Detailed a couple cars this weekend

[HokieZHP]

Hey guys,
Had some motivation to detail my car this weekend and then my dad stepped up and said he'd pay me to do his as well so here are the results. Pics are all unedited and untouched. Just taken with my brother's Nikon D90, and I have ZERO photo experience haha

THIS WAS MY FIRST TIME EVER POLISHING BTW.

First was my Jet Black 335i. Car had some swirls, definitely noticeable but nothing major. I washed it with CG citrus wash then did the following.
-Clayed with Nanoskin 6" pad
-Menzerna SF4000 polish with LC tangerine pad
-CG Blacklight (used as a glaze)
-CG 50/50 wax
-Topped with V07

I also detailed the engine bay and wheels inside and out but I don't have pics of those, sorry guys. Overall I'm very happy with the results, especially for my first time every using a buffer.

Afters:
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5075/14030911608_dafe043662_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nnS6c7)DSC_0012 (https://flic.kr/p/nnS6c7) by c.merritt (https://www.flickr.com/people/98531159@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5555/14030987117_80d80d453c_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nnStCZ)DSC_0013 (https://flic.kr/p/nnStCZ) by c.merritt (https://www.flickr.com/people/98531159@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5475/14214259291_80fa15f886_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nE4N54)DSC_0016 (https://flic.kr/p/nE4N54) by c.merritt (https://www.flickr.com/people/98531159@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5586/14030884949_558f308019_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nnRXgt)DSC_0017 (https://flic.kr/p/nnRXgt) by c.merritt (https://www.flickr.com/people/98531159@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2922/14194388506_66fc3ce923_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nCiXbj)DSC_0019 (https://flic.kr/p/nCiXbj) by c.merritt (https://www.flickr.com/people/98531159@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5274/14217549185_5f00a71726_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nEmE3n)DSC_0021 (https://flic.kr/p/nEmE3n) by c.merritt (https://www.flickr.com/people/98531159@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5153/14237710373_e8f5999888_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nG8Zg4)DSC_0023 (https://flic.kr/p/nG8Zg4) by c.merritt (https://www.flickr.com/people/98531159@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5271/14030859629_1673d15434_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nnRPJV)DSC_0027 (https://flic.kr/p/nnRPJV) by c.merritt (https://www.flickr.com/people/98531159@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5513/14030871688_db8a484633_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nnRTjQ)DSC_0028 (https://flic.kr/p/nnRTjQ) by c.merritt (https://www.flickr.com/people/98531159@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2915/14215135252_808429666c_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nE9hsQ)DSC_0031 (https://flic.kr/p/nE9hsQ) by c.merritt (https://www.flickr.com/people/98531159@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2902/14194361776_76e2a116ed_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nCiPes)DSC_0032 (https://flic.kr/p/nCiPes) by c.merritt (https://www.flickr.com/people/98531159@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2925/14030902770_1e825eec7f_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nnS3yJ)DSC_0035 (https://flic.kr/p/nnS3yJ) by c.merritt (https://www.flickr.com/people/98531159@N06/), on Flickr



Now for my dad's Audi A6. Car had very bad swirling, as if the PO had washed it with a dirty rag. Here's a before picture:
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5040/14237658943_13ab823145_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nG8HYk)DSC_0043 (https://flic.kr/p/nG8HYk) by c.merritt (https://www.flickr.com/people/98531159@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5040/14237660843_7f851512bd_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nG8Jx6)DSC_0042 (https://flic.kr/p/nG8Jx6) by c.merritt (https://www.flickr.com/people/98531159@N06/), on Flickr

I washed this with the CG Citrus wash as well. From there I did the following:
-Clayed with NanoSkin 6" pad
-Meguiars M105 with LC yellow pad
-Menzerna SF4000 with LC tangerine pad
-CG 50/50 wax
-Topped with CG V07

Also very happy with these results. Made a huge difference. I wish I had a more aggressive pad for the M105 since his Audi paint was much harder than mine (obviously) but what I had still made a good difference. I'd say it got 95% of the swirls out.

Afters: The light wasn't great for these so sorry about that
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5112/14217489875_2241f68d4a_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nEmmpM)DSC_0045 (https://flic.kr/p/nEmmpM) by c.merritt (https://www.flickr.com/people/98531159@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2918/14214165561_934eb723a0_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nE4jd2)DSC_0059 (https://flic.kr/p/nE4jd2) by c.merritt (https://www.flickr.com/people/98531159@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5529/14194301706_2492b9199c_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nCivnL)DSC_0061 (https://flic.kr/p/nCivnL) by c.merritt (https://www.flickr.com/people/98531159@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2910/14030804558_7995d612e2_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nnRxnq)DSC_0062 (https://flic.kr/p/nnRxnq) by c.merritt (https://www.flickr.com/people/98531159@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2914/14030801698_991f787f8a_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nnRww7)DSC_0063 (https://flic.kr/p/nnRww7) by c.merritt (https://www.flickr.com/people/98531159@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5494/14030874697_c1109f433e_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nnRUdH)DSC_0064 (https://flic.kr/p/nnRUdH) by c.merritt (https://www.flickr.com/people/98531159@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5518/14215062032_50f8232804_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nE8UGq)DSC_0065 (https://flic.kr/p/nE8UGq) by c.merritt (https://www.flickr.com/people/98531159@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2896/14030770269_2565bd4d18_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nnRnbe)DSC_0071 (https://flic.kr/p/nnRnbe) by c.merritt (https://www.flickr.com/people/98531159@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2934/14237609713_78d5130eed_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nG8tkx)DSC_0072 (https://flic.kr/p/nG8tkx) by c.merritt (https://www.flickr.com/people/98531159@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2902/14215056822_da1c40426b_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nE8T9A)DSC_0067 (https://flic.kr/p/nE8T9A) by c.merritt (https://www.flickr.com/people/98531159@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2930/14030863027_6714e82250_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nnRQKv)DSC_0069 (https://flic.kr/p/nnRQKv) by c.merritt (https://www.flickr.com/people/98531159@N06/), on Flickr

[Avetiso]

Wow, that looks awesome! Your black cars are gonna be the sexiest things on the planet for the next... 4 hours. :rofl

Good work. I bet you have a few sore spots to rest. :biggrin

[HokieZHP]

Thanks! Yeah my car is living in the garage haha. My dad's been driving his car but his paint is much more resilient than mine. The buffer really reduces the soreness but yeah my back and wrists are still a bit sore. Lots of time involved over 3 days to do both cars.

[ELCID86]

Nicely done. Great job on the swirls. Teach him the two-bucket technique and hide those rags!

[HokieZHP]

Nicely done. Great job on the swirls. Teach him the two-bucket technique and hide those rags!

Haha luckily my dad knows better than that! I gave him a big tutorial when he got his car on how to properly wash and care for his car. The guys who owned his car before him lived on a gravel road in Montana so they obviously didn't take care of it. I had to clay it 3 times when he bought it just to make the paint somewhat slick and not bumpy and gritty.

[danewilson77]

Awesome job


As long as we are not just 'rehashing the bashing', this could and should be a useful thread.

[HokieZHP]

Thanks Dane!

[PirateZHP]

Looks great!

[spoonerDee]

Nice work. One of the reasons I couldn't stand owning black, every mark shows. Still, you made them look amazing.

[HokieZHP]

Yeah my ZHP was Jet black as well so I'm going on 3 years of owning Jet black Bmw's. It's definitely a challenge to keep the soft paint looking good but I enjoy it. It's sort of an ongoing project for me!