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a saturday detailing

1229 Views 7 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  Intermezzo
well, i did my first serious detailing today. here's a quick review of the stuff i used:

wash: P21S shampoo --> this stuff is great, nice suds, good smell. recommended.

dry: P21S drying towel --> i've never used one of these before, and i couldn't really figure out what to do with it. are you supposed to lay it flat on the car, and sop up water that way? or do you use it like a traditional towel, running it across the finish? anyway, i gave up and ended up using some towels.

clean: meguiar's clear coat body scrub paint cleaner --> i didn't really see any effect from this. not recommended.

polish: 3M imperial hand glaze --> it wasn't the revelation that i thought it would be, but it gave a nice shine and a clear improvement from the previous step. recommended.

wax: meguiar's gold class clear coat wax --> pretty easy to apply, and forgiving if i slipped and got it on the black moulding. recommended.

vacuum: sears craftsman 2-gallon shop vac --> this was the first time i used this in the car, and it was perfect; small enough to maneuver in the back seat (you can hold the vacuum in one hand while you're working the nozzle with the other), but enough suction to get the job done. recommended.

vinyl: vinylex --> pretty similar to meguiar's #40, but less, um, pungent. recommended.

glass: invisible glass spray --> now this stuff is great... maybe too great... i could see every little hairline scratch in my glass. recommended.
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A chamois (synthetic & natural) actually works poorly as a follow-up to make your surface completely dry. It works well when absorbing globs of water because it is highly absorbant and can be easily wrung. However, because it is always wet, it has a tendency to leave a very fine trail of water when swiped across a panel. A large MF towel or soft 100% cotton towel works better as a final pass to dry your car.

My suggestion would be to use either the CWB or a synthetic chamois to take the bulk of the water off a panel and then dry the panel to a high gloss using an MF or cotton towel.
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