How To Detail Your Ride

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neloms

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Claybar

Trend Setta...Claybar is no joke! That stuff is the truth! We just got our 05 Tahoe and my wife geeked out on it yesterday. Looks very similar to yours - Black, all the windows are tinted and it's the Z71 package with the wheel well over-mold and running boards. Very nice ride you got!
 

withac

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I can't argue with those results but if you don't have $300+ to drop on it right now you can still get pretty good results for a lot less. Here's a link where I posted what I did on the hood of my 'Ho. http://www.tahoeforum.com/showthread.php?t=8950

I did the same process on my SIL's Explorer yesterday. It's still in rough shape because it had some serious abuse but there is also a very noticeable improvement. Here are some pics to show what you can do on a budget. The side by side shots should be obvious. On the two solid color pics look at the difference in the halo's and swirl marks. The first shot is the unfinished side the second the finished side.
 

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JennaBear

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Nothin like detailing your own truck. It is so nice to see it shiney and sparkly, until it rains again....
 

danimalmax

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this thread inspired me so much, i went out an compiled my birthday shopping list on autogeek, whatcha think? any suggestions for stuff i still need or dont need?

v42bns.jpg
 

nc6600

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Yeah i need to get the swirl marks of my Hoe this weekend.
 

withac

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this thread inspired me so much, i went out an compiled my birthday shopping list on autogeek, whatcha think? any suggestions for stuff i still need or dont need?

v42bns.jpg


I’m no expert, and I’m cheap, but some of the items seem pretty steep. I assume the Ultimate Guzzler Waffle Weave is a cloth to wash with? I’d think there’s something out there for a lot less than forty bucks. I WISH I had a Porter Cable but I have to get by with a Craftsman but it does the job and for a lot less. To me the Foam Gun seems unnecessary. Dip your sponge or whatever in a bucket and wash. Is the Boar’s Hair Brush for the tires? I don’t see the need to spend sixty-five bucks on a brush. Buy something at the local hardware store. Scrub the tires with it to get the heavy dirt off, then use a spray foam tire cleaner. They say you don’t have to wipe them off but they streak if you don’t, so spray, let sit a bit, then wipe off with an old towel. The grit guard on the bucket sounds like a good idea but what I’d do if I had a ride with a brand new paint job was to get two regular buckets. Put the car wash in one and plain water in the other. After you wash a section of your truck, rinse the sponge or whatever you’re using off in the plain water, that way the grit and dirt stays there, then dip it back in the bucket with the car wash in it. Is the Bodywork Shampoo a car wash solution? You can get some good Meguiar’s for a lot less. I’ll admit, I’m cheap, but it seems like you could get by without some of the items and find alternatives to the others for a lot les. I’ve had very good luck and been very pleased with the Meguiar’s products. I’ve also heard a lot of good things about Zano. It’s spendier than the Meguiar’s but still not too expensive.
 

JennaBear

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Check out GlimmerGlass for some of these items, I know they are cheaper...
 

danimalmax

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I’m no expert, and I’m cheap, but some of the items seem pretty steep. I assume the Ultimate Guzzler Waffle Weave is a cloth to wash with? I’d think there’s something out there for a lot less than forty bucks. I WISH I had a Porter Cable but I have to get by with a Craftsman but it does the job and for a lot less. To me the Foam Gun seems unnecessary. Dip your sponge or whatever in a bucket and wash. Is the Boar’s Hair Brush for the tires? I don’t see the need to spend sixty-five bucks on a brush. Buy something at the local hardware store. Scrub the tires with it to get the heavy dirt off, then use a spray foam tire cleaner. They say you don’t have to wipe them off but they streak if you don’t, so spray, let sit a bit, then wipe off with an old towel. The grit guard on the bucket sounds like a good idea but what I’d do if I had a ride with a brand new paint job was to get two regular buckets. Put the car wash in one and plain water in the other. After you wash a section of your truck, rinse the sponge or whatever you’re using off in the plain water, that way the grit and dirt stays there, then dip it back in the bucket with the car wash in it. Is the Bodywork Shampoo a car wash solution? You can get some good Meguiar’s for a lot less. I’ll admit, I’m cheap, but it seems like you could get by without some of the items and find alternatives to the others for a lot les. I’ve had very good luck and been very pleased with the Meguiar’s products. I’ve also heard a lot of good things about Zano. It’s spendier than the Meguiar’s but still not too expensive.

the guzzler cloth is not for washing, its for drying

the boar's hair brush is not for tires, its for the roof because i can't reach (will be using an old broom handle to attach)

the grit guard bucket thing is 2 buckets (check qty.) and i'd rather be safe than sorry

the bodywork shampoo is car wash soap, but i went ahead and switched that out with poorboy's

and.... last but not least, its a birthday shopping list! :thumbsup:

(edit, i think i have OCD also, lol)
 

withac

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the guzzler cloth is not for washing, its for drying

the boar's hair brush is not for tires, its for the roof because i can't reach (will be using an old broom handle to attach)

the grit guard bucket thing is 2 buckets (check qty.) and i'd rather be safe than sorry

the bodywork shampoo is car wash soap, but i went ahead and switched that out with poorboy's

and.... last but not least, its a birthday shopping list! :thumbsup:

(edit, i think i have OCD also, lol)


LOL. Happy Birthday, like you said, it's your birthday list, knock yourself out. Like I said, I'm cheap. So how stiff/soft is the boars hair brush? Is there any chance it could scratch the paint? Just the sound of the word brush makes me nervous for paint. I wet mine down, open the doors and stand on the running boards to wash the front half and climb on the rear tire for the back half, then I close the doors and rinse it off. Then go around to the other side and do it again. You got maybe some foot stools or even a step ladder you can put along the side to reach the roof?
 

danimalmax

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LOL. Happy Birthday, like you said, it's your birthday list, knock yourself out. Like I said, I'm cheap. So how stiff/soft is the boars hair brush? Is there any chance it could scratch the paint? Just the sound of the word brush makes me nervous for paint. I wet mine down, open the doors and stand on the running boards to wash the front half and climb on the rear tire for the back half, then I close the doors and rinse it off. Then go around to the other side and do it again. You got maybe some foot stools or even a step ladder you can put along the side to reach the roof?

i would probably get a small ladder, like the one thats about 2 feet tall and use that in combination with the boar's hair brush on a stick

the boars hair brush, i think, is supposed to be awesome like the microfiber towels and sheepskin mitts, the way i came up with this list was by watching all the videos on autogeek.net, paintcare-n-detailing.com

this is the video where i saw the boars hair brushes, there were different kinds for wheel care and regular body washing: http://paintcare-n-detailing.com/pinnacle.html
 

danimalmax

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there's one step that im not sure about for the polishing process, when i polish my car with the porter cable and everything, am i supposed to do a section at a time, polish on-polish off, or do i go around the whole car with polish and come back and take it off?

the videos only show a section being done for demonstration purposes, but i dont get how you go about doing the whole car
 

withac

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there's one step that im not sure about for the polishing process, when i polish my car with the porter cable and everything, am i supposed to do a section at a time, polish on-polish off, or do i go around the whole car with polish and come back and take it off?

the videos only show a section being done for demonstration purposes, but i dont get how you go about doing the whole car



Don't know if it depends on the machine or the polish. Like I said, I use a cheap Craftsman random orbit buffer and the Meguair products. When the paint was in decent shape I used their Deep Crystal system. Step one is a paint cleaner. Step two is a polish. then I waxed. The paint on the 'Ho had lot's o' swirls and stuff so first I used the Dual Action Cleaner Polish. Then the Deep Crystal Polish then wax. I did a relatively small section at a time, like maybe a little less than 1/4 of the hood. I didn't apply the product to the polishing bonnet like they say though, I'd apply it to the paint then spread it around with my finger. Sometimes if you apply it to the bonnet when you turn it on it throws the polish all over if you don't have it right on the surface. So anyway, don't know if this is the correct procedure or not, but I'd apply the product to a smaller area, then buff it off with a soft cotton towel to remove it before it dries, the product said to not allow it to dry. Then I'd do another section and so forth. Because the towel isn't going to put a high shine to it I'd then go back over the whole thing with the wool bonnet to polish it. I didn't want to use the buffer to remove the product for two reasons. One, if I did a section at a time I'd be switching bonnets back and forth all day. Two, the bonnets would get saturated with the dry polish pretty fast and I'd need a dozen of them. This way, I used one terry cloth applicator for the Dual Action Cleaner and another one for the Polish. I'd do the same with the wax. Apply it by hand with the applicator it came with and let dry. Remove the bulk (which isn't much because you don't need a lot) with a soft towel, then buff to a shine with the wool bonnet. I've never used but been tempted to try the Meguair's #7 Show Car Glaze after the wax. I didn't see a clay bar in your list. If you don't have one that should be your second step. The first would be to wash with Joy, yeah, I know it's harsh, that's the point, to remove old wax and grease and grime. You only use it once maybe twice a year, then use the clay bar.

Good luck and post up some pics when you get done. I've still got two feet of snow on my front lawn so I won't even be thinking about detailing for several more months.
 

trisswines

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You can see what it look like as they first starts out, then towards the finish you can see what it looks like. Positive paint can report it better.like

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