Recent Detailing Photos I'm kinda Proud of

Jeepngli

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And Detailedimage.com had 25% off yesterday so ordered a bunch of interior products

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moostang09

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That looks awesome brotha!!! I wish I had the balls to touch my car with polish and a claybar! Im skeered!
 

Seer

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That looks awesome brotha!!! I wish I had the balls to touch my car with polish and a claybar! Im skeered!

devices like the porter cable are very safe, it would take massive mistakes to ruin the paint using that.

Claybar cannot harm your surface either. An aggressive claybar can marr your surface, which will require you to follow up with machine polishing though.
 

Jeepngli

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Moostang, I had the same attitude: no way would i feel comfortable to do it. But i was tired of the paint not being smooth and wanted to get ride of some of the contaminants. So to be safe, I practiced on some painted engine parts and the lower runners. I liked the results so I went for it. I used the Dojo Juice Lube and its so slippery I can't see how anything would scratch with it. I used Meguire's clay bar for one main reason: its so widely used, it has to be the safest. Its a much finer clay so its safe but less aggressive. A medium clay might have been beneficial on some areas. But believe me, I was skeptical too. But seer said it right, its pretty easy and very little worry. Keeping the lube off the vinyls was the hardest part for me.

Hey Seer, any marring from previous improper washing and drying should come off when I eventually man up and use a porter cable right? Nothing is paint deep or has any feel to it.
 

Seer

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Moostang, I had the same attitude: no way would i feel comfortable to do it. But i was tired of the paint not being smooth and wanted to get ride of some of the contaminants. So to be safe, I practiced on some painted engine parts and the lower runners. I liked the results so I went for it. I used the Dojo Juice Lube and its so slippery I can't see how anything would scratch with it. I used Meguire's clay bar for one main reason: its so widely used, it has to be the safest. Its a much finer clay so its safe but less aggressive. A medium clay might have been beneficial on some areas. But believe me, I was skeptical too. But seer said it right, its pretty easy and very little worry. Keeping the lube off the vinyls was the hardest part for me.

Hey Seer, any marring from previous improper washing and drying should come off when I eventually man up and use a porter cable right? Nothing is paint deep or has any feel to it.

Yes. As long as you do it right. Start with a lesser combo work your way up when needed then refinish
 

Jeepngli

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sweet. Thanks.

So like I said I order a bunch of interior products and atuff for my tips, tires and trim. Will post up when im done. cant bet free 1 day shipping :)

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Jeepngli

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ha, thanks man. The FEDEX guy made a visit today.....

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Above: Detailing medium brush(for the tips, wheels, etc), CG's Matte Cleaner for the spoiler and chin(more of quick touch ups and cleaning those parts during washes), Poorboy's Tire Dressing Gel, tire dressing applicators, Optimum Metal Polish for the tips, Meguire's Interior Cleaner and 303 Aerospace Protectant for the interior and trim.

here's the DI microfiber towels I'm in love with:

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Hope to get to the interior this weekend. My girlfriend told me to all the car products out of the house and into the garage so I snapped a quick pic of the arsenal.

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On black Friday, I plan to pick up refils of the P21S Gel, Synthetic Detailer and who knows :)
 
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pacettr

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Im not sure. the Blacklight impressed me the most. I tuink the LAVA helped seal in thr blacklight. I think the blacklight doesnt last long so the lava should help. Id be curious what the lava alone looks like. All I know is Im happy the way it came out. The lava is not super glassy smooth as just the blacklight alone so not sure what that means.






They were made for Saleen, not by them. Ive been tying to get a spare set but its tough.

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IIRC these wheels came on the Heritage Saleens also.
 

Jeepngli

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The heritage wheels are different. You can see the inner center section and lip are different

2008_H302_25_29_032.jpg
 

Jeepngli

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ha. Well a racecraft is a Saleen..... :)

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Jeepngli

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Update: Got a few hours in yesterday. Here's what I did, cut me some slack with the camera pics this time please.


Wheels: I wanted to seal them with Poorboy's Wheel Sealant. It said on the can to make sure they are clean and polished first. So....BLACKLIGHT Time! Threw a coat of Blacklight on, buffed by hand, then used the Poorboy's. The wheels really had a nice glow to them and then a nice strong coating when I was done. Hard to see, but they really really pop now. Lastly, I used Poorboy's Bold and Bright Gel Tire dressing on the tires themselves. Nice dark, natural look with a tad shine. This stuff isn't supposed to sling so we'll see. It is water based so won't ruin the tires.


Fender wells: Sprayed down with greased lightning. Used Aero 303 Protectorant. They still aren't as clean as I would like but at this point I can't spend time on everything....well, maybe I'll come back to them :)


Front lip: cleaned up and used Aero 303 Protectorant on it(just a little). Looks good.


Exhaust tips: Sprayed soapy water, then really really hit them with Greased Lightning degreased. Let soak. Then I ran this brush I have:

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Now, I really gave the tips hell with this brush and let me say, they liked it. The coolest thing, this brush does not retail any of the grime. It just washes off, you would never know I stuck it in the dirty exhaust. ha. So after I was done, I cleaned them out with paper shop towels and wipe them down with cleaner. I then used Optimum Metal Polish. WOW!! I've used a bunch of over the counter metal polish. No more. This stuff shines! So much so, I said screw it and cleaned the mufflers themselves and polished them up too! Why not!? The pics are hard to see because of the shine, but trust me they are very clean and mirror like. Might be the best product so far, tied with Blacklight.

Rear Wing: My rear spoiler is a matte finish. I used CG's Matte Cleaner on it. Didn't do much other than make it clean. I normally don't know what to use on it so I leave it alone. I won't right home about this stuff but seemed to be fine. Might have been a waste of money :(


Pics:

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Here's the exhaust without the flash on. Gets rid of the reflection back and shows more of how they look:

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I have to say, I took the car out today. It was 70 degrees out and we won't get many days left like this. I was worried a little because I have flourescent lighting in my garage and that tends to show the worst in paint I've been told. Outside, not an imperfection to the nake eye. Deep, wet and clean blue all around. I was really proud of myself. Take that for what its worth, but its nice to know it was time well spent. I would hands down do all this again to get those results.


Soo....., up next: interior(dash, carpet, center console), engine bay, exterior trim. Hope this ends soon :)
 

Jeepngli

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Update: Interior and better exhaust photos. Interior photos were shot with no flash so they are a little grainy.

Did the interior this weekend, minus the carpets(awaiting my carpet products). Logged about 3 hours. I first wiped down the dash and interior trim with microfiber to remove dust. I then used Meguire's Interior Detailer. I was skeptical at first but then really like it. Has some cleaning agents with mild UV protector. I would definitely use it on a daily driven car. Then I dried each section as after I applied and by doing this it made it more "even". Lastly, I used 303 Aero Protectorant on every hard plastic surface. Doors, dash and trim look terrific! Like more protectorants, it has a slight oily feel. I the used a different microfiber towel to dry off the 303(as recommended by them). Again, it helps to "smear" the protectorant and give an even, finished look. Just need to do the carpets and engine bay and we're done!!

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slowlyrolling

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Excellent work, but you left out the wheel barrels. To me that makes or breaks a detail.

Use the brush you used for your tips, will work perfectly.
 

Jeepngli

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thanks. I agree. I didn't do the barrels because I couldn't hose them off due to the weather. In the spring, I will scrub them pretty good. I think I'll just take them off and clean them up that way to be honest. And you're right, that brush will work really well, I tried it on my other car.
 

Jeepngli

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Speaking of which, Ordered a ton of stuff on Black Friday and Cyber Monday:

Stoner Interior Upholstry Cleaner
303 Fabric Guard
CG Citrus APC+(for the engine bay)
CG Pina Colada Spray and New Car Spray(couldn't decide)
Mr Pink Shampoo
Honeydew shampoo

assorted microfiber towels and drying towels, sheep mitt,

refills for P21S gel and CG Synthetic QD

And made a nice gift basket for my brother for christmas consisting of a grit guard, 303 protectorant, shampoo, sponge, etc


Once I get some time, I'll start on the engine bay and carpets and post up some pics.
 

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