16 replies to this topic

[Driven Auto Detail]

Last weekend I sponsored Midwest Mazdafest 2009. The event coordinator asked that I detail his '04 RX-8 for the event. Since this is more of a show car, it was already in pretty good condition. The paint had some swirls but I was able to knock most of them out with a 2-step. On to the details...

The first step was to give it a thorough wash. The wheels, tires, and wells were all pre-treated with Optimum Power Clean (3:1) and agitated with various brushes. All lower panels, jambs, and the front end were pre-treated with a mild APC. The body of the car was then washed with 3 oz. of Optimum Car wash and 1 oz. of ONR in 4 gallons of hot water. A grit guard was also used. After pressure-rinsing the car, I clayed all glass and painted surfaces with Clay Magic blue clay and ONR diluted to clay lube strength. The car was then pressure-rinsed again. To dry the car, I used my 225-mph leaf blower which does a great job of not only drying the vehicle, but also getting the water out from every nook & cranny. Once dry, the car was moved into the detail bay and taped up for polishing.







The swirls were hard to capture with the halogen lighting but in person they were visible. Again, the paint was in pretty good condition overall.







I performed a couple test spots with Menzerna IP and also SIP as the paint seemed to be pretty hard. Both Menzerna polishes I tried seemed to really grab the paint so my next test was with Optimum Compound, version 1. With the Makita and a yellow Meg's polishing pad, OC performed as I had hoped. Not only did it not grab the paint, but it also knocked down the swirls. Here is the back door after polishing with OC. The rear quarter-panel has been polished and wiped down.

[Driven Auto Detail]

Once I was finished going around the car with OC, I then used Optimum Poli-Seal on the PC with another yellow Meg's polishing pad to insure there were no halograms. PS really adds a lot of gloss to the paint. Here you can how I leave OC on the paint and then come back with PS over it with the PC.



After buffing off the Poli-Seal.




After finishing the polishing stage, the car went back into the wash bay for another thorough wash. This helps to remove any splatter or other polish dust. Once dry, I moved the car back into the detail bay for a coat of Optimum Opti-Seal; glass included. Not only does it provide good protection, it's extremely easy to use and gives the paint a nice glow. After sealing, I gave it a quick wipe-down with Duragloss AquaWax. I hadn't used AW in a while so I decided to get familiar with it again. Once the paint was finished, I dressed the tires with DP Tire Gel.

Moving to the inside, the interior was vacuumed, plastics and leather were cleaned with Woolite & Water (6:1), and then everything was dressed with Optimum Protectant Plus. ONR was then used to clean all the glass inside and out.

[Driven Auto Detail]

Final pictures:

[Driven Auto Detail]

[Driven Auto Detail]

Day of show:

[Driven Auto Detail]

Thanks for looking!

[DLR Detailing]

Now that is RED Mike, very nice!
I too have been using ONR on the glass, after a tip from Anthony, works great.

[ehall]

Not really a big fan of those cars, but THAT one is sweet. Nice Job!

[repare-brise]

Please explain the ONR + glass trick.

[Ron Harris]

Mike,
That Mazda looks really nice in front of your shop. Things look to be off to a good start for you. Keep it up!

[Driven Auto Detail]

Dave - Thanks!

ehall - Thanks! I think the owner of the car has done a great job of TASTEFULLY modding the car. Can't say that about too many modded cars these days.

repare-brise - Couple ways of doing it. Use ONR at QD strength in a spray bottle or if I'm just doing an interior "wipe-down" I'll mix up 1 oz. ONR in 2 gallons of hot water for the interior. Just like wiping down the dash, I wipe down the glass and then buff it dry with another MF towel. Works great and leaves no streaks. The hot water really helps for cleaning as well.

Ron - Thanks! When the weather has been good, I've been doing good. Unfortunately the weather has been pretty crappy since I've been in there but this weekend it's supposed to get into the 80's so hopefully the cold rainy days are behind us.

Thanks again guys!

[Bigpikle]

very very nice - OS really seems to suit solid colours like red :thumb:

1 question - if you use PS right over the residue from the OC, does it not pick up the abrasives and keep cutting, or has the abrasive from OC been completely broken down by this stage?

thanks

Damon

[Driven Auto Detail]

Bigpikle, on Apr 22 2009, 10:26 AM, said:

very very nice - OS really seems to suit solid colours like red :thumb:

1 question - if you use PS right over the residue from the OC, does it not pick up the abrasives and keep cutting, or has the abrasive from OC been completely broken down by this stage?

thanks

Damon

Thanks Damon! You raise a good question about going over the OC with PS. I guess in some sense it would add some extra cut to PS since PS would be re-lubricating the surface again, but I'm not sure by how much. I've seen this method used elsewhere and it seems to work. When you consider the amount of time you spend to stop and buff off polish residue, this method really helps keep the process moving along. Also remember that by that point I had already done a test spot so I knew what my outcome was going to be.

Great question. Maybe Anthony or some of the other more experienced pro's could chime in with some more insight?

[Bigpikle]

Driven Auto Detail, on Apr 22 2009, 06:27 PM, said:

Thanks Damon! You raise a good question about going over the OC with PS. I guess in some sense it would add some extra cut to PS since PS would be re-lubricating the surface again, but I'm not sure by how much. I've seen this method used elsewhere and it seems to work. When you consider the amount of time you spend to stop and buff off polish residue, this method really helps keep the process moving along. Also remember that by that point I had already done a test spot so I knew what my outcome was going to be.

Great question. Maybe Anthony or some of the other more experienced pro's could chime in with some more insight?

thanks - I am with you on all the time lost in things like buffing off etc Anything that can drive the efficiency of the process is good to me I like PS then OCW and buffed off together.

[Driven Auto Detail]

Bigpikle, on Apr 22 2009, 02:03 PM, said:

thanks - I am with you on all the time lost in things like buffing off etc Anything that can drive the efficiency of the process is good to me I like PS then OCW and buffed off together.

I too like the PS/OCW combo, as well as PS, OS, OID combo .