tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29721242032563622802023-11-16T11:08:58.350-08:00OCDetails Detailing BlogUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972124203256362280.post-75325007157954212802016-03-28T09:39:00.000-07:002016-04-07T13:14:43.850-07:00Man, this stuff is awesome! I haven't ever been so excited about a
product release than I was when this one came out awhile back. I
applied it to my wiper cowl, sunroof trim, and rails on the roof of my
car back in November and man has it lasted!! The power went out in my
building on Tuesday at 1:00, so I figured I'd just head home and
continue my spring cleaning on the car. I've already polished it and
sealed it, but I hadn't done anything to the interior, trim, or engine
since November. Some of those areas definitely need love. Well, some
of them EXCEPT the trim! This is what it looked like after just washing
it.<br />
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I also did the engine cover just to start testing how well it lasts
under the hood just out of curiosity. I typically use CD2 Engine
Detailer under there, but this says it works on all sorts of surfaces,
so I figured what the heck?<br />
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Such a nice shine! I just can't believe how well this product has held
up to several months of winter driving and neglect. Typically I end up
with salt stains and waterspots on the cowl in the spring that has to be
cleaned up, but as you can see the water is still beading up and the
plastic is as clean as it can be. Awesome!!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972124203256362280.post-30920467972986987072012-05-14T10:24:00.001-07:002012-05-24T09:47:45.266-07:00Headlight PolishingA buddy of mine gave me his headlights after helping him replace them.
He had gotten in a little fender bender and the insurance bought him a
new set. So instead of polishing out the old ones, he just got new
ones. Sweet deal! Anyway, this was three or four years ago and I had
put the headlights up in the loft in my shed and forgotten about them. I
was poking around up there on Saturday and found them and decided to
see what kind of difference a little polishing up would do. They were
pretty crusty and yellow, so this just seemed like a really good test.<br />
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These are from a 2001 Integra. I have no idea how we let them get this
bad, but sometimes you just don't realize how nasty lenses get as they
slowly oxidize and yellow.<br />
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<span rel="lightbox"><img alt="Posted Image" class="bbc_img" height="300" src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b182/OCDetails2/DSC_0085.jpg" width="400" /></span><br />
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I taped off half of the lenses so you could see a good before/after type
effect. Sometimes you really need to see them side by side to tell the
difference and I wasn't sure how much difference I was going to be able
to make.<br />
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I hit them with my big guns. I had my rotary with a blue polishing pad
on it already plugged in and on the work bench from another project I
had worked on, so I decided to use that. I also had some XMT4 sitting
there, so I decided to use my most aggressive machine with my most
aggressive polish and see what kind of repair I could do. The blue pad
isn't the most aggressive, but with that polish it doesn't matter. It
could take the white off your teeth it is so gritty. lol<br />
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Here it is right after polishing. I was shocked that it only took like
45 seconds to get results. With that combo the yellow crust just melted
off.<br />
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See what I mean about it being hard to tell the difference unless you
see it side by side? You can see the brown polish on the tape and that
is how I know this is the 'after' picture. Check out what it looks like
when I pull the tape off though!<br />
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Here they are out in the sun.<br />
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The point is that I turned something my buddy was just going to
toss into something worth money. Nobody would have bought those in the
condition they were in. Once they were cleaned up I had to beat buyers
off with a stick. The process of cleaning them up was ridiculously
simple too. It just took a little car polish and a machine. They
actually make smaller attachments and pads that you can use with a drill
specifically for headlight repair like this. Don't go paying someone
$50 or $75 bucks to polish your headlights when you can do it yourself
for much less. <br />
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Plastic lenses are often clear coated to protect the plastic from UV
damage, but over time and after a few years of neglect the clear coat
will start to peel off and look terrible. It may be that you need to
sand the rest of the clear off before you can polish and it also may be
that the plastic has been UV damaged so badly that replacement is the
only option. You won't know until you try though. Crusty yellow
headlights really detract from the car's overall appearance. Polish
them up and put a coat of wax or sealant on them when you do the rest of
your car to keep them somewhat protected. It is better than spending
big bugs on OEM replacements. I know you can buy aftermarket lights for
about $150 shipped, but do you really want to have to do that if you
can just polish yours out? And what about the resale value of your
lights? I sold my OEM lights after I put projector housings in and it
covered the cost of my replacements. Your yellowed lenses won't do that
for you, so polishing them up is a good investment.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972124203256362280.post-68433951516237386512012-05-14T10:14:00.004-07:002012-05-14T10:14:49.995-07:00Sorry for any broken imagesI typically renew my Photobucket Pro account every year using TrialPay. This year they seem to have eliminated that as an option. I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and pay the $25 bucks to have unlimited bandwidth on my pictures. The pictures you see on the blog are usually just cut and pasted from a forum post somewhere. I would upload the pictures directly here, but that takes so much more work... Anyway, I'll get the problem fixed and I appreciate you not teasing me for being cheap. ;)<br />
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-AnthonyUnknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972124203256362280.post-38468482283427643912012-04-18T09:29:00.001-07:002012-04-18T09:31:10.688-07:002012 Camaro ZL1This is definitely the newest black car I have detailed before. I've gotten them after a couple weeks or even a few days, but this car has as many miles on it as it took to drive it home from the dealership and then over to the hangar where I detailed it. It hadn't been washed or touched in any way other than to take the supports out of the suspension which were there for shipping and to take a couple stickers off the window. 59 miles is all it has and it is killing the owner to have to wait to really get on it while he is breaking it in.<br /><br />The car has been sitting in Canada for two months waiting for some kind of replacement part they had to do on all the ZL1s. The owner had been sent pictures of it sitting under snow and ice completely uncovered. The only covering they put on these cars was right along the front of the bumper and some on the spoiler. No other plastic was on the car. So it had quite the build up of some cloudy looking scum which was really apparent after the plastic came off. There were a couple fairly significant scratches on it, but considering it hasn't been washed since it rolled out of the factory, the only damage to the paint was just in what the snow had done to it and possibly some dust storm swirls from the ride on the truck to Utah. There was quite a bit of dirt accumulated in the engine bay and some other places, but that was pretty simple.<br /><br />The owner wants this car to remain looking as good as possible for as long as possible. He hadn't even touched the paint with his hand anywhere other than on the door handle before I got to it. He is very aware that anything that makes contact with the paint can cause swirls and scratches. I thought about what would be best to use and searched around on the Autogeek website for any ideas. That is when I found CQUARTZ. It says that it provides significant protection from washing induced swirl marks. Since that is the only kind of swirls this car is really going to be at risk of, I thought it might be a good option to try. So I called my buddy Nick at Autogeek for some of his thoughts and recommendations and put in my order. <img src="http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" class="inlineimg" border="0" /> (Thanks again for your help, Nick!) As always, Autogeek got my order packed and sent off and it arrived to me within a week. Just in time too. The car was delivered on Monday evening and the box arrived on Tuesday afternoon. I headed off to the hanger as soon as UPS dropped it off.<br /><br />The first thing the car got was a good wash with Wolfgang Auto Bath. I gave the owner my Foam Gun as well and bought him a bottle of soap for it. Since he is worried about creating swirls, I felt this was a good present for his new car celebration. (He is an awesome client and I definitely want to keep him happy.) Then it got clayed with Pinnacle PolyClay using XMT Clay Lube. That stuff is my absolute favorite combination. Especially for a car in good shape. Fortunately there wasn't much contamination on this paint. <br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_2" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/CamaroZL1/DSCN4950.jpg" alt="" border="0" width="640" height="480" /><br /><br />After the clay and final rinse, I dried it with my trusty green waffle weave microfiber towel. (another favorite tool) I did the job at their private hangar, but I wanted to get all the wet work done outside so not to have a slippery floor to contend with while I did the rest.<br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_3" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/CamaroZL1/DSCN4953.jpg" alt="" border="0" width="640" height="480" /><br /><br />I also gave the engine bay a little bit of a wash since there was quite a bit of dirt in there and waterspots under the hood and on the strut towers. Nothing a little soapy water couldn't handle. I dressed it with CD2 Engine Detailer later, but for now it was ready to go inside the hangar.<br /><br />This is what I call the perfect environment for this kind of work! Talk about bright lights and just perfect everything!!<br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_1" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/CamaroZL1/DSCN4969.jpg" alt="" border="0" width="640" height="480" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_4" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/CamaroZL1/DSCN5016.jpg" alt="" border="0" width="640" height="480" /><br /><br />With the white walls, floor, and ceiling, I had no excuse not to be able to see every single mark on the paint. The owner wanted perfectness, so I went to work trying out different combinations of pads, product, and even machines. What turned out to work the best was a white CCS pad and my trusty Flex 3401 using Pinnacle Advanced Finishing Polish. I tried XMT 2 and XMT 1 with different pads and they both left too much haze behind. After switching to the PAFP and the white pad I was left with absolutely zero marks. <br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_5" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/CamaroZL1/DSCN4964.jpg" alt="" border="0" width="640" height="480" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_6" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/CamaroZL1/DSCN4966.jpg" alt="" border="0" width="640" height="480" /><br /><br />You can't hide swirls with that kind of lighting! These are the same kind of lights they put in convention centers. We have this kind of lighting at the SEMA show and it was great to be able to demo this exact same product there on black paint to show how effective it is.<br /><br />The whole front clip from the doors forward is getting a clear bra on it as we speak. So the idea was to polish the entire car to perfection and then apply the protection to everything not being clear bra'd. So I got everything all shiny and went to work with the product.<br /><br />I have to say this first. CQUARTZ smells HORRIBLE!! Can I say that louder? H O R R I B L E ! ! It reminds me of the smell in the dentist office when they are gluing on a crown or something. It will burn your eyes and probably cause brain tumors if you sniff too much of it. If you are at all sensitive to smells then I would strongly recommend wearing a medical mask while applying it. My head hurt after this process. I've been spoiled by my wonderful smelling Pinnacle products too long I guess....<br /><br />Anyway, the product itself applies very similarly to Klasse Sealant Glaze. This is a ceramic sealant apparently and not an acrylic or polymer, but the principles are the same. It should go on in very thin coats. I was absolutely amazed at how little product was needed to do this car. I seriously probably only used an amount equal to the size of half the height of the font on the label. We are talking a barely perceptible difference in quantity lost after I was done. It may be spendy, but that little 30ml bottle is sure to last forever. It will probably harden and crystallize in the bottle before I ever get around to using it all.<br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_7" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/CamaroZL1/DSCN4994.jpg" alt="" border="0" width="640" height="480" /><br /><br />You apply it to the applicator and just wipe it on in straight lines. It dries pretty quickly, so you have to spread it around fast or else you are left with something akin to concrete to try and buff off later. I've learned that the hard way with KSG, so I moved rapidly on this. I applied it all the way around the car and then set to work cleaning the wheels and tires while it dried. It suggests 20 or 30 minutes to dry, and although the first panel had already had that amount of time, I like doing the wheels next so I can wipe off any product overspray on the paint when I buff the sealant off.<br /><br />I was showing him some local products he should use on the car to maintain it, so I picked up some Eagle One A2Z for the wheels and tires that was used prior to the wash. I used Eagle One Wet for the tires at this point. Then for the wheels themselves I just spritzed them with Wolfgang Instant Detail Spritz and then used Detailer's Wheel Glaze to protect them from the brake dust. I want to see how bad the brake dust gets on these. If this doesn't do the trick on helping to keep them clean and easy to maintain, then I'll go over them again with something a little more durable. I've had good results with this in the past though, so I'm not worried.<br /><br />I popped the hood and applied the CD2 engine detailer to the plastics and rubber under there. I also used the Instant Detailer Spritz to clear up the waterspots under the hood and on the painted surfaces. Then I used Wolfgang Deep Gloss Spray Sealant under the hood and on the painted surfaces to make it really shine. What a beast of an engine bay...<br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_8" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/CamaroZL1/DSCN4993.jpg" alt="" border="0" width="640" height="480" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_17" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/CamaroZL1/DSCN4989.jpg" alt="" border="0" width="640" height="480" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_9" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/CamaroZL1/DSCN4988.jpg" alt="" border="0" width="640" height="480" /><br /><br />I dressed the wiper cowl, running boards, front splitter, and rear part of the bumper with Wolfgang Exterior Trim Sealant. I also went over the door seals and anything else I could find to use this stuff on. I love how well it protects and shines plastic. <br /><br />Then came the part where I had to work my muscles to buff the CQUARTZ off. It didn't come off like what I'm used to, but it wasn't the hardest thing to buff off either. Again, fortunately I had the advantage of knowing to put this stuff on thin beforehand because that definitely made it easier. The spots I put it on a little to thick were much tougher to buff off.<br /><br />After it was all said and done, I think the car came out looking awesome! I'm going to take another look at it this weekend when the sun is out and maybe go over it with Deep Gloss Spray Sealant just to give it a little more pop. Still... For a black car I don't think it can look a whole lot better than it does right now. The thing is incredible looking.<br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_10" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/DSCN5003.jpg" alt="" border="0" width="640" height="853" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_11" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/CamaroZL1/DSCN5004.jpg" alt="" border="0" width="640" height="480" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_12" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/CamaroZL1/DSCN5010.jpg" alt="" border="0" width="640" height="480" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_13" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/CamaroZL1/DSCN5011.jpg" alt="" border="0" width="640" height="480" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_14" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/CamaroZL1/DSCN5009.jpg" alt="" border="0" width="640" height="480" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_15" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/CamaroZL1/DSCN4998.jpg" alt="" border="0" width="640" height="480" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_16" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/CamaroZL1/DSCN4996.jpg" alt="" border="0" width="640" height="480" /><br /><br />I did give the interior a once over with Pinnacle Vinyl & Rubber protectant as well as Wolfgang Leather Conditioner. I didn't get a chance to take any interior pictures because they had to rush it over to the tint shop so they could start working on the projects they had for it. I'll get some more of those later.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972124203256362280.post-25693149008305579932012-02-28T14:27:00.001-08:002012-02-28T14:27:45.660-08:00Headlight PolishingThese headlights wouldn't even need to be polished if someone hadn't decided to use a <i>wire brush</i> to remove the tint he had installed on them. Yes... he had tinted the headlights yellow to match the car. And yes, he used a wire brush to remove the tint. I'm not going to try and justify either of his actions. lol <br /><br />He did the damage two years ago and decided it was finally time to see if they could be cleared up a little. When he told me what he did, I really didn't see how there would be much hope, but in seeing them I could tell that it wouldn't be too terrible. They probably wouldn't come out perfect, but they would be good enough. Considering the car is only used as a track car and rarely even needs to have the headlights on, 'good enough' is probably fine.<br /><br />So here are the before pictures.<br /><br /><img class="ncode_imageresizer_original" id="ncode_imageresizer_container_1" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/polishingheadlights/DSCN0958.jpg" alt="" height="487" border="0" width="650" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_2" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/polishingheadlights/DSCN0960.jpg" alt="" height="487" border="0" width="650" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_3" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/polishingheadlights/DSCN0963.jpg" alt="" height="487" border="0" width="650" /><br /><br />I hit them with a Chemical Guys level 3 polish. It is really thick stuff. Thick like Diamond Cut is thick. I don't know where it fits on the abrasive level chart, but it is only something I've ever used for things like paint swap and heavy stuff like that. I applied it with an orange Edge 2000 pad on my <a style="cursor: pointer;" href="http://www.autopia-carcare.com/flex-polishers.html" target="_blank" class="gal" id="gal_3_310511_1">FLEX 3401</a>. I was actually pretty surprised of the results. I didn't really have to polish that long before the job was done.<br /><br />There was a little haze that needed to be cleared up. <br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_4" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/polishingheadlights/DSCN0971.jpg" alt="" height="487" border="0" width="650" /><br /><br />That was easily sorted with a level 2 polish and the yellow Edge 2000 pad. Then I used a Blue Edge 2000 pad and XMT 360 to do a final polish and put some protection on. I don't know why I used 360. It was handy I guess. lol<br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_5" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/polishingheadlights/DSCN0973.jpg" alt="" height="487" border="0" width="650" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_9" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/polishingheadlights/DSCN0974.jpg" alt="" height="487" border="0" width="650" /><br /><br />Not too shabby, eh? Definitely a whole lot better that it was before. I wasn't trying to get them perfect simply because of how abused these things tend to get. The car has over 600 HP at the wheels and it does a couple dozen track days per year and probably less than 1000 miles on the streets outside of that, so having them show car perfect really wasn't the goal. I just wanted to do a favor for a friend and see what kind of difference I could make in a short amount of time. I was pleased with the results.<br /><br />I'll tell you the really funny part though. Under the hood he has an LOL hose. :P<br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_6" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/polishingheadlights/DSCN0980.jpg" alt="" height="487" border="0" width="650" /><br /><br />That must me the hose attached to the nitrous or something. lolUnknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972124203256362280.post-21892980959383771642012-01-13T10:43:00.001-08:002012-01-13T10:43:20.762-08:00Semantics...<p>Do you know the difference between schematics and semantics? I don't think a lot of people have the vocabulary or reason to use either one of those words very often. A SCHEMATIC is like a blueprint type drawing. If you are looking at how to install a supercharger then they are going to provide a schematic drawing of the process. SEMANTICS on the other hand, is when people use the wrong word to describe a situation even though they know what they are talking about. If you call every tissue a Kleenex even though it is actually not a Kleenex brand tissue, you are dealing with semantics. A lot of arguments happen this way. My wife will tell me that it is taking forever to download pictures to her blog. She means upload, but she just messes up the words. I could argue with her, but I know what she means.<br /></p> <p>Semantics get in the way of car care all the time. I want to give you some really clear definitions of what certian words mean which might help us communicate better. This just the accepted meaning of these words in the industry, so you may say this word and mean something totally different, but semantics are going to get in the way of you getting the help you need.</p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Wash:</strong> This is pretty simple. When I say 'wash' I am talking about whatever process is necessary to remove dirt and crap from the surface of whatever is being washed. It does not include clay baring the paint, but it may include doing tar removal or something like that. When I say "wash the car" it typically includes the wheels and tires as well. It just makes more sense to include everything into one statement rather than saying "Wash the car, the the wheels, the tires, the trim, and remove the tar from the fenders and side skirts", don't you think?<br /></p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Detail: </strong> This is the trickier one. Detailing is much more than washing. In fact, when I say I'm going to wash the car this weekend, that pretty much just means I'm doing what I mentioned above. It does not usually mean I'm going to clean the interior. If I'm going to wash the car and clean the interior then I would use the term 'DETAIL'. There are different levels of this, obviously. A 'QUICK DETAIL' might mean just washing the car, using a spray wax of some sort, and doing a once over on the interior. A 'FULL DETAIL' would be much more intensive and include busting out the machines and cutting compounds. I always tell people that I'm a 'detailer' and not a 'car washer' because there is definitely a difference between the outcomes of the two. You yourself probably know the difference too. You know when you have detailed your car as opposed to just washing it.<br /></p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Clay:</strong> This deserves a post all its own, but the short story is that clay is a product meant to pull contamination OUT OF and OFF OF your paint. This is an essential part of 'detailing' your car. It doesn't really improve the look of your car at all, but you will be amazed at how much better your car will FEEL after you use a clay bar. Again, this won't remove swirls, scratches, or anything like that. It is going to pull stuff like tree sap, residue from bird sh!t, road tar, some types of paint overspray, and that the invisible kind of stuff that falls on your car from the atmosphere and makes it feel not smooth. Trust me... if you haven't clayed your car in the last 6 months then your paint is not as smooth as you think it is. If you've never clayed your car and you think it is pretty smooth, then make sure you have a towel handy when you do clay for the first time because you will bust a nut when you feel the difference.<br /></p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>IFO: </strong> This sort of goes under the clay category, but it is an acronym that warrants explaining. IFO stands for Industrial Fallout. It comes from pollution in the atmosphere that lands on your car if you park your car within ten miles of any refinery or industrial factory. It also comes from the freeway if you do a lot of driving that way. IFO is also known as 'rail dust' because new cars would pick it up when being transported by train and the metal dust off the tracks would burn into the paint. Take a look at the back of your car and see if you can spot the brown rust dots or little black specs. That is what IFO looks like. It is easily removed with clay and then the brown rust stains it leaves behind can be cleaned up with a simple paint cleaner if the clay bar doesn't get them all.<br /></p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Paint Cleaner:</strong> A paint cleaner is something that will remove paint contamination like oxidation and paint swapping by using only chemical abrasives. It won't remove swirls or scratches unless it can reduce the appearance by getting the dirt out of the scratch. In most cases a chemical cleaner is all a white or silver car really needs since it is so hard to see the swirls anyway. This is a product that can be applied by hand, but is faster and more efficient if applied by machine. Klasse All In One and Pinnacle XMT 360 are good examples of paint cleaners. The exception is that XMT 360 will put down a sealant as well which adds to the protection and is more of a one-step product than KAIO is. KAIO still needs something to protect the paint afterwards, but I'm getting ahead of myself here.<br /></p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Polish:</strong> This is where people get confused. Someone will say they are polishing their paint and it could mean anything. The way this word should be used is if you are using either a cutting compound to remove swirls and scratches OR if you are using a chemical abrasive to remove just oxidation. The bottom line is that you are working on correcting issues with the paint and not protecting it. Polishing does not mean you are using a wax or sealant if you are being literal about it. But a lot of people will say Polish when they mean Waxing just because they don't understand the difference. It's just semantics. As long as you know what you are doing then that is all that matters. But if you ask me to help you pick a product to polish your car, then you are going to get products suggestions that don't protect the paint, and that may not be what you are talking about.<br /></p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Wax:</strong> This is another universal term. Even I use it somewhat universally. To 'WAX' your car is to put something on it that will protect the paint from UV damage, IFO, and just all around make it look better. This could be a glaze, a sealant, a carnauba, or any combination of the three. You can 'wax your car with a sealant', for example. That is acceptable. Just know that if I say to 'Wax your car with Wolfgang Paint Sealant' that I just mean the technique and purpose of the application of the product mentioned should be done in the traditional style of putting wax on your car. That means typically that you can just do it by hand and you should let it dry for a minute or two before buffing it off. That is probably grounds for another post as well.<br /></p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Wax vs Sealant vs Glaze:</strong> Since I brought it up, let's look at these really quickly. A 'WAX' is typically referring to something based on a carnauba wax formula. The percentage of carnauba in the product is usually what separates them. A ‘SEALANT’, on the other hand, is entirely synthetic and is either going to be an acrylic or polymer based concoction that will far exceed the durability and appearance of 90% of the carnauba waxes out there. Some manufacturers call sealants ‘SYNTHETIC WAX’ or something like that. Meguiar’s Ultimate Liquid Wax is a sealant, for example. Then there are ‘GLAZES’. Personally, I hate glazes. As a product they suck because they are pretty much just greasy coatings that attract dust, hide swirls and buffer damage, and last only a couple weeks. Dealerships love to use glazes because they are impressive as hell when you pick the car up, but then three days later you see all sorts of things you didn’t notice when you bought it. However, just because a product has the word ‘glaze’ in it doesn’t mean it is a “glaze” as I defined it. There aren’t too many that you have to worry about out there. Meguiar’s #7 is really the only consumer grade glaze that you might run into, and it isn’t all bad. I still wouldn’t use it when there are so many better choices out there.<br /></p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Compound vs Polish:</strong> Again we get to deal with semantics. I said before that a polish was something that was correcting the paint. Yes, that is true, but a “COMPOUND” is what you polish with, if that makes sense. I use those words interchangeably all the time, so you’ll have to forgive me if I confuse you with it, but sometimes it is just easier to be general and say ‘polish’ than ‘compound’. Usually I refer to certain products as compounds and ‘polish’ is more of the term I use to indicate the process used. Sort of like how we ‘wax our cars with sealants’. We also ‘polish our cars with compounds’.<br /></p> <p><br /></p> <p>See what a crazy mixed up world it is? Maybe this didn't help much, but hopefully it did open your eyes a little bit to the different terms used in the detailing world. It might make some things make more sense to you knowing which words are interchangable with another and which terms are new to you. I just hope it helps a little. If not, well... I tried. :) <br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972124203256362280.post-53562206162476810042011-12-12T10:57:00.000-08:002011-12-12T10:59:21.268-08:002007 Big Dog K9 DetailTypically I'm closed for the season from November through about March, so I don't really get too many calls this time of year. One of my regulars referred his buddy who was trying to sell a motorcycle on Saturday. He was showing it to someone on Sunday, so I figured if I push this back too far then he may very well sell it before I get a chance to make it look as good as possible for the new owner, so I dropped what I was doing and made the appointment. I figured, it's just a motorcycle. How tough could it be? (famous last words)<br /><br />Well, apparently he had left it in the sprinklers overnight and then put it away wet. Grrrrrr... Gotta love that... This is EXACTLY the reason my bike has very very little chrome on it. I could sit down and polish all the chrome on my bike with a tooth brush and be done in 30 minutes. This bike was another story though... Very little WASN'T chrome. Still, it is an awesome motorcycle and spots happen to all of us at some point or another, so it was time to get to work!<br /><br />So here are some before shots. Not totally thrashed, but the chrome was pretty dull in some areas and all of it was spotted. The freaking wheels were ginormous! 300 series tire on the back with probably a 4 inch deep dish on both sides. They were huge! Huge and water stained.<br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_12" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/BigDog/DSCN2976.jpg" alt="" width="650" border="0" height="487" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_11" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/BigDog/DSCN2975.jpg" alt="" width="650" border="0" height="487" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_10" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/BigDog/DSCN2973.jpg" alt="" width="650" border="0" height="487" /><br /><br />The paint was in pretty good shape. The only real problem was where the seat connected to the fat rear fender.<br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_1" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/BigDog/DSCN2979.jpg" alt="" width="650" border="0" height="487" /><br /><br />It has a great pearl clear coat on it that I'm sure looks amazing in the sun. I'm just not a fan of yellow choppers or that style of graphic on them.<br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_13" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/BigDog/DSCN2982.jpg" alt="" width="650" border="0" height="487" /><br /><br />Not really too many action shots here since I was by myself in this warehouse polishing chrome, but I can say that it came out pretty good. I brought a whole bag of metal polish not knowing in advance how serious the spots were going to be. Ultimately I used Wolfgang Concours Aluminum Polish for most of it. The spots were coming off pretty easily with that and it really brightened up the chrome. The paint got <a style="cursor: pointer;" href="http://www.autopia-carcare.com/pinnacle-car-care.html" target="_blank" class="gal" id="gal_5_409783_1">Pinnacle</a> Advanced Finishing Polish since it was in pretty good shape. Then I decided to see what a little Wolfgang Paint Sealant would look like if I topped it with Blackfire Midnight Sun paste wax. I didn't get to see it in the sun, so I'm just going off my belief that both of those products are outstanding by themselves, so layered they can only look even better. On a yellow with a pearl coat like this has, I'm sure it looked outstanding.<br /><br />I finished off the chrome with Blackfire Metal Sealant just to help keep the spots from staining like that again and then cleaned and conditioned the seat with <a style="cursor: pointer;" href="http://www.autopia-carcare.com/pinnacle-car-care.html" target="_blank" class="gal" id="gal_5_409783_2">Pinnacle</a> leather cleaner & conditioner. I was in and out in 3 hours flat, so that makes me happy. For once I actually estimated the time right. lol<br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_2" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/BigDog/Chopper1.jpg" alt="" width="650" border="0" height="487" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_9" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/BigDog/DSCN2991.jpg" alt="" width="650" border="0" height="487" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_14" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/BigDog/DSCN2993.jpg" alt="" width="650" border="0" height="487" /><br /><br />It's tough to photograph chrome indoors. I tried it with a flash, without a flash, from a distance, up close... Anyway, it was shiny. <img src="http://www.detailcity.org/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif" alt="" title="Smiley" class="inlineimg" border="0" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_3" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/BigDog/DSCN2995.jpg" alt="" width="650" border="0" height="487" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_6" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/BigDog/DSCN2998.jpg" alt="" width="650" border="0" height="487" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_4" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/BigDog/DSCN3002.jpg" alt="" width="650" border="0" height="487" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_7" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/BigDog/DSCN3004.jpg" alt="" width="650" border="0" height="487" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_8" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/BigDog/DSCN3011.jpg" alt="" width="650" border="0" height="487" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_5" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/BigDog/DSCN3015.jpg" alt="" width="650" border="0" height="487" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972124203256362280.post-8172023371315848462011-12-09T10:19:00.001-08:002011-12-09T10:22:18.816-08:00Thumbtack<a href="http://www.thumbtack.com/ut/salt-lake-city/auto-detailing/obsessive-compulsive-detailing">Obsessive Compulsive Detailing</a><br /><br />I'm on Thumbtack now! Do you ever use that service? I've found it is a great way to find local tradesmen who can do for you that which you either don't have the time or skill for yourself. <br /><br />There are a lot of detailers out there who are not very good at what they do. Plain and simple. I've spent over a decade making a name for myself in this area with my client circles and I know I'm a cut above the rest. Most guys look at it as a job that they have to go to. I look at it as a passion that I love to do! This isn't work for me and I love the opportunity I've had to work on some of the cars I've been able to work on. You can see some examples of that in the slide show below. I love what Thumbtack is providing to an industry like mine where people can look for competent and skilled laborers to provide unique and valuable services. Hopefully I'll be selected one or two times and increase my client base even further!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972124203256362280.post-23513677331098878492011-12-09T10:12:00.001-08:002011-12-09T10:12:41.589-08:00Photo Slideshow of some of my work.<div id="tt-photos"><div id="tt-galleria-container"><div id="tt-picture-info"><div id="tt-alpha-bg"></div><a href="http://www.thumbtack.com/ut/salt-lake-city/auto-detailing/obsessive-compulsive-detailing">Obsessive Compulsive Detailing</a><p>by OCDetails</p></div></div><div id="tt-carousel-container"><div id="tt-carousel"><ul id="tt-photo-gallery-list" class="tt-galleria-unstyled"></ul></div><a href="javascript:void(0);" class="tt-galleria-previous" id="tt-gallery-prev">Prev</a><a href="javascript:void(0);" class="tt-galleria-next" id="tt-gallery-next">Next</a></div></div><script src="http://www.thumbtack.com/ajax/widget_gallery?s=247842&autoscroll=1" type="text/javascript"></script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972124203256362280.post-57610345040590655642011-09-08T13:07:00.000-07:002011-09-08T13:08:08.711-07:00Time for Winter Prep detailing!September is the last good month of the year for a lot of us. October comes and it is raining every other day and the temperature just fluctuates too much. In my case I usually get snow by the end of the month and November is just as bad. September is when I start the Winter Detailing prep work for my vehicles. In fact, from September through May I am closed for any and all new business for detailing. Only my loyal regulars get work done since the work usually takes longer and I can't stack as many cars in one day as when it is just a summer maintenance type deal. Winter detail prep is something that is best done in September when the weather is still nice and winter is just right around the corner.<br /><br />Here are a few things to consider for your winterization of your daily driver this season. <br /><br />-Wheels: I like to take the wheels off and put a coat of sealant on them. It gives me a chance to scrub them good and hard and get them really clean before they are pounded by months of neglect while being covered in salt. My sealant of choice is Klasse simply because of how durable it is. You can use any sealant you have handy. Just avoid the waxes. They just don't last very long. Chances are it won't last through September if you did it now, so skip the wax and go for a sealant. <br /><br />-Paint: The Fall Detail means clay bar, polish, and sealant. Get the tree sap off and get rid of the swirls by claying and polishing the paint. Then get a good sealant on there to protect it from the salt and grossness of what is going to be slung up by your tires over the next few months. If you are using Klasse then I recommend at least 3 coats over a period of a few days for maximum shine and protection. In fact, with any sealant I would absolutely recommend more than one coat. Unlike a wax, which just blends layers together when you apply them, sealants cure on the surface and can be layered. Most sealants require 24 hours of cure time between coats, but some include a cure accelerator in them which eliminates the cure time. Wolfgang and 4*Ultimate are a couple of those sealants. I'm not sure about the new Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid Wax. I'd give it a day between coats just to be on the safe side.<br /><br />Windows: Don't use paint products on your windows. There are products like RainX and Aquapel out there for a reason. Coat your glass with them to create a surface where water beads up and zips off from when you are driving. A fresh coat of RainX will even cause your windows to freeze at lower temperatures. I did a test once to try and demo an ice scraper and I couldn't get my windows to freeze overnight to save my life. I don't know if it was just super dry or what, but it wouldn't work. I had to spray water on the glass with a spray bottle and try to demonstrate it that way, but it just froze into little beads of ice. Glass treatments are awesome in the winter.<br /><br />Exterior trim: Wolfgang has a new trim sealant that I'm dying to try out this winter. Right now there isn't anything i've found to avoid the salt stains and just generally nasty look that areas like the wiper cowl and step guards on vehicles get during the winter. I'll be hopefully picking a bottle of this up soon and will let you know. For now I can just suggest you keep them protected with a good product like Aerospace 303.<br /><br />Tires: Yeah, not much you can do there either. Just keep em clean when you can and shine them up if you get a chance and there is a break in the weather. I typically don't do much for my tires during the winter because nothing really helps which is out there right now.<br /><br />Carpets: They get nasty with salt in the winter and I don't know what to tell you. Get winter mats if you can, but otherwise just keep your mats clean by vacuuming them when you get a chance and kicking the snow off your feet before getting in. Your washing machine is your friend. Throw your mats in there every couple months and they'll stay looking a lot cleaner. I know someone who puts packing tape around the edges of his mats in the winter since those areas are the hardest to clean. Not a bad idea... Not pretty, but better than having salt encrusted borders on your floor mats.<br /><br />Leather: Winter doesn't really affect leather, but it does affect leather conditioner. When the leather is frozen you can't get the conditioner to soak in. It is best to condition your leather when the conditioner is warmed up and your car is warmed up. Don't try doing that in temperatures below 40 or you'll just waste product and make a mess.<br /><br />There are a few products you may want to bring in from the garage during the winter. Your sealants will probably be fine, and your waxes will be even better. Since tire shine doesn't work when it is cold, you might want to bring that in though. In fact, anything meant to clean anything should be brought indoors. Freezing does something funny to cleaners. Other than that, you shouldn't have to worry much.<br /><br />Oh, don't forget to polish your exhaust tips. It likely won't get done for the next four or five months, so you might as well start out with a clean one. A little chrome polish, or even paint polish, and a rag will do wonders. You can use paint sealant on them afterwards, but the heat will probably vaporize it after not long. Your best bet is just to stay on top of it. A little glass cleaner and a towel will do the trick if you stay on top of it.<br /><br />Hopefully this has been of some use. I know not everybody is as nutty as I am about car care, but my cars are among the top five most expensive things I've ever bought in my life, so they sort of fit high on the priority list of taking care of them. ;) Unless your car was given to you, then you are probably in the same boat. I don't know many things other than your house and your education that you are going to drop twenty or thirty thousand dollars on and use every single day. I will say that your vehicle represents an investment of money, and if you want to see as much of that investment come back to you someday when you sell it, then caring for it in this way is a great idea. :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972124203256362280.post-20519509873172993542011-08-22T11:31:00.000-07:002011-08-22T11:35:11.051-07:00Wheel CleaningI think some of you have seen the wheel brush I use and know my process. I just wanted to show off some of the results since wheel cleaning is kind of a chore that none of us like to do. However, it is also the first thing I look at when buying a used car. If the wheels are pitted and corroded, then I can be pretty sure that the rest of the car was neglected as well. There is no reason to believe they took the time to clay and polish their car if they were content with brake dust coating their rims and eating them up. <img src="http://legacygt.com/forums/images/smilies/wink.gif" alt="" title="Wink" class="inlineimg" border="0" />
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<br />So this is a relatively new Audi Q5. Not a bad little vehicle really. The problem with nearly all German vehicles is the brake dust though, so I’d have to really have a good reason to buy an Audi, BMW, Mercedes, or Porsche. They are great cars and all, but if I have to scrape brake dust off every week, then I’m afraid that takes away from the sexiness for me. I’m not into high maintenance women and definitely not into high maintenance vehicles.
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<br />The first thing I did was spray them down with Eagle One A 2 Z. That is my favorite wheel cleaner. It does a great job of getting brake dust off tires and wheels. However, there is only so much that can do. What it did here was get the top layer off, but it still left a lot on it. I should have taken a before and after picture, but let’s just say not much came off. Mostly just the surface stuff from the past couple days and a lot of junk on the tires. The rest had to be scrubbed off.
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<br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_11" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/f7c3b242.jpg" alt="" width="800" border="0" height="602" />
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<br />Look at how black the inside of that rim is. It is just nasty. The whole thing is nasty. This product will get a lot of it off the spokes, but the lip and that ledge inside of it before you get to the inner part of the wheel is where the brake dust does the most damage. There was crap on this wheel which I was not going to spend all day scrubbing at just so it could be neglected again, but with a little extra elbow grease and a nice wheel brush, I got it looking like this:
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<br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_12" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/74d2da05.jpg" alt="" width="800" border="0" height="602" />
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<br />The magic there was not in relying on the wheel cleaner to do all my work for me. After I washed the rest of the car, I used the bucket of water to go to work on the wheels. Obviously you don’t want to do it before you wash the car or else you’d be doing it with black water. <img src="http://legacygt.com/forums/images/smilies/wink.gif" alt="" title="Wink" class="inlineimg" border="0" /> So I took my handy dandy wheel brush I got from Autogeek at SEMA a couple years ago and went to town scrubbing.
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<br />Since the brake dust on these wheels hadn’t really had time to do serious damage, most of it came off pretty quick. I just jammed the brush in between the spokes and scrubbed the inside of the wheel. I treated it just like I was brushing teeth when it came to the lip. Scrub scrub scrub… rinse… repeat…. I use a combination of a couple brushes for this kind of thing. One is a Meguiar’s brush, but it works better for large flat faced wheels like the ones on my Corolla.
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<br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_1" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/CorollaDetail/DSC06925.jpg" alt="" width="800" border="0" height="533" />
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<br />For this job I used the <a href="http://autogeek.commerce-search.net/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.autogeek.net%2Fezdebrfca.html" target="_blank">Daytona Speed Master Wheel Brush.</a> To take a page out of my most recent detailing guide, here are some process pictures on my car.
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<br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_2" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/CorollaDetail/DSC06927.jpg" alt="" width="800" border="0" height="533" />
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<br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_3" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/CorollaDetail/DSC06928.jpg" alt="" width="800" border="0" height="533" />
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<br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_4" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/CorollaDetail/DSC06930.jpg" alt="" width="800" border="0" height="533" />
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<br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_5" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/CorollaDetail/DSC06932.jpg" alt="" width="800" border="0" height="533" />
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<br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_6" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/CorollaDetail/DSC06935.jpg" alt="" width="800" border="0" height="533" />
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<br />That brush does an awesome job and is totally safe on your wheels. The wire that the bristles attach to is wrapped in thick rubber and no metal touches your wheel. I’ve bent this thing back and forth so many times over the last two or three years that you’d think it would have broken by now, but it hasn’t. It is an awesome brush. There are a couple similar models out there on the shelves, but my problem with them has been that they don’t wrap the wire with rubber and they also break pretty easily. So just be picky when shopping for one.
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<br />On this particular Audi I want to show you what it looked like with just a quick scrubbing on the passenger side front wheel. The right side was just a quick scrubbing, but you can totally see how much better right side of the inner part of that wheel looks in comparison to the left side.
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<br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_7" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/4e07e884.jpg" alt="" width="800" border="0" height="602" />
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<br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_8" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/21ca7250.jpg" alt="" width="800" border="0" height="602" />
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<br />You can also see the parts which require a little more effort which are left, but that is what you get when you have a German car. Using the Meguiar’s brush worked out really well on those parts, so ultimately the wheels turned out pretty good. The back ones weren’t so bad, but here is the before and after one of the rear wheels on the Audi:
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<br />Before:
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<br />After:
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<br />So get yourself a good wheel brush and stay on top of them if you have a lot of brake dust. I’ve found NOTHING which really keeps it off, but I can tell you that putting a sealant on them does help make them easier to clean. Waxing doesn’t really help because it just gets too hot and it vaporizes in a couple days. Wheel Waxes don’t really help either. I’ve used sprays, jellies, waxes, sealants, voodoo, and everything else I can think of. The only thing that works is cleaning them regularly. Let me know if you find anything else that really works because I’ve been stumped. Fortunately I don’t buy cars with this problem, so I haven’t had to deal with it much. I do still maintain my rims though because I know if I make judgments about car care based on their condition, then it is likely that others do as well. I do intent on selling my vehicles at some point, so keeping them looking good is a high priority for me. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972124203256362280.post-89078078094944931072011-08-15T09:14:00.000-07:002011-08-15T09:15:43.424-07:00Interior Cleaning on a Honda OdysseyI did some grizzly cleaning on a Honda Odyssey this weekend. The thing hadn’t been really cleaned beyond just vacuuming for something like 6 years. This is exactly the reason I won’t ever have tan, beige, white, brown, or any other color of leather in my car other than black, dark grey, charcoal, or something like that. Light colored interiors are just a nightmare to keep clean and they take forever when you do need to clean them. It wasn’t as hammered as some vans I’ve done have been. The kids going in and out of this did a good job of not spraying soda all over the ceiling or having the family zoo shed their fur in it every day, so the bulk of the cleaning was on the hard surfaces and the leather.
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<br />For the leather I used <a href="http://www.autogeek.net/wolfgang-leather-combo.html" target="_blank">the Wolfgang Leather Cleaner and then ultimately the conditioner.</a> I’ve found for really dirty seats it is best to use something which is dedicated to cleaning to get the best results, otherwise I would have used something like Poorboy’s Leather Stuff. That works really well too. This van was being repurposed to be used as a shuttle for clients to and from the hangar with their private plane, so I really wanted it to look its best.
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<br />The process as just a lot of elbow grease. I used a carpet brush with nylon bristles that really do a great job on getting in the grain of leather seats and getting the dirt out without damaging it. I wouldn’t suggest just any carpet brush for this kind of work though. You’ll see the one I’m talking about down there with the side rails. Anyway, spray the cleaner on the seats, let it soak just for a second, and then brush it out using circular movements. That is really the key. Scrubbing back and forth doesn’t get nearly the result that circles get you. It is the same advice your dentist will give you about brushing your teeth, actually.
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<br />I did wipe the seats down with Meguiar’s Interior Detailer real fast before applying the conditioner just to make sure I got all the streaks and the grain was really clean. The difference was night and day. If I had brought a good camera with a flash then I would have taken pictures of the interior before I took it all apart and cleaned it and then after I put it all back together. It didn’t even look like the same van. But the purpose of this is just to talk about cleaning a couple of the surfaces, so here are the seat pictures.
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<br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_1" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/G2%20Photos/IMG_20110813_143325.jpg" alt="" height="481" border="0" width="640" />
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<br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_2" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/G2%20Photos/IMG_20110813_144926.jpg" alt="" height="481" border="0" width="640" />
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<br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_3" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/G2%20Photos/IMG_20110813_145017.jpg" alt="" height="481" border="0" width="640" />
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<br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_4" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/G2%20Photos/IMG_20110813_145010.jpg" alt="" height="481" border="0" width="640" />
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<br />Taking the seats out is obviously the best way to clean them. Anytime that is an option for you I would highly recommend it. Especially in a van where getting them out it easy. For a van it is even more important because you’ll want to have access to the plastic covers over the anchor points for the seats anyway.
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<br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_5" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/G2%20Photos/IMG_20110813_145033.jpg" alt="" height="481" border="0" width="640" />
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<br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_6" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/G2%20Photos/IMG_20110813_145040.jpg" alt="" height="481" border="0" width="640" />
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<br />The side rails where you step in were also a mess. Typical for this color, actually. Cleaning them required using a little elbow grease as well. That and Tuff Stuff. I love that stuff…. It is ridiculously versatile.
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<br />Since I’m using the same brush for carpets, plastics, and the seats, it is important that I clean it out to avoid just driving more dirt into whatever I’m trying to clean. I keep some all purpose cleaner and water handy so I can wash it out after each project to keep it clean. Just a tip you might want to consider. Keep your tools clean and you will have less frustration down the road.
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<br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_7" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/G2%20Photos/IMG_20110813_112353.jpg" alt="" height="481" border="0" width="640" />
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<br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_8" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/G2%20Photos/IMG_20110813_112346.jpg" alt="" height="481" border="0" width="640" />
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<br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_9" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/G2%20Photos/IMG_20110813_112607.jpg" alt="" height="850" border="0" width="640" />
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<br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_10" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/G2%20Photos/IMG_20110813_112631.jpg" alt="" height="481" border="0" width="640" />
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<br />I’ve got a whole case full of interior cleaning tools. Retired tooth brushes, brass and steel brushes, nylon brushes, dusters for vents, all sorts of picks and wedges which are also handy for engine detailing, a couple blades, and a little multi tool with a screw driver and pliers and stuff on it. These tools are ridiculously handy to have around. I bought a really cheap dremel thing several years ago which came in that nifty little case. It has been the best case for interior tools I could have ever imagined. It slides perfectly under the Autogeek detailing bag I have too, so that makes it even better. <img src="http://www.9thgencorolla.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" class="inlineimg" border="0" />
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<br />Vans and SUVs can take a ton of time if you do them right. I spent 5 hours on the interior and 2 hours on the exterior of this vehicle. Good thing it was white or it would have taken longer. Because of the color inside it just took extra time because every piece of dirt shows. On a darker interior you may not get it quite as clean because you just can’t see the dirt you are leaving behind. That saves you time, but it doesn’t mean the vehicle is clean. I have an Odyssey myself and it takes me just as long to detail it when I do my yearly full on cleaning. My rule is to clean it as if it was as dirty as you can imagine it is even if you can’t see the dirt. You know it is there, so clean it anyway. Find a process and stick to it regardless of whether or not you can see the dirt. If you haven’t cleaned your leather seats in a couple years and they just don’t look that dirty, clean them as if they were anyway. They probably are filthy, but you have just been too close to the forest to see the trees. Many people don’t realize their leather is getting this dirty because the change has been so gradual that they didn’t notice I’ll tell you that when the owner saw the difference on this van, he was absolutely shocked at how dirty it had been. He didn’t even realize it had gotten so bad. So get some good tools and clean em up! <img src="http://www.9thgencorolla.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" class="inlineimg" border="0" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972124203256362280.post-51746111847837165892011-07-13T10:44:00.000-07:002011-07-13T10:45:55.448-07:00'55 ChevyThis was under a car cover in the garage of a recent new client. I was working on another car for him and took a peek under the cover. It was in pretty good shape, but it was clear that the paint was oxidizing and it had some work that could be done. Especially on the aluminum under the hood. The before pictures really didn't show much since it was already looking pretty good, but I got a couple that show the problems.<br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_1" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/eabaf89f.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_2" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/03d4f7db.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br />I hit it with the new Meguiar's Ultimate compound I picked up at AutoZone. That polish is a great choice for people looking for a good cutting compound off the shelf. It definitely did the trick on the oxidation. And I used the Wolfgang Metalwerks products to polish up the aluminum to a mirror shine. I really wish I had taken before pictures of that. It was dull and non reflective. Now it shines like new!<br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_3" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/aff84807.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_6" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/8bb19cfa.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_7" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/9b146967.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br />Same process on the wheels.<br /><br />before:<br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_11" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/36d72d0a.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_5" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/9c94d5dd.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br />after:<br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_4" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/8dbe4585.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_8" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/2f50d7b2.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br />The owner was really happy with the finished result.<br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_14" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/b75b61b4.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="426" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_10" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/72936dc1.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="426" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_9" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/3d9f6c0c.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="426" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_12" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/d790c62a.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="426" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_13" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/47614fe1.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="426" /><br /><br />Lots of chrome to polish, but it came out looking great! Gotta love Wolfgang on red!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972124203256362280.post-4149233701529828132011-07-12T11:42:00.000-07:002011-07-13T11:44:34.254-07:00More on the 55This whole car was restored perfectly. It was definitely not a cheap job. The relocated the battery and cleaned up a couple other things in the engine bay to make it look really nice. The whole interior was just outstanding too. Digital dash and outstanding audio and everything. The paint job was just top notch. It was a fine example of what a $15K paint job should look like.<br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_20" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/55Chevy/54bf3d00.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br />I polished and waxed the whole dash as well, of course. :)<br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_19" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/55Chevy/c35e7fc2.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_18" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/55Chevy/1748671a.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_16" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/55Chevy/da126122.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_17" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/55Chevy/2e621dcb.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972124203256362280.post-34305718272673956942011-07-07T10:13:00.001-07:002011-07-07T10:13:58.250-07:00Detailing for Apartment Dwellers<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:enableopentypekerning/> 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mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">I am sensitive to the challenges of maintaining your vehicle when you don’t have a garage.<span style=""> </span>I bought a garage with a house attached to it back in 2004 and for a couple years before that I had one that you could barely open the car doors in, but before that I was a proud Apartment Dweller trying to keep my car looking good under the carport.<span style=""> </span>So the purpose of this article is to document some of my methods for keeping things looking good even without the advantage of having a hose nearby and a spacious garage to work in.<span style=""> </span>Keep in mind that everybody’s situation will be different.<span style=""> </span>Some of you get to park right in front of your building and others have to park in BFE.<span style=""> </span>Some will have access to water and others won’t.<span style=""> </span>Take these suggestions for what they are worth and feel free to ask me any questions if you think I can help.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b style=""><i style="">Washing:</i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">This is something most Apartment Dwellers (ADs) can’t do easily.<span style=""> </span>Many apartment communities don’t allow you to wash your car in the carport.<span style=""> </span>The last one I lived in wouldn’t even let you pop your hood for more time than it took to refill your wiper fluid.<span style=""> </span>I got reported for changing a flat tire in my carport once, so I know all about intolerant apartment management.<span style=""> </span>However, with that being said, it is possible to wash your car in some complexes.<span style=""> </span>Check with the apartment manager before you try though.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">The biggest trick to washing in the complex is access to the water.<span style=""> </span>Sometimes they have a shed somewhere on the property where they keep the landscaping equipment and it may have a faucet nearby.<span style=""> </span>Check around the buildings near the parking lot for something within hose reach to your car as well.<span style=""> </span>It is different everywhere, but if you ask the AM about washing, they can usually direct you to the right spot.<span style=""> </span>Just remember to get it rinsed off and dried before the sun creates waterspots.<span style=""> </span>That is where the California Waterblade will come in handy.<span style=""> </span>;)</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">If you can’t wash in your complex then that leaves you with two options.<span style=""> </span>Either find a friend/relative with a driveway (in which case you can pretty much stop reading now since you won’t be operating as an AD if you have a garage you can use) or you can go to a coin op car wash.<span style=""> </span>The only problem with coin op car washes is that the high pressure doesn’t always get the paint clean.<span style=""> </span>Bring a wash mitt with you and give the car a wipe down before you rinse it if you are concerned about it not getting the waterspots off or other grime.<span style=""> </span>Just be careful with that want.<span style=""> </span>The water that shoots out of there can peel the skin off your hand and is very painful.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">You could always use the brush in the car wash, but I wouldn’t recommend it.<span style=""> </span>Using a brush in a coin op car wash is like using a hooker.<span style=""> </span>Do you really want to be the next guy to use that?<span style=""> </span>You don’t really know where it has been.<span style=""> </span>The last thing that brush scrubbed could have been an oily tanker or some 4x4 that just game back from the desert and was covered in greasy clay and dirt.<span style=""> </span>Even if you spray the brush off with the wand first there could still be oils and grit stuck to the bristles from perhaps YEARS of people not spraying it off first.<span style=""> </span>Using a brush is a sure fire way to add some swirls and scratches to your paint.<span style=""> </span>In the winter there really aren’t a whole lot of options and I just chalk it up to the repair I’m going to have to do in the spring anyway, but in the summer I avoid the brushes like the plague.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Don’t bother with the wax or other products that the coin op will provide you.<span style=""> </span>Just stick with a wash and rinse.<span style=""> </span>Use your own products for wheel/tire cleaning and bug/tar removal.<span style=""> </span>Oh, and be cautious of degreasing your engine at these places too.<span style=""> </span>Most of them won’t allow you to do it.<span style=""> </span>The waste water has to be tested before disposal and if it has too much grease and oil in it then they have to pay more for hazardous waste disposal.<span style=""> </span>Degreasing your engine is a good way to add more of the stuff which will cost them more money, so they generally won’t allow you to do it.<span style=""> </span>Using high pressure water like that isn’t my favorite thing to subject my engine to anyway.<span style=""> </span>Maybe just around the perimeter where there aren’t any electrical connections, but definitely avoid any wires with that thing.<span style=""> </span>You could really do some damage if the pressure is high enough. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Something you might want to look into is doing a bucket wash AT the coin op place.<span style=""> </span>If you can find one with a dead stall (usually spotted because they move the trash cans in front of the entrances) then you could pull in and just fill your bucket at the sink and wash away in the comfort of a shaded stall.<span style=""> </span>Then just pull into the next one to rinse it off and you are good to go.<span style=""> </span>You could even go back to the first one to do the waxing and everything.<span style=""> </span>If there is someone to get permission from on this<span style=""> </span>then try to do that first, but otherwise I really don’t see how it hurts anybody.<span style=""> </span>I actually had a deal with a coin op place near one of my jobs back when I first started detailing.<span style=""> </span>They knew I was bringing several cars a week over there to wash and detail, so they would let me use a permanently dead stall on the end whenever I wanted.<span style=""> </span>It’s just always nice to ask permission before squatting at someone’s business.<span style=""> </span>;)</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b style=""><i style="">Polish/Waxing:</i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">This is the part you may find difficult.<span style=""> </span>They don’t typically put easily accessible outlets at coin op car washes, and you may not find them at your complex either, so running your polisher could prove to be a challenge.<span style=""> </span>However, I’ll be honest…<span style=""> </span>I didn’t even own a PC until I moved into my first garage, so I can promise you that you can still maintain your vehicle just fine without one.<span style=""> </span>You just have to learn to live with swirls or get really good at not getting them in the first place.<span style=""> </span>;)</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">There really isn’t a product which removes swirls by hand that I’ve found.<span style=""> </span>There is only one person I’ve ever seen get swirls out by hand and he looks like a power lifter with massive shoulders, so that is what I reckon it takes to do the job.<span style=""> </span>I don’t even try because I know I’d never be able to do it on the whole car.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">I’m getting off track…<span style=""> </span>Anyway, if you can get an extension cord long enough to reach your car port, then it is possible you can polish there.<span style=""> </span>Polishers make a lot of noise and I’d wager anything that you’ll get shut down pretty quick if you do it in your complex.<span style=""> </span>You may be able to pull it off at the coin op, but plugs are hard to find at those places.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Waxing is another story.<span style=""> </span>You can easily wax your car in your carport or in the empty bay at the coin op.<span style=""> </span>It is quiet and only requires some shade to do well.<span style=""> </span>No problems there.<span style=""> </span>Getting out of the sun is the big part.<span style=""> </span>It isn’t that the sun itself is bad for wax, but rather it heats up the surface too much and the wax won’t dry or bond.<span style=""> </span>If the paint is too hot to touch, then it is definitely too hot to wax.<span style=""> </span>It is just going to smear around and you won’t get a good durable coat.<span style=""> </span>Always try and wax in the shade or on a cool (relative) surface.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b style=""><i style="">Interior:</i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Coin op vacuums SUCK!<span style=""> </span>And I don’t mean that in a good way.<span style=""> </span>They are very often poorly maintained and clogged, so you don’t get the suction you need.<span style=""> </span>The heads can crack which causes them to leak suction and make them much less effective.<span style=""> </span>So it is hit and miss with those.<span style=""> </span>However, when you find one that works you will be happy.<span style=""> </span>The ones that work do the job very well.<span style=""> </span>I had one near my apartment that could suck the lines off the road.<span style=""> </span>I actually used a cereal box and duct tape to fashion an adapter which allowed me to use the attachments of a shop vac.<span style=""> </span>I bought a detailing kit for a Craftsman shop vac at Sears and it worked out great.<span style=""> </span>In fact, because the coin op vacs have so much suction, it made the modification ridiculously effective because it was now coming out a smaller hose.<span style=""> </span>It was awesome.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Everything else on the interior is pretty easy to do.<span style=""> </span>You can wash your floor mats in the complex Laundromat if you aren’t able to use an extractor on them.<span style=""> </span>Just don’t dry them and you’ll be fine.<span style=""> </span>Hang them on your balcony railing (if you have one) to drip dry and that should do it.<span style=""> </span>Everything else can be done just as you would anywhere else.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b style=""><i style="">Final Detailing:</i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">The final detail is pretty easy to do in an apartment complex too.<span style=""> </span>Just be careful that you aren’t spraying stuff all over everybody else’s car in the process.<span style=""> </span>Also be aware that having your hood popped open and you leaning inside makes it look like you are doing maintenance on your vehicle which could be a violation of the tenant agreement.<span style=""> </span>Nosy neighbors could just report you without knowing what you are really doing, so I would do all of your engine detailing at the coin op place.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b style=""><i style="">Apartment Dweller Kit:</i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">These are the products I would say you should keep in a box in your trunk for your detailing needs:</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Microfiber towels</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Drying towel & California Water Blade</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Wax applicators/ Leather conditioner applicators</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Quick Detailer</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Interior Detailer</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Wheel/Tire Cleaner & Tire Shine with applicator</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Engine degreaser & CD2 Engine Detailer</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Meguiar’s Ultimate Car Wax (really some of the best stuff off the shelf right now)</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Invisible Glass</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Aerospace 303 protectant</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Tuff Stuff (gets the really tough spills and stuff of your center console or carpet) with carpet brush</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">With those products you should be able to handle anything outside of the actual washing and vacuuming of the vehicle.<span style=""> </span>You should be able to get all of that to fit in a box or rubber maid tub in your trunk for easy transport.<span style=""> </span>However, if you are in a really hot climate, I would probably recommend you NOT keep this stuff in your trunk.<span style=""> </span>I had to clean a trunk that had car care products explode in it once due to the heat, so I would just be careful.<span style=""> </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="">J</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"> </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972124203256362280.post-2757663662265562372011-06-30T12:57:00.000-07:002011-06-30T13:03:45.543-07:00OCDetails now takes credit cards on location!I've been accepting Paypal payments for years with my detailing, but now you will also have the option to swipe your credit card on the spot without needing to touch a computer! Using a fantastic app called <a href="https://squareup.com/">Square</a> I can swipe your card directly from my phone or iPad and you will be good to go. This costs you nothing. As usual I will absorb any fee as part of the cost of doing business. The best part is that you will get the valuable points on whichever credit card you choose to use. I know I would be lost without my AMEX points and the benefits it gives me.<br /><br />OCDetails currently accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover cards as well as Paypal, cash, and checks. My goal is just to make it all as easy for you as possible, so however you decide to settle your bill is perfectly fine with me. I appreciate your business and look forward to your repeat business and referrals. :)<br /><br /><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/mu4FJ2uuTSg" allowfullscreen="" width="560" frameborder="0" height="349"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972124203256362280.post-68420445021628671892011-06-30T10:03:00.000-07:002011-06-30T10:04:08.808-07:00Meguiar's Ultimate CompoundI have finally found an over the counter polish that seems to do a really good job. I haven’t done a full battery of tests on it yet, but I had a project last night I tried it on and it worked out really well. It is Meguiar's Ultimate Compound and it has worked well so far!<br /><br />I started out with a 1955 Chevy which was fairly oxidized. Not terrible since it didn’t spend a lot of time in the sun, but bad enough that I could definitely tell from the reflections being cloudy and the pink tint to the car. I really wish I could have taken before/after pictures that would have done it justice, but the camera just wasn’t picking up the damage really. My other problem is that it was raining outside and I had to keep it in the garage. I started this little project at 5:00 and rode out of there at 12:30. It was definitely a lot of work, but it came out looking great.<br /><br />I started by claying it. Boy was that needed. Even though this is a total garage queen and probably doesn’t get 100 miles a year put on it, there was definitely a need for the clay. When it did go out and about, it would be parked under trees and it had some sap on it as well as other IFO. So the clay helped a lot. <br /><br />The next phase was to see about getting the oxidation and light swirls out. I figured a light polish should do the trick, so I brought along XMT 1 with me. Having evaluated the paint beforehand, I really thought that was all I would need. I also had my Wolfgang Pre Wax Polish Enhancer to prep for the sealant, but it was just that and my blue Edge2000 pad on my Flex between me and ten years of no washing. The guy had never gotten a drop of water on this car and had just been maintaining it with quick detailer and baby wipes (gasp!!). Yeah, the baby wipes are probably the cause of a lot of the damage. That stuff isn’t really for paint, but oh well… <br /><br />XMT 1 was actually doing a great job. The oxidation was coming right out and my pad was turning redder and redder with each pass. That is a good sign when you are trying to get this kind of thing out. I had hoped that most of the swirls were in the oxidation and they would come out with that first product, but no such luck. So I scratched my head for a second and thought about my options. In the back of my mind I had decided if what I brought wasn’t good enough, then I’d run over to Auto Zone and grab some of the new Meguiar’s polish that I saw the other day. They have two of them. One is a compound and the other is a polish. I’m not sure what they reckon the difference is, but the compound seemed to be for swirls and the polish was more of a finishing polish for either light cleaning or light duty paint correction. Probably about the same strength as what I already had, so I chose to go get the compound.<br /><br />I will say this… The stuff hurts your eyes when you use it. I don’t know if it was just the way the air didn’t move in the garage or what, but my eyes were burning while using this stuff. Definitely a high level of solvent content in the product. There is also a good amount of grit when you rub it between your fingers, so I was sure it would do the trick. Boy did it ever! This stuff rocks! It cut through that paint and cleared out the swirls like they were nothing. This is definitely a great alternative for when you need a medium grade cutting compound but don’t want to order online. From the amount of product I used on this car I would say I could have polished it three or maybe 4 times with the amount in the bottle. So at 10 bucks a bottle, this actually is a pretty good value. And it does a great job. Not too aggressive and not to mild. It left zero haze behind to have to repair and it didn’t even dust. I don’t pretend to know the chemistry of paint polish formulation, but so far I am really liking this one. <br /><br />I’ll get better before/after pictures on this product when I get a chance to do a vehicle that photographs better in better light, but this will sort of give you an idea of what I was dealing with. <br /><br />You can see the haze of the oxidation:<br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_1" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/03d4f7db.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_2" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/eabaf89f.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br />By the time I was done the reflections were clear again and we didn’t have the oxidation any longer.<br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_3" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/77737a95.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br />The swirls really were just about impossible to document since the car was already shiny enough that it just made zooming in on the swirls a tough job. Know that overall the paint looked much better.<br /><br />The engine was pretty oxidized too, but this product cleared it up really well. I sealed the paint with Wolfgang Paint Sealant and it looks ready for show.<br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_4" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/aff84807.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br />I really need to bring a better camera with me on these types of jobs, but I knew it would be crappy light with the rain and everything anyway, so I didn’t bother. Go go gadget cell phone cameras! <br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_5" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/420708f8.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="481" /><br /><br />It turned out really well and I owe most of that to the <a href="http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/detail/MEG+G17216" target="_blank">Meguiar’s Ultimate Compound</a>. It was a huge winner and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good machine polish you can get off the shelf. I’m not entirely sure how well this would work by hand, but based on the solvent content, I’d say it would probably do at least a little bit. I still don’t recommend you try to tackle swirls by hand though. This is best used with a DA polisher.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972124203256362280.post-35111520461176569112011-06-24T09:54:00.000-07:002011-06-24T10:01:04.602-07:00This is how black should look...Wolfgang Sealant on Wednesday and then I came back on Thursday to do another vehicle and decided to put a coat of Pinnacle Souveran on top. Dang me! I told him that I wanted it to be so black that when he stopped and Darth Vader DIDN'T get out that people would be surprised. <img src="http://www.9thgencorolla.com/forum//images/smilies/wink.gif" alt="" title="Wink" class="inlineimg" border="0" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_1" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/636813e2.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="481" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_3" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/18f151e8.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="479" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_2" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/34242dc2.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="481" /><br /><br />These are with my cell phone again since my wife needed the camera, but someone else was there with a real camera taking better pictures. All I can say is that if you have the option of getting a jet black paint job with zero metal flake in it, then this is definitely a great combination. I would love to see this car in an environment with lots of things to reflect. I can imagine it on a road in the mountains surrounded by trees and being absolutely invisible because of how well it reflects right now. It's like a mirror! I love Wolfgang and Souveran...<br /><br />It was a triumph for the previously documented engine detailing process with CD2 Engine Detailer too. <img src="http://www.9thgencorolla.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" class="inlineimg" border="0" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_4" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/a523f8db.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="481" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_5" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/ff215c69.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="481" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_6" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/09b7635d.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="481" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_7" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/61c25928.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="481" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972124203256362280.post-21479180013361349672011-06-08T23:09:00.000-07:002011-06-08T23:45:03.399-07:00What do I recommend?I get this question asked to me all the time, so I figured I'd answer it here. People are constantly asking me what products they should use. There are just so many options out there that they just want me to narrow it down and tell them what works best. Well here's the thing... "BEST" is purely subjective. What looks best to me may not look best to you. It's like people arguing that iPhones are better than Android phones or Toyotas are better than Hondas. It all depends on what you are going for. So I am going to make some recommendations that I am comfortable giving which will work very well for anybody. Knowing the color of your car or the shape of it may cause me to make other recommendations, but generally these are the products I would suggest which will look just fine and really blow your mind. NOTE: These are all just my opinion, so when I use the word 'BEST' from here on in, keep in mind that I'm just speaking from my personal taste and experience with the products. There are no doubt other products which may work even better which I haven't tried yet, so I'm not saying these things to start a debate with you. You asked for my opinion and I am giving it. Please take it for what it is worth.<br /><br />I'm going to make the recommendations somewhat in order of the process, so here we go...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Wash:</span><br />This is one of those areas you don't need to spend a ton of money on. Go to AutoZone or PepBoys and get a bottle of Meguiar's Gold Class. That stuff rocks and it is one of the best performers (in my experience) that you can get off the shelf. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Clay:</span><br />Clay Magic for sure, but if you don't have an AutoZone nearby, then find the Mother's clay. Meguiar's clay is still a bit crumbly, so I stick with Clay Magic or Mothers. You can also order the ebay clay and that works really well. Read the clay article on OCDetails.com for more information about this product. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tires/Wheels:</span><br />Without a doubt I would go for the Eagle One A2Z for cleaning your rims and tires and Eagle One Wet (not the gel one or the aerosol one) for the shine. I've yet to use anything more effective for the price. I've heard the Mother's wheel/tire cleaner is supposedly just as good, but the cost is nearly double what Eagle One is. For double the cost I would expect it to be more than "just as good", so I haven't tried it yet. I just can't justify ten bucks a bottle for wheel cleaner when I don't have any gripe with my Eagle One.<br /><br />Don't assume the wheels will be spotless after spraying something on and rinsing it off. Nothing will remove all of the grime and crap from your wheels, so still be prepared to get in there with a towel or a brush and get them scrubbed. This product gets the process started, but you should still have a wheel brush so you can scrub your wheels after you wash the car and before you dump out your bucket of wash water. Then use some glass cleaner after the car is all done to clean up any tire shine overspray or any water drips. <br /><br />The best part about the Eagle One Wet is that it doesn't sling all over the place and it will typically give you a nice look for two or three weeks in normal conditions. Just apply it to dry tires, or even better, apply it at night so it can dry till morning, and you are good to go.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Glass:</span><br />Definitely Invisible Glass. I know people talk about newspaper doing such a good job and blah blah blah, but really... why would I use newspaper when Invisible Glass does the job better? I'm not using a process which was popular in the 50s just because my dad says it works really well. People who use newspaper to clean their glass make me think of people with hair styles from 20 years ago who simply will not change with the times. There are better products out there, so use them.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dash/Vinyl/Rubber:</span><br />Honestly, Armor All works well for this. They got a bad rap back in the 80s, but they are just fine now. If you want the best as far as looks and protection, then you can get Aerospace 303 and that works great. I still use Armor All for areas that don't get seen much like wheel wells and running boards.<br /><br />Another product that really rocks is Meguiar's Interior Detailer. This is safe to get anywhere in the car, unlike typical dash protectants. So it is a great product to use first to get all the dust and sneezes off your dash before protecting it with a real product. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Upholstery/Carpet:</span><br />For this I have been using Tuff Stuff lately and I really like it. It does a great job of getting stains out of carpet and seats and as a bonus it also cleans up vinyl and plastic. Just spray it on, let it sit for a minute, and then scrub it out with a carpet brush. Good as new. Prestone is also phenomenal at cleaning carpets, but not so great on plastics, so it is more of a single function product. If Prestone is a 10 then Tuff Stuff is an 8. But it is also an 8 at cleaning the door sills, running boards, lower parts of the dash (down by the pedals), center console, and other areas. You gotta love that.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Chrome:</span><br />Typically for things like chrome grilles and bumpers I just use Invisible Glass. It works fine. Same goes for exhaust tips. Eagle One has a product in a silver can called Never Dull which works great to clean corrosion off chrome and stainless steel and really brighten it up, so that is another product to have on hand.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Paint:</span><br />Now for the tough one. If you are asking me what product to use to remove swirls by hand, I have to tell you that there isn't one. There are many that say they will mask swirls or cover them up, but you are not likely going to be able to generate the speed and heat required to break down polishes to cut your paint and leave a clear surface, so don't even try. If you don't have at least a Porter Cable 7424 then don't even start polishing your car. You'll just make a mess of the paint. Trust me on that one. A PC7424 is $120 at CoastalTool.com shipped. Buy one. Get some pads and you are all set.<br /><br />I use the Edge2000 pads, so I'm not much help with which pads you should get. All I can tell you is that Autogeek.net has fabulous details about their products and the uses they have. Read up on what each type of pad does and get the ones you need for whatever you are facing. Typically for me I can get 90% of the work done with a Blue Edge pad and a White Edge pad. I have no idea what the equivalents are with other makers. The color means nothing and there is no standard level of cutting that all blue or yellow or whatever color pads do. You just have to read the description and go from there.<br /><br />For polishes I'm going to recommend Poorboy's Super Swirl Remover II (SSRII) and SSRI. Most of your polishing can be done with SSRII and then you follow that up with SSRI for a perfect surface. Sometimes you just need SSRI because you want a little bit of bite to your polish to clean off the wax/sealant and you don't have many swirls. Most of my details can be sorted out with SSRII, so that is my go to product.<br /><br />Paint sealants and waxes are the tough one. So many things determine what I use. For Black, Red, and dark colors I would go with Wolfgang Paint Sealant. For light colors I would go with 4 Star Ultimate Paint Sealant. For a wax I would go with Wolfgang Fusion or Pinnacle Souveran if you are feeling rich, or just go with S100 at your local Harley shop if you want to shop local. They all look awesome.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Quick Detailers:</span><br />The burgundy bottle of Meguiar's Quick Detailer works fine. I use it for cleaning door jambs and getting the left over polish that gets into seams and emblems. It also works well for getting dust off your car in between washes. I love the stuff. There is also the Meguiar's Ulitmate Quick Detailer which adds a little protection to the spray. That stuff is awesome too. Again, there are other options out there online which are just as good or better, but generally there isn't much difference in this type of thing. A quick detailer is a quick detailer. Spray waxes and sealants are an entirely other ball of wax, but I don't use those much at all unless it is for motorcycles. They are too spendy for what they provide on a car, so I usually just recommend people use Meguiar's QD and leave the spray waxes alone.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Engine:</span><br />Gunk Foaming Degreaser and a normal All Purpose Cleaner like Purple Lightning or something like that works great. Use towels and brushes and really scrub. Then use CD2 Engine Detailer to really make the rubber and plastics shine when you are done. Run the engine for about 20 minutes after applying the CD2 and then wipe the engine down again for a flawless finish. Simple simple simple.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Microfiber:</span><br />I buy my towels from Autogeek.net. I've never bought a towel from them that I wouldn't use on my paint, so just keep your eye out for deals. Get the waffle weave towel for drying. The green one. It is awesome. The silk trimmed ones are the plushest and awesome for your paint. For the towels you use on the interior, glass, and engine I would just buy them in bulk at Costco or something. Just don't use those on your paint. They will fall apart and just lint everywhere. <br /><br />They make great wash mitts out of microfiber too. The ones that look like muppets with dread locks are great. Use those instead of a sponge. Sponges are another tool we are told to use because that is what our parents were told to use. They are flat out the worst tool you can use to wash your car if you are trying to avoid swirls, so burn all of your sponges right now.<br /><br />That seems pretty complete. I'll add to this if I see that I've missed anything, but that covers the most usual product recommendations I'm asked for. Most of these products may either be found locally or online. I shop at Autogeek.net, but that doesn't mean you have to. I just like shopping somewhere that has everything I need so I don't have to put in multiple orders and pay for shipping a dozen times. Happy detailing!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972124203256362280.post-37414659861947984522011-05-31T12:43:00.000-07:002011-05-31T12:45:02.759-07:00Out Of TownOCDetails will be closed from 6/4 through 6/20 as I will be out of the country. I will be available through email or my normal phone number (thank you wifi calling!) if you need to speak with me, but I won't be able to do much till I return.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972124203256362280.post-82168918094901702842011-05-31T12:24:00.000-07:002011-05-31T12:27:15.356-07:00Coming Soon!!!Is the world ready for OCDetails Mobile Detailing? I'm not talking about a service where I come to your house and shine your car. I'm talking about a mobile app for your Android phone where you can review process documents, product reviews, and access other helpful links! That's right! I'm in the process of creating an app for Android which will allow you to do all those things! Since I'm new to app development, this is a project which could take awhile. Should I be working on the OCDetails.com site instead? Maybe, but I think getting a mobile version live will help just as many people. I think the blog is pretty useful and even the .com site isn't too terrible. It may be ugly, but the processes are still accurate.<br /><br />So stay tuned for the OCDetails Mobile Detailing app! It won't necessarily be available on the Google Market right away, but it will be available here! Let me know what features you would like to see on it and I'll do what I can to make it happen!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972124203256362280.post-1326525832958865712011-05-25T09:25:00.000-07:002011-05-25T09:26:15.423-07:00Poorboy's Polish With SealantThis is a great product if you are working on white. Check this out...<br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_1" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/6977c498.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="481" /><br /><br />See that white space in the middle? That is what color the rest of it should be. This is after washing and claying, so you can see how absolutely dingy the paint is. All I used on this was Poorboy's Polish with Sealant and a blue Edge 2000 pad on my Flex 3401 polisher. I was really pleased with how much better it looked when I was done.<br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_2" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/cff3f0f4.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="481" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_3" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/71efac1a.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="481" /><br /><br />I used the same product under the door handles. If you have a white or silver vehicle then this will probably look familiar.<br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_4" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/9d68d823.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="481" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_5" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/0c96be5b.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="481" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_6" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/12c947c4.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="481" /><br /><br />Not too shabby, eh? Definitely a worthwhile product to look into if you are looking for a fast way to brighten your paint. I would probably recommend topping it with another sealant or wax just for some added pop, but it does do the trick of clearing off the dinginess and dirt that white and silver seem to pick up over time.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972124203256362280.post-52941160469170898062011-04-13T11:19:00.000-07:002011-04-13T11:21:05.118-07:001994 Viper DetailThis is partly a product review and partly just some information about engine detailing. The Viper is a great car to show you on since you can really get in there and get just about all of it pretty easily. <img src="http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" class="inlineimg" border="0" /><br /><br />I love Vipers. I've been in love with them since 1992, in fact. Its not about the performance or anything like that. I just love the way they look. That car is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. So any chance I have to detail one, I jump on it! This one has sat around for several months and needed a pretty good detailing a year ago when I first saw it. It belongs to an acquaintance who knows me through some car shows I've sponsored in the past, so I was really excited when he finally called last week to set something up. Saturday was overcast, but it was in the 60s and great weather for detailing. The sun even came out at the end so I could appreciate the car a bit. <img src="http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/images/smilies/wink.gif" alt="" title="Wink" class="inlineimg" border="0" /><br /><br /><br />The engine is what I wanted to focus on for this post. It was pretty dirty and had some tough spots to reach. Here are some before pictures.<br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_1" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/AprilViper/cd83567d.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_2" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/AprilViper/91a69822.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br /><br />I sprayed it down with Gunk Foaming Engine Degreaser (my degreaser of choice) being careful to avoid the alternator and other electrical connections. Most of the really dirty areas were covered in plastic anyway, so that part was easy. Then I used my engine wash mitt (microfiber and doesn't snag on the engine leaving lint) to wash down the plastic parts and other areas.<br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_3" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/AprilViper/e1f87303.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br />I've got a Meguiar's Waffle Weave microfiber towel I picked up at AutoZone a few years back. It isn't a soft as my Autogeek towels, so I use it for drying engines instead. <br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_4" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/AprilViper/123760e7.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br />The valve covers were pretty dirty, but washing them down helped a lot. The problem was that a lot of the dirt was in the corners and areas the mitt couldn't reach. Not tons of dirt (fortunately) but enough that it was going to be a process which needed to be done by hand.<br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_5" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/AprilViper/63020078.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_6" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/AprilViper/0f4a1ffa.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br />So out comes my favorite engine detailing tool!! The <a href="http://www.autogeek.net/ezdebrfca.html" target="_blank">Daytona Speedmaster Wheel Brush!</a> This thing works great in the engine bay.<br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_7" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/AprilViper/dfcbe5fd.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_8" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/AprilViper/6e5ffa73.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_9" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/AprilViper/7a58430f.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_10" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/AprilViper/d7fd018f.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br />It was easy to brush out some really hard to reach spaces where my toothbrush wouldn't even fit well. It also got under hoses and above heat shields on the lower part of the engine where shoving my hand and a rag just wasn't possible. I love that tool for wheels for sure, but for engine detailing it can't be beat! I've got two of them, in fact. One for wheels and one for engines.<br /><br />The final result is as you would expect. It is as clean as it can get. <img src="http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" class="inlineimg" border="0" /> A little CD2 Engine Detailer and she is good for show.<br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_11" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/AprilViper/f71dd138.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br />The rest of the car wasn't too terribly rough. I used the <a href="http://www.autogeek.net/auqufofogun.html" target="_blank">Foam Gun</a> to do a presoak and then washed it down. <br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_12" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/AprilViper/ec582947.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br />Then I taught Erik the fine art of rinsing a vehicle with no top on it. lol<br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_13" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/AprilViper/b3fc8a83.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br />The paint just needed a little XMT love and some Wolfgang Sealant. It was the interior that really sucked. It has been stored without a top on it since last April and it was REALLY dirty inside. The Viper has a funny shape to it on the inside and you pretty much have to be a contortionist to get it really clean. lol I was really happy with the end results though. So was the owner. Hopefully this means more Viper time in my driveway in the future!<br /><br />Engine Before:<br /><img src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/AprilViper/c5aec932.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br /><br />Engine After:<br /><img src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/AprilViper/36da0f50.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_14" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/AprilViper/e681e16d.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_15" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/AprilViper/2dad4fef.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" /><br /><br /><img id="ncode_imageresizer_container_16" src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/OCDetails/AprilViper/74393e6b.jpg" alt="" width="640" border="0" height="480" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972124203256362280.post-2368854136880712102011-03-23T12:17:00.000-07:002011-03-23T12:20:35.180-07:002011 Detailing Season About to Begin!I'm really looking forward to 2011! I've been working crazy hours at my real job the past couple years, and other than needing to do a lot of travel with this one, I'll be able to get more detailing done during the week this year. There have been some great new products I'm looking forward to reviewing and I've definitely neglected all three of my vehicles way too much the past 12 months, so they definitely will be GREAT test beds for whatever I can get my hands on! So stay tuned! I apologize for my hiatus in the detailing world for the past little while, but I'm definitely looking forward to getting back on the horse!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972124203256362280.post-55383556603884770252011-02-25T08:14:00.000-08:002011-02-25T08:16:17.721-08:00Other guides...I've put the three articles I wrote for the full detail into a couple different blogs for easier sharing and viewing. Since this has been primarily a place for me to write the articles I need to write while I'm still trying to find the time to finish a site which has already taken me nearly 6 years to finish (I really should get on that one of these days...) I figure it is not necessarily convenient for people to have to wade through a bunch of stuff they may not necessarily need to know just to get to the guide. So if you are interested in seeing it all in one place, check out one of these sites:<br /><br /><a href="http://guidetodetailing.blogspot.com">http://guidetodetailing.blogspot.com</a> (I can't believe that was available!!)<br /><br />or<br /><br /><a href="http://guide2detailing.blogspot.com">http://guide2detailing.blogspot.com</a><br /><br />Both of these sites contain the full guide to detailing you see on this site. I have the final detailing guide written and just need pictures to accompany it, so that will be posted as soon as spring cleaning begins. Thanks for your patience!!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0