2007 Cobalt SS/SC Polish

[Joshs2013MSAltimaSL]

Hi guys! I had some free time this weekend and was able to get my personal car cleaned up. I did a big two step a little while ago so this time it only needed a light polish to bring back the shine. Enjoy the pictures and as always, any comments are welcome! :)

I took care of the interior on Friday night. I didn't take any pictures of it because it wasn't that dirty. I shampooed and vacuumed the carpets and mats using 409 carpet cleaner (which is great by the way) and a shop vac. The plastics and vinyl were treated with 303 and the seats received a wipe down of Lexol conditioner. The windows were treated with Stoner's Invisble Glass both inside and out.

My process for the exterior was as follows:

Wheels and tires:
P21S Wheel Gel
Uber Spoke brush
Swissvax-like brush
MF mitt
Optimum Opti-Bond

Wash:
Pre-rinse to remove any loose contaminants
Foamed with Dawn and let sit for about 3-5 minutes
2BM with Pinnacle shampoo
Home Depot grout sponge
Dried with PakShak WW drying towels

Clay:
Mother's yellow clay
ONR as lube

Paint:
Dewalt 849
LC backing plate
LC Blue 5.5" CCS pad
3M Ultrafine Finishing Polish
CG Premium MF

LSP:
Poorboy's World Natty's Blue Paste

Onto the pictures!!

Here are what my wheels looked like before and after the cleaning. They were a mess. I was able to use the Uber spoke brush to reach back into the barrel, but I also followed that up with a scrub down using a MF towel as I'm able to reach my hand all the way to the back.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/019-2.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/020-1.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/022.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/023.jpg

Here is P21S Gel just dwelling for a little bit:
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/031-1.jpg

The Uber spoke brush is probably the nicest wheel brush I've used. Now I haven't used the EZ Detail brush, but for under $10, the Uber is hard to beat.
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/032.jpg

After:
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/033.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/034-1.jpg

Here are a few before pictures of just how dirty my car was.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/024.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/025.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/026.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/027.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/028.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/029.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/030-1.jpg

Next up was to rinse and foam the car. For this I used a healthy dose of Dawn and let sit for 3-5 minutes to loosen up as much contaminants as possible.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/035.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/036-1.jpg

I then washed using the 2BM with a Home Depot grout sponge and Pinnacle shampoo. I then brought it into the garage to clay with Mother's yellow clay and ONR as lube. Here is what the clay looked like after my hood.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/037.jpg

I was planning on doing a two step using M205 as well, but after inspection, I decided that my paint was in amazing condition and two steps wasn't needed. I don't have any during or 50/50 shots because this wasn't a correction detail. I just needed to bring back the gloss that my paint had a few months ago.

[Joshs2013MSAltimaSL]

These are all the after shots of just using 3M Ultrafine polish and a 5.5" Blue LC CCS pad using the Dewalt 849 at 1500 RPMs, and after a coat of Poorboy's Work Natty's Blue paste wax.

I apologize in advance for the bad quality sun shots. It was overcast and the sun was just not cooperating. I even planned on getting a few today, but it's just not sunny out. :(

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/039.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/040-1.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/041.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/042.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/043.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/044.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/045.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/046.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/047.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/048.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/049.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/050-1.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/051.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/052-1.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/053-1.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/054-1.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/055-1.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/056-1.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/057-1.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/058-1.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/059-1.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/060.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/062.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/063-2.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/064-1.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/065-1.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/066-1.jpg

Thanks for taking the time to check out my detail! I think it's kind of nice knowing that I really won't have to ever do a big correction again because I'm able to maintain the finish with proper washing techniques. Any comments or questions are welcome!! :D

[O.C.Detailing]

Really nice looking color and car. Great job on the detail and thanks for sharing!

[Joshs2013MSAltimaSL]

Thanks O.C.!

As an update, of course after I posted these up and went to lunch, the sun came out. I snapped a few sun shots. :)

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/001-3.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/002-4.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/003-3.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/004-2.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/005-3.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/006-1.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/007-1.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/008.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/009.jpg
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/010-1.jpg

That is a strand of dog hair from sitting in the garage overnight...not a scratch.
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d182/jar05g/011.jpg

[ziggo99]

Excellent color. It looks maroon in overcast but it pops to an orange-ish maroon in the sun.

[Shane731]

Nice job! The flake really stands out! :props:

[Joshs2013MSAltimaSL]

Excellent color. It looks maroon in overcast but it pops to an orange-ish maroon in the sun.

Yeah I noticed that...it almost has a purple color to it when it's darker out.


Nice job! The flake really stands out! :props:

Thank you!! :)

[lefty101]

awesome job

[Joshs2013MSAltimaSL]

awesome job

Thanks bud! :dblthumb2:

[Harleyguy]

Great job there Josh i see your taking Dana's advice and using it.We just put one of my techs colbalt on the dyno .First pull 335 at the wheels and yes that was on juice.

[Joshs2013MSAltimaSL]

Great job there Josh i see your taking Dana's advice and using it.We just put one of my techs colbalt on the dyno .First pull 335 at the wheels and yes that was on juice.

Thanks man!! Dana is awesome and patient. I've been thinking of getting Concorso (his recommendation), but can't justify the cost. I have two pots of Natty's Blue and a pot of Natty's Red. Maybe he'll sell me his pot haha.

That Cobalt must be sick. What all does it have done to it?

[killrflake]

The finish came out beautiful and that color is quite stunning. I was wondering how you liked working with the 3M Ultrafina, is it everything people seem to say about it?

[Joshs2013MSAltimaSL]

The finish came out beautiful and that color is quite stunning. I was wondering how you liked working with the 3M Ultrafina, is it everything people seem to say about it?

Thank you Killr! I enjoyed working with it! It's not very difficult as long as you just take your time. If you haven't tried it, I would recommend this product.

[ASPHALT ROCKET]

Car looks great Josh, I see you are getting the hang of the rotary.

[Joshs2013MSAltimaSL]

Car looks great Josh, I see you are getting the hang of the rotary.

Thanks Dana! I'm getting a little better, definitely feeling more comfortable.