How To Properly Detail A Car.

[Vtec_Power]

I didnt write this, I found it on the other forums I'm a mamber of.

Source: Forums.somethingawful.com
Author: User "einTier"

People always ask me how I get my cars to shine up like this:
http://65.65.104.148/pictures/Jack%20and%2...rorfinishsm.jpg
http://65.65.104.148/pictures/Jack%20and%2...stangbuttsm.jpg

And lately, I've had several requests for a write up from people on this forum. So here it is. Some stuff is probably missing, some stuff is definately incomplete, and I've probably buggered something up in there as well. Feel free to critique, and I'll be editing and adding extra stuff in this post and the thread as the week goes on.

Here's how I do it. And no, it's not as hard as it looks. Please keep in mind, my cars are daily drivers and I'm quite lazy. The products I list are the products I use, but you can achieve similar results with other products. The difference? I've used many, many different brands of products over the years, and these are the ones I find give you the maximum results for minimum effort.

How much time does it take? Not as much as you'd think, but probably more than you care to deal with. That's been my experience. I've taught probably a dozen people how to do this in person, and not one, not ONE, has kept it up after I've brought their car back to tip-top condition. Basically, the first application will take you all day. The more time you spend now, the better it is going to look, and the easier it will be to maintain. I find it takes me about six full hours to bring an average five year old car with average paint damage (ie, rarely washed, never waxed) back to full luster, and it takes about an hour a week to keep up. If you use the products I recommend, you can go as long as six months without maintaining and still not risk damaging the finish.

Can I really do this? Probably. However, I can't see your car, and some damage is irreversable. No way to tell until you actually get in there and do it. Basically, if the paint is worn down to the bare metal or if the clear coat (if there is one) is compromised, then there's not much you can do. But usually, you can at the very least, make the car look better than it did.

Do I need a buffer? It could help, but I have one, and unless I'm working on a car I've done before, I prefer not to use it. Why? Because using the buffer takes a bit of skill, and because you can really do some damage to a paint job before you realize it, especially if the paint is thin or otherwise suspect. Ask me some time about the 300ZX bumper I ruined a few years ago with rubbing compound and a buffer. Had I been doing it by hand, I would have realized it about ten seconds after touching it, but since I used the buffer, I managed to wreck the whole bumper, and in no more than about fifteen seconds.

What do I need? These are the products I recommend:

Polishing Towels : 100% cotton towels from wherever -- but cut off the edges, and don't wash them with fabric softener, ever.

Drying Towels : I like the California Water Blade, and I use an artificial chamois (the Absorber) as a final drying step.

Car Wash Soap : Meguiar's Deep Crystal Car Wash (Dawn dishwashing soap for first step)

Claybar : I prefer Zaino's clay bar, but almost any clay bar will do.

Rubbing Compound : 3M's Perfect-It II fine cut (this is also good for fixing scratched CDs)

Swirl Mark Remover : 3M's Swirl Mark Remover (light or dark, depending on paint color)

Hand Glaze : 3M's Imperial Hand Glaze

"Wax" : Zaino Z1/Z2(Z3)/z6 ONLY

Mag wheel cleaner : Undiluted Simple Green

Tire Shine : Eagle One Tire Wet

Leather cleaner/conditioners : Lexol

Plastic / Vinyl cleaner : Meguiar's #40

Aluminum polish : Mother's Aluminum polish

Chrome polish (no, polished aluminum and polished chrome are not the same) : Mother's Chrome polish






So where do we start?

Right here. Start by filling a good sized bucket with warm water and Dawn dishwashing soap. Yes, that's right. We're washing the car with Dawn dishwashing soap. The reason being that we must get all the old wax and other crap off the car, and the high pH of the Dawn will help strip all that stuff off. Give the car a good scrubbing but don't worry too much about getting all the soap off, we'll be washing the car a lot today. Pro tip: the Dawn also works well for getting brake dust off, so go ahead and wash the rims while you're at it.

Usually at this point, I recommend cracking out the clay bar. Pro tip: keep the bar in the refrigerator until you're ready to use it -- peeling the cellophane off of it is much easier when it is cold. However, if you have a much older car that's in serious need of paint care, and it really looks like the paint may be unrecoverable, you may wish to delay this step until after you do the rubbing compound and assess the paint. No sense getting a perfectly clean finish if you can't polish it up. I find that if the car will shine up with water on it, you're probably good to go. If it won't shine up wet, then it probably won't shine up at all. Let's assume the car appears fine, as most cars under five or six years old will. Crack out the clay bar. This step isn't hard, but is time consuming and requires a bit of technique that you will learn quickly. First, any portion of the paint must remain wet while you are working it. Many clay bar kits will come with a lubrication bottle filled with fluid, and if you want to use this, feel free, but I find that running a hose over the clay bar while you are working it works just fine and is cheaper. Second, the bar can never, ever touch the ground. If it does, it's ruined. To make this even more tragic, the lubrication will make the bar fairly slippery. For this reason, I like to break the bar into smaller pieces and work with one piece at a time. I also find that putting down newspaper is cheap insurance, even though it gets a little messy.

When you crack out your clay bar, you'll find it's a block of soft putty. Make sure the bar is warm before you start. Hold the bar in your hand, and pretend you're erasing some pencil marks on a piece of paper. The pressure and feel is surprisingly similar. Make sure you're keeping the surface wet. Work small sections, maybe six inches by six inches. When you first start working, you'll feel (and almost hear) a strange scratchy texture, almost like rubbing two pieces of paper together. This means the paint is dirty. As you work it, the feeling will go away, replaced by a glassy smoothness. This means the paint is clean. Every so often, you'll find the bar looks a little dirty, stretch it, fold it in half, and keep working. One bar should clean one car, provided you don't drop it. If you're using pieces, switch them out as they start to remain dirty after you fold them.

What does the clay bar do? It removes all bonded contaiminents from the paint. There's nothing else that will do this, and the clay bar makes a huge difference -- but not one you'll see at this point, sadly. It's one of those things that you'll definately notice at the end of the day that you did or did not do. It's impossible to get that show car finish without using one. Yes, you do need to do it to brand-new cars, they pick up plenty of crap during transport and sitting on dealer lots. Yes, I know they are expensive. Just be happy that you should only have to do this once. The clay bar leaves a bit of residue, so wash it one more time. Be sure to get all the soap off of it this time. I also recommend opening the doors, hood, and trunk, and cleaning all these inner edges. It's these little details that make all the difference. Make sure the wheels are clean, and clean the wheel wells with Simple Green while you're in there. If I'm feeling really ambitious, I'll jack the car up, remove the wheels, and really scrub the inner wheel wells, but this is slightly overkill. Now that you've done all this, the paint should be cleaner than it has been since it left the factory.

Move the car under shade for the next steps. It is very important that the paint is cool while you're working with it.

Except that it probably still has swirl marks and scratches in the finish. The clay bar is slightly abrasive, but it's probably not abrasive enough, unless the car has under 1000 miles on it. This is the part that's going to require some assessment on your part. You'll be using two or three products here, Rubbing Compound, Swirl Mark Remover, and (maybe) Hand Glaze. I'm not a fan of hand glaze, but it does have its place. Think of the three like sandpaper. Rubbing compound is like 40 grit on wood. It's good for removing really bad imperfections, like heavy scratches or badly marred paint. I do not recommend using it on a whole panel unless the paint is damaged to the point that reflections are hard to see when dry. Rubbing compound does scratch, so you'll have to go behind it with something else when you are done. To use, work a small portion of a panel, and work the compound until it is dry. I use a small 100% cotton wax applicator to do this. This will not take long. Once dry, buff it off using a clean 100% cotton towel. Also, be sure that you are using a compound designed for hand application if you are doing it by hand -- the action of rubbing breaks down the compound and allows for the polishing action. If you are using machine compound by hand, you can't really get enough pressure, heat, and friction to properly break it down.

Swirl Mark Remover is like 80 grit sandpaper for wood. It will remove most oxidation, and light to moderate swirls. Use it in exactly the same way as the rubbing compound, except don't be afraid to use it over an entire panel. After a good application of SMR, the paint should be nice and smooth. If it's not, try another application of SMR if the remaining scratches are small, or try an application of rubbing compound followed by SMR on the really bad parts.

There are some who like to apply hand glaze after this step. I find the paint is usually perfectly smooth after the application of SMR, but if you feel there are still scratches, an application of hand glaze may be all you need. This stuff is only slightly abrasive, like 160 grit on wood. It will remove light oxidation and microfine scratches. An interesting tid bit, many show cars use an application of hand glaze as a final step and nothing more.

Keep in mind, all of these substances are abrasive, and it is possible to burn right through the paint with them. Not very likely if you're doing it by hand, or if the paint is good, but something you need to be aware of. Mainly, just be careful where it looks like the paint may be thin. Work these areas slowly, and keep an eye open for any apparent changes in the paint. This is generally only an issue on older cars that have been exposed to the elements and never cleaned. This is another reason you might use a lighter polish than you would ordinarily use (hand glaze instead of SMR, SMR instead of RC).

***Digression ****
You'll see Zaino Z5 offered as a "scratch remover" on Zaino's website, and many Zaino people swear by it. I do not. I find it doesn't work well, and works on an optical illusion principle. It is not abrasive at all. The scratches are still there, you're just attempting to cover them up. I find it's a lot better and much more successful to simply address and remove the scratches now than it is to attempt to cover them later.

Now, if you are prepping a show car, there's no need to go any further with the paint. If you've followed all the steps properly so far, the paint should now be as nice as it will ever look. However, this is not good for a car that you put on the road, as the paint is completely unprotected. You'll need a coat of wax. Now, please understand that all caranuba waxes are slightly opaque and will decrease the shine of your car. They also tend to attract dust. That's why I use Zaino, which is supposedly optically perfect, does not attract dust, and in my opinion, seems to actually increase the shine of the car.

To apply the Zaino, you'll originally need to start with the Z1 or ZFX additive. I personally do not like the ZFX. It's too expensive, too messy, and I don't find the Zaino drying times to be a problem. I also live in a hot, dry climate, so that helps. Zaino takes longer to dry the colder it is and the more humid it is. To start, put on a coat of Z1. If you are doing the ZFX, you can skip this step. You don't need much, just enough to put a slight haze on the car. When you are done, go back and apply a coat of Z2 or Z3, depending on if your car is clearcoated or not. No, you do not need to wait for the Z1 to dry, and no, you do not take off the Z1 before you apply the Z2 or Z3. Apply it just the same way you applied the Z1. It will be a bit difficult this time, as it's somewhat hard to tell where you've been with the Z1 already on the car. Next time, you'll only apply the Z2(Z3), so it will be easier.

Now you need to wait for the Zaino to dry. How long? Depends. Usually in the summertime, the Zaino drys before I finish with my car. On a cold, wet day in the winter, it can take a couple of hours. The thicker the application, the longer it takes to dry as well. So how do you know when it's done? Use your finger to try to wipe some of the Zaino off. If it flakes off easily and doesn't leave a greasy smudge, it's dry. If you see a greasy mark, or you have to "buff" the Zaino off, it's not dry. Go back inside and wait, or do the interior. When it's time to take the Zaino off, use one of your cotton towels, and just use a light rubbing action to 'dust' the Zaino off the car. If it takes any kind of effort at all, or any kind of buffing, remember, it's not dry. This stuff is very easy to put on and very easy to take off.

Pro tip: Go ahead and use the Zaino or wax on the wheels as well. It will help keep the rims clean and will make it easier to remove brake dust, dirt, and road grime the next time you wash the car. If you have polished aluminum wheels, make sure you polish them before you apply the wax.

Once the coat of Z2(Z3) is done, I like to apply a coat of Z6. This comes in a spray bottle. Just spray a very light coat on the panel you're working and immediately wipe it off with a clean towel. I like to use old 100% cotton t-shirts for this duty. It is recommended that you wipe in straight lines (not circles like every other wax and polish), and from top to bottom on side panels and back to front on upper panels. I also use the Z6 on all interior painted pieces, be it door jambs or dashboards. Cleaning these areas makes a very subtle but noticable difference. It's one of those things that will make you notice the car is dirty, but you won't be able to put your finger on exactly why.

Now that you've done the paint, go ahead and clean the windows, though they probably won't need it. I like Windex, but if you have tinted windows, you can't use this stuff on the inside. My windows don't typically get dirty on the inside, but it is something you need to be aware of. If your windows do get dirty inside, you'll need an ammonia-free window cleaner. Pretty much any of them will do, but I like 3M's premium glass cleaner if I can find it.

Clean the plastics and vinyl with Meguiar's #40. This is somewhat difficult to find, as it is the "professional line" that comes in the tan bottles. However, there is nothing like it. It will breathe new life into your old plastics, and it doesn't leave behind a shiny, greasy finish like many other products.

To shine up the tires (the simple green seems to do a number on tire rubber), use any of the foaming tire shine products. I like Eagle One's, but they are all pretty much interchangable. However, if you are going to be racing the car anytime in the near future, DO NOT use tire wet. That stuff is unbelievably greasy, and will lead to very unpredictable and sudden sliding at the limits of traction.

I don't have a big experience cleaning interiors, mainly because I don't smoke, and I don't eat or drink in my vehicles. You'd be surprised how big a difference this makes. I have a five year old car whose interior looks the same as it did when we bought it five years ago. The only thing we've replaced is the floor mats. However, if you need to clean interiors, I find that cleaning the carpet is just like cleaning the carpet in your house, and you can use the same products. I use a standard household vaccuum with attachments, and I use a brush attachment to clean all the dust and dirt out of the dash, console, and door panels. Again, use Meguiar's #40 on the interior plastics.

Cleaning cloth seats is a bit like cleaning the carpets, but since all my cars have leather interiors, this is not an area of expertise for me. Mainly I can advise on leather seats. Leather is a great surface in that you have to really try to harm it. However, if you don't do standard maintenence on it, you can watch it deteriorate in a rapid fashion. I use the Lexol brand of leather cleaners and conditioners. Yes, you need both, as cleaners don't moisturize the leather, and conditioners won't clean. Most consumer-level modern cars today have plasticized leather rather than the soft leather you might get in something like a Maybach. If the leather is firm to the touch, and has a slightly slick feel, then you've got plasticized leather. Unfortunately, conditioner isn't going to do much for you. The plastic coating will keep the leather from being ruined by water, spills, and many other hazards, but it will also keep the moisturizer from penetrating. Still, you should probably use it at least once a month. This is because over time the leather will develop fine cracks in the protective surface. You'll need to get moisturizer in those cracks, or the seat will deteriorate in short order.

Pro tip: Want to know how to differentiate between leather and vinyl? Poke it firmly, almost like you were poking someone in the ribs. Leather will pucker and fold in a random pattern that follows the grain of the leather, and will do so with little force. Vinyl will simply dimple, with no folds until you push really hard. You can test this on most cars with leather interiors, as it's usually "leather seating surfaces", meaning that any part your body touches while sitting in the seat is leather, but the backs and often the headrests are simply vinyl.

I'm sure I've forgotten a few things, and didn't clarify some things very well, but this document is getting over long, so I'm going to close it with maintaining.

How often do I need to do this? I like to wash my cars weekly. I find most people won't do that. Wax tends to last about two weeks, then your paint is essentially unprotected. Zaino lasts about three to six months before your paint is unprotected. If you let the paint get to this point, then you have to start back over at step one. If you don't you should be able to just do a simple wash, a light touch up where the elements have penetrated the protective shell, and an extra coat of wax, and you should be done. I personally like to bring the whole car down to zero once a year, but I know this is overkill. My Mustang is now five years old and is just now needing its second clay bar treatment, which I plan to tackle at the start of summer.[/b]

**THIS ISNT ME OR MY CAR, I TOOK THESE PICS FROM THE SOURCE, AND PUT THEM ON MY OWN HOSTING***