Thread: HOW TO: Detail your car!

Connor,

When/If you get a chance, can you take a peak at my thread in Member's Rides for the WRX, and give me a pretty simple breakdown such as above, for a DIY detail? She's going to need some work, but I want to attempt to do it myself, with the use of your helpful guide!

Thanks!!!!

Cliff

Thanks Cliff, I appreciate the kind words, I'll send you a PM later tonight.

So any advice on cleaning and maintaining a car with a clear bra?

You can wash a clear bra exactly as you would the rest of the car, there's no harm in using a bug scrub sponge on it either. For any stubborn staining you can use a 3:1 dilution of Simple Green or Purple Power. If there is any light oxidation or very light marring you can polish it using a non-abrasive chemical polish such as Plexus or Klasse. Machine polishing can be tricky as clear bras are extremely sensitive to heat, too much heat can cause discoloration, lifting of the material, or warping. Using a light abrasive polish is also possible, but should really only be done by somebody experienced as it runs the same risks as too much heat. You should NOT clay a clear bra, as it can cause marring as well as cause a major headache by causing the clay to be 'sticky' and leaving hard to remove residue. Waxing is an absolute must, and is in no way dangerous or bad for the clear bra. Wax will prevent it from yellowing and can help to prevent pitting from road debris and bug residue.

Great work man, glad to see another list member who knows how what "real auto detailing" is all about, here is some images of my work BMW 550 DETAIL pictures by MADTEC - Photobucket

Hey conwraith - I've been reading and maybe I missed it, but could you comment on a proper interior cleaning solution? I know many come down hard on armourall but never mention something in its stead. What do you use and recommend for getting the dust out of the fake leather stuff that is our doors, interior plastics, and dashboard that wont dry it out or attract more dust?

I'm not positive on what cleaners are available OTC, I use Meguiars APC+ at a 5:1 dilution on most interiors, and will then treat it with 303 Aerospace protectant. I've used Meguiars #40 Rubber/Vinyl cleaner/conditioner in the past, and it does work well, but it leaves I sort of chemical smell that I didn't like. Megs #40 can be found OTC.

I've also heard good things about 1Z Cockpit Premium, Meguiars Natural Shine, and even Meguiars Supreme Shine (for some reason Supreme Shine is supposed to leave a nice natural look to it).

The reason ArmorAll is so often chastised is that it is a petroleum based dressing, and nothing more. It is designed to make your interior look shiny and dark, and offers nothing in the form of protection and will actually cause premature fading and discoloration if used for a long enough period of time. Petroleum based dressings will just sit on the surface of your dash, leaving it very shiny, but also very greasy. Water based protectants (such as those I listed above) will actually absorb into vinyl, plastics, and rubbers and will help in blocking out UVB radiation, which is what causes drying, cracking, and discoloration as well as leave a nice natural looking shine.

I absolutely hate cleaning the windows on cars that have had oil based dressings used on them for a long time, it will leave an oily film on all the windows that takes a good bit of time to get completely clean and streak free, as if windows weren't hard enough already!


And on a side note, here is a cool car I was working on a few days ago.

1972 Ferrari Dino 246 GT - Truth In Detailing Auto Detailing Forum

Next week is another, much rarer Ferrari that I'm fairly nervous about, I will definitely post that up as well.

Another reason that water based protectants champion oil based dressings, you can maintain a clean interior using nothing more than a spritz bottle filled with water and a microfiber cloth when a water based protectant was used, which doesn't take more than a few minutes, while with a oil based dressing you would have to clean all the surfaces using an APC to ensure all the old dressing was removed before you could apply again.

Also as canX2k alluded to, oil based dressings are greasy and will collect dust while water based protectants won't.

Don't use ArmorAll.

Another quick question I have is for paintmatched plastic rear spoilers (nx) and side skirts and bumpers. Can we use the claybar, polish, and wax as we would any other metal part?

and maybe I missed it but what is OTC?

Ahh sorry, OTC is Over The Counter.

And yes you can treat the plastic panels the same as you would the metal panels. When doing intensive rotary buffing you need to be a little more careful as these panels are more heat sensitive than metal, but for any sort of standard detailing you are completely fine.