mblouir
I need a hobby.
I'm posting this before I go die. My back is killing me and I'm about to pass out. Every muscle on my body is cramping. I was on my first coat of wax and one of my fingers cramped sideways. I was like wtf? 
I busted butt and did the entire detail in one day. Normally I spread this out over two days, but I managed to do it all today, including the interior.
Here's how it went down.....see if you can follow:
I didn't get after shots like I wanted as the sun was too far gone by the time I had applied the second coat of wax. Not to mention that I just sold my baller lens, so I was stuck using my 50mm, which makes it difficult to get good shots in such a confined area.
Not all imperfections are gone, but I'd estimate that 90% of the swirl marks are eliminated. When I have more time I will get it perfect. My roommate came out and said it looked awesome....to which my reply was "well it's far from perfect, but it will do." Sucks being OCD...
First pictures are a before/after of my rear bumper, where I was rear-ended in a parking lot a few weeks ago. It's far from perfect, as I discovered that the paint was scraped a bit. Not down to the metal or primer, but enough to prevent complete correction. I think it's much, much better, though.
Next pictures are some random before shots showing the condition of the truck/paint.....pretty nasty.
Next are two pictures of the engine bay after it was dressed (darn 50mm lens).
Next two pictures show me testing the method I'd need to get the paint in the condition I wanted it in (within a reasonable time frame).
Now a few random after shots. I'm very pleased with how it turned out for a 1-day detail. It's so freakishly glossy it's like a mirror!
Roommate caught me!
Look at how freakishly glossy it is....you can see it on the right front panel....
It was a beautiful day for it, but there was no cloud cover. I could feel my face and arms being scorched. You guys think I got burned?
I busted butt and did the entire detail in one day. Normally I spread this out over two days, but I managed to do it all today, including the interior.
Here's how it went down.....see if you can follow:
- Clean trash out of interior
- Thoroughly vacuum interior
- Take latex gloves and wipe persistant dog hair
- Vacuum dog hair bundled up from glove swiping
- Briefly wiped down upholstery/seats with dry towel to remove loose dog hair
- Used Adam's Leather & Interior Cleaner to clean all upholstery, door panels, and seats
- Used Stoner's glass cleaner (had just bought a can two weeks ago) to clean all interior glass
- Used Adam's Leather Conditioner to protect leather seats, upholstery, and door panel
- Cleaned WeatherTech mats with Adam's All-Purpose Cleaner and scrubbed with Adam's fender brush
- Did the same thing to removable cup holders
- After drying reinstalled mats and cup holders
- Cleaned wheels/tires/wheel wells/undercarriage/exhaust tips with Adam's Green Wheel Cleaner/APC/fender brush/boar's hair wheel brush/power stick
- Cleaned engine bay with Adam's APC/fender brush
- Washed truck with Adam's Car Wash + JUMBO wash pads (these things are freaking huge)
- Dressed engine bay with Adam's Super VRT/In & Out Spray
- Clayed entire truck (about died when I did my roof)
- Dressed tires/wheels/trim with Adam's Super VRT
- Dressed undercarriage with Adam's Undercarriage Spray
- Did a test section to determine my method (two passes with Adam's green pad+SHR, one pass with orange pad+SHR, one pass with white pad+FMP)
- Polished entire truck....by the end my back was killing me and I was counting down panels
- Left polish between each step and after completion
- Cleaned exterior glass with Stoner's glass cleaner
- Sealed glass with Adam's Glass Sealant
- Cleaned sealant residue with Stoner's glass cleaner
- Wiped off polish residue
- Applied Adam's Brilliant Glaze
- Applied Adam's Americana wax....this stuff is amazing
- Waited ~30 minutes, applied second coat of Americana
- Took a few pictures, parked truck in the road (away from sappy trees)
- Came in, loaded pictures, posted this, passed out
I didn't get after shots like I wanted as the sun was too far gone by the time I had applied the second coat of wax. Not to mention that I just sold my baller lens, so I was stuck using my 50mm, which makes it difficult to get good shots in such a confined area.
Not all imperfections are gone, but I'd estimate that 90% of the swirl marks are eliminated. When I have more time I will get it perfect. My roommate came out and said it looked awesome....to which my reply was "well it's far from perfect, but it will do." Sucks being OCD...
First pictures are a before/after of my rear bumper, where I was rear-ended in a parking lot a few weeks ago. It's far from perfect, as I discovered that the paint was scraped a bit. Not down to the metal or primer, but enough to prevent complete correction. I think it's much, much better, though.
Next pictures are some random before shots showing the condition of the truck/paint.....pretty nasty.
Next are two pictures of the engine bay after it was dressed (darn 50mm lens).
Next two pictures show me testing the method I'd need to get the paint in the condition I wanted it in (within a reasonable time frame).
Now a few random after shots. I'm very pleased with how it turned out for a 1-day detail. It's so freakishly glossy it's like a mirror!
Roommate caught me!
Look at how freakishly glossy it is....you can see it on the right front panel....
It was a beautiful day for it, but there was no cloud cover. I could feel my face and arms being scorched. You guys think I got burned?
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but this summer I will get it done 
