So this is my first thread in the Wash & Wax section so I would like to introduce myself first. My name is Wes Robles and I have been detailing for about 5 years now. I started out as a car jockey/wash guy at a high end indie dealership here in Toronto for the summer. I then slowly got into detailing and worked with equipment and products like Auto Magic, Presta, Worlds Best Wax, a Makita Rotary, and the good old sun to check my work. For the past two summers I have been detailing friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, and etc. cars for side money but this year decided to take the plunge and start my own mobile detailing business. Anyway here is my first official costumer and his RSX type S which was in for a full paint correction and the interior aswell, enjoy!!!

ps. I've tried to make my write up somewhat educational so the non pro guys can hopefully get some tips, so hence the many pics which I apologize for. I look forward to sharing more write ups with you guys, discussing detailing, giving and receiving advice, and much more.


So here is the car upon arrival. Had an overcast day here in Toronto and hail in June... go figure.










First up is soak the wheels and wheel well.

The wheel cleaner was Menzerna Gel 7.5 Wheel and Tire Cleaner. I don't usually use this stuff, as it is a little more expensive but bought a little to try out and see if it is any better then the usual p21s Wheel Gel. Verdict: good but does the same work as p21s.




Soaked the wheel well with Meguairs Super Degreaser.




While those were soaking I moved on to the engine.


Soaked that with Meguiars Super Degreaser and let it sit while I went back to the tires and wheels.




I got at the inner rims with my EZ-Brush, did the wheel faces with a micro fibre mitt, and used both to agitate inside the wheel well. After all that rinsed everything.








I agitated some dirty spots on the engine, rinsed, then dryed off with a blower. Also dryed the rims to with the blower.


Turned on the engine and let it run for a bit.
Here is a final pic that was taken later on with the engine dressed with 303 Aerospace Protectant.




Now on to the washing.

I washed the car using the two bucket method(one bucket soapy water and the other just plain water for cleaning your mitt).


Today I decided to use the Natural Sea Sponge on the right.


Car soap was Chemical Guys Citrus Wash & Gloss.


And started washing, rinsing my sponge after every panel.




Dryed the car with my waffle weave towel.




The sun popped out for a little bit with enough for me to catch a glimpse of what I was in for.




Clayed the car with good old canadian brand Riccardo Clay.


Meguairs Last Touch was my lubricant.

Clayed the paint


and the windows.


Would have clayed the rims too, but they were new and did not need it.



So after one more rinse and drying I took measurements of the paint.
I have it set to microns which I believe is .0001 of a millimeter.

The average was 90-120 microns


but..

there were some highs


and lows.




So with an idea of what I was working with I began to tape up. The reason you mask up certain parts of the car is because around the edges paint is very thin and it is easy to burn through. Also emblems, rubber parts, etc don't get damaged either. I used 3M blue tape, there's two types the 2090 which can stay on for 16 days and leave no residue at all and the even more sensitive 2080 which can stay on for 60 days. The one used here is the 2090.



Inside clean and under the halogens I finally got a full view of what I was in for.








Out came the boys.


Generally you should start with the least abrasive and work your way up but since this isn't my first time and I know that anything lighter then a meduim polish is not going to do anything to those kind of swirls I started out with the Makita, 5.5" orange Lake County pad, and Meguairs #83 at around 1500-1800rpm.


Tested it out on the hood and here is 50/50 pic of the results. Please forgive the stone chips and dust.


And a bigger view.


Me in action.


Also polished the headlights.

Passenger not polished.


Drivers polished.




The car was left with me overnight and so with all the swirl removal out of the way I put some tiger balm on my back and called it a night.



Day 2


Got up the next morning and washed the car with Hi Temp Prep Wash. Mixed it about 4:1 with water in a spray bottle, sprayed the car let it sit for a bit then washed like I would naturally do. Rinsed and dryed. The reason I wash with this stuff is because I have learnt that this stuff eats up the polish residue and is great for getting the stuff in the cracks and stone chips too. Touched up the left over stuff and the car was ready for the refining polish. (sorry no pics of this whole step)



On this soft Honda paint I finished with the Porter Cable, 5.5"white Lake County pad, and Menzerna Final Polish 2 at speed 5. Now the reason you finish with a finishing polish and finishing pad is because this burnishes the paint and refines it to provide that deep gloss.

Here I am at work cold on a June morning.


After finishing the whole car I check over my work for anything I might have missed with a 3M Sun Gun which omits the same spectrum light as the sun. I find this tool pretty handy because some days the sun is just not out like this morning and if it is depending on the time of day it does not shine at the angle you want it to.


Here is the only decent before and after I was able to get.

before


after


I wiped and dusted the car down and applied Danase Wet Glaze by Porter Cable and a grey 5.5" Lake County pad at speed 2. Sorry no pics I just wanted to get the car done
as the customer was coming in the next couple hours.



Put the exterior on hold and on to the interior.

Started off by dusting the crevices and build up areas




The vents too.




Gave it an all purpose cleaner wipe down and brought out the q-tips to get the gunk in the crevices areas, like the underside of the power window buttons and in tight areas of the cup/tray holder.






Onto the leather cleaning and conditioning with the Gliptone Leather Cleaner and Conditoner.


Here is the leather cleaner foamed up and scrubbed with my Swissvax leather brush.






After


For perforated leather and in general, I apply the leather cleaner by hand so that build up does not get caught in the little holes.




After


Backseat also.




Finally with everything cleaned, dusted, and no gunk I dressed the interior with 303 Aerospace Protectant. I love this stuff because the shine it gives is just right not to shiny and not dull at all, plus it is a UV protectant.


The door panels dressed up.






Cleaned the windows with Stoners Invisible Glass then finally vacuumed.

Me getting in those tight spot inbetween the center console and the front seats. I hate seeing stuff in there.






Some before and afters of the interior.

Before back seat


After back seat


Before drivers side


After drivers side


Before passengers side


After passengers side




So back on the outside of things gave the car a light dusting and applied..

p21s 100% wax


While that was curing, I applied Poor Boys Wheel Sealant to the rims which helps keep brake dust etc. from caking on.


Also dressed the wheel well with some left over Meguairs Hyper Dressing cut 4:1 with water for a not too shiny shine and applied Black Fire Long Lasting Tyre Gel to the tires.




Wiped off the wax and finally took a couple after pics.







Check out the clouds.




Check out the clouds pt.2




Look at the flake. I love Nighthawk Black.














And the money shot.




Overall I got the paint correction to about 95% except for the few random deep scratches and stone chips.

Thank you for reading.
All comments good, bad, and ugly are welcome.

 

Very thorough work, and great documentation. From personal experience, I know that P21S 100% on NBP looks stellar!

 

Awesome Job!

Please set fire to those rims!

 

Great job and great write up...gave me a few pointers, thanks!

 

Looks great, nice job.

 

Thanks for all the great comments!

You know I got the Danase Wet Glaze P21s cocktail from you. So I always pay homage.

LOL

Glad you were able to learn a few things.

Thank you.

 

WOW, you're one crazy mofo. That is a hell of a job. I hope the owner is appreciates the work you've done.

 

Excellent job! The detail looks great and very thorough inside and out.

 

What's the advantage os using natural sea sponge?

I assume it should perform better, since it's more expensive than a typical sheepskin mitt.

Where can I get one?

 

Very nice work! Looks amazing!

P.S. That avatar blows my mind!

 

my car next

 

LOL. Me to, I find you have to educate the customer on how to maintain it afterwards.

Thank you very much.

The advantage is it holds more water, the dirt get trapped in the holes, but to be honest I find a sheepskin mitt much softer especially for soft Honda paint that has already been corrected or is in very good condition. Check Proper Auto Care for the sponge.

ps.Expensive doesn't always mean better

Thank you, in the avatar you can't even see the flake on the swirly side.

OK, is Thursday good for you say 7:00am.

 

Great job! Very informative. A few question:

- why do you wear that white thing that cover your noise and mouth. I wasnt aware of any harmful chemical when detailing.


- Did you use the same stuff when polishing the headlight/tail light?

- Why do you drag the end of the towel when drying the top?


- Patrick (aka exceldetail), do you have something equivalent to the 303 Aerospace Protectant?

- Where did you buy that PosiTest DFT? That looks tight, but must be expensive?

- How did you apply the tire gel? Usually how long do tire gel last? Did you use anything to get the dirt off the tires or you just spray wash them?

 

I wear the mask because personally the dust from polishing bothers me sometimes (like when it gets in my mouth) and I don't think inhaling the dust is good for you. With detailing aswell as any job you should protect yourself I even wear earplugs to when polishing, that constant noise will definitely have an effect on your hearing. That day I didn't have any gloves(ran out) but usually I wear a pair of latex gloves, come on with all those chemicals your handling car soap,tire gel, detailer spray, degreaser, wheel cleaner,silicone remover etc. all mixed on your hands that cannot be good for you when your handling these things on a daily basis.

Yes I used the Megs 83 to polish the headlight but I used a 4inch pad orange Lake Country with my Porter Cable which I was using for the bumpers aswell.(sorry I didn't mention the write up alone took me almost two hours uploading and typing.)

I find that when I spread the towel and drag it across the paint it dries more area, just the top parts though(hood, roof, trunk).

The Positest I bought from ebay used I got mine for $500 brand new it is usuallly $695 if you do buy one get the combo version.

To get dirt off the tires, usually any wheel cleaner is a tire and wheel cleaner and if the
tire is dirty I have a tire brush but in this instance the rims and tires were new.

The dressing gel came with an applicator sponge and I just spread it on. You should let it dry/sit somewhat on to your tire, it lasts longer then just applying it on then driving off. I find it last about maybe close to a week.

 

Great work, and nice write up.

If you don't mind telling me how much you charge? I'm just trying to get an idea how much they run for.

Thanks,

 

First Off, Welcome to the Forum! You did a terrific job on that Acura and your write up was very informative. I'm sure your customer was very happy when he/she arrived to pick the car up.

Here are my questions: did you take any paint meter readings after the polishing steps? and if so what were your readings? Did you polish that fender with the very low reading? By what I saw it looks like that car has been in an accident or had some panels repainted? I doubt I would have done much polishing on that lower fender otherwise risk clear coat failure don't you agree?

What was your total time spent on the car?

Thank You!

 

wow you did an AMAZING job

 

No I didn't take any readings afterward, but that has been something that I have been thinking about just to have an idea of how much clearcoat is removed(I think I might have anothr RSX this weekend so I'll try and remember to take before and after readings). Definitely I agree about the clearcoat failure, but I did hit that section none the less with the PC and one pass.

Total time was around 21hrs(paint correction & interior) including breaks to eat.

Hey I've seen you over at the detailing forums and admire your work also.

 

looks awesome, thanks for narrating the pictures, real informative.

ps, microns are .001 or 1/1000 th of a millimeter

 

Great post, loved how in depth you went.

My only suggestion, is to get a foam gun. You will love it

 

LOL, thanks for correcting me, I should've googled it before I posted to make sure..

I am definitely looking into one could you pm some suggestions. Or probably expect a pm from me.

 

Nice job, sweet RIMS. What type of ZEN rims are those?

 

Wow, I've never seen this thread before. Great job and documentation Wes! You use some really great boutique products, hehe. I'm actually surprised you don't use a Swissvax Wheel Brush.

 

nice work, i would let you work on my car anytime....

 

BTW, i will still be contacting you to do my car. I just still have some parts to replace

 

You crack me up, your the first one to complement the rims everyone else wants to burn them.

Hey were gonna try a thiiiiird time now for a CL meet come in and confirm your coming.

Thanks for resurrecting my thread from the dead, I know I know I need to update my sig with a new thread. I got some new write ups coming, be on the look out for a NSX I did.

Yeah the Swissvax Wheel Brush is definitely something I want to buy. I see you on the detailing forums to(I have yet to post, to busy soaking it all in.) so I know who you are.

Thanks for the complement especially since you know exactly where I am coming from with the products and pain...I mean fun work that goes into detailing.
I am more then willing.

No worries, I seen you talking about your bearings and such I hope your baby is alright.

Check the Toronto CL thread I think were gonna try one more time.

 

Hehe, I didn't know you were a lurker on another forum I frequent.

You should post and say hello, hehe.

 

y can't u live in tampa, fl?

 

Nice write up! just what i was looking for. THanks!
One quick... and noob question...
When u apply the polish, did you have to leave it on for a certain time?
Or is it put and and wipe it down clean?

PS: Nice job on the RSX! I have a black car too..

 

Outstanding job Wes.

 

If you're speaking of polish (which is generally an abrasive), you just apply it until it appears almost transparent. However, if you're speaking of wax, it really depends on the manufacturer's suggestions/instructions.

 

oOo..
first attempt of polishing my car = failed
lol, but i guess it didn't mess up the exterior
thanks for the info

 

Hehe, keep on trying!

No problem on the information! Happy to help.

 

My God, I can't believe how nice NBP looks with those clouds in the reflection. I wish we had someone like that around here to do such a good job.

 

Honestly Ron for you I would really travel down to New York to do the job, Toronto to New York is only an 8 hour drive or even less, or vice versa come check out Toronto and the CL guys up here.

But I know of a detailer in North New Jersey I believe who is very very skilled I'll PM you later if your interested. Maybe you might even know him.

 

Hey for the engine bay, how come you didn't have anything covering any part of the engine bay? I really don't know where you're suppose to cover, but I read almost everywhere that you need to cover certain parts of the engine bay.

 

I give you mad props! Awesome job.

 

Battery terminals/alternator.

 

yea but he didnt seem to have anything covered. or is it just out of the picture

 

To be honest I didn't cover anything. I find on the newer engines all the delicate parts are already covered with plastic.

When going to do an engine shampoo I go through these motions...

soak in all purpose cleaner
agitate stubborn spots
rinse
then the main things are to dry with compressed air if you have it, or a leaf blower and then turn on the engine and let it run for like 10-15mins.

Oh yeah and dress the engine with a water based dressing and wipe excess spots.

On newer models you should be fine but on the older models I think lets say 95 and under you should take your precautions.

Hopefully some other pros can chime in and correct me where I'm wrong or agree and add some tips too.