Detail: How To

Since many of us like to keep our cars nice and shiny, I decided to write up how I wash and detail my cars. Since I didn't need to detail the s2k anytime soon and my mom wanted her car to shine again, I used her car for the writeup.

I messed up by not taking before and after pictures but if anyone saw the car beforehand there was oxidation on the hood and the paint had no shine or depth.

Products used:
Megiuar's Gold Class Car Wash
Mother's Showtime Claybar
Megiuar's Deep Crystal System Paint Cleaner
Megiuar's Deep Crystal System Polish
Megiuar's ScratchX
Megiuar's Gold Class Wax
Many microfiber towels
Microfiber Application pads
Foam pad (Included with the gold class wax)
2 buckets
and a soft wash mitt.

First off you need to wash the car before claybar. This will remove most of the contaminants that are on the paint. I constantly use the two bucket system to wash my car. The two bucket system reduces the amount of dirt and grime that gets rubbed on your paint from your mitt.



First get two buckets, fill one up with water and the other with soap and water.
Inpect your mitt and make sure that there are no contaminants on it.
Then soak the mitt in the soap water and wash one panel of the car. After done with one panel, wash the mitt in the water bucket. and repeat on other panels. When done rinse the car from top to bottom.

After done washing you can start to claybar. Spray some lubricant on the panel you want to work on (I used the quick detail spray that came with the claybar). and rub the claybar on the car. You don't want it to stick too much or it will scratch so use plenty of spray. Claybarring will remove all the contaminants that are stuck on the paint, like little dirt particles and such. Repeat with each panel.





After done with all panels, you'll need to wash the car again. Remember to make sure that your mitt stays clean whenever you wash.





Dry the car with clean microfiber towels. Make sure to inspect towels before use.

After drying the car, you can move on the the next step which is paint cleaner. These will get out the small imperfections and scratches that are on the paint.

You'll want to use a small amount on the applicator pad and throughly work it into the car in a circular motion. After the product has broken down, wipe it off with a clean microfiber towel. You don't want paint cleaner and polish to sit on the car. Repeat with each panel.





After paint cleaner is the polish. Polish is applied the same way as the paint cleaner so you can follow the same steps as above.

Finally comes the wax. Using an applicator pad, apply a thin layer of wax in a circular motion.







After applying it over the car, wipe it off with a clean microfiber towel. If done properly your paint should look something like this.



After this I applied a second coat of wax just for extra protection.

Here are the finished pictures.















Also this picture shows how much dirt was on the wash mitt, This was in the water bucket i used to wash the mitt after each panel. Without using the water bucket, this dirt could have been on the mitt scratching the paint.



btw in no way is this the best way to do it. This is how i detail cars when I buy my stuff from stores like K-mart and Autozone.

looks spiffy!

you should use a sealant afterwards to help preserve the shine. I use klasse high gloss sealant for paint, its a light layer, so its an easy clean up. you can use the klasse all in one for wheels too. lasts for a couple months.

now do mines!

Where can you buy that sealant? I wanted something that would last longer because waxing after everytime I wash my car gets a bit old.

And edwin, I'm so used to small cars... big cars taaaake fooooreveeeeer

Autopia car care. Its a online store.

very good online site, i heard.

come detail my car, it hasnt been waxed in a long time lol, should try out the nxt car wash soap

any soap you can buy at pep boys, ftl. same with wax... but i still use it bc its still cheap.

hey it still works doesn't it haha

I heard this shit works pretty damn good tho, the no rinse car wash shieet

http://www.autopia.org/shopping/product/Optimum-Car-Wash-128-oz-New-Formula.html

it usually only takes me about 30 min or less to actually wash my car anyways lol

i might pick up a foam gun soon. or a portercable depending if i can find a deal on an exhaust soon or not

dang. i really need to save up some funds to get my car detailed.

who's idea was it to resurrect this thread??? lol jk

good thing you got the porter cable now, sure beats the hell out of hand waxing.

so that's what Dan looks like...

you must be glad that you got a PC now, instead of doing that shit by hand, lol.

very glad lol that shit took forever!

when we gonna do the other half of my car? hahaha

ah shit man haha uhhh... What weekends are you free?

detail......

me too

lebron23 wrote:

detail......

Mrgold wrote:

me too

so you are asking Dan to detail you too? gayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

yeah... darren is drunk. lol

your a sillly goose

NO DIC3 wrote:

yeah... darren is drunk. lol

what?? Darren drinks????? NOOOOO!!!

NO DIC3 wrote:

yeah... darren is drunk. lol

what are you taling abouit ia tipdyingr jsut pijnce!!

No chit!! feels good though...all I need is a wome.....DAMN I'm married!

Mrgold wrote:

your a sillly goose

gerrr2025 wrote:

NO DIC3 wrote:

yeah... darren is drunk. lol

what?? Darren drinks????? NOOOOO!!!

someone gave me a bottle of wine.....plus I'm very very light drinker.