Detailing 101: Common Question and Answers, What and Where to buy stuff + Technique

[Esha]

I am not sure that my '71 IIa even has a clear coat. But what do you recommend using to remove what appears to be black gunk from birch trees and some sort of other sap-like substance from trees? Soap and water don't seem to remove it, but Simple Green All Purpose cleaner and a soft bristle brush seem to be doing ok...

My rover sat for years under the trees and really needs a wash. I am not too worried about losing the shine as it doesn't appear to have many shiny parts right now, but would like to protect it for the winter. I have access to a shop at work, so warm soapy water wash can be done any time.

[David]

Originally Posted by Esha

I am not sure that my '71 IIa even has a clear coat. But what do you recommend using to remove what appears to be black gunk from birch trees and some sort of other sap-like substance from trees? Soap and water don't seem to remove it, but Simple Green All Purpose cleaner and a soft bristle brush seem to be doing ok...

My rover sat for years under the trees and really needs a wash. I am not too worried about losing the shine as it doesn't appear to have many shiny parts right now, but would like to protect it for the winter. I have access to a shop at work, so warm soapy water wash can be done any time.

For the sap, road grime etc, try a dedicated tar and bug remover. I believe 3m makes a petty good one.

[liquidtiger720]

holy moly its DAVID!! hi. haha, im from bf.c

anyways. this is my detailing procedure. David, please be sure to chime in on what else i should be doing, or not be doing. thanks.

Detailing procedure
Wash with mothers gold class shampoo
Clay bar with pinnicle poly-clay
Rinse car
Polish with 3m Finesse it 2 (until swirl marks are un-noticeable)
- if I cant get it off on a dark car, I will use 3m swirl mark remover for dark colors.
Rinse car
Polish with Klasse All-in-one
Rinse car
Apply Klasse sealant (synthetic wax) or Mothers Pure carnauba wax or Pinnicle Paste Glaz (light cars only) your choice


- All polishing will be done using a Porter Cable and Lake Country Polishing Pads.
- Wax, sealant, and others will be applied by hand.
- Window will be cleaned using Stoners Invisible Glass, followed by Rain-x.
- If car has black trim- I will use mothers back to black.
- Tires will be shined using Meguiars High Endurance Gloss.
Vaccum carpets
Dust interior

[Siraj]

Hi, I am looking for land rover dealers in the UAE. Mostly for land rover discovery because i have purchased a land rover discovery and i need to find out if there is any dealers available.

Thanks,

[Disco]

Hi Siraj, I don,t know how "detailing" is connected to you question, but you might like to give these people a call:-
Al Otaiba Group of Establishments
Land Rover Regional Office.
Middle East
Dubai. UAE
Tele: 971.4.332.7377
I hope this helps.

[Series 3 guy]

SWEET ZOMBIE JESUS!!!That is a ton of info.That must be the definitive collection of cleaning. There is some great stuff there. I have been reluctant to try claying my car for the lack of knowledge.I feel pretty sure I know how to now . Thanx for the detailed advice!! I'll try to clay my SXI this weekend!!!CHEERS!!!!!!!

P.S- This may sound silly,however,would claying the paint be advisable on a metallic Black paint or does it make a differerance???

[ish]

guys the BEST products I have found come from Griots Garage.
www.griotsgarage.com
Order the catalog tons of great stuff.

[Serg]

I clayed the last car I had, my 1998 BMW M3.. it was super easy and made the paint so nice and smooth! I would highly recomend it to anyone.. although doing a whole LR would be a huge pain in the ass!

[llesra]

i just washed, clayed and waxed my disco and the results were amazing. at the pace i went, it took me four hours from start to finish! the whole job irritated me, but i had nothing better to do and the surface is smoother than a baby's ass. unfrotunately, when i drove it, it freakin rained.

[darkknight1999]

That's a ton of info. Some of it I agree with some I don't. Ton's of good info though.

[bernardmann]

The section on claying was outstanding. My neighbor is always claying his car and asking me if I want to give it a try. Watching him, he reuses the clay over and over. I'm going to do it to my Disco the right way and invite him over to watch...maybe he'll get the hint he's doing it the wrong way and scratching the hell out of his paint.

[darkknight1999]

Actually you can use the clay over and over again...

This is a black Lexus before I did a thing to it. The lady uses those automatic car washes.

Before:


After:



What I did:

I washed it with soap and water.
I clayed it with soapy water.
I buffed it with a Dewalt high speed with a wool pad and a compound.
I buffed it again with a Yellow foam pad with the same compound.
I buffed it again with a green foam pad and a polish.
I buffed it again with a blue foam pad and polish again.
Finish with a professional spray wax.(not you normal crappy spray wax either)

Took about 2 hours tops. I am a professional

[bernardmann]

John,

That's incredible. My Disco has swirl marks from taking it to the car wash and I thought it would be impossible to get them out, but after seeing your work, I'm sure I can do it.

What product brands do you use?

[darkknight1999]

I only used 2 products to fix the paint:

Optimum Compound (once with the wool pad once with the yellow foam pad)
Optimum Polish (once with a green pad and once with a blue pad)

You don't need 20 different type of product. 95% of what you see in a store is marketing. You just need to know how to use a product properly. But to fix that car I only use the 2 above products. If you apply the wax and the paint looks better, you didn't finish the paint correction.

As for wax it depends on the car and its usage for the everyday car I'll use:
Optimum spray wax, Meguiars Gold class or 3M Perfect-It Show Car Liquid Wax
If the car is a show car I'll use higher grade products. 99% of the products on the market cannot be applied in layers.Its just can not be done due to the chemical compound of the products, basiclly they whip themselves off

[darkknight1999]

Here's another shot of the Lexus with my back to it: