Detailing

[w3lsh]

With detailing growing alot lately, do we have many on here? i know Hugh does a fair bit

heres a select few pics from some details ive done

before


after


50/50's








before




after










before




after


before




after


50/50 on the paint (bumper not done)


my mk2 after

[bushidobadboy]

Shiny! Nice work.

[taffyracer]

Nice work, I need to get this detailed in April, fancy helping me, could do with someone that knows what they're doing?


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v33

[w3lsh]

thanks bushidobadboy

let me know on here or send me a pm if you want taffyracer, on what needs to be done

[w3lsh]

latest detail

Some of the pics could do with being bigger to show all the swirls etc properly, but being as theres so many i thought i had better make them a bit smaller...

Ready for a wash






firstly it was pre rinsed with CG maxi suds 2 applied with a karcher 650m






then washed again with two bucket method

dry





time for claying
after the first section of the car


2nd section


ready for pc’ing


before




after


50/50


before


after


before


after




50/50




before




after


50/50


100%


pillar done




before


after


roof before


50/50




75/25


after pics
























all in all, a long day…

[LuS1fer]

Blimey, that's a clever dog!

[maser-artist]

So that is how you get that final lustre in the bodywork. You go out, find a smooth-coated sheep dog, and get him to wag his tail and roll over the car... Aha, the valeters' society of Wales secret is out. !! That is why the dog looks knackered in the photo...

Edited by maser-artist on Wednesday 18th April 15:23

Edited by maser-artist on Wednesday 18th April 15:24

[w3lsh]

works a treat when the microfibres are dirty

[W3LSH]

I detailed my dads car about a year ago, through the year, with a combination of bad washes (hose attached brush during one wash!) no polish nor wax etc it wasn't quite how it looked a year ago....

I said i'd sort it out for him and managed to get a little done earlier today, with little time it wasn't as full on as usual, but the quick detail certainly made an improvement

pre rinse


foam!


2bucket wash method was then carried out
paint was also smooth and wasn't in need of claying

this is how the car generally looked before




50/50






a few afters

[W3LSH]

Today saw Bens (Cardiff) Bora being detailied

I had met up with Ben previously so knew what to expect - pretty much fairly heavy swirls with some deeper scratches

before


started off by pre rinsing and washing the car


then on to claying, this was from the bonnet alone!


then on to further inspect the car - these were the sort of scracthes that were present - if you notice later on, they are no longer visable




now to get the PC out and get started
menzerna IP was used in general, with a 4inch pad and menzerna PG for the deeper scratches. the whole car was then topped up with a clearkote red moose glaze

before


after


wing 50/50




before


after


before


after


50/50 door


scratch


no longer visable




before


after


before


after


and a few after pics

[W3LSH]

Driving to and from uni on the motorway each day throughout the winter etc, my polished 16 x 7 and 8 teledials had seen better days

Saturday i got the metal polishing kit out along with some 1500 wet and dry paper. The wet and dry with water alone was a bit harsh, so i also used AG metal polish to 'soften' the cut

This was before




this was after


The car then had a quick glaze with clearkote RMG, sealed with CG FS and CG BWW






and two pics from the show (why didn't these come out looking as clean as it was :wall: if i see any others on the net i may add them up after )

[sorrento205]

what is this clay stuff? how do you use it? and how much is it?

[Huw Pugh]

The clay lifts out contaminants in the paint that you can't see, leaving the panel super smooth. I think Halfords sell the clay, a quick detailer and microfiber for about £20. A very worth while investment!

[W3LSH]

sorrento205 said:

what is this clay stuff? how do you use it? and how much is it?

Detailing clay is a substance that is designed to remove bonded contaminatns from paint, leaving the paint smooth as glass, allowing easier and more fruitful applications of polihses, glazes, sealents and waxes. Detailing Clay is wiped gently across the paint which needs to be lubricated with a lubricant such as a Quick Detailer spray.

Clay, like polishes, comes in levels of aggressiveness - if you are a beginner with clay, do start with a mild clay such as Meguiars Quik Clay, Meguiars Professional Mirror Glaze Clay (mild, the blue bar) or Sonus Green Clay. These mild clays should be enough to remove bonded contaminants from most cars, only step up to a more aggressive clay if absolutely needed.

Clay can be used on paintwork, glass, and wheels. Always use separate clay on each - ie dont first clay your wheels then use the same clay to clay your paint, as all the brake dust embedded in the clay from the wheels will scratch the paint.


What Are Bonded Contaminants??
When you come to wash your car, the paint will be covered in lots of fresh contiaminats such as dust, mud, possibly bird boms and many others. In addition, the paint will also have a growing amount of bonded contaminants attached to it, which accumulate over time:



When you wash your car, the fresh contaminants are removed from the paint and the paintwork looks clean. However, washing will leave behine the bonded contaminats which are attached to the paint as if they had been glued on:



These bonded contaminats are hard to see, so after washing your paintwork looks clean. However, if you gently run your fingers acorss the paintwork you may feel that the paintwork feels rough - a bit like stubble in a way. This roughness, grittiness that you are feeling is the bonded contaminants in the paint.

Removing Bonded Contaminants - Clay
In order to remove the bonded contaminats and restore a glassy smooth feel to the paint, detailing clay is used. As well as leaving a pleasingly smooth feel to the paint, when you come to polish, glaze, seal or wax, it means that you are now sealing in remaining bonded contaminants if you have removed them by clay. Simply washing and waxing will not remove bonded contaminants, they will be left behind and then just waxed over.

Clay basically works by grabbing hold of the bonded contaminants and pulling them off of the paint surface:



The contmainats become stuck in the softer clay where they remain. A safety note when using clay here - these bonded contaminats are stuck into the clay and the clay represents a flat surface. Therefore, surface marring can occur if not enough lubricant is used, or the clay is not kneaded regularly enough to a clean side - please see also the section on using clay...

This leaves the paint finish glassy smooth. Clay can remove the bonded contaminants listed above, however some adhesive contaminants such as tar may need a dedicated tar remover as they are very highly adhesive.

Hope that helps you to understand

[sorrento205]

so how long does a clay last?

[Huw Pugh]

It depends realy on how big a piece of clay you use, how big the car is, how dirty the car is etc. I tend to break the clay bar into 2 pieces and will probably use it on 2 - 3 cars (but that obviously depends on how much dirt they lift from the paint). If you're only using it on your own car though, you'll only need to clay it every 6 months to a year depending on use, so the bar will last you a pretty long time.

[big-si]

im still looking for someone local who can work on 2 pak paint no laquers, just paint.. none of the new detailers want to even go near it when i say theres no laquer on the car just paint!!..

worst thing is im probably going to have to do it myself ready for sunday...

[W3LSH]

as Huw said with the clay, once every six months should be fine if you wash the car reguarly.

when they clay can't be used again, have a go on things like your windows, alloys etc too

make sure you you plenty of 'lube' for the clay so you don't inflict micromarring to the paint

[MooSchmoo]

So how much would a complete car cost to detail then, little hatchback for instance?

[W3LSH]

MooSchmoo said:

So how much would a complete car cost to detail then, little hatchback for instance?

ive sent you an email