First time car detailing

[NARMAK]

Hi guys. Got the pics onto my laptop, onto photbucket and ready to view for your pleasure.

Ok, here we go.......

First up is my attempt at snow foam. No really...it was....just not as you know it. Its called the tyre cleaner/something else on the jetwash button at Morrison and provides this....




Next up we have the trusty wash method we all use +1, yeah, you heard right. I took it to another level. Ladies & Gents, welcome the 3 bucket method, with buckets like you never seen before...



Heres the result from that once dried....







Now, it's Clay Time.....



Contamination....



Not much to speak of really as it was a brand new car with less than 1000 miles, but the contamination that did come off was mostly from the lower half as expected.

Now, after claying i took it back to the jet wash and once home i dried off and was left with this.....







Not a bad base eh?

Once clayed, it was time for the Blackfire GEP and from a single coat this is what i managed (reflections an all)









Now, time for some protection, 50:50 (right side is WDAFPP in case your wondering), reflection and full car shots of Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection in action .....












And this is just a quick shot of the front view when i applied a second coat of WDAFPP (even a mouthful to type lol)



By this time, the sun had come out a little when i was finishing off the second coat and i gotta say, i was mighty impressed by the flake pop





And that is all the pics i have to show for now, because since those were taken i finished the car off on saturday with a single wax coat of the blackfire midnight sun and this sunday with some Meguiars nxt metal polsyh on the wheels, exhaust and Megs tyre gel.

Then did the interior with a quick hoover (yeah right, quick lmao), Megs interior detailer for the dash etc. Then cleaned the door shuts with Auto Finesse citrus power and a brush before using a microfibre and the blackfire quick detailer. Then proceeded to use Meguiars glass cleaner on the interior and exterior windows before going over the whole car with the blackfire quick detaier.

I have one more coat of wax to add and i'm holding off posting final pics, cause i want something a little artistic to show off the final result.

My thought on the Blackfire Wet Ice over Fire kit is that it is GOOD, really good BUT because i'm a perfectionist and it can't hide all the swirl marks, i got a real nagging feeling of how much more i could coax out of the kit if i machine polished the minor swirls out before applying the kit and then when i do apply it, using a DA.

This kit has more potential to unleash so for those of you with a DA, i would say buy this kit, some polishing compound and enjoy! I've received almost non-stop compliments and loads of looks and all this was done by hand from an amateur on his first ever 'Virgin; cherry popping experience'. I consider it popped and next time with a DA the results will be even more

Hope you enjoyed that almost as much as i did

[Lucy Diamond]

D@mn!!! I can....SEE myself!!!

[NARMAK]

Thanks

This is my first go by hand and without any machine polishing to get rid of the minor swirls and scratches. Once i use a machine polisher to do everything, its gonna take it to a whole other level

[MaCruz]

Very time consuming, but nonetheless an outstanding job!

That Blackfire polish really brings the pop in the black. Love it!

[Bigdog]

Originally Posted by NARMAK

Thanks

This is my first go by hand and without any machine polishing to get rid of the minor swirls and scratches. Once i use a machine polisher to do everything, its gonna take it to a whole other level

Any advise for a newb looking to get a da kit? I see maguires makes one now but is the porter cable still the main choice?

Nice work by the way and love the audi, damn i want one!

[MaCruz]

Originally Posted by Bigdog

Any advise for a newb looking to get a da kit? I see maguires makes one now but is the porter cable still the main choice?

Nice work by the way and love the audi, damn i want one!

I own a porter cable. I did some work on an S2000 a few years back. Had lots of swirls and some scratches. You can see some of my work. See post 65
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...=132391&page=4

[NARMAK]

Originally Posted by Bigdog

Any advise for a newb looking to get a da kit? I see maguires makes one now but is the porter cable still the main choice?

Nice work by the way and love the audi, damn i want one!

I don't think i actually mentioned it in my OP but i actually did this all by hand and didn't use a DA to apply any of the Blackfire Wet Ice over Fire kit, so i can't comment on which DA kit would be best and not least of all cause i'm from the UK where we have different choices but as Macruz mentioned the porter and megs seem to be good choices.

Personally, i think any quality DA, proper pads and cutting compounds will give you a great result and save you some money. I'm going to update this thread with more pics of the final result with two wax coats but as it stands, the UK weathers taken a turn for the worst at the moment.

If i had the DA i would have invested in some additional products and corrected the paintwork to get rid of the scratches and swirls etc. Then used the DA to apply the products apart from the wax which is best applied by hand.

That of course is for next time when i do a real meaty detail on the car. The Audi is a really nice car and i especially love the shape and flow of the A4 design and this trim level (The Black Edition - think its known as Titanium in the US) is the highest you can get and really rare. Seen less than ten on the road. (in fact its closer to 5 tbh.)

Really good spec and the Bang & Olufson sound system is a dream. Look really great with the extra leather seats and during the cold the heated seat extra is also nice, especially here in the UK winter months or cold days we recently got.

[BStecke]

Awesome looking car! There's nothing like freshly cleaned/clayed/waxed black. Too bad it seems like it only lasts about five minutes. I've had two black cars and I've vowed never again. It's so satisfying once you do it, but it gets ruined so quickly.

[crackinhedz]

Awesome job! Very nice!

I bought a new car and would like to detail it, and was wondering if anyone has used this stuff before?

West Coast Customs Car Care Kit

Is this just paying for name alone??

or good stuff?

I know zero about car care! I would like my car to shine like NARMAK's and keep my leather seats in top condition. Any advice?

[BStecke]

Yeesh. For the money you'd be much better with this. Obviously you'd have to get some towels and what not, but you can actually get some decent stuff at Target for that.

Zaino's a pretty significant investment of time, though . . . don't know if you want to keep it up to THAT level. It's a multi-step process, but it keeps the car much cleaner in between washes. If you're not into that level of detail, I'd probably just pick up some Meguiar's wax, soap, a couple towels, and a decent microfiber drying towel (if you Google "Big Blue Towel" the first result is what I've used and it works great). That should be well under a hundred bucks.

Edit: I forgot about the leather. I used to use some stuff called Blue Magic. They make a leather cleaner and a leather protectant/conditioner. Go over it first with the cleaner, then hit it with the protectant. It's good at taking dirt off the leather and has a pretty nice smell as well. I used to use it on the dash too, as I HATE HATE HATE Armor All or any of that shine crap.

[NARMAK]

Coming from the UK, theres quite a difference between which products we have and what we pay. You guys have probably got access to the best products in the world at better prices.

Like BStecke mentioned, its all about how much time and money your wanting to put into the car. Some stuff will possibly last you beyond just your one car and if your smart about what you buy, your gonna get bang for your buck.

Going completely cheap ain't the way to go tbh, but buying quality products 'cheaply' relative to their price is a good investment. The stuff will last longer and protect your car. I did my car with a once over and although i'm really happy, i'm really itching to eek out the ultimate level by really getting rid of the swirls the car currently has. It's just annoying the hell outta me but you may not be so bothered about it.

I'm also planning on selling my services to others in order to recoup my money and this is possible for me because i'm a student and also have loads of free hours. Just need to sort a few practical issues and i'm good to go. For you, it may not be practical or justifiable to spend as much, so i simply advise you have a good luck around before committing just to make sure your happy.

That West Coast Customs kit is most likely running off the brand name than anything. Meguiars are quite possibly the best main market product maker in the world, and although you can get better products here n there from others, overall i would say they have earned their #1 status and thats why they have been around so long. They are also well priced.

Also, make sure you read up on proper washing technique. Using a sponge in a circle motion and also a single bucket is the quickest way to swirl o rama. Use a lambswool mitt for the body work, 2 bucket method (1 wash, 1 rinse bucket), straight line cleaning (not circular) and use a microfibre wash mitt (meguiars have a quality one) in conjuntion with a wheel brush (theres the big one and one that looks like a paint brush that you should both use depending on how easy your wheels are to clean). As mentioned, the microfibre towel is the best drying option out there and does the job really quickly with no need to wring between drying (typically speaking) and the bigger the size the better but don't compromise on quality.

Now, i'm off to clean my car and get some shine back since it's been used on the motorway and needs a good clean, but the weathers still a tad bit rubbish here in the UK. Sunshine it ain't atm.

Good luck though and let us know how you got on.

[MaCruz]

I've been using Zaino line since 2007. I don't think I can use anything else since I have bulks of their products.

For a new car. I would clay it, and just put a coat or two of wax. Should last a few months depending how much sun, or rain you get. Wash weekly or every 2 weeks.