the whole detailing thing

[djomlas]

so i was telling my friend how now im hooked to damn autopia forum and whatnot and showed him some before and afters (some crazy stuff you will see that people do to their cars), so he was very impressed.
he has a black BMW (it wasnt his choice of color especially since he kinda doesnt care and washes a car once every 2 months in seems), so he asked me how much to detail his car.
c'mon now, im not gonna charge him to clean his car, so i said to him get some detailing products, stick around, and ill do it for you.
so off to autogeek, and we ordered:
SSR1, SSR2,SSR2.5, nattys paste wax blue for dark cars,some mf towels,2 LC orange pads, 2 LC white pads, 1 blue LC pad,and then some leather cleaner (not sure what he ordered inregards to that), and i opted to not use any sealant, and well use the meguiars claybar from a local autozone....
so...well this will give me some good practice, i will have some pads, and some products leftover, and keep the friend

i would still like to try out the meguiars #80 and #83, but i will hold on that till i see the results with poorboys.
he has some good spiderwebbing, swirlmarks, and an angry girl that did a number on his hood and trunk w her purse...
so once all this stuff comes in well do it, and you know me by now, ther will be lots of before and after pics
i also got the halogen lamp stand tripod thingy as well for the polishing job (didnt even know they were only 30 bux at good ol wallmart, so thats a good buy)

just outta curiosity, since i havent done a full detail, how long do the pads last?
and i will also be doing a wetsanding job on my car (PO did some damage wher the hardtop goes it, missed it and hit the paint, so for now its touched up but i want it perfect of course)

anyways, sorry for long post, but this whole detailing stuff is kinda neat.

[Perfectlap]

1-don't do any wet sanding until you have exhausted every method possible with the PC orbital and a pro detailer can't do the job with a metabo rotary. The margin of error is slim to none. Given your unique color, I would not try anything you hadn't done before.

2-I'd a gone with Menzerma Intensive Polish for deswirling a black car. Optimum's line is also good with the PC. Poorboys is great but you'll have to work allot more to get the same results for the 1st time deswirling. Maintenace is no problem for the SSR's.

The misus is the only car I will do for free and even then I make here help me wash, clay, polish, seal, etc. That way she will see its allot of work and take better care of the car. Most women I know never care for their cars, very sloppy.
I'd do the same with your pal, make him help you if not he should fill your tank!
Deswirling is mucho work because you have to move slow, very slow with the buffer to get out swirls.

Funny how people who never wash their cars always want black cars. My friend who has had some of the most heinous looking cars ever, toxic waste sites really bought his first nice car. Acura TL what color? Black. oh dear...

p.s.
Tell your buddy to try Optimum No Rinse. I think its the way to go when washing a black car that is probably washed 300% more during its lifetime more than a car in a lighter color. More washing = more swirling.

[unklekraker]

P/L..got question for you...
Which brand and where to get a foam gun to wash my car? What i meant was instead of using bucket of soap, I want to use the one the squirt foam...does it make sense? And what's that Optimum no rinse?

[Perfectlap]

Optimum No Rinse is something in between a full bucket and hose wash and a quick detail with a cleaning spray and towel. You add one or two ounces to a warm bucket of water and with a sponge (after wetting down the car first) you can clean the paint when its too dirty to quick detail. Dry it with a waffle weave towel. You don't have to rinse it with a hose. Before drying off the No Rinse I spray the car with a cleaning quick detailer too lubricate the drying and clean any spots I might have missed. I like FK1 146 or 425 for post No Rinse drying.

You can reuse the dirty water still in the bucket to wash your wheels using a wheel face brush like the Meguiar's Gold Class. I can do the whole No Rinse in 15 minutes without having to get out the hose and I don't get all wet. You can also dilute the No Rinse in a spray bottle and use it as a quick detailer. Last summer I only did a real car soap wash once. And of course I stay away from hand car washes.

I think I saw a foam gun on detailcity.com
I'm considering one myself but with a silver car it rarely looks too dirty. Maybe if I had more than one car like an SUV I would get the foam gun.

[unklekraker]

Thaks P/L for the response one more question, So the Optimum No Rinse is a product?

[Perfectlap]

yeah its the most popular of the waterless washes at the momemment

http://detailcity.com/optimum-no-rinse-wash-shine-32-ounce.html

here's an interesting deal on pads (mix and match)
http://detailcity.com/lake-country-6-5-inch-da-foam-pads-custom-4-pack.html