Well this is my first post showing off a detail. I cannot accept more than about 5% (or less) of the credit for the spectacular results. I had a very, very special mentor for the day. I have been trying to up my detailing game and progress as a detailer. I only care for my own vehicles and on occasion help a friend out with minor issues. I have tried to make it to one of David and Phil's Polishing classes but the timing just never seemed to work into my schedule. Over the past few years David, of Street Dreams Detail and I have been speaking and he has been generous with his advice and expertise. He is an amazing businessman, friend, person and detailer. When he offered to help/teach me to polish and apply opticoat on my new car I was delighted and jumped at the offer. It's kind of like having Derek Jeter come over to show you how to play shortstop in your garage! David's detailing rig is like a detailing supply warehouse on wheels. He has everything you can imagine or ever need. It is all stored neatly in wall mounted tool boxes, bins and wall racks. He knows where everything is instantly. Product used: Poor Boys Super Slick and Suds Washed with 2BM w/ grit guards Wheel Woolies-set of 3 5 gall wheel wash bucket w/grit guards Sheep Skin wash mitt & MF wash mitt for lower panels P21S Gel Wheel Cleaner P21S TAW Stoners Tarminator ONR as Nanoskin Lube Nanoskin 6" pad Wheel well brush, tire brush, SV brush Griots DA w/ uber Mint Green pads M105/M205 and some M101 303 Aerospace protectant for the engine Uber Pink Glass Towels Stoners invisible glass cleaner (pump Spray) IPA Opticoat 2.0 1Z cockpit Premium 1Z plastic cleaner 1Z Anti Insect SV Pneu for the tires Lots of GP and Paint Safe MF towels A few pictures of the car at dealer pick up: Adhesive after plastic removal quickly removed with Tarminator Condition of wheels upon arival home from the dealer (dealer was told not to wash anything!) I started the wash process early Sunday morning and got the car all cleaned up just as David was arriving at 8:45 AM. I had taken delivery of the car with the plastic intact and cleaned up the larger mess a few weeks ago. I had never met David in person but I feel like I have know him for longer than I actually do. He is a very genuine and sincerely nice guy who knows his way around paint. He literally spent 9 1/2 hours showing me and helping me do my car. We did take a lunch break and went to lunch at a great local place where we got to talk about detailing, life and literally everything under the sun. It was a great day for me. After the wash, I pulled the car into the garage and David showed me the Nano Scrub pad, how it worked and how fast it allows you to remove bonded contaminants compared to clay. He allowed me to run the Nanoskin on the glass first to break in the pad and then on the paint. We demonstrated how much pressure was required to be effective yet not inflict any micro marring onto the paint whatsoever. The whole car was nano skinned (if that is a word) in less than 15 Minutes if you take out the time he stopped to allow me to practice on a few panels. We used ONR as the Nanoskin lube and then proceeded to dry the car. We split the hood and tried several combo's of polish and determined that we could 1 step the fairly swirl free paint after seeing no real gain from a finer step. He pointed out the things I should look for when polishing, hand speed, pad speed and angle of attack for the DA as well as the advantages of varying amounts of pressure. He also showed me how much product to apply to the pad and when to add more. David and I worked our way around the car until the polishing was complete. It is amazing how easy and smooth he makes it look, and then when I take the machines in my hand how awkward and jerky it feels. Next we wiped the car down with a solution of IPA. we checked the car with a super bright LED light and corrected a few spot defects we located with the brightest of lights. After wiping those spots with IPA we began the opti-coating. Applying the Opticoat 2.0 was the part I was extremely concerned about getting right since it is a PITA to fix a botched permanent coating of any kind! I was happy to have David there to show me the application process. We wiped it on in a methodic and consistent pattern to ensure 100% coverage. We watch the Opticoat flash off and clarify or melt into the paint. Then after several minutes we buffed the panel with a paint safe MF to level the high spots. The opti coat is not hard to apply once you know and are confident in what you are doing. It is just time consuming and un-nerving because if you wait too long to level the high spots you might have to polish them flat. After we applied 2 coats of Opti coat in the paint, we moved onto the lenses, wheels and exhaust pipe and interior faux wood trim. By the time we were done I was toast-this is not easy work and I have a whole new respect for the guys who bust out several cars a week on their own! What's so funny about this is David did a lot (read MOST) of the volume of work. I plan on polishing and opti coating the door jams/under side of the hood/trunk jambs and SS sill plates in the future. At the end I offered to take David to dinner but he already had plans. I will always be extremely grateful for his instruction and the guidance and tips he gave me on this past Sunday. I got a great result, met a great guy and made a good friend. I feel like I now have enough knowledge to practice and improve to the point where I can get to the next level in detailing. Here are some shots of the car in the finishing stages. I did not take any WIP pictures as it would have slowed down and extended the process. It was a super hot day in NY and these are the after shots taken as we were loosing the bright sun: Everyone, Thanks for looking and David Thanks for everything!
That was nice of David to help you. All I can say is, Spectacular results. Dave, do you have pictures of your detail rig, I want to see it.
Looks awesome and kudos to Dave for the tutorial. Pics of the rig Dave? Inquiring minds want to know!
It was extreemly generous for Dave to help me on this car, it allowed me power through the learing curve on both the correction peice and the Opti Coat application. It would have taken me way more than a day to knock-out the decon and correction alone, and I am sure that I would not have gotten the car corrected to the level that Dave got it to. I am also not sure i would have gone the Opti Coat route had his not offered to help. Dave really knows his stuff and it is clear and evident he is a professional as soon as he begins speaking! Like I said above, It was a great day for me.
I was also going to ask to see Dave's Detail Rig setup as well. You're one lucky person. I too would jump at the opportunity to learn from Dave. Simply amazing
Thanks, all in all a very fun day for me where I learned alot. If I was a better student, given the professor I could have walked away with PHD. I learned alot and definitly upped my game. The real test will be my first solo correction which I plan to do whenever it stops raining on the weekends!
Thanks, and NO doubt about it! I most likely would not have gone the Opti Coat 2.0 route on my own, and certianly would have struggled with the correction peice. The end results on the correction had David not been with me would have markedly different. I can't convey how much I learned about polishing that day. The OptiCoat application is very easy to pick up once you know what your doing, and it is an easy application once you get over the fear of messing up the finish with a permanent coating. The day was won on the correction, the real artistry in detailing is in the correction/polishing. Dave is a great guy and a master detailer and teacher!
The car looks great! I always love reading David's write-ups as he does fantastic work. I remember my first time Opti-coating. I was quite clenched haha. But super easy to work with! Great job! Seth
Thanks, I know the clenching feeling LOL. When Dave started coating the car and I saw some of those funky rainbows I would have panicked if he was not there to tell me to relax and buff the high spots down with the MF after several minutes. Dave's write up are simply amazing and after posting this write up myself I have a whole new appreciating on the time it takes to get the pictures up, posted and the text spaced out correctly. Have a good week!
