my first (and last!) attempt at detailing

[Brycie]

Wow!!! How people become addicted to this detailing lark, I'll never know. 5 hours later & the bodywork at least is done. Still got the entire interior to do (dog hair & all), tyre dressing and the windows.

Today's routine was done using all Meguiars products (I bought their paint restoration kit) - Gold Class Wash, Clay Bar & Quik Retailer, Ultimate Compound, Ultimate Polish, Gold Class Carnauba Wax & Hot Rimz All Wheel & Tire Cleaner. I thought I had tyre dressing already , so I didn't buy any & it turned out I didn't have any at all, so it's missing that finishing touch. It's hidden the swirl marks pretty well for a while at least.

It was done in the sunshine on a hot day, so it was harder than it should have been, but it's done now

Dropbox - IMAG0013.jpg (https://www.dropbox.com/s/gktuzl4rk97tisv/IMAG0013.jpg)

Dropbox - IMAG0014.jpg (https://www.dropbox.com/s/mhybrwx41j9zpzm/IMAG0014.jpg)

Dropbox - IMAG0015.jpg (https://www.dropbox.com/s/7yu3bz8a8uhn9pc/IMAG0015.jpg)

Dropbox - IMAG0016.jpg (https://www.dropbox.com/s/9cn4o9xiwk4kcnq/IMAG0016.jpg)

Dropbox - IMAG0017.jpg (https://www.dropbox.com/s/u5a9wy3uqknxwlm/IMAG0017.jpg)

Far from the best I've seen posted, but not bad for an 8 year old car that's always just been taken to carwashes before & has never had the luxury of microfibre.

[JimC64]

Good on ye Brycie........nice reflective shots on the bonnet too.

[Brycie]

Thanks Jim. Now I've got some use in my shoulders back & I've cooled down, I'm glad I did it. Trouble is, the wife now wants her's done. At least her car is half the size!

[JimC64]

Lol yeah I know what you mean about the wife wanting hers done.....been there, done that, but no longer.....lol

The Passat was smaller and easier than the A6 to be fair though, which was just bigger in every regard. Now though, I'd kill to go back to cleaning the A6 as the XJ is wayyyyyy bigger again :confused:

Looking forward to the next instalment Paul.....:beerchug:

[fourringsrus]

It's always tough for an outsider to see how much work you have put in and being honest the light was not the best for photographs, however, I would say she may not look flashy like some posted but she looks CLASSY, well done buddy.
I just spent the last couple of days freshening up the b6 cabby with maguires and autoglym,..clay , cut , wax etc, stuck on my new 18" scirocco turbines and some brand new factory mud flaps and she looks as hot as she did 6 years ago when I bought her.
Maybe when the kids get in I'll get them to post up some pictures

Stuart

[Brycie]

Thanks mate, it was a he'll of an improvement, but 9 years of bad washing methods now limit how good it can ever be brought back to - unless I pay for machine polishing etc.

At least it's just nice simple washes for the next 6 months.

[JMR1]

Classy looking polishing job,,,,,nothing in my opinion looks as good as a shiny black car ( and no other colour gets dirty as quick !!!, but thats the price you pay !!! ) If this car was mine, and I got it looking like that.....I would be inclined to build a tent around it to preserve it !!! I'm sure that there was a lot of hard work went into producing that shine, but it shows in the results. Pity you did not post a pic pre-polishing...
Great job, Well Done... :D

[JMR1]

And if these 9 years of washing included lots of machine washing ( car wash, with revolving brushes.. which are already dirty from the previous car.) will take some effort to restore it to its former glory, can be done of course, as you mention, but only with a good machine polishing.

[Brycie]

Cheers JMR1, yeah I was happy with it over all. Never did get around to the Wife's car. I wish I had taken 'before' photos, that would have been a good idea. Luckily I've found a car wash/valet place in the next village that only use Auto Glym products with microfibre cloths & do a mini valet for £10. Definitely worth it.

[Doctle Odd]

Mate you could team up with Jim he's great at valeting and you could be Satan, after all the devil's in the detail!

[Brycie]

It certainly is & I'd have been bright at home if I was Satan, because I was in Hell after 5 or so hours of detailing. Jim's excellent at detailing,but have you seen the size of his Jag? We'd be there for three days just on his car!

[JimC64]

It certainly is & I'd have been bright at home if I was Satan, because I was in Hell after 5 or so hours of detailing. Jim's excellent at detailing,but have you seen the size of his Jag? We'd be there for three days just on his car!

Lol...
Spent practically the weekend doing mine, washed and then de tarred, washed then clay barred, washed and dried, then the paint was cut to reduce / minimise swirls, followed by a coat of Poorboys Blackhole topped with Nattys blue paste wax.

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r38/jaycam0802/XJ%20after%20Poorboys%20Blackhole_zpsdynwildh.jpg (http://s140.photobucket.com/user/jaycam0802/media/XJ%20after%20Poorboys%20Blackhole_zpsdynwildh.jpg. html)

I've decided on a few things.....
Either I must get a smaller car ( this things the size of a mini bus )
Buy a dual action polisher
Workout more to improve my upper body strength ( aches n pains all over!! )
pay someone else to do it
Leave the car dirty

Just need to make up my mind which is the easiest and option I can live with