Confessions & Observations From A Virgin Machine Detailer (Huh???)

[PrinzII]

As for masking parts with painters' tape, there's nothing to be ashamed of at all. In fact, I did it on my 2008 Edge for the following reasons:

 

a) Protection of headlights, rubber, and other components due to me using a rotary which can grind down to bare metal if you are not careful.

I did not want polish or wax getting on the textured plastic cladding at the bottom of the vehicle. That crap is a bear to get out.

 

Will I do the same with my 2011? You'd better believe it and without any remorse.

[edge1217]

Thanks Prinzil. I tend to agree with you that maybe I wasn't being overly cautious by taping the chrome, vinyl, and rubber trim when I did my Edge. A couple of weeks later I did my wife's Honda Accord. Being 6 or 7 years old (the car, that is) I figured I'd skip the masking. I went as easy as I could, but I did manage to get some scuff marks from the DA on the chrome window trim in a couple of places. I went really easy with the DA, applying no downward force other than the weight of the machine itself, and using a setting no higher than 3, and really trying to stay away from the trim. So when it's time to do the Edge again, I'm buying another roll of tape and I'm masking with pride.

[PrinzII]

I actually had to use two rolls because of the trim and roof rack.

[edge1217]

I thought I'd provide a follow-up to let you know how the polish/wax job is holding up. It's been a little over two months since I detailed the car and I've kept it clean and it's been garaged when not on the road. To be honest, when I washed the car today I wasn't getting the phenomenal beading that I had gotten the last couple of times I washed it. It's ok, just not as remarkable as before. The finish feels fairly smooth to the touch, but clearly not the same smoooooth as glass feeling that I had before and there is some drag when I run my hand against the finish. It still seems to have a nice deep shine though and it looks great.

 

I'm new to detailing so I really don't know what to expect as far as durability goes with this kind of treatment. I'm thinking the Duragloss 105/501/601 treatment with Collinite 845 probably won't last the 6 months I was hoping to get out of it. I was planning on doing it again in the fall to get me through the next winter season. Maybe I'll hit it again in mid summer and then again in late fall to get me through at least most of the winter.

 

Richy and Edgieguy, you've both done this treatment a few times. Is this consistent with your experience, to see a notable dropoff in smoothness and beading after 2 months? How often do you guys repeat the treatment? What kind of durability should I reasonably expect?

 

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I'd been washing the car with Turtlewax (good grief!) Gold series wash that says it won't strip wax. Think this is too harsh?

 

Thanks guys!

Edited June 19, 2013 by edge1217

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

Defer to Richy, but have you tried claying it? That may help restore the glasslike feeling.

[edge1217]

I clayed it two months ago before I polished and waxed it. It's not so bad that I want to clay it right now as an interim measure, but I'll definitely clay it again the next time I polish and wax.

[richy]

A couple of things come to mind. #1, you can't judge the protection by the slickness. Slickness goes away quickly, but I'll share an easy fix for that in a minute. You judge protection by the sheeting ability of the paint when it's clean. Dirty paint will never sheet. I use and recommend Duragloss 901 shampoo. Very reasonably priced, available locally and very effective. If your paint isn't sheeting after 501 and 845, I'll be blown w away. It's a bulletproof combo.

Now for #2, slickness. I'll recommend 2 products that are cheap and will give you not only slickness, but when used as a drying aid, will help protect against marring too. Either Duragloss Aquawax (again available locally) or Ultima Waterless Wash (UWW). The Ultima comes in a 16 oz concentrate and you dilute it 1/2 oz to 22 oz of water! UWW wins for slickness, but not by a lot.

If you do the flooding method to rinse your vehicle, not much water will be left. Spray either AW or UWW on each panel and dry with a soft drying mf. Safe drying technique with added bonus of a VERY slick surface.

I do ONR washes a lot in the summer and follow that with UWW. Another great option to consider.

Hope that helps.

[edge1217]

Thanks very much for a very cogent and helpful explanation, Richy. Good to know that slickness isn't necessarily a way to measure protection. From now on, I'm focusing on sheeting! Woot-woot! It makes sense now, because that 501/845 deep shine is still amazing -- it sure LOOKED like the protection was there but I just wasn't FEELING it.

 

The detailing world is pretty cool. Seems like no matter what the problem might be, there's always a solution waiting to be purchased. I'll switch to DG 901 shampoo and UWW. I'd been reading about UWW and thought I should try it, so now I have a good reason to do it. No more Turtle Wax shampoo for me, now that I'm running with the cool kids now....

 

I'm really new to this stuff so I have to apologize. Is there a special way to do the flooding method? Is it as simple as just "flooding" a panel with a lot of water, I assume a hose with very low pressure so it sheets rather than sprays? Or do I actually have to drive it into a lake? This would be helpful to know and would potentially save me a "boatload" on recovery and EPA/hazmat costs if the later isn't really all that necessary.

 

BTW, not sure if you saw my post about rust in the Panels section of this forum. Yesterday when I washed my 9 month old Edge I spotted some rust on the inner door panel down near the weep holes. It's in a very hidden area and I never would have seen it if I wasn't into washing my door jambs, so I guess that's a nice benefit of taking meticulous care of the finishes inside & out. Took it to the Ford dealer today to see about getting it repaired under warranty before it gets any worse. Uggghhhhh.....

 

Anyway, thanks as always for your great advice and your willingness to help so many of us on this forum!

[richy]

Glad to help and even though it's frustrating to find those rust spots now, better while under warranty than after! I'll share 2 links to show the idea behind sheeting as a final rinse method. The first is a video from my website which was done to show the power of Optimum Opti Guard after being on a car for a year. In this case, I actually use a watering can which is fine as long as you're careful not to bump into the paint.

 

http://www.flawlessreflectionsautodetailing.com/nano-coatings.html

 

 

The next one is a video done by a guy named Junkman. He has some helpful videos but is or was a shill for Adams products. Nonetheless, the video does show it. In words, you want to rinse the car first normally to remove all the soap. Then you let water run GENTLY from the hose starting from the top and then work your way down. Always work from one end of the panel to the other (preferably from high side to low, let gravity work for you, not against). It can be done pretty quickly. Absolutely worth the extra effort when you see how little water remains.

 

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=WAmb9DWdnFc

 

 

 

One last thing. At this point, you can convince your neighbours that they were right about you all along that you are crazy when you break out the leaf blower to dry the rest of the car without touching the paint. (The less you touch=the fewer swirls in the paint). I would recommend one solely for this purpose so you have no risk of blasting any foreign material onto the surface. The 2nd option is to use AW or UWW sprayed onto the slightly wet surface and then dry the combo of rinse water and UWW from the surface. Why? Protects the paint with the lubricity of the product. Dry with a soft mf drying towel and you'll have a slick, clean, defect-free surface.

[edge1217]

Thanks once again, Richy. This is very helpful and your video was very clear and informative. I'd watched some of Junkman's videos before too and thought they were instructional and entertaining at the same time.

 

OK, looks like I have a few more products to buy!