eluzion

So I finally got around to detailing my car. This is my first detail with the UDM and it was really a love/hate relationship.

Process:
-Wash with Mother's Car Wash soap
-Clay entire car with Mother's Clay Kit
-Optimum Polish w/ White Erasure pad @ 5 speed
-Optimum Compound w/ Orange Erasure pad @ 5 speed for certain areas
-Optimum Polish again for areas I used OC on
-Danse Wet Glaze w/ Red Erasure pad @ 2 speed (love the smell of DWG!)
-Four Star UPP w/ Red Erasure pad @ 2 speed

The condition of my paint wasn't as bad as I originally thought so really it was just about getting out light swirls and a few small scratches. All was well until I pulled into the gas station and noticed there were still swirl marks mostly on the hood and trunk. I'm not sure what micro marring looks like but could that be it? Anyways, here's a few pictures after:

mltk53

exceldetail

Compound/Orange, Polish/White for the hood!!
Car looks sweet though, love that color......!

eluzion

That's the thing though, I used OC/Orange followed by OP/White on both the hood and trunk yet there's still swirls (although a little less). Maybe I'll give it another shot later today. Detailing is a PITA.

exceldetail

Vary your speeds. You may want to pick up the speed (UDM) and slow your arm movement down on your last pass......

Denzil

iTrader: (1)

Looks great but I hope you cleaned the wheel wells.

eluzion

I'll admit it -- I've never cleaned wheel wells in my life. Any tips?

That Eurow Wash bucket kit I bought came with so many towels/brushes that I have no clue what they are for... maybe I'll use one of them. It seems like you would need a rough brush to wash the wheel wells.

eluzion

Spent today cleaning the interior and rebuffing the hood. Ends up if I go verrrry slow and work in a smaller area with OP/White, it took care of most of the swirls... so one part of my hood is swirl free. Maybe one day I'll redo the rest of the car but for now I'm just happy with how much better the paint looks.

Anyway, here's some after pictures. Denzil should be proud -- I cleaned the wheel wells.

Denzil

iTrader: (1)

The car still looks great and I noticed the wheel wells are much cleaner!

So what did you clean your wheel wells with? My usual routine is I spray them down with some sort of degreaser (I personally use P21S Total Auto Wash which is a bit pricey so I'm looking for a cheaper alternative) and a black ShMITT and/or long handle bristle brush. The black ShMITT is typically used for low clearance vehicles such as yours and the long handle bristle brush when there's enough clearance to safely clean the wheel wells. If you really want to thoroughly clean the wheel wells and wheels, your best bet is always to just remove the wheels. After the wheel wells are all clean, just spray them with your favorite dressing (lately I've been using Armor All Tire Foam but I still have yet to try out the OPP sitting in my detailing cabinet and the Meguiar's Hyper Dressing I'm going to buy soon.

eluzion

I just put some car wash soap in another bucket and used this little brush I got with the Eurow Wash Kit. I'm pretty sure it was designed as a brush for the interior but with enough muscle it removes dirt from the wheel well too! ;P It wasn't that thorough or even what I would consider a good cleaning, but it was enough to make a noticeable difference.

Denzil

iTrader: (1)

Hehe, great to hear your success.

The car looks a lot nicer with cleaner wheel wells huh?

eluzion

It does. I never realized how much of a difference it makes. I'll be doing it every wash now. I just need to find a coarser brush that is flat enough to fit between the tire and wheel well.

Denzil

iTrader: (1)

Well, the black ShMITT works really well for those tight spaces but if you want to stick with a coarse brush for wheel well duties, you could always jack up your car to give yourself more space. My car is just as low as yours, LoL.

Razzi

nice job there, swirlmarks just got a shot to the head