I started with a car wash, in this case using an old (huge) bottle of Costco Zymol that I'm still using years after buying it. When the car was clean, I soaped up a new Zaino Bros clay bar, which I've had unused in the cabinet forever, and wiped the horizontal surfaces. (I'd use this bar next time if I buy from Amazon -- Meguiar's G1001 Smooth Surface Clay Bar
.)Then I rinsed and dried the car.
Next, I used a 6" orbital polisher (similar this one -- Black & Decker WP900 6-Inch Random Orbit Waxer/Polisher
) that I had bought on clearance somewhere for $10 to apply some 3M Imperial Hand Glaze (3M Imperial Hand Glaze 39007
). I used foam bonnets (Carrand 40409 Foam Bonnets
) on the polisher, not cloth, to avoid swirls, and kept the surface wet with glaze as I was working.I then removed the glaze, buffing lightly with some new microfiber cloths (Meguiar's X2020 Supreme Shine Microfiber
). I hadn't used microfiber before for detailing, but they worked just great.When the glaze was removed, I locked in the shine and protected the paint with some Meguir's Gold Class wax (Meguiar's G-7016 Gold Class Clear Coat Wax Liquid
) applied by hand, and removed it with a fresh microfiber cloth. (You can use the orbital polisher for applying the wax if preferred.)I think the results look great, even with a lighter color like silver.
Mentioned in this post:
I can almost see my reflection from here!
ReplyDeleteGreat job. I know the hours of labor of cleaning cars and your hard work shows!
Thanks, James! It definitely takes a few hours to do it right. When I was a kid, I used to wash and wax the neighbors' cars. I didn't charge much (in fact it was crazy cheap), because I actually enjoyed it, especially seeing the finished product.
ReplyDelete(On your profile, I see you are in Sterling -- I was just down the road in Reston for years until 2005 when we moved down to Raleigh, NC.)