel worked wonders on it...you can see in the pic how the black trim looks new...the other thing of note the rear wheel wells have this carpet material in them so it is impossible to get the nice blacked out wheel well....:waiting: Tires were dressed with CG VRP and the wells were sprayed with CG Fade to Black Dropped off to the customer so I took some parking garage pics :mounty:Hope you all enjoyed!!!!:mounty:
the sticks are awesome...glad I thought of them... haha...:applause2::applause2: ....something about adding the water spot remover really amps up cleaning power...the paint always comes out that little bit extra clean..i think the fact that it is an acid in a gel carrier helps raise the ph of the soap to make it a little more acidic and strips away any crap wax and other mineral deposits on the paint...basically adds another dimension to the car soap while still being safe on the paint...
the grout sponge at home depot you are looking for is always found in a loose bin of grout sponges....the 4 pack ones are too stiff....but i use them on every car i do regardless if i am polishing or not...they are VERY paint safe...apparently other forums talk of a grout sponge in the cleaning section of Lowe's that is supposed to be better since it has bigger pores...
The carpet cleaner is made up of surfactants and degreasers....cuts through engine dirt, grime, and oil like nobody's business...and it is cheap, diluteable, multitasking, and most of all it works without turning black plastic engine covers that whitish color and doesn't spot/stain bare aluminum...oh yah...and I prefer something that is spray and rinse so I dont have do scrub around a bunch or wiring hanging all over the place...that last thing I want to do is yank out an important wire...