Professional detailing

[slogans7]

Wintermute - as hot as it can get in Tucson, you'd do well to make sure your top has been treated with Raggtopp Protectant a couple times a month during Summer.

I also agree with 'Lap about investing the money in a Porter Cable. The device makes applying and/or removing cleaners, sealants and wax quite easy. Besides, you can also use it when you need anything perfectly sanded. The Boxster is a small car and you can really give your car a beautiful - and protective - shine is just a few hours. Once you do it, you'll realize it's too much fun to outsource.

[Wintermute]

Agreed. Raggtop is tops on my list of car car products to buy. :P Along with the Porter Cable polisher, sealant, swirl remover, polish...damn list just doesn't get any shorter. I just keep checking things off, then adding more. Ah well, such is life.

[slogans7]

Yeah, once you get into detailing your own car - and poring over the info at Autopia.org - you'll be surprised at how much you can spend. But it's a healthy addiction, and I've found it can be a valuable activity to preclude having to assume other nasty chores, like grocery shopping, laundry and bathing the dogs (at least in my case). BTW, I let my wife use my Porter Cable to refinish a favorite table of hers. She now likes the device and has stopped referring to it as "that stupid spinning thing."

[Perfectlap]

well if its any consolation I took some nice pics of my old car after lots-o' detailing work and those pics were used to find a internet buyer who 'had to have' my car.
Guy flew up one Saturday morning from Florida gave me cold hard cash (nearly twice what I was expecting) jumped into the car and drove right back to Florida.
I even detailed it the morning of the sale, I saw the whites of his eyes grow larger as I pulled up to the terminal.




spending $500 bucks on detailing crap might seem like allot but sooner or later you'll run into someone wanting to buy that shiny car. I have two guys now who think I'm selling my Boxster to them.
I said yeah yeah ok so they would quit asking me about it.

[SD987]

Although I'm a Rejex fan, I recently prepped with the the "Dawn" and "Vinegar" steps for the first time. Wow, tremendous difference!

Perfectlap, I am also now a worshipper at the altar of the Sea Sponge. Much better than the Microfiber wash thingie.

[Perfectlap]

Yeah I just started using teh Sea SPonge. I got sick of washing MF mitts two and three times and still finding particles in there. A good twist of the Sea Sponge and it seems to come clean in a snap.
The ultimate combination would be sea sponge and foam gun. With a 'curling' type technique where you lubricate the surface as you chase it with the sponge.

[eslai]

Originally Posted by slogans7

I also agree with 'Lap about investing the money in a Porter Cable. The device makes applying and/or removing cleaners, sealants and wax quite easy. Besides, you can also use it when you need anything perfectly sanded. The Boxster is a small car and you can really give your car a beautiful - and protective - shine is just a few hours. Once you do it, you'll realize it's too much fun to outsource.

Even with an orbital buffer my wrists end up hurting--bad wrists and joints from typing on a keyboard all day.

I also find that buffers waste a lot of product either from slinging it around or just soaking it up in the pads. But by far the most annoying thing for me is that you need to mask off all the trim on the car so it doesn't get on everything and even then you still have to do fine detailing around edges and hard-to-reach spots.

I gave up on buffers because of all this--the big sweeping expanses of sheet metal aren't the hard part about polishing/waxing a car--it's all the little details that make the job a pain in the ass.

[Wintermute]

eslai -

So what's your technique for swirl removal and polishing? Do you just do it by hand?

[eslai]

My technique involves $200 and a trip to a detail shop.

[Wintermute]

Originally Posted by eslai

My technique involves $200 and a trip to a detail shop.

Ouch. Nothing's easy, eh?

[oranje]

what I want is this as a clearcoat...

http://www.grcblog.com/bloggers/2/files/honey_sh.mpg

first drop of honey is on glass, the second one is on a new material using roughened wax nano structures. Made by propellor heads at GE.

Turns out that slick surfaces in nature are not smooth at all under a microscope... it's all about reducing surface area, so nothing can stick. Expect it to be a $2,000 option for the car... but it'll be worth it!

Original is at http://www.grcblog.com/fullview.php?blog_id=18

[Rob175]

Keshari.....you do know that you replied to a post that is 18 yrs old!.....There's a good chance the OP has moved on or no longer even owns the car.....LOL

[bivin]

There are single step polishes are available with most of the brands with new technology which can remove swirls and give a good finish.