# First time detailing (photo heavy)



## Jem

I've done this write-up to get some feedback on my first attempt at detailing my car and to hopefully give some guidance to anyone looking to make a start themselves. Props have to go to the members in this thread for giving support on what products to purchase and how the products are to be applied and in what order, so thank you.

viewtopic.php?f=31&t=226919

So I started off making a shopping list of basic ingredients and ordering everything for delivery by the weekend. Got a little lucky with the weather as it rained only after I finished everything 

So here is what I bought:

MEGUIARS ENTHUSIAST 2 X Bucket & Grit Guard
DODO JUICE Basics Of Bling Wash Pad
DODO JUICE 'Born To Be Mild' Shampoo (250ml)
DODO JUICE Basics Of Bling Drying Towel

DODO JUICE BASIC OF BLING GLASS CLOTH
DODO JUICE Clearly Menthol Glass Cleaner

DODO JUICE S Natural Finger Mitt Applicator
DODO JUICE Purple Haze
DODO JUICE Red Mist Tropical 250ml

MEGUIARS ENTHUSIAST 3x Supreme Shine Microfiber cloths

Black & Decker 12v vacuum
Gliptone Liquid Leather Cleaner GT11 250ml
Gliptone Liquid Leather Conditioner GT12 250ml

CarPlan Wonder Wheels Super Alloy Wheel Cleaner 500ml - unfortunately I couldn't get Virosol in time and so had to make do with this
EZ Detail Mini Brush
Zaino Z16 Perfect Tire Gloss
Meguiar's Tyre Dressing Applicator Pad

Pretty expensive when all put together (~£230) but I anticipated starting from scratch would be.

The car wasn't overly dirty when I started as it had been washed by the previous owner a couple of weekends beforehand. Nevertheless, it was useful having this session to get a feel for what's involved and to appreciate the difference between doing it yourself over several hours and paying someone £10 to do something similar (or maybe not!) in 10 minutes.

A few shots before I started:














































Order of work using the materials listed above:

1. Lightly power jetted the car down with clean water, giving the wheels a good dose to remove most surface grit
2. Sprayed wheel cleaner onto single wheel, agitated with wheel brush and jetted afterwards. Used soft brush to clean nuts and small concealed areas. Repeated process for remaining wheels one by one.
3. Filled up 2 buckets with clean water. Both buckets with grit guards.
4. Poured 2 cups of shampoo into 1 bucket and mixed
5. Using mit, lathered up the car panel by panel and all windows. Paid particular attention to bonnet and front bumper where most surface dirt was present. Used wheel brush to clean front grill
6. Lightly power jetted car, ensuing no shampoo residue was left
7. Dried the car panel by panel using drying towel.
8. Wiped down and dried inside door using micro fibre cloth
9. Cleaned all glass panels from both sides using a waffle weave cloth
10. With surface fully dry, applied wax panel by panel using the finger applicator and in small circular motion - thin enough to be able to see it, but not to the extent where it's being pasted on. After 15 minutes, buffed with a clean micro fibre cloth and finally ran a final pass over the whole car ensuring no opaque wax residue remained on the surface
11. Using the above applicator, applied 2 layers of tyre dressing (a 3rd layer wouldn't have gone a miss as a more satin finish would have been nice  )
12. 24 hours later, applied the wax detailer and buffed for extra shine and paint protection

Unfortunately I did not get around to sorting out the leather as a) I ran out of time and b ) it was starting to get cold and as I understand it you really need the warm seats to allow the leather shampoo to be absorbed into the pores. Was a little disappointed not to have finished it all, but that's definitely one for a warmer day.

Some after photographs for your views and thoughts . These were taken after step 11:


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## davelincs

Very nice Jem, a good job, its better doing it yourself than paying someone to ruin the paint work for you,
above you said you used poured 2 cups of shampoo into your wash bucket, is that a typing error?,( i assume you meant 2 of the shampoo bottle caps)


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## Jem

Yes that's right, about 2 bottle caps. It worked out about 1/4 of the bottle, so ~60ml. A bit too much shampoo than what I will use next time.

One thing I forgot to do was the wheel arches. Wasn't sure if that was using the wash mit or whether I would clean them with the wheel brush.


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## davelincs

I go roundmine with the pressure washer, if you dont have a pw, then use a seperate brush,to get any stubborn dirt off i use one of these








i think i bought two of these for £2 from tescos,they work very well


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## TheMetalMan0

Great results there, very shiny! Remember to get outside when it starts raining and admire the beading!


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## Jem

Hehe yeah, plenty of beading on the bodywork 

I'll get one of those brushes for the wheel.

I also didn't bother with polish this time round. No scratches, but some imperfections on the bonnet.

And need to get something for the rubber seals, which I will treat when I do the interior next time.

Virosol I'll pick up on the weekend hopefully


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## bigsyd

excellent job m8 well done 8) now don't forget there is another large area that will need some attention  the engine bay :roll: once it is clean all you will need to do is run over it with a damp mf cloth after each wash and use some 303 on the plastics to stop them looking dry
keep it up m8, a clean car is easy to look after, its a dirty car thats hard work
if your wheels are nice and clean and you clean them once a week imo you do not need wheel acid, i have not used the stuff for ages, just cheap £4.99 for 5ltr car shampoo in a bucket with warm water, but to be honest i did remove all the wheels and fully clean and 3 coats of FK 1000 and 1 coat of zaino clear seal and they pretty much come clean with just the pressure washer


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## Kanikuman

The car looks wonderful, and it feels great to step back and admire your own work doesn't it? The Purple Haze and Red Mist has given you some great reflective properties on the paintwork, and if you give it a fresh coat every month, it will stay that way. I wash and Red Mist the car every week or weather depending, every fortnight, and wax it once a month. If you want your rubber seals and valance cleaned and the black restore, Autoglym bumper care is very good. It's a thick green slime that instantly restores colour. I also use it on my engine bay, but I'm going to buy a bottle of 303 Aerospace and try that instead. Good job!


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## Jem

Thanks guys.

303 Aerospace got ordered earlier this evening. Looks like impressive stuff, can't wait to use.


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## davelincs

303 works very well on the rubber seals Jem, needless to say i go over my seals every wash


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## Jem

Dave, your car must be an inspiration to those looking to pick up detailing. Photos would definitely be of interest to me if you have any threads to share


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## davelincs

Jem said:


> Dave, your car must be an inspiration to those looking to pick up detailing. Photos would definitely be of interest to me if you have any threads to share


Jem, i am working away from home for the next 3/4 weeks, i will post some photos when i get home


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## Barryw1

Looks very nice indeed. Good Job Jem.


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## Survey S2000

davelincs said:


> 303 works very well on the rubber seals Jem, needless to say i go over my seals every wash


Seems excessive even for a convertable.

I had some simalar stuff for my S2000. But again its a convertable.

Do people use this on coups??


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## mrtrendvampire

did you get around to doin the leather? lol

I bought some gliptone but cant find any instructions on how to use it correctly!


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## Jem

Yes I did! I picked the perfect time to do it... last weekend in the scorching sun, whilst having the heated seats on!

I didn't take photographs of the seats specifically, but I did take a couple of shots after I fitted the armrest, The seats still smell of 'genuine leather' everytime I go into the car now


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## diggwa

Nice... Only prob with detailing is the time it takes. I get bored after 15mins...


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## tomw1966

Perfection!


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## TT4PJ

Hiya,
If this is your first time at detailing then you really should not read the following............
Like all modern cars they come with factory fitted orange peel in the paintwork. Even a £150,000 Aston Martin is the same. So, when my new TTS arrrived I had to do something about it. This remedy is not for the faint hearted.  
What you do is to flat all the paintwork on the body using 3000 grit wet and dry then DA machine polish it and the result comes out like this.
In the squillion pound car guys camp it is known as a piano finish.


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## SuzyQ

Hi Guys,

I loved to read about how I should clean and wax etc. What do you do if you don't have time to spend all day cleaning? Hang my head in shame - a quick shampoo and rinse took 20 mins at the weekend. Wheels atrocious but no time to clean as threads suggest!!


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## Jem

You can always pay for the privilege by going to detailers. But first, you'd need to check what it is they provide for the money.

It'll be an expensive way to do it as detailing isn't cheap!


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