Please review my process before I go ahead...

[knucky]

Hello forum, I’m a long time lurker, this is my first post.

I’m planning to do an exterior detail on my black 2013 Challenger this weekend and I wanted to ask the forum to review my process to see if I’ll need any tweaks or additional products. The car is generally garaged, has less than 6000 miles and the paint has never had any correction work. There is a good amount of light spider webbing that needs to be corrected - no major scratches since I've always avoided auto car washes and used the 2BM. I’ll be doing all the correction and waxing in a shaded garage. Temps will be mid 70’s to mid 80’s...


Starting with the wheel wells - pressure spray, then spray with some APC, let sit and scrub with a bristle brush, then pressure rinse.
Pressure rinse wheels/tires then spray with some IronX, let sit, agitate and rinse.
Clay bar wheels with megs detailing spray for lube. Rinse.
Pressure spray car, then 2BW + foam cannon with CG honeydew, let sit, wash with MF mitt, pressure rinse, hose off and dry with waffle MF.
Clay bar car (separate clay) with megs detailing spray for lube.
Foam cannon +2BW wash again, dry with waffle MF and compressed air to get all water out of crevices.
Mask any area I don’t want to hit with DA polish.
Griots DA + LC CCS Orange pad with Pinnacle Advanced Finishing Polish in test area to determine how many crosshatch passes I’ll need to correct.
DA rest of car accordingly and remove polish with fresh MF cloths
Apply thin layer of Pinnacle black label Synergy wax with foam pad working in crosshatch pattern working a couple of panels at a time.
Wait 10-20 minutes to flash, then buff off with fresh MF towels.
Wait at least 2 hours and repeat synergy wax process for 2nd coat.
Remove masking for final wipe down with detailing spray and fresh MF.


Am I missing anything?
Thanks in advance.

-Knuck.

[conman1395]

You've got a good plan. What towels are you using?

[knucky]

For drying, I'm using the Blue DI MF Waffle Weave towels. For polish removal, I'm using Griot's MF Polish Removal Yellow towels. For wax removal and detailer and final wipe down I'm using the grey Autogeek edgeless MF detail towels.

[Kamakaz1961]

Wow pretty much covered. You are even clay barring the wheels. Way more than I would do, however, I should do that too. I am lazy and an Old man. But please show pics as your ride will be looking sweet after you are done!

[conman1395]

Also be aware that you're gonna be doing this over a couple days. I've done this in one day before, but waking up early and being really dehydrated at the end of the day is not fun (or healthy).

[knucky]

Also be aware that you're gonna be doing this over a couple days. I've done this in one day before, but waking up early and being really dehydrated at the end of the day is not fun (or healthy).

Yeah, I was planning to try and get through step 9 on Sat, and do the rest on Sunday morning.

[knucky]

please show pics as your ride will be looking sweet after you are done!

Thanks. Will do!

[Desertnate]

I can only see a couple of things that might make your life easier.

1&2: If the car has low miles and seems to be a garage queen I don't think you'd need to do all of that work. Unless the wheels are a real mess, car wash shampoo should be able to get your wheels clean. When using a brush, be sure the bristles are really soft and won't scratch.

6: If you are going to polish the car, I'm not sure what you would gain from washing it again other than ensuring the tape might stick better. The polish will ensure you've got a flawless surface.

[conman1395]

Yes he has a point about the car having low miles. If you really want to decontaminate the wheels just use the IronX.

[knucky]

On 6, I was just thinking that I should remove any clay lube before starting to work with the polish.

I think you're also right about the wheels - might be a bit excessive for the mileage especially since I changed over to some wider SRT rims a few thousand miles ago.

Thanks for the input.

[conman1395]

6: If you are going to polish the car, I'm not sure what you would gain from washing it again other than ensuring the tape might stick better. The polish will ensure you've got a flawless surface.

I do this if my clay lube is a quick detailer. Although not a spray wax, I feel certain quick detailers have polymers or whatever that should be washed away. Still probably not necessary though.

[Desertnate]

I do this if my clay lube is a quick detailer. Although not a spray wax, I feel certain quick detailers have polymers or whatever that should be washed away. Still probably not necessary though.

Regardless of the product used as a lube, wouldn't the polish remove it? I would think any paint cleaner or abrasive polish would have no problem removing a thin layer of oils/polymer. That is what they are designed to do.

Not trying to argue...just thinking out loud. :xyxthumbs:

[conman1395]

Not trying to argue...just thinking out loud. :xyxthumbs:

No worries, I agree with you. It probably is pointless, just one of those things I do just to be sure sometimes.

[knucky]

So, I've been chipping away at this in the garage for a couple of days and I've got my polishing process pretty well dialed in now. Been using both the 3" and 6" Griot DA's with LC CCS orange pads and Pinnacle AFP. What a nice combination! I'm doing 4-6 section passes in each area to get down to a 99.9% flawless finish with zero swirl marks - there's only an occassional small (less than 1" long), deeper scratch that I find I need to focus a bit on in each section and those are coming out nicely as well. The roof, hood and trunk are all perfect now according to the flex swirl finder light. Moving on to the side panels now. Here's a few crappy iphone teaser pics - better shots with a real camera when finished...

http://i.imgur.com/6O0IGJ9.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/KHJoWkf.jpg

Not much to see here other than the reflection of the lightbulb in the rafters from the hood...

http://i.imgur.com/rBpM2i4.jpg

[Paul A.]

Dang, son, if those are "crappy iPhone" pics, it looks phenomenal! Nice work.