That feeling...

"K-Roll-PorscheTamer" (k-roll390)
05/20/2015 at 16:32 • Filed to: 944 Lyfe

When you spend half the day detailing your car with complete satisfaction with your work. :)

DISCUSSION (16)

Jonathan Harper > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
05/20/2015 at 16:33

Kinja'd!!!

you missed a spot

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > Jonathan Harper
05/20/2015 at 16:35

That happened after I left, they're doing construction in my neighborhood. Nothing a little water, soap, and quick detailer can't fix! :)

Alfalfa Romeo > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
05/20/2015 at 16:39

Then suddenly, MUD RAIN!

aberson Bresident of the FullyAssed Committe > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
05/20/2015 at 17:04

Kinja'd!!!

what’s that? You just did a full detail on your car?

Here let me give you a present.

ViperGuy21 > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
05/20/2015 at 19:06

What’d ya do? What’d ya use?

I just did a maintenance wash on mine today with CG citrus W&G, Signature Series WC, and some MEGS UQW cause I didn’t have time to use CG instawax+ because of its cure time.

NoneOfYourBiz > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
05/20/2015 at 21:14

Nice! I detailed my car today too, though not quite as thoroughly as you, just a maintenance wash, plastic trim cleaning, interior plastic and fabric spot treatment.

Same question as ViperGuy21: what are your products and processes?

I posted some of mine - foam gun, two bucket wash, clay bar, synthetic sealant paste, carnauba wax.

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/happy-may-day-…

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/spotted-around…

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > NoneOfYourBiz
05/21/2015 at 01:24

You’d think I was crazy if I told you I use ONE bucket....but I do. I just have that grit guard stuff on the bottom of my one bucket.

I did a wheel & tire cleaning, I can’t for the life of me remember the brands off my head, but the tire cleaner is Satin Black I believe if that’s even the brand name. It also helps that I don’t use the same bucket for washing the car and wheels/tires. I just spray the cleaner on, and spray it off with water, and wipe them clean with some extremely soft paper towels that almost feel like tissue they’re so soft!

I wash using Meguiar’s Deep Crystal car wash soap and a regular microfiber wash mitt that I only use on the 944. I use an array of small and large micro fiber cloths and towels to dry. I go over the entire car twice with my two larger towels, and get the smaller and harder to reach areas, or just small drops of water with my smaller cloths.

For waxing, I’ve realized I suck using paste waxes, so I’ve switched to spray wax. I now use Meguiar’s Ultimate Quik Wax. It’s the quickest and easiest wax I’ve ever used! I use a second set of microfiber cloths and go over the car twice with the stuff from front to back.

I then do the windows, windshield, and hatch with basic Rain-X window spray; it’s like wax for glass! But this has become a much quicker and easier job for me since I had the car professionally detailed last month. Instead of having to try to get the car to look tidy and clean with an entire day’s worth of intensive detailing that did get very tiresome after a while, now I just spend a couple hours to do all of this, and I’m very happy with the end results. :)

Seriously, the 944 has come quite a long way since I got her licensed in October:

Kinja'd!!!

The paint was very tired and fading in some areas, none of the pictures aside from this one really showed how “old” the car looked, just look at the tires and wheels. Almost looked like a barn find haha! I kinda liked how it looked before, you could have said it was in “complete unrestored condition” :p

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > ViperGuy21
05/21/2015 at 01:26

You’d think I was crazy if I told you I use ONE bucket....but I do. I just have that grit guard stuff on the bottom of my one bucket.

I washed using Meguiar’s Deep Crystal car wash soap and a regular microfiber wash mitt that I only use on the 944. I use an array of small and large micro fiber cloths and towels to dry. I go over the entire car twice with my two larger towels, and get the smaller and harder to reach areas, or just small drops of water with my smaller cloths.

For waxing, I’ve realized I suck using paste waxes. I was using Mother’s Carnauba Paste, but it gets all over the black trim and hard to reach places and it just takes too long for me to have the time to use it anymore, my poor technique is most likely to blame. so I’ve switched to spray wax. I now use Meguiar’s Ultimate Quik Wax. It’s the quickest and easiest wax I’ve ever used! I use a second set of microfiber cloths and go over the car twice with the stuff from front to back.

ViperGuy21 > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
05/21/2015 at 07:19

Well hey, as long as you are happy with it then that’s all that matters!

But we might just have to turn you into a detailing enthusiast as well haha!

NoneOfYourBiz > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
05/21/2015 at 10:02

There’s a great sub-Reddit about car detailing you might enjoy:

http://www.reddit.com/r/AutoDetailin…

I hope you won’t take this as me being critical; I just want to share info I’ve learned from others, much of it from the above sub-Reddit. Your results with what you’re doing are amazing.

The Meguiar’s soap you’re using is only a buck or so cheaper than their good stuff (Gold Class Car Wash Shampoo & Conditioner) but, apparently, it’s their consumer line and doesn’t wash as well. I have no idea why... just repeating what I heard. It might make your wash faster and easier going with their “Gold Class” wash (only $8 a gallon) which is the “gold standard”. Next step up is to specialty stuff.

I recently ordered “Chemical Guys” specialty soap - “ Mr.Pink ” and “ Honeydew Snow Foam ” - because it only takes an ounce per gallon so a bottle could last years for most of us Oppos. I love not having to keep buying soap.

I use grit guards too but lately I’m questioning whether two buckets are even necessary; I never seem to get a lot of grit on my wash mitts in the first place, but I’m also pre-soaking with a foam gun, then rinsing so maybe there’s no grit to get.

“The Meg’s Ultimate Quik Wax has been rated the top spray wax on the market, but the durability is not going to compare to any paste wax...” (source: http://www.reddit.com/r/AutoDetailin… )

So, it won’t last as long as a paste wax but for spray waxes it’s top rated.

If you want a longer lasting shine, the Ultimate liquid or paste will last a couple of months. In between applications, your Ultimate spray would maintain the shine.

The reason I use the paste wax is it came with the applicator in the tin, as well as a microfiber for buffing out. I like that it’s easy to control what it goes on - no overspray or drips onto plastic. You need very, very little of it... just a light sheen, let it crust over (5 minutes?) then buff with the included cloth.

I love Rain-X for glass too. :)

Your car is looking awesome!

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > NoneOfYourBiz
05/21/2015 at 10:30

No worries! You actually are bringing up some interesting points I had or hadn’t considered.

I never seem to get any grit on my mitts either, and I hardly ever touch the very bottom of my bucket anyways when I wash, who knows.

I had seen the Gold Class wash, but at the time, I was looking for a soap that wouldn’t strip wax like the previous soap I had(Blue Coral something) did; and Deep Crystal was the only one that read on the label that it wouldn’t harm wax coats. I’ll have to give the Gold Class a try sometime when I’m running low on what I’ve got. I might as well go pick some up with my paycheck tomorrow!

I looked into “Chemical Guys” products and I read some mixed feelings on the products I was interested on Autogeek, so I chickened out on them this time round.

I had thoughts that spray wax wouldn’t last as long as actual paste, and you’ve confirmed it. If I could actually do a good job of waxing with paste, I’d go back to it; but my methods and overall technique with the stuff is sloppy at best. I never get it completely off, or I simply use too much of it, as I cannot gauge exactly how much is needed. Waiting for it to crust was never a problem, just applying it for me was bad in my opinion. My dad did a better job with paste wax in a tin than I could ever do.

The next spray wax I’m trying out is Pinnacle Souverän, simply because it’s the most expensive spray wax I’ve seen($30), and reviews are high for all of their products.

NoneOfYourBiz > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
05/21/2015 at 10:36

I found another thread on the sub-Reddit confirming the spray wax is basically for “maintenance” between liquid or paste waxings:

http://www.reddit.com/r/AutoDetailin…

FWIW, I’ve been using Gold Class shampoo and it doesn’t strip wax off; just use the right concentration (I think it’s “an ounce per gallon”).

There’s a quick reference chart of Chemical Guys soaps here:
http://www.chemicalguys.com/category_s/296…

You want a pH balanced soap that’s “wax safe” and, ideally, a higher foaming one if you want suds. (I use a foam gun so suds are useful to help it cling to the car when I’m pre-soaking)

What sold me on their stuff was the ridiculously high concentration : an ounce to 4-5 gallons. (that’s 1:512 to 1:640...) It makes it very inexpensive on a per-use basis.

From the reading I’ve done, you don’t need to spend a lot to get the job done.

A lot of the Meguiar’s stuff is good, ditto Chemical Guys.

The AutoGeek forum tends to be harsh toward Chem Guys because of the company, not the products. If you order from Amazon.com, you never need to deal with CG directly; a cracked bottle or a bad batch? Just contact Amazon and they’ll make it right.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > NoneOfYourBiz
05/21/2015 at 11:32

What exactly do they mean by “maintenance” though? I didn’t know there was a difference between liquid and paste waxes, I thought the liquid wax, was the spray wax. :p

That might be another thing I was doing wrong in the past, the soap to water ratio may have been completely off in the past.

I’ve always wanted to use a foam gun because it looks super fun, but the college budget doesn’t allow for it currently. I was originally gonna go on an AutoGeek shopping spree, but that was out of the budget as well at the time, so I went for the best that I could afford in-store.

NoneOfYourBiz > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
05/21/2015 at 11:36

Ah, yeah, sorry, should have clarified. “Maintenance wash” is one of those in-between washes to get pollen and dust off, usually once a week.

Mother’s brand of car care products has a guide that’s not bad:

http://www.detailguide.com/

You don’t have to do the door jambs or fabric shampoo every week. Ditto “clay bar”. BTW: if you’ve never tried a clay bar OMG DO IT. Your Porsche will look new. Kits are $10-20, with the clay, quick-detail spray, and a rag to clean up. (wash carefully first, then go at it with the clay)

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > NoneOfYourBiz
05/21/2015 at 11:39

I’ve never used a clay bar personally before. The detailer used them and something called “chamois”? I hear if you’re not careful, clay bars can strip paint? And OMG I FORGOT TO DO THE DOOR JAMBS!!! -_-

Now I have something to do today!

NoneOfYourBiz > K-Roll-PorscheTamer
05/22/2015 at 08:16

LOL @ door jam surprise. :P

Think of a clay bar as silly putty.

AmmoNYC did a great video on using it:

If you ever drop a piece of clay: THROW IT OUT IMMEDIATELY. It will pick up sand and grit off the ground like a magnet which would then scratch your paint. Otherwise, if you had a nice, freshly washed car, and you use the included spray as lube, you won’t strip paint off. ;)

Some people suggest actually breaking a clay bar into two (there’s more than enough material) so that if you drop it, you’re only out half a bar. You flatten it into a pancake when you use it.

I wear nitrile rubber gloves while claying to give better grip and protect my hands from the soap/spray.

I clayed for the first time a few weeks ago; it’s both easy and delivers astonishing results.