Finished the civic detail - UPDATED INTERIOR SHOTS
05-04-2009, 05:34 PM
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Finished the civic detail - UPDATED INTERIOR SHOTS
So, finally got a chance to whip out the flex and the rest of the detailing arsenal and finally tackle the paint on the civic.
Some things to note:
- it was extremely hard for me to see defects in this paint, i had to have a super dark garage, with the halogens at a certain angle, and me positioning myself in awkward spots and angles as well to see any swirling/defects. This was the main cause of the lack of before pics, so sorry for the lack of showing my skills in a before/after sort of way.
- Another reason that i may not have seen the scratches all that well, is because maybe i've actually taken reasonable care of the paint on this car. i thought i hadn't been the best with it, but maybe i have? swirls weren't all that bad, a few RIDS, but overall nothing even close to some of the stuff i've seen on here.
Products Used:
-Mothers clay bar (using what was leftover from before, will start using my riccardo's next
)
-ONR diluted to clay lube strength (love this stuff, only had to use 0.5 cap full for all the clay lube for this car...can you say value?
-IPA 50/50
-Flex 3401 DA
-Meguiars #83 & #80
-Sonus SFX yellow/white/blue 6" flat pads
-Collonite #845 applied by foam hand applicator
- I washed the car and dried with "the dehydrator" waffle weave towel i got from chris at eshine, i used to use one of those synthetic chamois, and they were okay, but i do like the waffle weaves now! ill have to get more of these!
I began the clay barring process, the car has been clay barred twice before in the past few years, and the car wasn't so bad, but still had some contaminants. Heres how the bar looked when i finished:
Heres a few pictures of what i was going to be dealing with, more cobwebbing/RIDS than swirls
So from there i began to do my polishing.
Taking the advice from every detailer, i went with my least aggressive combo. This for me, was a blue pad (sealant, "no cut") + megs 80. I didn't really expect this to work at all, and it didn't really, so i then stepped it up to a white pad + megs 80. This did a little bit more, but it still wasn't getting out some of the lighter scratches i wanted out. I did a few more combo's etc, and kept stepping down until i got to my most aggressive combo (which probably still isn't all that aggressive is it?) which was a yellow sonus pad (orange LC comparable) + megs 83.
I was happy with the results (it was the best it was going to get) and i went over the whole car, doing 2 passes of 83+yellow, and then finishing that down over the whole car with 1 pass of 80+white. (does this process sound like overkill or is it normal to have to do 3 passes?). I had applied each polish with a bead in a circle around the pad and spread it on the paint at speed 3, stepped up to speed 6, and the product would usually flash around 3-4 "patterns" across the paint. I did run into times when i probably overworked the product, but its all a learning process!
After this process, i was pleased with what i had come out with for this being the first time holding a polisher/using any products besides the test hood i once did.
Heres some pics after polishing, but before LSP:
I was able to take care of most of the cobwebbing, water etching, and smooth out most of the RIDS. I would rate it about a 90-95% correction, not bad for my first time, it made me happy
Now after polishing, i did a quick rinse to get off any polishing dust, and also an IPA wipedown (i know megs #80 has some fillers, so i thought id better do this for that case and also to have a clean surface for the wax to bond to)
I applied the collonite by hand using a foam pad, and it was actually quite easy to apply and wipe off, and i barely had to use any of it, that bottle could potentially last a very long time, especially if its as durable as i've read.
And now, the civic after the collonite was applied:
It was really hard to capture what the car looks like now, but the paint has more "clarity", the flakes really pop now, reflections are deeper and clearer, and my favorite thing of all, i've never felt the paint as slick as this before, just simply smooth as i could have hoped.
im working on the interior right now, as well as the engine bay (need more products), and i will update accordingly.
Some things to remark on:
1) i enjoyed using megs 80, seems to be very user friendly, had no problems working with this except its general lack of cutting ability, BUT it finishes down very very nicely. Megs 83 on the other hand was a little quirky at times for me, dont' know if i'd buy it again, maybe ill try optimum compound 2 and polish 2? Ill probably buy another bottle of 80 again though to use as a 1 stepper or to finish down stronger products.
2) I used maybe a 1/3 of each bottle, maybe even more doing this entire car....did i use too much?
3) the 3m protection wasn't really taking anything i gave it, i tried going with blue or white pad + megs 80, and it was doing okay but not much, tried 83+yellow (bad idea), so i just stopped and lsp'd it, i'll leave it at that, its my secondary car anyways.
4) this took me FOREVER. the polishing alone, i've probably got ~20 hours into it and thats for a 3-application process. i know im a begginer and i was taking my time but jeez...does it get any quicker? how do some of you guys finish clay-polish-wax all in a day!?
So W&W wackos.....am i one of you yet!? im really looking forward to hearing what comments/advice you guys have for me, can't wait to start the S, and my gf's mazda 3 (lots n lots of defects there, should have some better before/afters on that one, and my buddies sti)
Some things to note:
- it was extremely hard for me to see defects in this paint, i had to have a super dark garage, with the halogens at a certain angle, and me positioning myself in awkward spots and angles as well to see any swirling/defects. This was the main cause of the lack of before pics, so sorry for the lack of showing my skills in a before/after sort of way.
- Another reason that i may not have seen the scratches all that well, is because maybe i've actually taken reasonable care of the paint on this car. i thought i hadn't been the best with it, but maybe i have? swirls weren't all that bad, a few RIDS, but overall nothing even close to some of the stuff i've seen on here.
Products Used:
-Mothers clay bar (using what was leftover from before, will start using my riccardo's next
)-ONR diluted to clay lube strength (love this stuff, only had to use 0.5 cap full for all the clay lube for this car...can you say value?
-IPA 50/50
-Flex 3401 DA
-Meguiars #83 & #80
-Sonus SFX yellow/white/blue 6" flat pads
-Collonite #845 applied by foam hand applicator
- I washed the car and dried with "the dehydrator" waffle weave towel i got from chris at eshine, i used to use one of those synthetic chamois, and they were okay, but i do like the waffle weaves now! ill have to get more of these!
I began the clay barring process, the car has been clay barred twice before in the past few years, and the car wasn't so bad, but still had some contaminants. Heres how the bar looked when i finished:
Heres a few pictures of what i was going to be dealing with, more cobwebbing/RIDS than swirls
So from there i began to do my polishing.
Taking the advice from every detailer, i went with my least aggressive combo. This for me, was a blue pad (sealant, "no cut") + megs 80. I didn't really expect this to work at all, and it didn't really, so i then stepped it up to a white pad + megs 80. This did a little bit more, but it still wasn't getting out some of the lighter scratches i wanted out. I did a few more combo's etc, and kept stepping down until i got to my most aggressive combo (which probably still isn't all that aggressive is it?) which was a yellow sonus pad (orange LC comparable) + megs 83.
I was happy with the results (it was the best it was going to get) and i went over the whole car, doing 2 passes of 83+yellow, and then finishing that down over the whole car with 1 pass of 80+white. (does this process sound like overkill or is it normal to have to do 3 passes?). I had applied each polish with a bead in a circle around the pad and spread it on the paint at speed 3, stepped up to speed 6, and the product would usually flash around 3-4 "patterns" across the paint. I did run into times when i probably overworked the product, but its all a learning process!
After this process, i was pleased with what i had come out with for this being the first time holding a polisher/using any products besides the test hood i once did.
Heres some pics after polishing, but before LSP:
I was able to take care of most of the cobwebbing, water etching, and smooth out most of the RIDS. I would rate it about a 90-95% correction, not bad for my first time, it made me happy
Now after polishing, i did a quick rinse to get off any polishing dust, and also an IPA wipedown (i know megs #80 has some fillers, so i thought id better do this for that case and also to have a clean surface for the wax to bond to)
I applied the collonite by hand using a foam pad, and it was actually quite easy to apply and wipe off, and i barely had to use any of it, that bottle could potentially last a very long time, especially if its as durable as i've read.
And now, the civic after the collonite was applied:
It was really hard to capture what the car looks like now, but the paint has more "clarity", the flakes really pop now, reflections are deeper and clearer, and my favorite thing of all, i've never felt the paint as slick as this before, just simply smooth as i could have hoped.
im working on the interior right now, as well as the engine bay (need more products), and i will update accordingly.
Some things to remark on:
1) i enjoyed using megs 80, seems to be very user friendly, had no problems working with this except its general lack of cutting ability, BUT it finishes down very very nicely. Megs 83 on the other hand was a little quirky at times for me, dont' know if i'd buy it again, maybe ill try optimum compound 2 and polish 2? Ill probably buy another bottle of 80 again though to use as a 1 stepper or to finish down stronger products.
2) I used maybe a 1/3 of each bottle, maybe even more doing this entire car....did i use too much?
3) the 3m protection wasn't really taking anything i gave it, i tried going with blue or white pad + megs 80, and it was doing okay but not much, tried 83+yellow (bad idea), so i just stopped and lsp'd it, i'll leave it at that, its my secondary car anyways.
4) this took me FOREVER. the polishing alone, i've probably got ~20 hours into it and thats for a 3-application process. i know im a begginer and i was taking my time but jeez...does it get any quicker? how do some of you guys finish clay-polish-wax all in a day!?
So W&W wackos.....am i one of you yet!? im really looking forward to hearing what comments/advice you guys have for me, can't wait to start the S, and my gf's mazda 3 (lots n lots of defects there, should have some better before/afters on that one, and my buddies sti)
05-04-2009, 06:22 PM
#2
hey thats not the report of a newbe!!
where is that badge request? this ones gonna be a slam dunk-
fantastic report and lovin those after pics-
would love to see some whole car ones too.
sitting by the pm waiting for the badge request, and have already built the badge... will keep it warm in the oven until that pm request comes in.
great job!!
----
oh, the answer to your quetion- you might get a bit faster with experience, but what also happens is that you will get pickier with experience. conclusion is that you dont get finished with a polish any faster!! (o.k., usually this is the case)
where is that badge request? this ones gonna be a slam dunk-
fantastic report and lovin those after pics-
would love to see some whole car ones too.
sitting by the pm waiting for the badge request, and have already built the badge... will keep it warm in the oven until that pm request comes in.
great job!!
----
oh, the answer to your quetion- you might get a bit faster with experience, but what also happens is that you will get pickier with experience. conclusion is that you dont get finished with a polish any faster!! (o.k., usually this is the case)
05-05-2009, 12:32 AM
#5
wow that turned out beautiful i'd say. i can't wait to see full car pics in the sun. i'm sure the flakes are looking crazy in person!
seems like u learned a lot too, which is always good. i know u did a lot of research, but there's nothing like doing it to learn! surely things get faster - it's part of having a smooth laid-out plan on attack with combo's u'll know will work perfect, etc. some of the guys on this board truly impress me with what they get done in a short amount of time.
great job once again, and i look forward to more pics, let alone when the S gets taken care of!
seems like u learned a lot too, which is always good. i know u did a lot of research, but there's nothing like doing it to learn! surely things get faster - it's part of having a smooth laid-out plan on attack with combo's u'll know will work perfect, etc. some of the guys on this board truly impress me with what they get done in a short amount of time.
great job once again, and i look forward to more pics, let alone when the S gets taken care of!
05-10-2009, 07:34 PM
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okay, finally got around to finishing up the interior, so hopefully you guys are as happy with i am as how clean the car is now.
Now...i apologize in advance about the absolutely horrific sight you are about to see in the "befores", i honestly was disgusted as to how bad i let my civic get inside, but it was a rough winter over here and i was REALLY lazy to do any interior cleaning in -30C weather.
I don't have access to an extractor or anything extravagant like that, so all i was able to do was use some over the counter carpet cleaner, did a swiffer dusting everywhere, and then 303 was applied. using the flash in the pics makes alot of the parts shine unevenly and such, but it doesn't look anything near that variant in person.
anyways...here we go!
backseats
scuff marks
looks like a garbage dump!
tons of dust
Pedals seeing the worst of the last few winters
Gross!
And AFTER!
got the pedals cleaned up as much as I could
Now...i apologize in advance about the absolutely horrific sight you are about to see in the "befores", i honestly was disgusted as to how bad i let my civic get inside, but it was a rough winter over here and i was REALLY lazy to do any interior cleaning in -30C weather.
I don't have access to an extractor or anything extravagant like that, so all i was able to do was use some over the counter carpet cleaner, did a swiffer dusting everywhere, and then 303 was applied. using the flash in the pics makes alot of the parts shine unevenly and such, but it doesn't look anything near that variant in person.
anyways...here we go!
backseats
scuff marks
looks like a garbage dump!
tons of dust
Pedals seeing the worst of the last few winters
Gross!
And AFTER!
got the pedals cleaned up as much as I could
05-11-2009, 04:09 AM
#7
wwwwwooooowwww pro style interior bro! and u'r a brave man to show all the wackos how bad the interior was looking after a long winter!
nice job and i'd say that turned out STUNNING!
nice job and i'd say that turned out STUNNING!
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05-11-2009, 08:05 AM
#9
I know interiors don't "show off" well in photographs on the internet, but I wish more people recognized how important they are. It's where you (or your customer) spend most of your time!
Great, great job on the whole car.
Great, great job on the whole car.
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