I’ve read various posts on the forum about detailing and thought I’d add my recent experience to the mix. I like a detailed car but don’t really want to go through a lot of hassle to get there. I think I’ve found the “lazy man’s way” to a fantastic finish, at least as long as the car’s paint is in pretty good shape to begin with.
I bought my 2007 Cayman two weeks ago yesterday, used, with about 2,500 miles on it (base model, Guard’s Red, black interior, 5 speed). The dealer “detailed” the car before delivery, and it looked pretty good, but when I got home, upon closer inspection I noticed a fair amount of road tar, etc. More worryingly, when looking at the finish closely under a fluorescent light, I noticed, especially on the front hood, several minor swirls and a light scratch or two.
I’ve always been particular about maintaining my cars, and have detailed them myself, but it’s a lot of work. Lately I’ve heard a lot about random orbital polishing machines, so after reading a post on this forum from Richard Lin (OctaneGuy, a site sponsor) about how he rescued the paint on a Cayman, I decided to order his “how to detail” DVD.
http://www.showcardetailing.com/esho...arch=yes&bc=no
This video is great! It really helps your understanding of the steps necessary to create a show car finish. After watching the video, I was inspired to try the machine approach for myself, although I must confess with trepidation. I ordered Griot’s Machine Polish & Wax Kit, which also comes with a “how-to” video (although, in my opinion, not nearly as good as the one available through showcardetailing.com), and purchased a bottle of Meguiar’s NXT wax at Wal-Mart (because it was featured in Richard Lin’s video).
Like most of you, I was very nervous about using a machine polisher on my brand-new Porsche, even if it was a random orbital machine claimed not to damage the car’s paint, so first I tried things out on one of my other cars, a Daewoo Lanos (don’t laugh, it’s been a completely trouble-free car
).
Some observations:
1. Griot’s random orbital polisher is a very nice machine, easy to use and easy to control. The Porter Cable looks like it would be just as good.
2. Griot’s Machine Polish #3 (included with his kit) is not at all aggressive and appears safe for virtually all types of paint. It does not seem to have a lot of “play time,” meaning that you must do a small section and then quickly remove the excess before moving on. This can be a bit tedious, as you must remove the excess by hand. (A worthwhile tip is to spray water on any dried excess. As this polish is water-based, it can be more easily removed, if dried, by spraying a bit of water and then removing the excess with a microfiber cloth.) I’ve ordered Meguiar’s Speed Glaze 80 (featured in Richard’s video) to try out, as an alternative to Griot’s Machine Polish #3.
4. Meguiar’s NXT wax is really terrific. It is super easy to apply with Griot’s random orbital polisher, and extremely easy to remove using Griot’s Wax Removal Bonnet (highly recommended!). I tried Griot’s “Best of Show” paste wax on the Daewoo, but found it more difficult to remove without any discernible difference in result. In the past I’ve also used, with excellent results, P21S Concours Carnauba Wax, Zymol (not the discount store stuff, though) and Eagle One NanoWax.
5. As noted in Richard’s video, take your time and go slowly. Like other things, the paint seems to respond to a slow hand.
6. You will need plenty of microfiber towels. I have purchased microfiber towels from several sources but, surprisingly, find that I prefer the microfiber towels sold by Sam’s Club. They last a long time, have plenty of nap, never scratch the car, and are cheap. The microfiber towels I’ve purchased from Griot’s and Meguiar’s work just as well, but are a lot more expensive. I have three microfiber towels from 3M which I like the least. They have a “quilted” surface that does not seem to work as well as the towels with a “nap,” at least for removing wax. Always remember to remove the tags from your microfiber towels!
After testing things out on the Daewoo, I decided to detail the Cayman.
EXTERIOR
I started with the “Mr. Clean” car wash system (
Mr. Clean AutoDry Carwash System) using a car wash mitt. I know this way of cleaning the car is not at the top of any detailer’s list, but it’s easy and quick (remember, this is the “lazy man’s” way to a perfect finish!
). (Time: 20 minutes.)
My secret trick is that once the car dries, I use Glosser microfiber detailing wipes (
https://www.cleantools.net/WebSite/i...ductspage.aspx). These cloths, made in Japan, are the greatest. They clean and lightly wax the car in a jiffy, removing residual dirt and preparing the car for the next step. I’ve found that using these cloths in between “real” cleaning sessions helps keep the car looking like it was just detailed. Bonus feature – they are the best thing I’ve found to clean and wax door jams and the like. (Time: 15 minutes.)
After cleaning the car, the first thing I noticed under close inspection was a lot of road tar on the car. I removed this with WD-40, which works great for removing road tar! (Time: 30 minutes.)
Once all of the road tar was removed, I used Griot’s Speed Shine to remove any remaining WD-40, and then “clayed” the car using Griot’s paint cleaning clay and Speed Shine (both great products, in my experience) to make sure that the paint surface was perfectly clean.
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of this step. In my experience, the only way to get a perfectly clean paint surface is to use a high quality paint cleaning clay. On a car with a good surface to begin with, this step is easy. It doesn’t really take very long and it is absolutely necessary in order to ensure a terrific final result. (Time: 60 minutes.)
Then I began to polish the front of the car, using Griot’s random orbital polisher and Machine Polish #3. This polish seems to work better on the Cayman than on the Daewoo, perhaps because the Porsche’s paint seems a bit softer. Following the instructions in the video, I worked on small sections at a time. It is quite easy to apply polish using the random orbital polisher, even on the curvaceous surfaces of the Cayman. I never felt at risk of damaging the paint. (Time: 90 minutes.)
When I was done with the hood and front fenders, I applied Griot’s Speed Shine again and was simply astounded by the results. Where before the paint, which to my eye looked showroom new, seemed as though it could not be improved, now it was perfect, literally perfect. Every single swirl and light scratch was gone. Even the most demanding inspection does not reveal any swirl or scratch whatsoever.
Using the random orbital polisher and the proper foam pad, I then applied Meguiar’s NXT wax to the entire car, and removed 99% of the wax using Griot’s Wax Removal Bonnet. I cannot believe how easy it was to apply this wax to the car. More significantly, I cannot believe how easy it was to
remove the wax from the car. In the past, using the hand application method, I have struggled to remove old wax. When you use a random orbital polisher and a wax removal bonnet, the old wax just disappears, leaving a spectacular finish. (Time: 45 minutes.)
Next, I went over the entire car by hand, using a large, high-quality microfiber towel, removing any last vestiges of the wax. The last thing I did on the exterior was to use Meguiar’s Final Inspection #34.
Final Inspection® M3401 Product Information This completed the job, yielding an unexpectedly fine result without a lot of trouble or hard work. (Time: 15 minutes.)
INTERIOR
As the car is new, the interior really didn’t need much attention. I vacuumed it and added Weather Tech floor mats from McNeil Automotive.
I used a Swiffer Duster to remove dust from the dash and other interior surfaces. This is the best product I’ve found for this use; the fibers in the Duster seem to trap dust, not just spread it around, get into tight spaces and leave no residue behind. Works really well for cleaning the interior.
Swiffer Dusters Product Information and Offers (Time: 2 minutes.)
I finished things off in the interior with Eagle One Nano-Protectant. This works fine on both the dash and the seats, leaves no residue, is easy to apply, and leaves a nice satin finish.
Nano-Protectant™ (Time: 5 minutes.)
Now the finish on my car just gleams, and looks spectacular. I’m confident that anybody can obtain similar results by using the methods described in Richard’s video and the products I used! (Total time: about four hours, now it's time for a beer.
)
Sorry, I didn’t take any pictures. When I detail the car again (probably next year), I’ll be sure to take some pictures.
This is a great forum and I hope I've been a bit of help to some!
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