14 Explorer Sport with McKee's 360

[pilotpip]

For those of you who didn't read the other thread, we needed to replace our rogue with something larger. We have an 18 month old, and another due in January. The rouge was good to us, but it won't take two rear facing car seats and a tandem stroller. The missus liked an explorer sport, in tuxedo black. Oh, she works a hospital, and mystery dings always appeared on the old car. It has some swirls, and could use a good three step detail. I don't have a ton of time/daylight right now so I elected to do a wash/decon/aio to get through the winter. The weather was nice today, but we had a cold start. I had it washed before the frost had melted off the roof.

Next up: Iron-X "lemon" vs Mc Kee's 37 extreme iron

Both did their thing, and weren't nearly as fun to watch as they are on a white vehicle. I bought the McKee's because I can't stand the smell of Iron-X. I get what it's doing, and I know there is some harsh stuff needed to do that. After reading the reviews on the McKee's, I bought a bottle. It wins. While it doesn't smell like flowers, it doesn't smell like a skunk that's been rotting in the sun for a couple days (I can't imagine what the original iron-x smells like). I'll be using this for future decontamination. It appeared to work just as well, and the smell better. Following that, clay. No wonder the paint felt horrible. I'm glad I had extra. I different pieces for each side because of what I was pulling off.

I cleaned up the plastic trim with Meg's ultimate black, then wiped down the whole car with CarPro Eraser before using McKee's 360 AIO. I have a PC and elected to go straight to a CCS orange pad because the car had some good swirls. I also own a Ford F-150 in blue jean metallic and this combo gave ok correction for me. After spreading the goods on 3, I'd make 4-5 passes on 5.5 depending on how much correction I needed. This is my 3rd time using this AIO. As a beginner, I really like it. It's easy to use, and very forgiving. My paint is much better, but it can pop even more. Next spring I'll probably try something different. Maybe 3 step it or switch to HD speed/poxy based on the reviews here. I might top with some DP max wax or XMT 180 that I have in the garage tomorrow if I have time, but I'm very happy with the results.
Before:

After:

[Eldorado2k]

Right on. How will you be maintaining through the winter? Are you going to be washing frequently? Or is there too much snow to be able to do that where you're at?

[pilotpip]

The St. Louis area gets a little of everything. It's not unusual to get a day in the 60s in January and as you can see, I'm not afraid of a little cold weather! Most towns around here are really, really bad about preemptive salting of roads if any freezing preciptation is in the forecast. If it's too cold, there is a decent touchless wash around the corner from home. I avoid that at all cost though.

We moved into the house in March, and the garage is still a mess but I'll have it cleaned out enough to get the car in there next week. I may venture into waterless washes this season but I'm unsure of that.

[Sizzle Chest]

Nice work. Thanks for the review on the McK Iron remover. I picked some up and haven't used it yet! Glad it's not as horrible as a lot of them out there!

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Nice work getting it ready for the winter season.

[LSNAutoDetailing]

Nice work! Congrats on the addition to the family and the new family vehicle.
I just made the switch from Iron-X to McKee's, mainly because of price-point and Mike's write-up. We'll see how it goes.