Tato
04-19-2014, 02:33 AM
Dear Friends,
This was an extensive detailing work, but I'll try to be brief with text and jump right into the pictures for an easy follow up on the process.
Customer scheduled his '13 Silver Honda Civic for Coating and bring the car the night before for convenience.
As soon as I could, I started inspecting the finish to see how I should follow to get this car to a better than new condition.
Needless to say, looking for some distance, car was looking good overall:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/14-civicArrived.png
But a closer inspection started showing the flaws...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-wheelbefore.png
Using my swirl finder light I was able to detect fine swirls and halos that I was not able to fully characterize as holograms, but they were there making the paint looking far from it's best:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/defectC.png (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/75554)
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/civic13-doordefect.png (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/75552)
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-def1.png
Closer look from the above section
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-def1close.png
Although it's difficult to spot and capture swirls on a silver car on camera, they were pretty evident 'looking personally', so were the halos
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/civic13-def3.png (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/75558)
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/civic13-def2.png (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/75557)
far look
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/defectA-far.png
closer look
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/defectA-close.png
everywhere I looked, the same kind of defects...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/civic13-def4.png (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/75559)
Starting to detail
The following day I've started washing the car by the morning.
Like we (me and my partner) generally do, the wheels are cleaned first:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-foamgelcleaner.png
Those big daytona brushes are perfect for those wheels with big openings, and also gentle to the chromed surface.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-wheelbrush.png
Used everywhere they fitted
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-wheelbrush2.png
We use a large soft brush for the wheel wells
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-wheelwells.png
And decided to use a soft brush for the low profile tires instead of a stiffer brush to avoid any risk of scratching the wheel finish
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-tireclean.png
This was followed by foaming the car, rinsing it thoroughly, and then using the buckets for a safe wash.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/civic13-usethegritguard.png (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/75564)
I fill the rinse bucket with plain water
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-fillwithwater.png
And using the CarPro wool wash mitt, promoted a luxurious, safe and effective washing.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-carpromitt.png
Following that, I've gently and slowly clayed the car using Nanoskin fine grade mitt since I was not willing to deal with more defects than what was still on the paint.
While I was claying, customer was passing by and decided to enter and see how everything was going on (no pics on claying stage).
It was great that he came by since he was able to feel the contaminants and better, feel them being removed as the surface was becoming slick after some passes.
**If you have any question regarding claying process using nanoskin, please, feel free to ask.
He never saw that 'claying thing' before and become very excited his car was undergoing that process.
Polishing to swirl free, glossy finish
They say Honda Paint is soft... so am I! A gray/black hybrid finishing pad, Menzerna SF4000 (a finishing polish) and a soft, Wolfgang's MF towel.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/honda-paint-is-soft.png
Chose a spot on the hood,
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13hoodbeforepolish.png
Speed 5 on the Flex
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/smacktechnique.png
Using the Smack's Technique, I've worked product for 6-8 passes, reducing pressure on the last few passes. This way I work product until a thin film is left on the paint, which is a breeze to remove:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/civic13passes.png (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/75582)
I bet one can scratch or mar a soft paint with those towels... downside is they may lint a bit, however it has many advantages that I can deal with small lint to keep using them.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13polishremoval.png
Here are the results of the test spot:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/afteru00dpolish.png
This process was then reproduced on entire car, always checking results after every section.
I like to tape work area, work it, and remove tape just after for buffing polish residue.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-tapedroof.png
Then I tape another area, and work it the same way. Here I've taped the front bumper part for polishing
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-tapedfront.png
Some more pictures of finished polishing results
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-aftcorrectdoor.png
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/civic13-aftcorrectrearside.png (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/75600)
Pre-Coating Process
I polish glass using an orange pad and PBL cleansing polish. This is sufficient to remove waterspots and road film in more than 90% of cases I've done that, avoiding the need for a dedicated glass polish / cleaner or a glass polishing step. (pretty obvious, but it's important to state this will not remove any scratch in glass)
Then I spread PBL cleansing polish over paint by hand using a soft foam applicator, and wipe it off using a soft MF towel.
I also coat external trim. Since I can't use the same PBL cleansing polish (beware this will stain trim hardly!, mainly porous trim), I use Meguiar's #39 for thorough trim cleaning during preparation.
My bottle of #39 came out with some leaking and I had to transfer it contents to a new bottle. The label was damaged after 're-glueing it', but that don't affect product effectivity...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-precoattrimclean0.png
Some stains were already on trim when car arrived...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-precoattrimclean1.png
Getting rid of it
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/civic13-precoattrimclean2.png (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/75605)
Looks like brand new trim that's going to be coated for protection and longevity.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-precoattrimclean3.png
Here...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-precoattrimclean5.png
Everywhere!
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-precoattrimclean6.png
This product works better if you wipe it dry after 'soft scrubbing', I mean, spreading it to clean the trim.
I like the cleaner aspect of trim more than the 'dressed' aspect, but that's just me...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-precoattrimclean4.png
Be sure to remove any TOGWA left because they may show up like a sore thumb when you finish a work like this...
Before:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-precoattrimcleantogwa.png
After:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-precoattrimcleantogwaremoved.png
Now that I have a polished, black label cleansed paint, glass and trim cleaned with #39, it's time for the last wash.
The last wash
I start rinsing the car down to start removing all dusting polishing stage may have left.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-rinse.png
Then, using Hyper-Wash...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-hyperwash.png
I foam the entire car
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-foam.png
And using a dedicated Gold Plush Wash Mitt (this is used only for this step of my process), I make 'like a' final wipe to guarantee the most clean finish possible.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-goldplush.png
After thorough drying (including vacuuming the crevices and crannies), I re-inspect the finish to confirm the consistency of my results, also if there was no marring caused by my gentle wash method.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-afterwash-inspection.png
Flawless. That's the way I like to have the finish ready to be coated.
Overwhelming for some, I'm adapted doing this way. After coating I get the just wash and 'waxed' look, and while coating, no dust left, a very clean and fresh finish to work on.
I've inspected the whole car again but couldn't find any imperfection worth of any concern (OCD! hahah).
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-aftlighthood.png
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-aftlighthoodclose.png
This was an extensive detailing work, but I'll try to be brief with text and jump right into the pictures for an easy follow up on the process.
Customer scheduled his '13 Silver Honda Civic for Coating and bring the car the night before for convenience.
As soon as I could, I started inspecting the finish to see how I should follow to get this car to a better than new condition.
Needless to say, looking for some distance, car was looking good overall:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/14-civicArrived.png
But a closer inspection started showing the flaws...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-wheelbefore.png
Using my swirl finder light I was able to detect fine swirls and halos that I was not able to fully characterize as holograms, but they were there making the paint looking far from it's best:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/defectC.png (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/75554)
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/civic13-doordefect.png (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/75552)
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-def1.png
Closer look from the above section
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-def1close.png
Although it's difficult to spot and capture swirls on a silver car on camera, they were pretty evident 'looking personally', so were the halos
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/civic13-def3.png (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/75558)
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/civic13-def2.png (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/75557)
far look
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/defectA-far.png
closer look
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/defectA-close.png
everywhere I looked, the same kind of defects...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/civic13-def4.png (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/75559)
Starting to detail
The following day I've started washing the car by the morning.
Like we (me and my partner) generally do, the wheels are cleaned first:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-foamgelcleaner.png
Those big daytona brushes are perfect for those wheels with big openings, and also gentle to the chromed surface.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-wheelbrush.png
Used everywhere they fitted
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-wheelbrush2.png
We use a large soft brush for the wheel wells
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-wheelwells.png
And decided to use a soft brush for the low profile tires instead of a stiffer brush to avoid any risk of scratching the wheel finish
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-tireclean.png
This was followed by foaming the car, rinsing it thoroughly, and then using the buckets for a safe wash.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/civic13-usethegritguard.png (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/75564)
I fill the rinse bucket with plain water
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-fillwithwater.png
And using the CarPro wool wash mitt, promoted a luxurious, safe and effective washing.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-carpromitt.png
Following that, I've gently and slowly clayed the car using Nanoskin fine grade mitt since I was not willing to deal with more defects than what was still on the paint.
While I was claying, customer was passing by and decided to enter and see how everything was going on (no pics on claying stage).
It was great that he came by since he was able to feel the contaminants and better, feel them being removed as the surface was becoming slick after some passes.
**If you have any question regarding claying process using nanoskin, please, feel free to ask.
He never saw that 'claying thing' before and become very excited his car was undergoing that process.
Polishing to swirl free, glossy finish
They say Honda Paint is soft... so am I! A gray/black hybrid finishing pad, Menzerna SF4000 (a finishing polish) and a soft, Wolfgang's MF towel.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/honda-paint-is-soft.png
Chose a spot on the hood,
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13hoodbeforepolish.png
Speed 5 on the Flex
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/smacktechnique.png
Using the Smack's Technique, I've worked product for 6-8 passes, reducing pressure on the last few passes. This way I work product until a thin film is left on the paint, which is a breeze to remove:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/civic13passes.png (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/75582)
I bet one can scratch or mar a soft paint with those towels... downside is they may lint a bit, however it has many advantages that I can deal with small lint to keep using them.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13polishremoval.png
Here are the results of the test spot:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/afteru00dpolish.png
This process was then reproduced on entire car, always checking results after every section.
I like to tape work area, work it, and remove tape just after for buffing polish residue.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-tapedroof.png
Then I tape another area, and work it the same way. Here I've taped the front bumper part for polishing
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-tapedfront.png
Some more pictures of finished polishing results
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-aftcorrectdoor.png
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/civic13-aftcorrectrearside.png (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/75600)
Pre-Coating Process
I polish glass using an orange pad and PBL cleansing polish. This is sufficient to remove waterspots and road film in more than 90% of cases I've done that, avoiding the need for a dedicated glass polish / cleaner or a glass polishing step. (pretty obvious, but it's important to state this will not remove any scratch in glass)
Then I spread PBL cleansing polish over paint by hand using a soft foam applicator, and wipe it off using a soft MF towel.
I also coat external trim. Since I can't use the same PBL cleansing polish (beware this will stain trim hardly!, mainly porous trim), I use Meguiar's #39 for thorough trim cleaning during preparation.
My bottle of #39 came out with some leaking and I had to transfer it contents to a new bottle. The label was damaged after 're-glueing it', but that don't affect product effectivity...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-precoattrimclean0.png
Some stains were already on trim when car arrived...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-precoattrimclean1.png
Getting rid of it
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/civic13-precoattrimclean2.png (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/75605)
Looks like brand new trim that's going to be coated for protection and longevity.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-precoattrimclean3.png
Here...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-precoattrimclean5.png
Everywhere!
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-precoattrimclean6.png
This product works better if you wipe it dry after 'soft scrubbing', I mean, spreading it to clean the trim.
I like the cleaner aspect of trim more than the 'dressed' aspect, but that's just me...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-precoattrimclean4.png
Be sure to remove any TOGWA left because they may show up like a sore thumb when you finish a work like this...
Before:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-precoattrimcleantogwa.png
After:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-precoattrimcleantogwaremoved.png
Now that I have a polished, black label cleansed paint, glass and trim cleaned with #39, it's time for the last wash.
The last wash
I start rinsing the car down to start removing all dusting polishing stage may have left.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-rinse.png
Then, using Hyper-Wash...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-hyperwash.png
I foam the entire car
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-foam.png
And using a dedicated Gold Plush Wash Mitt (this is used only for this step of my process), I make 'like a' final wipe to guarantee the most clean finish possible.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-goldplush.png
After thorough drying (including vacuuming the crevices and crannies), I re-inspect the finish to confirm the consistency of my results, also if there was no marring caused by my gentle wash method.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-afterwash-inspection.png
Flawless. That's the way I like to have the finish ready to be coated.
Overwhelming for some, I'm adapted doing this way. After coating I get the just wash and 'waxed' look, and while coating, no dust left, a very clean and fresh finish to work on.
I've inspected the whole car again but couldn't find any imperfection worth of any concern (OCD! hahah).
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-aftlighthood.png
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/civic13-aftlighthoodclose.png