I know, can you believe this blasphemy? I fear the paint may melt off from too much exposure.

 

I have the week off, so I figure it's a good time to get the 911 dialed in. We have a new baby coming in a few weeks, and my M3 will be here shortly after. It takes a solid day and half worth of work, so I want the 911 good for 6 months or so. I'm going to be preoccupied with my two new babies.

Since my Journal has been getting a little stale, I thought I'd put in the extra effort and make a step-by-step of my normal detail process. I usually do this around every 8-9 months on my cars. It typically takes about 16 hours, give or take a few.

I have had my Auto Finesse Desire Carnuba Wax sitting in the cabinet for a few months. I decided to give it a try over my original plan which was Swissvax Concorso. I bought the Desire on sale for half the cost of Concorso. I've always chickened out buying an expensive wax. I pulled the trigger. I'm interested to see if I like it any better than the $12 Collinite 845 that I love so much.

So here we go. I got started at about 8:30 AM. I try to beat the sun in the morning. I have some oak trees that provide shade until about 11:00 AM, but I do have to move the car around the driveway a bit to make sure I stay in the shade.

First step is to get everything set-up. I pull the hose out, get the pressure washer set-up, and prepare my foam cannon. I loaded the cannon with 50% Chemical Guys Citrus Wash/Water and 50% Adam's APC/Water.









I took some photos to show you guys that my car does indeed get dirty. Here's the proof:







Next I obviously need to pull the car out. I can never resist getting a start-up video with the AWE exhaust. It just sounds angry, even cold. Notice the awesomeness of A Perfect Circle in the background. I promise, I wasn't trying to be cool.


Even dirty, I love this thing!



I did my normal wheel, tire, fender wells, and exhaust cleaning. Then I sprayed the car down with the pressure washer. I needed to move the car to get it back in the shade.





Next it's time to foam the car. The Chemical Guys Citrus Red/Adam's APC Combo should help to strip off some of the wax/sealant that's on the car. I had Menzerna Powerlock topped with two layered coats of Collinite 845.







I let the foam sit and run off the car while I prepped my washing buckets.







I hit the car again with the remaining solution in the foam cannon.





















Fill the buckets.



Wipe the car down with two bucket method. Sorry, I didn't have an assistant today to help me with the photos.



Rinse.



I always blow the car off prior to Decon. I feel like I get a little more concentrated Iron Out if I blow off the excess water. I don't worry about getting it all off. Just the heavy stuff.



I don't spray the wheels, but I hit everything else. Don't let this stuff dry and make sure to spray it outdoors. It is nasty. The purpose is to get the iron off that is imbedded in the clear coat. I spray it on the entire car, windows included, and the wipe it in gently with a rag. Let it sit for 5 minutes of so. You'll see purple streaks as it chemically breaks down the iron.



Even my super clean car has some iron in it.





Get this stuff off. I pressure wash it off after.



I sprayed the rotors with Hyde's.





Next I blow off the entire car and wheels, making sure to get the excess Hyde's off the wheels.

Then I did the pulling back and forth with the brake pedal depressed to help further with rotors rusting over.


Next, I dry the car off. I don't use a detail spray like normal, because I'm going to Auto Scrub the car.



I forgot to pull the plate off prior to washing.





Next is Auto Scrub. I have the wash mitt, but I don't like it very much. It doesn't work as well as the pad for the orbital and the little sponge for the tight areas. I only use the FINE version.

 

I ran out of Glide. So I whipped up some Optimum No Rinse. My Adam's detail spray is a bit expensive to use as a lube. Add about 75ml to a 1200ml spray bottle.







Here is a video using the Auto Scrub on my old Griot's 6" orbital. I use it on Speed Setting 4. The Auto Scrub direction say to use it on Speed 1, but that is useless. Make sure to break a new pad in on the glass prior to paint. If I wasn't making a video, I would spray about 1/3 of the car down with lube, and knock it out.


After the Auto Scrub, I clean and dry all of the door jams, engine bay, trunk, etc.



Then I blow the car off once more to get the lube out of the cracks. The vibration from the orbital shakes the water loose, getting my pads all wet. I don't like using more pad the necessary, since they take some time to clean.



Watching Eastbound and Down during this detail. Kenny Powers approves.



Time to tape. I tape anything where there is rubber or plastic. Make sure you get the headlights really good. Polishing will take the clear coat right off causing them to haze prematurely. It took me forever to put together a decent grouping of automotive tape. I had to order from several different companies on Amazon to get all of these sizes.













Polishing tools. Griot's 3", Rupes LH21, Rupes Duetto. Uber Foam Pads 4", 5", 6." Menzerna SF4500.

























I made a polishing video. As always, feel free to make jokes. This video has inspired me to stop eating for the foreseeable future. I probably shouldn't have a Rogue Fitness shirt on...


Polishing takes a good four or five hours to do it right, so be prepared. After polishing, it's time to wash the car again. This time I'm using my normal Adam's.









After blowing off the car, I dry it using Menzerna Top Inspection rather than a detail spray. This is a post polish, pre wax cleanser. Just spray it on while you are drying the car and wipe it off.



I took a two hour break and hit the gym (after seeing myself in the video). When I got back, I wasn't happy with the feel of the paint, so I wiped it down with 30% diluted IPA. Then I broke out the expensive stuff. I put a thin lay on the entire car then wiped it off. I think you can do a wipe on/wipe off process with this wax, but I let it sit for a few minutes to be safe. I'll let it cure over night and then add another layer.







I hit the door Jams with some Sonax PNS.





At 10:30 PM I finished removing the first layer of wax. That's a solid 12 hours of work with a two hour break. You have to be committed if you want to be a detailer.

 

LOL - I know we in the US pay too much attention to keeping our cars away from the elements. I see people say never driven in rain, never parked outside etc. etc. in their for sale ads.

However across the pond it's a different story. In London it's common to see exotics parked on the road side since indoor parking is scarce. And most people drive their sports cars year round.

 

Matt, great detailing post.

Nice to see we share similarities in tactics and techniques, also picked up a few new ideas.

 

This morning I got out in the garage to finish up. I needed about 3 more hours to finish. I needed to layer on the 2nd coat of wax. Here is a video explaining the waxing process.


After finishing up the wax, I always treat the trim. I cut out a small piece of microfiber. I use gloves for this stuff.









There is no science to this. Wipe it on, then wipe excess gently with a microfiber towel. I really like this stuff for the trim. It lasts a long time.







I did the black plastic in the engine lid. I didn't do the frunk plastic. I already have that treated with Sonax Polymer Net Shield.







It's time to do the windows. I made a video of this process.










Treat the tires.



I vacuumed the interior and wiped it down. That took about 5 minutes.

DONE! The total process this time was about 15 hours.

 

Another great addition to your thread! What are you using on your interior?

 

I don't have to worry much about the interior. It never gets very dirty.

I use:

Griot's Interior Cleaner
Griot's Leather Scent
Lexol Leather Spray once every few months
Leather Master's Strong Cleaner, Leather Vital, Leather Protection Cream once a year.

Also, my windows are tinted pretty dark, and I have Llumar Air Blue 80 on the entire windshield, so the leather is pretty protected from the sun.

 

Thanks man. I hope to inspire others to spend their hard-earned money.

 

I took a few shots today with the new Auto Finesse Desire carnuba. White is hard to capture the depth. The wax looks good. I certainly don't notice $200 good, but it looks good. We'll see about beading and durability.

As you can tell from the issues using the polarizer today, I'm still no expert photographer. Man I do love 70-200mm f2.8 IS II.

 

That my man is dedication! Thanks for sharing. I wish I had that type of patience and dedication.

 

I am very focused dude. I keep my life very basic but heavily concentrated.

 

Thanks for documenting this.

Have you done a "quick/regular wash" overview? I'd love to see one.

 

You're putting all folks like me, who boast off "detailing" own car, to shame. I wish I could get to this level of dedication, Very well done. The car literally looks spotless! Wow!

 

That is hard core.
I appreciate the detail in the Detail and get great satisfaction upon completion, especially after a Winter of grime here in the NE.
Actually forget about Winter, parking in a NYC garage will get a car dirtier than driving a year in FL.

I wish I could find a place that I could pay to do half of what you do!

Good stuff