Had a really shitty week of coding -- stuff that's really breaking my balls in ways that code usually doesn't. Working on some stuff that hasn't really been tried, and there are no roadmaps, roadsigns, or sometimes even roads .... In short, I needed a few hours of "me" time away from the computer before I went (more) nuts.
So, I decided to do something I usually don't do, and that's detail one of the crappier cars (which usually just get a wash and wax). When I do this sort of treatment to something like the Viper, I spend a lot of time, and I prefer to do it MYSELF, because I find it relaxing. For other cars, though, they usually get handed off to someone else for a quick wash + wax. This car is the exception, because I've been using it lately as my daily driver, but I really like how it came out.
Anyway, enough rambling, here are a handful of pictures:
Process:
First, the obvious step: I washed the car as carefully as she's ever been washed, paying special attention to any spots that might not always get the love they deserve. For this, I used Meguiar's NXT Generation Car Wash, because I wanted to loosen and remove as much grime as I could.
After the wash, I examined the car's clear coat for signs of wear, so I could develop a plan of attack.
The first step in my repair plan included taking a Meguiar's clay bar to the hood, one small section at a time. It had some roughness, especially near the grille, so I spent a lot of time making sure it had an absolutely smooth surface. I chose Meguiar's over Mother's for this job because although it tends to leave a lot of clay behind, I feel like it does a better job at lifting the serious contamination.
The rest of the car got a sweep of a Mother's clay bar, with special attention on the roof and rear, where dust tends to accumulate naturally when driving (my Viper had a nasty habit of hiding dust back here, which would swirl the clear coat if you didn't wash it VERY carefully). I used the Mother's here because I didn't need the detail work of the Meguiar's, and I didn't want to be removing clay from the entire car -- I didn't mind doing it for just the hood.
Next up was a re-wash to rid the car of any leftover clay and/or lubricant. I used Meguiar's Deep Crystal Car Wash and Meguiar's Microfiber Wash Mitts, as I wanted to be as gentle as possible here. I used two buckets -- one with the washing solution, and one with clean water. I'm paranoid about contaminants in this step, I probably go overboard, but I use a grit guard at the bottom of the soapy bucket.
Water straight from the hose (no nozzle attachment) to rinse the car off, then dried with a series of microfiber towels (I only use them once, then discard them).
With my bonded contaminants remedied, it was time to attack the below-surface defects. I spread some good ol' Meguiar's Ultimate Compound on the random orbital buffer, and went to work on the swirls, light scratches, and other irregularities in the clear coat, paying close attention to my poor swirled up hood. The hood got a second helping of the compound.
Now it was time to turn to Turtle Wax's Black Box and go to work on the two steps of the three-stage process. This was an extremely time consuming venture, as always, but it yielded the results I expected it to. You either love it or you hate it, and I love it.
To finish it off, I swap the wax in the Black Box for Meguiar's NXT Generation Tech Wax 2.0. I love Tech Wax's "wet" look, and how it beads the water for ages after it's applied. I swear by it, and it's always on all of my cars.