Jon's Auto Detailing Experience

Autogeek's Porter Cable 7424 How-to Videos

2010-01-29T23:20:00.003+08:00

I kept watching these Autogeek videos when I was still new to machine polishing via the PC 7424.

How to Wash Your Car (ShowcarCar Style!)

2010-01-29T23:02:00.004+08:00

One of my influences when it comes to washing cars.

Let's all learn from Mr. Mike Phillips. :)

How to Wash Your Car (ShowCar style!)

Tested the scratch-filling capability of the Eagle One Nanowax

2010-01-12T17:56:00.007+08:00

Hi. I got to detail my dad's Honda CR-V again last December 2009. The last time it had an exterior detail was in the previous year.

But this time, I got to experiment with one of the waxes that I haven't used for a long while - the Eagle One Nanowax. I just wanted to know how it would perform on the paint of the CR-V which, unfortunately had lots of scratches and spiderwebbing from its many visits to a number of carwash shops.

My test area was a portion of the hood. Oh my, look at those scratches!

I did a 50-50 on the hood. On the right side, I applied the Nanowax via a black Lake Country pad and the Porter Cable 7424. I found that there was a noticeable difference. Lots of scratches apparently disappeared. It however took around 4 coats for it to look that way.

A shot of the right side of the test spot.

A shot of the left side of the test area.

After the experiment, I decided to use the Meguiar's Ultimate Compound with the Porter Cable 7424 and the orange Lake Country pad on the whole car. I really prefer removing the scratches rather than hiding them.

Paint looks better again. :)

Thanks for viewing.

First use of the Meguiar's Ultimate Compound

2010-01-06T09:01:00.001+08:00

I got to use the Ultimate Compound last August 2009 in detailing my colleague's 1999 Honda CR-V.

The paint had lots of spiderwebbing, as well as some deep scratches and etching. Here, I used the Ultimate compound with a PC7424 and an LC orange pad. The combo removed a majority of the defects. What really amazed me is that I could do a correction on a particular area with fewer passes, compared to the passes required if I used a polish with diminishing abrasives.

Here are is a before and after shot of my test area on the hood.

2000 Honda Civic Engine Detail

2009-12-21T16:59:00.006+08:00

My brother-in-law and I got to detail the engine bay of our Honda Civic 2000 last November 2009. The previous engine detail was done many many months ago, so the bay had accumulated lots of grime and dirt in the meantime.

Process: We took off the debris that got trapped in the hood grills and other openings. We next covered the air filter and the alternator. We then used lots of Meguiar's Super Degreaser diluted 4:1 in spray bottles, assorted brushes in removing the built up grime and dirt, and gave a final rinse. After drying/removing the excess water, we sprayed/applied some protectant on the hoses, wires, and other plastic parts of the engine bay.

Some before and after pics (I apologize for the crappy pics... they were taken from a cellphone camera). Enjoy though. :)

Admiring the partial results of the exterior detail. This was after the application of Poorboy's Black Hole and Meguiar's NXT 2.0.

Detailing My Dad's 2005 Honda CR-V

2009-12-15T19:53:00.008+08:00

This was my first major exterior detail of my Dad's Honda CR-V.

WASH AND CONTAMINANT REMOVAL:
Adam's Car Wash via 2 bucket method (with grit guards)
Mother's Clay
Optimum No Rinse as clay lube
Glass Science Glass Scrub

PAINT CORRECTION:
Porter Cable 7424
Lake Country Yellow Cutting Foam Pad
Lake Country Orange Light Cutting Foam Pad
Mother's Powerpolish

PAINT PROTECTION:
Porter Cable 7424
Lake Country Black Finishing Foam Pad
Mother's Reflections Top Coat (with Polycharger CH2)

TRIM, RUBBER, GLASS, AND PLASTIC TREATMENT:
Mother's Naturally Black
Mother's Protectant
Glass Science Rain Clear Windshield Repellent Gel
Mother's Plastic Polish

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Here was what I was working on. The CRV had lots of spiderwebbing.

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I did test areas on the front passenger door:

Right side: Powerpolish and yellow pad, then Powerpolish and orange pad

Left side: Powerpolish and yellow pad, then Powerpolish mixed with Reflections Top Coat and orange pad.

I then did an IPA wipedown just to check whether or not correction was made.

Apparently, the spiderwebbing and water spot etching on both sides disappeared.

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It took me the whole day to polish the Honda CR-V. Here are some after pics:

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However, I was not able to wax the car because it rained the next day.

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I got to wax the car the next morning. Some pics after wax/lsp application.

Introduction

2009-12-15T19:39:00.000+08:00

In this blog, I'm going to share my experiences about auto detailing.