Detailing for beginners DIY

[Dec540]

Hey guys. I made a quick, basic DIY introductory to detailing and put it on E46 fanatics. I thought some of you 1addicts might also be interested

As promised, here is my DIY to car detailing. The main focus of this DIY will be major steps and products used. I won't be discussing things like how to hold the buffer / polisher and things like that. This is to hard to explain and best seen in videos or in person. Videos can be found on Final Inspection's youbtube channel

Note: I am not a professional detailer and I have only polished / waxed a handful of times. As such, what you are reading is based on things I have read or found out myself in the little time I have been detailing my BMW. This DIY is simply an outline of the process to follow and good quality products to use with a few hints and tips.

Here are the products that I used:

Wash:
Meguires Gold Car wash
Meguires wool mitt x 2 (one for body, one for wheels)
Final inspection Power Wheel Cleaner
High-pressure washer
Final inspection waffle weave drying towel x 2 (one for body, one for wheels and sills)

Polish:
Blue Painters Tape
Dodojuice Clay
Clay lube / quick detailer
A random orbital polisher
Menzerna Power Finish OEM PO203S
Menzerna Final Finish OEM Hi Cut 106FF
Dodojuice Lime Prime
Festool 6" Orange pad
Festool 6" White pad
Festool 6" Black pad

Wax:
Dodojuice Supernatural Wax
Microfibre applicator pad

Detail Exterior:
Meguires NXT tire gel
Invisible glass spray from Final Inspection
Final Inspection Gloss Boost (quick detailer)

Detail interior:
BMW Leather cleaner (foam)
Final Inspection Leather Feed

Misc:
A whole bunch of good quality microfibers
6 x Stella Artois
iPod dock
Led Lenser P7 LED torch
Patience

I have a few photos but as my car is silver and the paint was already in a very good condition it's difficult to notice much difference in photos. In person it's another story

Here are the before shots (note the lack of depth):




We start by washing the car of course. I usually start by spraying final inspection power wheel cleaner on my wheels. I give them a quick once over with a woollen mitt then rinse them off with a high-pressure washer.



After that its time for the body to get some sudds. I used meguires gold wash and another woollen mitt.



When rinsing the vehicle off I use the high-pressure washer followed by a rinse with the hose using no attachments. This allows the water to bead off the car and makes drying far easier.

To dry the vehicle I use 2 waffle weave drying towels. 1 is used for the body and windows and the other is used for the wheels and doorsills.



Once the car is dry you want to tape the car up. I go a bit nuts with this process but it works a treat. Make sure when taping that you brake the tape in-between panels. I guarantee at some stage during the process your going to want to open your door or boot and its a PITA if you rip half the tape off in the process




Then you can start claying. There are a few crucial things to do when claying:

- Warm up the clay so its maluable in your hands prior to starting
- Don't skimp on quick detailer, its cheap and easy to make using a tiny bit of car wash and water
- Constantly fold and rework the clay to ensure that if you do pick up small bits of dirt that you're not rubbing the whole car with them.
- Don't apply pressure; the clay will do its job without requiring pressure from the user.
- Dry each panel after claying to avoid water marks

I did take photos of this but they didn't turn out too well thanks to the colour of my car.

After claying you can commence polishing. My paint was already in good condition so I only hit the boot, bonnet and roof with the medium cut and just did a light cut everywhere else.



With the medium cut I used an orange pad with a speed setting of 4/6

With the light / final finish polish I used a white pad on a speed setting of 3/3

I usually do a couple of panels at a time before I use a microfiber to buff it off.



Here is my boot after hitting it with the medium cut I still have some orange peel but the only way to get rid of this is wet sanding and i don't have the confidence to try that yet.




Once you have finished polishing you need to prep the car for wax / sealant. I used dodojuice Lime Prime. I applied this using a black pad on a speed setting of 1.5/6.

Now the paint is ready to wax. I always hand apply wax in 1 direction using straight lines. I used DodoJuice Super Natural. It's not a wet wax so I find that I need to warm it up, I gave it a quick blast with the hair dryer on low for about 15-20 seconds just to make it a bit more malleable. I applied 2 coats of wax leaving the first coat for a few hours and the second coat over night. There is no harm in leaving good quality wax on your paint over night.

Before buffing off the last layer of wax you want to remove the blue painters tape.

When buffing the wax off buff in the opposite direction to the way you applied it. This makes it a bit easier to buff off. If you have a light coloured car like mine a LED torch is your best friend. Once I buffed the wax off I turned all the lights off and went over the car with an LED torch to find the bits I missed.

1st coat:


2nd coat - You can't really notice the difference in photos on a light car but you can in person:


Once it was all buffed off, I gave the car a quick once over with the Gloss Boost, cleaned the windows with invisible glass and put tyre gel on the tyres.



I didn't do the leather this time as I only just did it a few weeks ago. I'm not going to go into depth about how to apply this as it's a really straight forward process.

Let me know if you guys have any questions

[BMW86]

Excellent write up. Thanks

[sparoz]

You left the wax overnight before buffing???

[MrBlonde]

I find it too much effort to go to a car wash one a month. Well done!

[gazz]

You need two buckets for the car. One to wash with suds and another to rinse out the dirt before re-sudsing. This is apart from the wheels which I do last with left over suds and a separate sponge. Microfibre for the paint by the way.

The thing with detailing is you can get really really carried away with achieving perfection but sooner or later you will have to drive the thing. A regular wash and a good paint sealer twice to three times a year is all you really need . And a once a month or so inside and out clean and vacuum. That's me anyway.
Tip for guys with girls, you're better off lavishing the attention on your better half. You'll get more back.

[Dec540]

Originally Posted by sparoz

You left the wax overnight before buffing???

Yep. I put one application on at 9pm went out to a friends and got back at 1am. Buffed it off and put another application on. With good quality wax you want to leave it for 3-4 hours but there is no harm in leaving it longer. I wasn't going to get out of bed at 5am to buff it off so i left it over night

It makes a massive difference. If i were you with the 1M when you first get it i'd hit it with a lime prime on a black pad or even hand apply (extremely light pad & lime prime isn't a polish but a wax preparing agent) then a couple of coats of supernatural. It will keep it looking awesome and protect the paint for about 6 months.

Paint is far easier to protect from new than to rejuvenate and correct once there is damage.

[130iguy]

when you say a speed setting of 4/6

what "tool" are you using?

i need to give my car a really good clean

[banglemangle]

.

[sparoz]

Originally Posted by Dec540

Yep. I put one application on at 9pm went out to a friends and got back at 1am. Buffed it off and put another application on. With good quality wax you want to leave it for 3-4 hours but there is no harm in leaving it longer. I wasn't going to get out of bed at 5am to buff it off so i left it over night

It makes a massive difference. If i were you with the 1M when you first get it i'd hit it with a lime prime on a black pad or even hand apply (extremely light pad & lime prime isn't a polish but a wax preparing agent) then a couple of coats of supernatural. It will keep it looking awesome and protect the paint for about 6 months.

Paint is far easier to protect from new than to rejuvenate and correct once there is damage.

I left the supernatural on for a couple of hours last time and I can't buff it off that's why I asked. So I asked dodo for help, and they suggest lime priming the whole car again, which soften the wax enough for me to buff. Put on another coat afterwards, but there were places still with hard wax. Having said that it was in the middle of summer may be the wax cured much faster in the hot temperatures.

I actually find it easier to do the lime prime by hand and able to get to places the pad can't get to.

Not sure what I am doing with the 1M yet - honestly I have no time to wax - takes too long.

[janus77]

this thread is good, i really need to give my car some TLC this weekend, and i'm getting some motivation from reading this.

I don't have an electric buffer, are they really that much better? My routine is to rinse, then wash the car, dry it with the chamoix, then i clay it, then another light rinse and dry. Then the wheels with leftover suds and different sponge, then dry them with the chamoix. Then i apply wax, once i've waxed the entire car, i grab the towel and buff from the start straight away. I usually go over the car afterwards with a microfibre to make sure it's all nice, and spray a bit of tire black on the tyres to finish her off.

1 thing annoying me at present is there are some very noticeable swirl marks on the boot lid, am not sure what to do about them, they're there even after a polish. i'm not sure how to do a cut and polish either to try and remove them, is cut and polish better done with something motorised?

[sparoz]

Originally Posted by janus77

this thread is good, i really need to give my car some TLC this weekend, and i'm getting some motivation from reading this.

I don't have an electric buffer, are they really that much better? My routine is to rinse, then wash the car, dry it with the chamoix, then i clay it, then another light rinse and dry. Then the wheels with leftover suds and different sponge, then dry them with the chamoix. Then i apply wax, once i've waxed the entire car, i grab the towel and buff from the start straight away. I usually go over the car afterwards with a microfibre to make sure it's all nice, and spray a bit of tire black on the tyres to finish her off.

1 thing annoying me at present is there are some very noticeable swirl marks on the boot lid, am not sure what to do about them, they're there even after a polish. i'm not sure how to do a cut and polish either to try and remove them, is cut and polish better done with something motorised?

You will need something motorised - and the right pad/polish combination. There is also a detailing forum here, so check that out. lots of tips.

[Makkasteez]

thanks a lot for this man
nice looking ride and cleean!

[BMW86]

I just gave my car a quick clean today, first time in a couple of weeks. I used the Sonax Wheel Cleaner for the first time on my wheels - very happy with the results. Just spray it on and wait 4 minutes then pressure hose it off. I've never come across a product that is easier to use on the wheels. I've used Meguiars wheel cleaner before but it requires a bit more work and isn't as strong as Sonax. I also used the Sonax cockpit cleaner and it seems to be working well too, hopefully it repels all the dust in my car.

[Dec540]

Originally Posted by sparoz

I left the supernatural on for a couple of hours last time and I can't buff it off that's why I asked. So I asked dodo for help, and they suggest lime priming the whole car again, which soften the wax enough for me to buff. Put on another coat afterwards, but there were places still with hard wax. Having said that it was in the middle of summer may be the wax cured much faster in the hot temperatures.

I actually find it easier to do the lime prime by hand and able to get to places the pad can't get to.

Not sure what I am doing with the 1M yet - honestly I have no time to wax - takes too long.

Something isn't right there. I actually found it easier to take the wax off the longer it stayed on the car. I've also waxed it without lime prime and didn't have any issues.

How much were you putting it? Mark and I have been sharing a tub for the last 18 months and still have 1/3rd left. You don't need much of it

Originally Posted by Makkasteez

thanks a lot for this man
nice looking ride and cleean!

Cheers mate.

Originally Posted by BMW86

I just gave my car a quick clean today, first time in a couple of weeks. I used the Sonax Wheel Cleaner for the first time on my wheels - very happy with the results. Just spray it on and wait 4 minutes then pressure hose it off. I've never come across a product that is easier to use on the wheels. I've used Meguiars wheel cleaner before but it requires a bit more work and isn't as strong as Sonax. I also used the Sonax cockpit cleaner and it seems to be working well too, hopefully it repels all the dust in my car.

After using many wheel cleaners including both offered by P21S which is $40 for 500ml i can't recommend FI power wheel cleaner highly enough. It is in a whole different league to the P21S and is far cheaper.

A task which use to take 10 minutes now takes the best part of 2. With light brake dust i can spray the FI power wheel cleaner and high pressure wash it off. Most of the time i just spread it round with a mitt and then wash it off.

Like i said, i highly recommend you have a look at it when your next in the market for some wheel cleaner.

[sparoz]

I was drenching the car in it I supposed

[Dec540]

Originally Posted by sparoz

Not sure what I am doing with the 1M yet - honestly I have no time to wax - takes too long.

Happy to help mate. On a new car its a really easy process. It would probably only take about 1.5hours of actual labour. A lot of the time would be spent waiting for the wax to cure.

Maybe i should start getting into detailing on the side.. Haha.

[130iguy]

i'd pay you to detail my paint, provided you werent charging some astronomical fee

[TimMc]

Originally Posted by 130iguy

i'd pay you to detail my paint, provided you werent charging some astronomical fee

Ditto. I'll be up at Caloundra at the end of the month...

[Dec540]

Originally Posted by TimMc

Ditto. I'll be up at Caloundra at the end of the month...

Originally Posted by 130iguy

i'd pay you to detail my paint, provided you werent charging some astronomical fee

Hmm.. Seems like there is a bit of interest. I might price up a few different options and list what the detail includes and the products used over the coming days. Might have to check what the go is with posting up on the website with sponsorship etc.

[130iguy]

just PM it..

[BMW86]

I'd be down for a detail too

[sparoz]

I have got a flex, and most cut of menzernas if any cars needs more correction - feel free to use.