My 1st "Proper" Detail Session.....
 

Well i packed up the car this morning at 8:30 and headed over to do my Sisters filthy Mondeo, this was my first time out using my DAS-6 Pro polishing machine so i was looking forward to having a go.

I got set-up and then had a quick look around the car to see what i was facing, here are the pics

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Tree sap stained on the wing
http://i54.tinypic.com/2up8w81.jpg
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I started by spraying the whole car with some diluted G101 (10:1) and left to soak before rinsing off with the pressure washer.

I then cleaned the wheels with G101 followed by AG Clean wheels, left to dwell then scrubbed with my Meg's style brush, then scrubbed arches and Tyres with G101 and rinsed down thoroughly.

Next up i had to de-tar the entire car, this was a company car before my sister bought it, it's done 140k so you only have to imagine the amount of Tar there was... I worked a section at a time with Tardis and even with that it still took a fair while and a bit of elbow grease. It came up well so i rinsed the whole car down again.

I then clayed the whole car using CYC Blue mild clay with some Zip wax diluted with water as a clay lube. I clayed the whole car incl windows, glass etc and then dried off the whole thing with some Meg's LT and a couple of Autobrite blue fluffy towels.

This was where it got interesting as it was the first time for me using my CYC Das-6 Pro machine with Sonus SFX pads and Menz polishes.
I taped up the whole car, and guess what........ yup it started raining - TYPICAL.

I waited around indoors and had a coffee before it stopped so i quicky dashed out to carry on (excuse the lack of pics but i had to move quickly and didn't want to use my camera while it was still threatening to rain).

I started off with the Orange SFX-3 Pad, and Menz PO85RD 3.02 but after a couple of attempts i could see it just wasn't happening....
I then stepped up to the White SFX-2 Pad, with Menz Power Gloss S100 and this was much better. This was the first time i was using a machine of any sort so i was very cautious and kept checking my work but after a couple of panels i was starting to feel really comfortable with it.... I found on the doors that the smaller Spot pads were far easier so i ended up only using the 6" one on the bonnet.

I really enjoyed it anyway, and am pleased with the results but gutted i couldn't get any 50/50's but it would have been quite hard on a Silver car but i will do next time.

I finished off with a layer of Dodo Juice Rainforest Rub, and then a covering of Meg's last touch (incl glass)... Plastics were dressed with Meg's trim care detailer, and tyres coated in Meg's hot rims tyre spray.

Thanks for reading,

Here are the after pics

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cracking job m8

impressive results given what you started with!

I've got the mrs's golf to do before we sell it, but that'll just be a quick clay and wax I think!

You missed a bit :)

Looks good, need to sort her alloys out before the winter comes :S

Nice work! Did you chamois it down after washing or are the little splatters from the rain?

Nothing worse than a full detail to find dusty, scummy spots left by rain!

It just sprinkled a tiny bit of Rain as i took pics, but it'd had been waxed up and wiped down with last touch so the rain wasn't leaving any marks luckily :-)

I don't use a Chamois though, i find drying towels more effective now, it takes about 5-10 mins tops using just two towels and has less chance of scratching.

The wheels unfortunately are beyond sorting, they need refurbing as corrosion has set in so bits of paint have started to flake off in places - they still look much better but not a lot more i can do with them.

Top work Nick, when can I bring mine round ? :woot:

Have to agree on the drying towel as they work so well. I used to use a blade but all the detailers recommend towels now.

You do need two for a family sized car though...

Looks good, bet the Boxster in the garage would look even better mate !!

Yep 2nd the towels..i use them they are brilliant.
Whats the 101 nick, and where can I get some. I currently use zymol for shampoo, but after rinsing first. Also where do you get the tardit?

Cheers
Mark

P.s. I havent tried machine polishing, i am a right wuss!

To be fair she's a single Mum and was starting a new job, I thought it was a nice thing to do. Great car to practise on and I reckon £300+ added to the price of it now. Yes it's only a mondeo but it was in such a state it needed some tlc, not as if it's a complete shed.

Mark, G101 and Tardis are made by Autosmart, there should be a rep near you but I think some people sell it on eBay. 101 dilutes really well so you don't need much, tardis can't be diluted but a little goes quite far as it's so so strong!

You practiced on mine first! Beesh!

Do you use polishing (rotory or DA) often nick, or is this a first time as a whole?

I detail my mini often, by hand, and have considered to get a tool for some time as I have scratches and some swirling on the roof (black in colour!!) which I cant get rid of by hand.

Great results though, and definately a nice thing to do.. make sure she looks after it now haha!

My mini after a detail:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y99...m/rearside.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y99...m/84b88dcb.jpg

I didn't machine polish yours though, not sire I'd want to risk it with the fibreglass :-)

Anyone else interested to know who Wayne king is? Obviously someone we all know...... Reminds me of the old retard that was Stumpy :D

Hi Paul, it was the DAS-6 Pro DA machine, it's a fair bit more powerful then the non-pro version, and has a longer cable plus a few other bits but it was really nice to use.

I have always tried by hand but you'll simply never get proper correction, i think nowadays especially with BMW, VW, Audi's the paint is just so hard that you just won't make an impact :blush: The good thing of course is with a DA machine you would have to be a bit mad to cause any damage / strike through as it's hard enough just to make a difference.

The machine is here:

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polish.../prod_677.html

It looks even better in the flesh Paul, you have cleaned the numbers off the number plate LOL. What did you use on the windows Nick as my windscreen has slight scratches from the wiper bledes cheers.

I use the Megs Waffle Weave, much much better than a chamois

I find the Autoglym Glass polish works pretty well, then i just usually use Autoglym fast glass.

If the windows aren't dirty and just have smears, i find Meguiars Last touch works really well with two cloths, one to apply and one to buff - It just gets rid of all the finger prints and sat nav marks etc :thumbsup:

Yeah i've got a couple of different waffle weave towels, they remind me of tea towels but surprising how well they work - especially on glass....

I haven't found anything better then these though, they absorb sooo much water

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/microf.../prod_634.html