Newbie Guide to Detailing

[M3TA5IN]

I am personally a detailing n00b. I was thinking maybe we could get a good guide together on the basic and in depth stuff of detailing. 1 to help me and 2 anyone else looking for advise. Maybe if we get something good going here we can sticky it.

So I've never really detailed detailed a car. I've always had Jeeps were it wasnt really a concern, it was just going to get plastered the next weekend.

So what are the proper steps and products I should be using? Currently I just hand wash the exterior and wipe down the interior...



Exterior Paint
What is the best way or procedure for cleaning/maintaining and the products? Keep in mind, I have never waxed a car or used a buffer or anything like that?

I set a laptop bag on my roof and when I pulled it off, the dust scratched the paint some, can I buff this out?

Wheels
Any certain product I should be using on the wheels? I currently use McGuire's wheel cleaner.

Interior Surface
What do you guys recommend on the interior surface? I've tried a couple different armor all products but they leave a nasty oily film all over everything.

Interior Leather
What is the proper way to maintain/clean the leather? Again I have some mothers leather treatment/cleaner, but I don't know if I was doing it wrong, but it didnt really seem to do much.



Any areas I missed or something I just dont know about please feel free to add. It is starting to get warm out and I would like to properly keep the girls looking good and all

[nike001]

Exterior Paint
What is the best way or procedure for cleaning/maintaining and the products? Keep in mind, I have never waxed a car or used a buffer or anything like that?
-- This summer I'll be using Klasse sealant and Chemical Guys XXX paste wax. I've heard many good things about them, so think they'll be a good start for you.

I set a laptop bag on my roof and when I pulled it off, the dust scratched the paint some, can I buff this out?
--Yes, probably. I've buffed out scratches in my step dads 335 with a porter cable and just a blue polishing pad matched with some Mothers wax I got from the store. If you're doing it without a machine, more elbow grease will be required. Some Meguiars M105 and/or M205 will probably make the precess a bit easier as well.

Wheels
Any certain product I should be using on the wheels? I currently use McGuire's wheel cleaner.
--I use Sonax. Only probably about a bottle or two a year. I use it when I'm cleaning good. Other than that.. for daily washes, I just use my wheel cloth in soapy water and that does the trick pretty well.

Interior Surface
What do you guys recommend on the interior surface? I've tried a couple different armor all products but they leave a nasty oily film all over everything.
--Leatherique, perhaps, if you're trying to restore or deep clean leather.. I use meguairs quick detailer. It leaves a nice matte finish without that crappy armour all smell. I cringe when I see armour all products because of the grease they leave behind.

Interior Leather
What is the proper way to maintain/clean the leather? Again I have some mothers leather treatment/cleaner, but I don't know if I was doing it wrong, but it didnt really seem to do much.
--I use the BMW stuff every now and then to hydrate the leather. I have leatherique now, which I'm waiting for a detail day to use. Day to day cleaning, I use the Meguairs quick detailer i mentioned above.

I'm by no means a detailer, and I'm sure others here are much better at it than I am (Kyle ) but the stuff I've been using has been working perfect. I'll more than happy to answer any other questions that you may have.. and ones that I am smart enough to know the answer to.

[danewilson77]

This is pretty good.

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showt...07-E86-M-Coupe

[zhpnsnv]

All you need to know:

Wax on. Wax off.

[RITmusic2k]

Autopia Car Care is a great site for this sort of info; they're a retail front-end but they have a ton of great tutorials.

[M3TA5IN]

Autopia Car Care is a great site for this sort of info; they're a retail front-end but they have a ton of great tutorials.

Thanks man!

[M0nk3y]

Sorry. Busy with school now.

I'll get back to this later tonight and answer everything. Meantime I always lurk on autogeek.net

[mLuMaN83]

I'm curious to know as well. I guess I need a clay bar, swirl remover, polish, and wax? Not sure what to get either.

The time to do a full detail for the first time on my car is coming real close here. Once it hits the 70's it's on.

[danewilson77]

I'm curious to know as well. I guess I need a clay bar, swirl remover, polish, and wax? Not sure what to get either.

The time to do a full detail for the first time on my car is coming real close here. Once it hits the 70's it's on.

The kit Kyle instructed me to get, last year, was:

The Adams clay bar, and spray. The spray has since run out, and now I just use the meguilers detail spray.

Mazerna polishes-deep, medium, fine cut. 3 bottles.

Wolfgang 3.0 sealant.

Dodo juice hard candy. I am using dodo juice banana now.

I have 2 yellow wax/polish applicators, and blue (4) and orange (4) buffing pads. I think they are Lake Country.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[Nerius]

Although I am certainly not a professional nor do I have Kyle’s experience detailing, I have amassed quite a collection of detailing products and I like to spend a good 6-8 hours on a Saturday detailing the ZHP a couple times a month. In addition to the Autopia tutorials, I’ve found a ton of great info over at Detailed Image’s Detailing Guide. Here’s what I use for each step in my Spring full detail:

Wash:
Chemical Guys Citrus Wash & Gloss
Gilmour Foamaster II Foam Gun
Microfiber Wash Mitt
Two bucket method w/ two Grit Guards
Iron X (as needed)
Einszett 1Z Anti-Insekt Bug & Tar Remover (as needed)

Drying:
Toro Leaf Blower
Waffle Weave Drying Towels
Prima Hydro (“wax-as-you-dry” in between wax applications)

Wheels:
Sonax Full Effect
Prima Wheel Armour
Prima Nero (for dressing tires)

Clay:
Wolfgang Clay
Prima Glide Clay Lube

Polish:
*Applied w/ Porter Cable*
Menzerna Super Intensive Polish w/ Cyan Lake Country Pads (3x)
Menzerna Super Finish Polish w/ Tangerine Lake Country Pads (3x)

Glaze:
*Applied w/ Porter Cable*
Prima Amigo w/ White Lake Country Pads (2x)

Sealant:
*Applied by hand*
Prima Epic w/ Blue Lake Country Pad (1x)

Wax:
*Applied by hand*
Prima Banana Gloss w/ Blue Lake Country Pad (1x)

Exterior Trim:
Black WOW

Exhaust:
Optimum Metal Polish

Interior Trim & Plastic:
Prima Nero

Interior Carpet:
Sonax Upholstery & Carpet Cleaner
Hoover Steamvac (as needed)

Leather Care:
Leatherique Prestine Clean
Leatherique Rejuvenator Oil (2-3x per year)

Glass:
Prima Clarity

Wheel Wells & Engine Bay:
Meguiars APC (cleaning)
Prima Nero (dressing)

Rubber Door Seals:
Einszett 1Z Gummi Pflege Stift Rubber Care Stick

Microfiber Towels:
Waffle Weave Drying Towels (3x)
All Purpose Microfiber Towels (15+)
Microfiber Wash Mitts (2x - in case one falls on the ground during the wash)
Microfiber Glass Towels (3x)
Chemical Guys Microfiber Wash Cleaning Detergent

Brushes & Miscellaneous:
Detailed Image Leather Brush
Detailed Image E-Z Detailing Brushes
3M Blue Painter’s Tape (for taping plastic trim before polish)

As far as the scratches from the laptop bag go, without looking at the paint and seeing the scratches it’s hard to tell what you’ll need to buff them out. I’ve had decent luck with the Menzerna SIP and Cyan pad for most swirls and light scratches on my vehicle with the Porter Cable though.

Hope that helps and isn’t too much information!