akimel
04-19-2009, 12:09 PM
I have been planning for this spring detail for six months, so so when the weather man declared that the weather would be warming up on Wednesday, April 8th, I grabbed the chance.
Wednesday
1) Detached the exhaust tips, antenna, license plates and holders. The exhaust tips I would later polish with Meguiar's Hot Rims Mag & Aluminum polish; the antenna and license plate holders I would clean with Meguiar's M40; the license plates with APC+.
2) Carefully washed the car with Turtle Wax Ice Car Wash. I washed each panel twice. I gently brushed the medallions, lettering, and crevices with my Swissvax detailing brush.
3) After drying the car, I pulled it back into the garage. As you can see, parts of the car were badly swirled:
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_05071.jpg
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_05121.jpg
It was now noon, so I broke for lunch.
4) At 1:00 I proceeded to clay the car using Meguiar's consumer line claybar with Quik Detailer as lubricant.
5) At 2:00 I taped up the car in preparation for polishing.
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_05191.jpg
6) Before taking an Earl Grey break, I sprayed the wheel wells with CD-2. Given the narrow space between tire and fender, I wasn't sure how well the spray would cover the wells; but the aerosol spray in fact shoots out a goodly distance with narrow, focused dispersion. The CD-2 adhered to the wells wonderfully, though I doubt anyone who isn't on their hands and knees intently peering into the wheel well darkness will notice the difference.
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_0559.jpg
7) After my cup of tea I broke out my new Flex 3401 Dual Action Polisher, which was given to me by a generous relative. I did a test spot on the hood. The hood and front side panels were repainted last May after an accident. I begin with SwirlX with the yellow polishing pad--four passes (two horizontal, two vertical). As far as I could see, there was no improvement. I then tried Ultimate Compound--a little improvement but not much really. Finally I opened up my bottle of Ultra Cut Compound (M105). The results were much better. Some swirls still remained, as did some random scratches, but the finish was significantly improved. I was nervous, though, about making another set of passes with M105. I wish an experienced detailer had been at my side to assess the condition of the paint and to advice how to proceed further. As I was intending to follow up with M205 anyway, I decided to err on the side of caution. So I proceeded to buff the the rest of the hood and front end. It was about 7:30 when I finished.
8) At 10:00, unable simply to wait until morning, I decided to do a test spot on the driver-side door. I begin with SwirlX. Unfortunately my Brinkman spotlight had by that time run out of juice, so I was unable to visually inspect the test spot as I would have liked; but it looked good (so I thought!). I then polished the rest of the door. By 11:30 I could hardly raise the Flex. My arms were useless. Time for some Ibuprofen and bed.
Thursday
I was back in the garage by 8:30. I examined the door with my newly charged Brinkman, and to my horror I discovered that the paint looked scoured. Egads! How could I have not noticed that! It was only one glass of wine--I swear! But I didn't panic. If SwirlX is too tough for these panels, I thought, I'll just step down to M205. So I re-polished a quarter of the door with M105 and polishing pad. Hmmm, still hazy. Try the finishing pad. Oh no, it's still not looking good.
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_0522.jpg
Now I was beginning to panic. But I had one more trick in my bag--a bottle of M80. So I tried a couple of passes with M80 and a polishing pad. It cleared up the paint a bit, but it still did not look good. Now it was time to panic!
I rushed to my computer and sent out emergency emails to Mike Phillips and a couple of other experienced detailers. Unfortunately, most of them are on the West coast, three hours behind me. I knew it would take some time before I would hear back from my saviors, so I sat in my chair and stared at the computer.
Mike emailed me back, and I sent him some photos of the debacle. He suggested that I call him. I promptly accepted the invitation. I described to him the steps I had taken. Mike's first task was to calm me down and reassure me that this was not the end of the world, that together we would find a way to restore my S2K to some measure of her former glory. After lengthy discussion he advised that I temporarily give up on the Flex for the factory-painted panels and use the G110. And so I returned to the garage with my G110. I tried a test spot on the door with M205 and a polishing pad. Improvement! The hazing, though not the swirls, was largely removed. I then polished the rest of the door. It looked much, much better.
Friday
Good Friday. This is a day I had planned to spend in reading and prayer, but I knew I had to finish the car. I was back in the garage by 9:00 or so. I began to polish the remaining panels. My intention was to finish these panels and then to go over all the factory-painted panels with M205 and a finishing pad. I was tired and sore, so I paced myself.
During a tea break, I checked my email and found that Kevin Brown had responded to my emergency email. I rang him back. He asked me to do a couple of things to give him a better idea of the condition of my paint. I confess that by this time I was tempted to tell him that it was too late for me to try anything new, but who knows the SMAT polishes better than Kevin Brown? I primed the pad according to his instruction. We tried M105 with with the G110 with a polishing pad. We tried M205 with a polishing pad. Haze ... haze ... haze. The paint looked cloudy. Finally, he had me apply M205 by hand, and the cloudiness disappeared. But under the harsh illumination of the Brinkman, I also could not fail to see that which I had hoped to remove two days earlier--swirls, lots and lots of swirls.
"Don't feel bad, Al," Kevin told me. "You've got difficult paint. Even an experienced polisher might have found your car to be a challenge." I was encouraged to hear this. So I returned to the polishing--G110, M205, polishing pad. It was early afternoon. By that time I knew I did not have sufficient energy to go over the factory-painted panels with a finishing pad. That will have to wait until another session. As a recovering perfectionist, it was hard to admit that I had been defeated. I had reached my physical and emotional limits. I took a long break.
My final decision was the choice of wax. Over the past nine months I have both purchased and received as gifts several nice waxes. I decided to go with the wax reputed to be one of the easiest to apply and remove--Wolfgang Fuzion. It smells of strawberries. I took my time. There was no need to hurry. Enjoy the wax. Enjoy the waxing. Relax. I may have lost this particular battle with soft Honda paint, but I knew that my car would still look great clothed in Fuzion.
Fuzion is a wonderful wax to apply. Like all waxes, it needs to be applied thin. It seems to melt into the paint. Fuzion is wipe-on, wipe-off. No need to wait for it to haze. Wax a panel and then wipe-off with a clean microfiber towel. I pulled the car out of the garage into the late afternoon sun. She looked beautiful. Just about this time my wife returned home from work. I asked her to look over the car closely. I wanted her to describe the look of this wax. "Wet," she replied. "It looks like a shallow pool of water." She also noticed what I can only describe as a shimmering on the hood. I don't recall the other waxes I have used producing this shimmering. The car looks lovely, but you will note from the photos that I did not achieve a swirl-free, show car finish.
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_05491.jpg
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_05522.jpg
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_05571.jpg
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_0553-1.jpg
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_0568.jpg
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_0554.jpg
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_05511.jpg
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_05632.jpg
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_05861.jpg
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_0571.jpg
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_0582.jpg
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_058011.jpg
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_05772.jpg
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_06021.jpg
My detailing session concluded on a Fuzion high note; but the three-day marathon left me drained, disappointed, and frustrated. I was not able to take the finish to a higher level, though I did succeed in removing some of the obvious defects. But regardless, my 2007 S2000 sure looks lovely, doesn't she?
Cheers,
Al
Wednesday
1) Detached the exhaust tips, antenna, license plates and holders. The exhaust tips I would later polish with Meguiar's Hot Rims Mag & Aluminum polish; the antenna and license plate holders I would clean with Meguiar's M40; the license plates with APC+.
2) Carefully washed the car with Turtle Wax Ice Car Wash. I washed each panel twice. I gently brushed the medallions, lettering, and crevices with my Swissvax detailing brush.
3) After drying the car, I pulled it back into the garage. As you can see, parts of the car were badly swirled:
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_05071.jpg
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_05121.jpg
It was now noon, so I broke for lunch.
4) At 1:00 I proceeded to clay the car using Meguiar's consumer line claybar with Quik Detailer as lubricant.
5) At 2:00 I taped up the car in preparation for polishing.
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_05191.jpg
6) Before taking an Earl Grey break, I sprayed the wheel wells with CD-2. Given the narrow space between tire and fender, I wasn't sure how well the spray would cover the wells; but the aerosol spray in fact shoots out a goodly distance with narrow, focused dispersion. The CD-2 adhered to the wells wonderfully, though I doubt anyone who isn't on their hands and knees intently peering into the wheel well darkness will notice the difference.
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_0559.jpg
7) After my cup of tea I broke out my new Flex 3401 Dual Action Polisher, which was given to me by a generous relative. I did a test spot on the hood. The hood and front side panels were repainted last May after an accident. I begin with SwirlX with the yellow polishing pad--four passes (two horizontal, two vertical). As far as I could see, there was no improvement. I then tried Ultimate Compound--a little improvement but not much really. Finally I opened up my bottle of Ultra Cut Compound (M105). The results were much better. Some swirls still remained, as did some random scratches, but the finish was significantly improved. I was nervous, though, about making another set of passes with M105. I wish an experienced detailer had been at my side to assess the condition of the paint and to advice how to proceed further. As I was intending to follow up with M205 anyway, I decided to err on the side of caution. So I proceeded to buff the the rest of the hood and front end. It was about 7:30 when I finished.
8) At 10:00, unable simply to wait until morning, I decided to do a test spot on the driver-side door. I begin with SwirlX. Unfortunately my Brinkman spotlight had by that time run out of juice, so I was unable to visually inspect the test spot as I would have liked; but it looked good (so I thought!). I then polished the rest of the door. By 11:30 I could hardly raise the Flex. My arms were useless. Time for some Ibuprofen and bed.
Thursday
I was back in the garage by 8:30. I examined the door with my newly charged Brinkman, and to my horror I discovered that the paint looked scoured. Egads! How could I have not noticed that! It was only one glass of wine--I swear! But I didn't panic. If SwirlX is too tough for these panels, I thought, I'll just step down to M205. So I re-polished a quarter of the door with M105 and polishing pad. Hmmm, still hazy. Try the finishing pad. Oh no, it's still not looking good.
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_0522.jpg
Now I was beginning to panic. But I had one more trick in my bag--a bottle of M80. So I tried a couple of passes with M80 and a polishing pad. It cleared up the paint a bit, but it still did not look good. Now it was time to panic!
I rushed to my computer and sent out emergency emails to Mike Phillips and a couple of other experienced detailers. Unfortunately, most of them are on the West coast, three hours behind me. I knew it would take some time before I would hear back from my saviors, so I sat in my chair and stared at the computer.
Mike emailed me back, and I sent him some photos of the debacle. He suggested that I call him. I promptly accepted the invitation. I described to him the steps I had taken. Mike's first task was to calm me down and reassure me that this was not the end of the world, that together we would find a way to restore my S2K to some measure of her former glory. After lengthy discussion he advised that I temporarily give up on the Flex for the factory-painted panels and use the G110. And so I returned to the garage with my G110. I tried a test spot on the door with M205 and a polishing pad. Improvement! The hazing, though not the swirls, was largely removed. I then polished the rest of the door. It looked much, much better.
Friday
Good Friday. This is a day I had planned to spend in reading and prayer, but I knew I had to finish the car. I was back in the garage by 9:00 or so. I began to polish the remaining panels. My intention was to finish these panels and then to go over all the factory-painted panels with M205 and a finishing pad. I was tired and sore, so I paced myself.
During a tea break, I checked my email and found that Kevin Brown had responded to my emergency email. I rang him back. He asked me to do a couple of things to give him a better idea of the condition of my paint. I confess that by this time I was tempted to tell him that it was too late for me to try anything new, but who knows the SMAT polishes better than Kevin Brown? I primed the pad according to his instruction. We tried M105 with with the G110 with a polishing pad. We tried M205 with a polishing pad. Haze ... haze ... haze. The paint looked cloudy. Finally, he had me apply M205 by hand, and the cloudiness disappeared. But under the harsh illumination of the Brinkman, I also could not fail to see that which I had hoped to remove two days earlier--swirls, lots and lots of swirls.
"Don't feel bad, Al," Kevin told me. "You've got difficult paint. Even an experienced polisher might have found your car to be a challenge." I was encouraged to hear this. So I returned to the polishing--G110, M205, polishing pad. It was early afternoon. By that time I knew I did not have sufficient energy to go over the factory-painted panels with a finishing pad. That will have to wait until another session. As a recovering perfectionist, it was hard to admit that I had been defeated. I had reached my physical and emotional limits. I took a long break.
My final decision was the choice of wax. Over the past nine months I have both purchased and received as gifts several nice waxes. I decided to go with the wax reputed to be one of the easiest to apply and remove--Wolfgang Fuzion. It smells of strawberries. I took my time. There was no need to hurry. Enjoy the wax. Enjoy the waxing. Relax. I may have lost this particular battle with soft Honda paint, but I knew that my car would still look great clothed in Fuzion.
Fuzion is a wonderful wax to apply. Like all waxes, it needs to be applied thin. It seems to melt into the paint. Fuzion is wipe-on, wipe-off. No need to wait for it to haze. Wax a panel and then wipe-off with a clean microfiber towel. I pulled the car out of the garage into the late afternoon sun. She looked beautiful. Just about this time my wife returned home from work. I asked her to look over the car closely. I wanted her to describe the look of this wax. "Wet," she replied. "It looks like a shallow pool of water." She also noticed what I can only describe as a shimmering on the hood. I don't recall the other waxes I have used producing this shimmering. The car looks lovely, but you will note from the photos that I did not achieve a swirl-free, show car finish.
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_05491.jpg
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_05522.jpg
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_05571.jpg
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_0553-1.jpg
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_0568.jpg
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_0554.jpg
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_05511.jpg
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_05632.jpg
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_05861.jpg
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_0571.jpg
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_0582.jpg
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_058011.jpg
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_05772.jpg
http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/IMG_06021.jpg
My detailing session concluded on a Fuzion high note; but the three-day marathon left me drained, disappointed, and frustrated. I was not able to take the finish to a higher level, though I did succeed in removing some of the obvious defects. But regardless, my 2007 S2000 sure looks lovely, doesn't she?
Cheers,
Al