Thread: HOW TO: Detail your car!

I see alot of faded paint and scratches on this forum, I think people could benefit from a little education in the arts of detailing your car! I worked as a detailer for two year's at a dealership which is where I learned the rudimentary skills involved with the craft, also I learned NEVER TO LET DEALERSHIPS DETAIL YOUR CAR! The number one goal at dealerships is the dollar, and time is money so corners will definitely be cut and your car will have more fillers on it than an oscar mayer lunchable. Many dealerships also don't have a well trained staff, unfortunately I can attest to this. I started working as a dealership detailer when I was 17 and didn't really know what I was doing, just learning stuff along the way. When I actually started reading articles and getting industry updates I realized that the process by which we cleaned cars was completely bonkers! When suggesting new methods or means of detailing the "senior" detailers ignored me. To this day only one bucket is used for all cars, that are washed with nylon bristle brushes that are let sit on the floor, and the wash water gets changed once a day at best. The polishes we used contained fillers so you really had no way of knowing if the scratches were actually removed, or just covered up.



I've found the best detailers are ones that don't work for a business, the independent detailers who work out of their trunk often achieve the best results, but there are also some VERY good quality detail shops but these also charge a very pretty penny. Okay back to the detailing, every good detail starts with the wash...




WHY DO WE WASH?
Washing your car is the most important step towards maintaining a smooth, shiny, and clean surface to your vehicles exterior and should be done weekly. Certain paint contaminants like bird droppings and bug residue are quick to damage your paint and need to be removed quickly, the acid and digestive enzymes in these contaminates will eat through your clean coat causing weak spots or clear coat failure. Brake dust is also a quick acting contaminant which is removed through your weekly washes. As you drive brake dust is released which will coat your wheels and the lower portion of your vehicle, the fine metal fragments and adhesives in the pad will become bonded and embedded in your paint. These metal fragments is left alone may eventually pierce through your clearcoat, your paint, and your primer and begin rust in the sheetmetal below.



TOOLS.
Washing your car is the first step, but it needs to be done right! No more brushes, no more sponges you found under the sink, no more old t-shirts. Get yourself a QUALITY washing tool! Cotton chenille wash mitts are okay, microfiber mitts or sponges are better, but what would be ideal is to get yourself a 100% Sheepskin washmitt, but be prepared to pay around $15-30 for it. So that you have your mitt you need some soap, there are tons of varieties out there and many can be had for extremely low prices. Avoid them. Once again the magic price is about $15, the price of your detailing medium is usually a good indication of the quality, but this is not always the case so it doesn't hurt to read some reviews about a product before purchasing. Another note on trying new products is to buy the smallest container available if you're unsure of whether the product is quality or not, you can usually save money if you buy a larger volume but it sucks to be stuck with a lot of product that doesn't function! Oh yeah, soap. Okay, the soap that I use currently is the Meguiar's nXt Generation Car Wash and the Black Magic Wet Shine Wash. The Meguiar's works very well, it has a nice foaming action to it and it is able to remove dirt easily. The Black Magic I will not be reordering, simply put, I bought it because it was cheap. The soap that I'm currently eyeing up is the Poorboy's World Super Slick Suds, the Meguiar's doesn't have enough suds for my liking. Another thing to note when purchasing soap is to always read the dilution instructions, sometimes a larger bottle may have less uses to it than may appear. The third essential tool to a good wash are buckets! Two good, clean buckets are vital for an effective washing technique. They don't need to be anything special, just able to hold enough water to wash your car with and to be inpecably clean! If you're going to be soaking a mitt in there and then rub it all over your car you need to make sure that there isn't any foreign debris, dirt, dust, rocks, hell even gravel that you'll end up rubbing all over your car, inducing scratches as you wash. A good way to keep dirt out of your buckets while washing is to invest in a grit guard, a small metal grille that will let all the dirt and debris fall to the bottom of the bucket when you rinse your mitt as you clean, this way it will stay off your car for good. One thing I forgot to mention is location, make sure you wash your car somewhere in the shade! Otherwise you'll have all your solutions dry out on your paint and leave residues that will be difficult to remove.



SUMMARY: Sheepskin washmitt, quality soap, two clean buckets, shade.

TECHNIQUE.
When starting your wash you'll want to pretreat any majorly soiled areas; spray down wheel wells using a good APC (all purpose cleaner), areas of your paint that are splattered with bug residue, behind the wheels where dirt is usually kicked up, and the back of your car (I've found that a layer of dirt/dust usually collects here). Let that sit for a few minutes. Get your two buckets, put your grit guards in the bottom if you have them, and fill the first one with water (deionized would be nice, but not exactly a necessity) and the second with your soap and water solution while being careful to read the directions on your container. Rinse off the areas that you pretreated earlier, once again deionized water is nice but not really necessary, and begin to wash your car. Start with the least soiled areas of the car, the roof, hood, trunk, and doors, then wipe down the bumpers, lower parts of the door panels, and side skirts. Be sure to rinse your mitt in your water bucket 3-5 times during your wash depending on the severity of dirt in your washmitt. And now it's time to do your final rinse, take off any attachment you have on your hose and start pouring water on the roof until it spills down over the edges, then quickly try to follow the water down the side of the car, repeat this with the hood and trunk. This is called 'sheeting' and the idea is to have the water rinse off the remaining dirt and soap while using the cohesive property of water to pull as much water off as well to leave you with minimal work for drying.

About deionized water, the purpose of using deionized water while washing and rinsing is to eliminate water spots. Normal tap water will leave mineral deposits on your paint called water spots, you can either buy large jugs of deionized water or you can purchase a water deionizing system (although this is a very expensive thing to do for most people). These systems are available in 100 gallon to 300 gallon output with either wall mount or wheeled carts. Price varies from $300 to about $450 and the added cost of recharging your filter element periodically. A more economical product is the inline hose filter/water softener, with interchangeable filter packs you choose to use a sediment filter (for those of your with well water supply) or a magnesium and calcium filter (the two main minerals responsible for water spots). You could also purchase two filter housings to remove both sediments and minerals if you have really poor water. An inline hose filter/water softener will run you about $50 for the basic kit to $140 for the deluxe kit. It is perfectly acceptable not to use as well, there are other ways to avoid water spots.



Another option to washing your car, if you have a pressure washer this is the preferred method as you don't run the risk of inducing scratches while wiping. I've had good results using electric washers, you should be careful with gas washers as you may damage fins on heat exchangers or if you have a failed clearcoat you might even strip off large sections of your clearcoat, which will most likely make you very angry! An even better tool is a foam gun, which coats your vehicle in a thick sudsy solution of surfactants and wetting agents. This is ideal as you don't have to touch the car and you don't have the risks of damaging your vehicle with high pressure water. Foam guns kick ass, are definitely on my list of products to try. There are different variations on it available, they can connect to a standard hose, an air compressor, or a pressure washer. Each of these adds a little extra cleaning force through water/air pressure.



SUMMARY: Pretreat, two bucket method, rinse mitt often, sheeting technique, deionized water, pressure washer.

DRYING.
Now that you've washed your car it's time to dry it! If you've been using deionized water up until this point, good for you! You've saved yourself much worry for the drying stage. If you have a good, clean leaf blower (not covered in dust/leaf debris/mulch) that won't slingshot tiny particulates at your paint feel free to use that to dry your vehicle, this is good to remove water out of hard to access cracks and crevices. Pressurized air is also a wonderful tool to use. If you have no source of forced air at your disposal, don't worry we can still use towels. NO! Put down the bath towel you just picked up, in fact, burn the bath towel. You will NEVER touch your paint with a bath towel. No, we're going to use large waffle weaved microfiber drying towels. A synthetic or natural leather chamois is also acceptable, but you're going to add micro scratches to your paint, no two ways about it. The purpose of the waffle weave is to trap any remaining dirt in the towel where it won't scrape across the paint, a chamois generally has a flat surface and will assuredly marr the surface. A good method to practice is to follow your drying with an application of quick detailing spray so as to remove any mineral deposits before they affix themselves to your paint. When drying doorjambs and around the hood and trunk use an all purpose microfiber cloth, not the waffle weaved you used earlier. The jambs will be much dirtier than the rest of the drying area and they are less important in terms of shine. Another effective strategy for jambs is using a waterless wash product as these tend to have high strength surfactants that will reduce your scratching of the paint.



TIP: If you're drying in a hot environment and are concerned about water evaporating before you get a chance to dry it, try using an authentic California Blade. A few quick smooth strokes starting at the top of the vehicle should remove most of the water, my only problem with this is that if there is any dirt left on the surface the flat blade will drag it along your paint leaving long scratches, BUT if you have a good washing technique you shouldn't have to worry. A quick follow up with your waffle weave towel and the outside should be dry.

SUMMARY: Chamois is okay, microfiber is better, pressurized air or leaf blower is best.


RINSELESS WASH.
A recent development in car washing is the rinseless wash, sometimes referred to as an eco wash. You can think of this as a heavy duty quick detailer spray. There are two methods for application. The first is preferred for a more heavily soiled vehicle, and you only need one bucket. Fill the bucket with two gallons of water and one ounce of the rinseless wash concentration, this is all you need! Increasing the concentration of wash will not make the solution more effective, it is fine as it is. You will also need a spray bottle of about 32 ounces, fill with 2.5 ounces of concentrate and the rest with water. Spray the panel down with the bottle and let that sit for a minute or two to begin loosening and encapsulating the dirt particles, then take your wash media and get it dripping wet from your bucket. Wipe down the panel with your media and then rinse it out in your bucket. Get it dripping wet again and wipe down the panel a second time. Now take a clean microfiber drying towel and dry off the panel, you don't have to get it perfectly dry as the rinseless wash should not leave water spots. Once you get the hang of it you can wash and dry your car in as little as 30 minutes.

The other option for application is to just your spray bottle, with the concentration given above. Spray onto a panel and wipe off with a plush microfiber towel. And that's! Your car will come out clean and shiny without adding any extra scratches. This method is really only appropriate for a vehicle that gets washed at least once a week, (I do mine two, sometimes three times a week). When done properly you can wash your car in 15 minutes.

Regarding rinseless wash products, they come in bottles of concentrate from as little as 16 ounces to 128 ounces, and price should range from $10-$40. Rinseless wash (most commonly referred to as ONR, which mean Optimum No Rinse, this is a specific brand of the wash but often refers to any brand. Think of it how Kleenex is used to refer to facial tissue.) can be diluted for a few different purposes. The 1 ounce to 2 gallon dilution is used for bucket washes, 2.5 ounces per 32 ounces is for quick detailing, and 1.5 ounces per 32 ounces is for use as a clay lube. ONR is an amazing time saver and is very handy for people without access to a hose (apartment dwellers).

I'll post up a series of pictures showing the process being done to a panel of my dad's truck in a few days.


WHEELS.
Wheels are usually your most soiled area on the car, they are coated with brake dust and road grime. Because of this heavy build up of dirt and debris it is important to either clean them before or after you wash the car itself, not during. By washing the wheels simultaneously with the car you run the risk of cross contamination between the comparatively clean surface of your paint and soiled cesspool of your wheels.

I choose to wash the wheels after washing the car, this reduces the risk of cross contamination between surfaces as the wheels will have a coating of brake dust that is very bad for your paint. This is another situation where waterless wash products come in handy, I use ONR (Optimum No Rinse) with great results. Get a clean bucket and fill it with about a gallon of water, add the appropriate amount of waterless wash (I use 1.5 oz of ONR) and get another all purpose microfiber cloth. Soak the cloth and start wiping down the wheel, starting at the top, dry with an all purpose microfiber immediately after.

Another option to clean the wheels is to include it in your pretreating stage and to spray them with your APC or specific wheel and tire cleaner and let soak, wipe as necessary with microfiber or use a soft wheel spoke brush, rinse, and dry. Respray any stubborn areas and wipe with an all purpose microfiber cloth. If you choose to clean with this method it is important to do this before you wash your car, this is so any overspray of your wheel cleaner doesn't sit on your paint and potentially damage it. Also make sure that any buckets or cloths are free of grime that you may want to use on your vehicle, don't settle for 'clean enough' with your washing tools, no brake dust residue should remain otherwise you are guaranteed to induce swirl marks during your wash.





CONGRATULATIONS! YOU JUST WASHED YOUR CAR!

The preparation stage covers all things used to get your car ready for polishing, which means getting the exterior of the car as clean as possible and performing tape masking. Here is where you will apply your paint cleaners, clay bars, remove all the residual bug, tar, tree sap, etc. The goal is to remove all dirt that was missed or too stuck on to remove by a normal wash.

PAINT CLEANER.
After the drying process you should apply a paint cleaner. A paint cleaner is something that will remove any stuck on dirt/bug residue by a means of a light abrasive or even a chemical process, this prepares your paint for the claying process by minimizing the amount of work required from your claybar and also minimizing the amount of debris that will be added to your clay bar, increasing the longevity of your product. I prefer to use Klasse AIO (All-In-One), it provides good cleaning power, a light polishing action, and a paint sealant, although you'll probably polish off this sealant later. This should be used on the front bumper, edge of the hood, side mirrors, windshield, and anywhere else with some stuck on dirt residue or bug guts.



CLAY BAR.
Many people think of a clay bar as some sort of magic detailing secret that is rather intimidating, but application is actually incredibly simple. A clay bar is an engineered cleaning medium, some companies still sell natural clay, but most are now synthetic. Clay bars are designed to remove stubborn bug residue, industrial fallout (seen as little orange dots on your paint), brake dust, rail dust (common term for embedded metal fragments), and tree sap. If you're unsure of whether or not you need to use a claybar then gently slide the back of your hand across the area in question. If the surface feels rough or gritty, then you need to claybar. A surface free of contaminants should feel as smooth as silk. To use a clay bar spray a small section (2'x2' panel) with detailing spray and gently slide your clay back and worth while applying light pressure removing contaminants as you do so. To begin the clay will give you some resistance and try to stick, this is the clay telling you that it's working. Expect to make 2-6 swipes for standard contamination and 6-10 for more severe areas. Once the clay slides smoothly you know the paint is clean. While you should generally avoid products available at your local Autozone/Checker's/O'Reily's etc., there is an exception with clay kits. Mother's and Meguiar's both make kits that can be bought locally, and they both are very effective at removing standard contamination. The kits include a bar or two of clay at about 6 oz. each, a bottle of quick detail spray, and a microfiber cloth. Be sure to break each bar into four smaller pieces before using, this is insurance in case you drop your bar on the ground. If you do drop your bar, throw it away. It is now contaminated with more grit and grime than you would have removed from your whole car and is no longer safe to use on your paint.


Some detailers choose to use a soap and water solution as a lubricant for their claybar, this is okay and will still lubricate, but I've found that the clay tends to disintegrate and fall apart after only one usage. This might not hold true for all clays but I've had personal experience with both Meguiar's and Mother's having this problem.

TAPE MASKING.
In order to properly prepare for the polishing stage, you should make an effort to tape off areas sensitive to buffers, polish, or areas you don't want dust to collect in. The car below was a Lotus I did for a client, it was a PAIN to mask off and took me about 45 minutes to ensure everything was prepped. This is partially due to the fact that I was using 2" wide tape and also because there were so many curves and small areas that needed masking. 2" tape is good for masking large areas, in order to mask curves and small trim you will want 1" or smaller, unfortunately I only had my 2" tape with me during this detail.



You can see I masked off all soft trim and weatherstripping, the buffer will marr and burn the trim. You should also leave this tape on during the waxing stage as many waxing products will leave a white residue on trim and plastic which is a pain to remove. I also masked all the vents in order to try and prevent all the dust created during polishing to settle in the engine bay(s?). This is a preventative measure that isn't always necessary. For the beginner to buffing it may help to take off edges of adjacent panels while using your buffer as many panels don't sit perfectly flush together and you may inadvertently burn through the paint on these raised edges.


Now that your car is clean and prepped you can begin to remove all those swirls and scratches with your buffer and polish!

Polishing, or paint correction, of your vehicle causes the most dramatic improvement in clarity and shine for your paint, but it also carries the most risk. The purpose of polishing is to remove swirl marks, scratches, hard water or acid etching, and any other clear coat imperfection through the removal of very thin layers of clear coat. All these imperfections make your car look bad because it refracts light at different directions, breaking up an otherwise smooth glossy sheen. When you're finished polishing you should have a mirror finish as seen on one of my client's cars below.



There are a few risks associated with paint correction, the biggest being doing it too much! You should only need to polish your car as often as you clay it, which is about twice a year. The first time you polish you're probably going to have to break out some more aggressive polishes and pads to achieve a desirable finish, but if proper washing and waxing techniques are practiced on a regular basis your biannual polishing should only consist of a light swirl remover. You only have thin veneer of clear coat, about the thickness of the wrapper on a pack of cigarettes and it would be a shame if you polished right through it! Besides polishing too frequently you can also polish too much in a single area which is referred to as 'burning', but this only an issue when using a rotary buffer. There are few different ways to polish your vehicle, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.

HAND POLISHING.
Hand polishing is by far the safest way to polish, unless you're Lou Ferrigno on speed you won't be able to remove enough clear coat to compromise your paint. Although this is also a handicap as you most likely won't even be able to finish a quarter of your car before your arm falls off! Hand polishing is best used for areas that are difficult to access with a buffer or on painted interior surfaces. Hand polishing is incredibly tedious and yields the least amount of result for the time and effort spent, but is necessary at times.



DUAL ACTION BUFFERS.
Dual Action buffers are by far my favorite polishing tool (I use a Porter Cable 7424XP). They offer 90% of the power of a Rotary Buffer with 90% of the safety of hand polishing, a perfect combination. A dual action buffer is named because it rotates around two axes instead of one, a common metaphor is the earth's rotation; The earth spins around the sun while also spinning on it's own axis. Most Dual Action buffers can generate a maximum of 6,800 oscillations per minute, even at this speed there is minimal risk towards burning your paint. This jiggling motion allows easier scratch and swirl removal without generating sufficient heat to damage your paint. While Dual Action buffers are generally referred as having no risk, it's important to be aware of how panel heights. For example, if your hood doesn't sit flush with your fenders (maybe a 5mm difference) you could inadvertently polish through your paint on the raised edge. Beginners may want to mask off the edges of adjacent panels.



ROTARY BUFFERS.
Rotary buffers are for the experienced professional, they offer much more power and cutting ability than is EVER needed, and have significant risk of burning the paint and can leave buffer trails with improper technique (as demonstrated on the dealership detailed BMW seen above). It is very important to keep the buffer moving and not to let the pad sit in one area for too long, you will burn through the clear coat in a matter of seconds. A common speed range for Rotaries is 600-3,000RPM but you shouldn't use any more than 1,200RPM, above that and you are begging for trouble. Rotaries are seen as a step above Dual Action buffers because of the extra power which allows you to perform a proper polish in half the time of a DA buffer, but with the advent of the PC7424XP the gap between the two is even smaller. I would not suggest buying a Rotary buffer unless you have the need to do professional level detailing in a short amount of time.


POLISHES
Compounds are your coarsest form of polish and are for removing only the most stubborn and deepest scratches. If the use of compound is necessary then the scratch is too deep to remove, the best you can do make it less noticeable. A good rule of thumb is that is you can feel a scratch with your nail then it is too deep to remove. Compounding is something that should be used as a last resort, try different combinations of polish and pads before moving to compound. You will never need to compound an entire car. I have found that compounding is usually only necessary on the major impact zones, the front bumper, hood, leading roof edge, front fenders, and behind wheels where debris is kicked up. Otherwise you will want to use compounding on a spot basis, usually less than the entire panel. Here is an example of scratching where I found compounding was necessary.



The scratch is significantly reduced, but if you look carefully you can still see it.

Medium cut polishes are usually where you will want to start polishing. As the name suggests, medium cuts are designed to remove anything that is deeper than swirling but where you still cannot feel the scratch.

Fine cut polishes are for swirl removal and reducing light scratches. You can get more power out of fine cuts by using a harder foam pad but it may not finish as nicely.



PADS* - In order of cutting power.
Purple Foamed Wool (PFW) - The most aggressive cut pad you should use, best if bought as a 4" pad because this will only be for spot buffing.
Yellow - Aggressive cutting pad, mostly used as a 6" pad, but 4" can come in handy for tight areas.
Orange - Mild cutting pad, mostly used as a 6" pad, but 4" can come in handy for tight areas.
White - Mild/Light cutting pad, used mostly as a 6" pad. I've found that having several white pads comes in handy, as you can use them with sealants, AIO's, and polishes. If you've already used a fine cut polish and have some very light swirling remaining you may want to use your sealant on your white pad to add some cutting power which should leave a nice finish.
Blue - Finishing pad, used mostly as a 6" pad.
Black - Finishing pad, used mostly as a 6" pad.
Glass - Although white in color, it is very different than your typical foam pad. Manufactured right inside the foam are the glass polishing abrasives, which is why you need to be extra careful you don't get your glass pad mixed up with you white pad! Even though there are abrasives built into the foam the use of a glass resurfacing creme is still necessary.
*Although this color/cutting power listing is typical of Lake Country pads, most manufacturers use a similar correlation.

There are a few variations of buffer pads, the most common being a flat pad. There are also cross grooved pads, collapsed cell structure (CCS) pads, and dimpled wave pads. Each design has different advantages and disadvantages. Pads with more contact area (flat and CCS) offer quicker polishing but at the risk of quicker heat build up. Cross grooved pads, dimpled wave pads, as well as CCS pads are able to hold more polish in the cracks and grooves on the pad face so you don't have to reach for the bottle every couple of minutes. CCS pads are excellent when applying sealants and waxes that need very thin layers that use only a few ounces of product for an entire car. CCS pads have small pockets to hold product with the benefit of collapsed cells so minimal amounts of product are absorbed into the pad, minimizing waste. If using a larger pad on a well contoured car you should use a smaller backing plate than the size of the pad, this way you can curve the edges of the pad to carefully get into the difficult curved areas.


METAL POLISHING
I don't do much metal polishing but I'll give what insight I have. First of all you need a specific metal polish, I use Mother's Mag & Aluminum and love it, but there are plenty of other polishes and polishing systems. There are a few methods towards application of said polish, first of all is by hand. Hand polishing metal is just as tiresome as it is on paint, but thankfully most cars have minimal metal trim that needs polishing which makes hand polishing a good option. Next up is with a powerball, these are drill attachments that are handy when trying to get into tight spaces or removing heavy oxidation. A good number to use with a powerball is 3000RPMs. Next up is using a DA or Rotary buffer, if using a DA have it set at 5 or 6, with a Rotary use 1400-1800RPMs. You should have a dedicated metal polish pad, a PFW, natural wool, or acrylic wool pad should all work well without leaving a hazy finish. Just as with paint you want to protect your freshly polished finish with a sealant, this prevent the surface from oxidizing.

CARNUBA VS. SYNTHETIC

CARNUBA.
There are basically two types of waxes you can use, an organic carnuba based wax and synthetic polymer sealant. Traditionally carnuba wax is thought of as creating a warm, deep, wet looking finish. Serious enthusiasts will garage their car for up to a week to properly layer and cure up to 20 coats of wax, the more layers the deeper the shine. Carnuba wax is harvested as a raw material from the Brazilian Tree of Life, the wax coats the leaves as a protection from harsh equatorial sunlight and to cause water to roll off the leaves down towards the roots. Once harvest, the wax is collected in flakes. In this form the wax is rock hard, in order to make it into your typical car care product it is blended with oils, petroleum distillates, and solvents. Typical concentrations of carnuba in car wax is around 30%, the higher the concentration the higher the cost of the wax. Generally, the concentration listed is the purity of the wax, not the actual percentage of composition. The natural characteristics of carnuba are to protect the leaves from harsh sunlight, humidity, and most contaminants. These characteristics are helpful towards your paint as they help prevent oxidation from UV rays and road contaminants. The primary downside (in my opinion) towards carnuba based waxes is their durability. In the absolute best conditions (garaged car, warm/cool climate, minimal driving) carnuba wax will last up to 8 weeks, your average car (daily driven commuter car that is kept outside) will be protected for about 3-4 weeks. Some people consider this a good thing as they enjoy the waxing process, as a sort of therapeutic emotional connection with their car. These people are insane. Carnuba waxes are most commonly found as pastes.

SYNTHETIC.
Paint sealants were created as a means to overcome the weaknesses of carnuba, they are much more durable (protection periods anywhere from 4-12 months) and are very easy to apply. Synthetic sealants are composed of polymers that link together and create a hard shell over your entire vehicle. Although easy to apply and very durable, synthetics are often cited as having a colder, more sterile shine and depth. But as the industry responds to these critiques the gap between synthetics and carnubas is rapidly shrinking. In the mean time, you can always layer carnuba on top of a synthetic to achieve the warm organic glow of carnuba with the rock hard durability of synthetics. Paint sealants are most commonly found as liquids.

HAND APPLICATION.
Hand application of waxes is very easy but is time consuming and product consuming. It is a bit slower to apply and some of the thicker carnuba products can take some elbow grease to thin out. Generally hand applied wax will be layered thicker than what would be applied by machine, obviously this is dependent upon the user but it is much easier to achieve nice thin layers with a machine. Because the product has a longer dwell time on the applicator when applied by hand the applicator will also absorb more product than your average machine foam pad. A benefit of hand application is that you can into tighter curves and cracks that a machine can't touch. For those who enjoy the therapeutic application of carnuba, hand application is for you.

MACHINE APPLICATION.
Machine application is, as stated earlier, the best solution when time is an issue or you don't have the patience for hand applying wax. You can save product by using a closed cell structure foam pad, as this will reduce product consumption and achieve very thin coats. It is slightly more difficult to apply carnuba by machine as the containers are often an ill fit for the 4"-6" diameter machine pads. You will have to break off chunks of wax by hand and work them into the pad. It is for this reason that I always apply carnubas by hand and synthetics by machine. Although, the company Griots Garage sells a carnuba wax that comes in a dispenser similar to a deodorant stick that is perfect for machine application.

Carpets and Floor Mats.
To begin with, open up all the car doors (if you have the room) and take out your floor mats. Move the front seats as far forward as you are able and begin to vacuum out the back of the car (seats included). If you have an air compressor available to you, you can use that to blow everything towards the front of your car paying special attention to tight crevices and the area under your seats. You should do a quick vacuum over the area you just blew out just to catch anything you missed, then do a thorough vacuum at the front of the vehicle. Now you should vacuum the floor mats. If there are any stains or stubborn soiled areas that will not get clean just by vacuuming, you need to shampoo your carpeting.

You can do this with a hose, a small hand held carpet steamer, or a full size carpet deep cleaning carpet extractor. The cheapest is obviously the hose, but the relation of ease of use to cost is direct, the more expensive the utility the easier and quicker it is to use. If you are going to use a hose or hand held steamer you will need to have a wet/dry shop vac. If using a hose, gently mist the area to be cleaned and spray your carpet shampoo/fabric cleaner/degreaser. Use a small hand held brush and scrub away. Mist the area until damp, then dry with the shop vac. If the area is still soiled then repeat the process until clean. After your final scrub you may need to repeat the final rinse/dry 2-3 times in order to remove all the cleaner from the carpet.

For floor mats, just blast those suckers with a hose and scrub with a cleaner where necessary. Let hang to dry.



To be continued...

Saved for TOOLS OF THE TRADE.

Microfiber

Buffer Pads

Brands

Suppliers

Saved for ENGINE BAY DETAILING.

Prepping

Rinsing

Degreasing

Polishing

Waxing

Protecting

Great info, can't wait to see the rest.

Awsome ....

Excellent documentation and great info.