My good deed today - Detailed a neighbours Nissan (sorry not a Volvo)

[JamesT5]

I did a good thing for a neighbour today, if I'm honest I just couldn't resist bringing a smile to my neighbours face so I went out an did an exterior detail on their Nissan Juke (I know, not a Volvo and it looks like a Frog), but the results were really worth it.

This is how it looked before I cleaned it.....

http://i1306.photobucket.com/albums/s562/_JamesT5/JukeBefore_zps215c162a.jpg (http://s1306.photobucket.com/user/_JamesT5/media/JukeBefore_zps215c162a.jpg.html)

So this is what I did......


Wash

De-tar

Clay Bar

Meguires Stage 3 Carnauba Wax

Meguires Ultimate Hydrophobic Wax

Cleaned Glass with White Vinegar (the best stuff to use)

Meguires Ultimate Trim Restorer for the exterior trim

Waxed Alloy spokes with Carnauba Wax

Finished the tyres off with Meguires Endurance Tyre Gloss.



Got to say I'm pretty impressed with the finish.......

http://i1306.photobucket.com/albums/s562/_JamesT5/P1011115_zpsca92d1c0.jpg (http://s1306.photobucket.com/user/_JamesT5/media/P1011115_zpsca92d1c0.jpg.html)

[Gold 'N' Brown]

Good work, but my god those Puke's are butt ugly! Would have been better off leaving it manky to hide some of the features.

[V70 Graham]

Is white vinegar really THAT good for cleaning glass ?

Good job on the Juke mate.

[merc85]

Is white vinegar really THAT good for cleaning glass ?

Good job on the Juke mate.

Yep, also good at getting rid of Rain spots on Red cars ;)

[JamesT5]

Is white vinegar really THAT good for cleaning glass ?

Good job on the Juke mate.


Yes, White Vinegar annihilates limescale deposits and cuts through grime and grease. Use it with a microfibre towel and it's a formidable weapon in your detailing arsenal! :B_thumb:

[volvokid]

Yes, White Vinegar annihilates limescale deposits and cuts through grime and grease. Use it with a microfibre towel and it's a formidable weapon in your detailing arsenal! :B_thumb:

Nah I would end up with a bag of chips every time I cleaned my car

[JamesT5]

So my neighbour was so impressed with my detailing skills, she got me a job detailing a friends BMW 320 convertible. After 6 hours of painstaking work I managed to get it looking pretty good......

http://i1306.photobucket.com/albums/s562/_JamesT5/P1011126_zps06b47a83.jpg (http://s1306.photobucket.com/user/_JamesT5/media/P1011126_zps06b47a83.jpg.html)

http://i1306.photobucket.com/albums/s562/_JamesT5/P1011127_zps3c40c190.jpg (http://s1306.photobucket.com/user/_JamesT5/media/P1011127_zps3c40c190.jpg.html)

:beer:

[graemewelch]

youve done very well to get a finish like that one a silver car. hope the owner gave you plenty bear tockens

[JamesT5]

youve done very well to get a finish like that one a silver car. hope the owner gave you plenty bear tockens

I did say to him that silver and white are the hardest 'colours' to get a gloss on.

I gave it a wash, removed tar and insects, then a full clay bar (the clay bar is now clogged and needs chucking out), washed down each panel and towel dried it, then a coat of Carnauba Wax followed by a coat of Meguires Ultimate Wax, white vinegar on the windows and Endurance Tyre Gel for the tyres. I was sweating buckets too, even though I was actually in his garage in the shade!

By the way, here are some photos (below) of the front bumper area and one of the wing mirrors before I cleaned the car. There are lots of insect strikes and the little dark specks are actually tar spots, they covered the wing mirrors and the entire front bumper, headlamps and number plate!

http://i1306.photobucket.com/albums/s562/_JamesT5/P1011118_zps18e9ef75.jpg (http://s1306.photobucket.com/user/_JamesT5/media/P1011118_zps18e9ef75.jpg.html)

http://i1306.photobucket.com/albums/s562/_JamesT5/P1011120_zps6f7aae43.jpg (http://s1306.photobucket.com/user/_JamesT5/media/P1011120_zps6f7aae43.jpg.html)

http://i1306.photobucket.com/albums/s562/_JamesT5/P1011123_zpsa2c8f8c6.jpg (http://s1306.photobucket.com/user/_JamesT5/media/P1011123_zpsa2c8f8c6.jpg.html)

And here is a shot of the front end after I'd cleaned it.....

http://i1306.photobucket.com/albums/s562/_JamesT5/P1011129_zps3e33d657.jpg (http://s1306.photobucket.com/user/_JamesT5/media/P1011129_zps3e33d657.jpg.html)

As I said to the owner, 80%+ of the job is all in the prep and I always use the least aggressive method necessary to achieve a good finish. !

[M-R-P]

Good work there James. I used to own a Nissan Note in the same colour (Pearl Black Metallic) and it comes up beautifully when done properly. That's actually how I got interested in detailing.
As fugly as those Pukes are, having had a 3 day test drive in one, they drive very well and have a plethora of fun little gadgets.

Beemer looks good too although - have you noticed how the modern beemers have a pretty poor paint finish? very orange-peel-y.

I've been dabbling in the dark art of rotary polishing this weekend. Not only on the Starlet but on a mate's Land Rover Discovery. They came - up stunning with only a minor miss-hap where I clipped a bumper trim and got a facefull of foam lol.

[JamesT5]

Beemer looks good too although - have you noticed how the modern beemers have a pretty poor paint finish? very orange-peel-y.

Yes, I noticed that when I cleaned it. I wonder if they have a very thick paint job?

I'm going to invest in a Meguires DA polisher eventually, at the moment these are 'dummy run' jobs to test the water because I'm thinking of setting back up in business part-time doing vehicle detailing. I used to do it many years ago, mostly for Dealerships but also some private work. The money wasn't good working in Dealerships so I left to work in my present job.

Thing is, I've been told there is a demand for the Detailing around here because the local drive-in valet centres are doing a poor job and the reaction I'm getting from people is that my work is 1st class and I should set up a local mobile service. At the moment, I'm doing a few jobs to see how long it takes and what the feedback is, I can then think about going on from there. :B_thumb:

[M-R-P]

There's no doubt you have a talent for it mate, your P2 is testament to that.

The DA is a brilliant bit of kit if the paint surface is in pretty good order however for really tatty paint, I'd recommend the rotary. I've found it faster to cut and polish knackered paint with the rotary than doing a normal wax/polish job on good paint with a DA. There's the danger of "getting it wrong" though which is always in my mind but I can't overlook the speed at which you can bring a car up to a very high standard.

Before

http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g413/martinrpeachey/projects/DSCF0301_zpsf8f17d1e.jpg (http://s1100.photobucket.com/user/martinrpeachey/media/projects/DSCF0301_zpsf8f17d1e.jpg.html)

After

http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g413/martinrpeachey/projects/DSCF0310_zps5766c3a2.jpg (http://s1100.photobucket.com/user/martinrpeachey/media/projects/DSCF0310_zps5766c3a2.jpg.html)

[JamesT5]

I used to use a Rotary in my earlier valeting days, the key to those is to keep the body work wet to avoid burning the paint (as you probably know already). I've got a cheap rotary thing that I picked up in Aldi but if I'm honest it's not a very nice tool to use because it vibrates like pneumatic drill - vibrating even more than my steering wheel did a few months ago and that took some beating I can tell you! ;)

[graemewelch]

Yes, I noticed that when I cleaned it. I wonder if they have a very thick paint job?

I'm going to invest in a Meguires DA polisher eventually, at the moment these are 'dummy run' jobs to test the water because I'm thinking of setting back up in business part-time doing vehicle detailing. I used to do it many years ago, mostly for Dealerships but also some private work. The money wasn't good working in Dealerships so I left to work in my present job.

Thing is, I've been told there is a demand for the Detailing around here because the local drive-in valet centres are doing a poor job and the reaction I'm getting from people is that my work is 1st class and I should set up a local mobile service. At the moment, I'm doing a few jobs to see how long it takes and what the feedback is, I can then think about going on from there. :B_thumb:

good luck with your new venture but becarfull how you advertise detailing and valeting. the difference is night and day. id say detailing involves paint correction to a very high standard and theres nothing easy about it. theres many on here who can do it and do it well. i include my self there i think. but to do it profesionaly and have the understanding of many different paint types and how to get the best out of them. the many thousands of pounds of equipment needed to know the safe limits of a cars paint befor tackling a correction job on some ones pride and joy. its not something id get involved in. but id have no probs in doing correction jobs for family and mates. they prob wouldnt have the eye for detail that most detailing enthusiasts have. please dont take this as a dig or anything cause its not. the pics ive seen of cars youve cleaned recently are very good and to a very good standard. best of look which ever way you go. also worth joining detailing world if you arnt on there already. its a eye opener on there. check out the m3 thats been wet sanded. that takes big balls

[M-R-P]

I used to use a Rotary in my earlier valeting days, the key to those is to keep the body work wet to avoid burning the paint (as you probably know already). I've got a cheap rotary thing that I picked up in Aldi but if I'm honest it's not a very nice tool to use because it vibrates like pneumatic drill - vibrating even more than my steering wheel did a few months ago and that took some beating I can tell you! ;)

Agreed - I have the Aldi DA polisher and it makes my fingers go numb after a while (7 years using chainsaws = VWF and a dislike for shaky power tools). I'll be wrapping the handles with summat to see if it helps.

[JamesT5]

So I've been out today and Detailed, ahem, sorry I'll say 'severely valeted' the outside of a Vauxhall Frontera. This vehicle is on an L plate so it's 20 years old and to be honest, the paint work has come up pretty well considering the age of the car.

Order of work;


Washed and full clay bar of paintwork and exterior glass (about 3 hours work!) :yikes:




Then probably 2 hours or more with the Meguires Ultimate Compound doing the bodywork by hand (now I ache)


1 coat of Meguires Caranuba Deep Crystal Wax


1 coat of Meguires Ultimate Wax


Applied Meguires Ultimate Trim Restorer to wheel arch trim as that was faded as hell (see 'Before' photo)


Cleaned the windows inside and out with white vinegar


Applied Meguire Endurance Tyre Gloss to Tyre walls



And there you have it, one much cleaner Vauxhall Frontera and I had fun doing it too. :B_thumb: :D


And now the pictures...... ;)

Before

http://i1306.photobucket.com/albums/s562/_JamesT5/P1011166_zpse7540467.jpg (http://s1306.photobucket.com/user/_JamesT5/media/P1011166_zpse7540467.jpg.html)

http://i1306.photobucket.com/albums/s562/_JamesT5/P1011169_zps35a46150.jpg (http://s1306.photobucket.com/user/_JamesT5/media/P1011169_zps35a46150.jpg.html)

http://i1306.photobucket.com/albums/s562/_JamesT5/P1011168_zpsd3608830.jpg (http://s1306.photobucket.com/user/_JamesT5/media/P1011168_zpsd3608830.jpg.html)

After

http://i1306.photobucket.com/albums/s562/_JamesT5/P1011170_zps47004a22.jpg (http://s1306.photobucket.com/user/_JamesT5/media/P1011170_zps47004a22.jpg.html)

http://i1306.photobucket.com/albums/s562/_JamesT5/P1011171_zpsf7b434e2.jpg (http://s1306.photobucket.com/user/_JamesT5/media/P1011171_zpsf7b434e2.jpg.html)

http://i1306.photobucket.com/albums/s562/_JamesT5/P1011173_zps24f61d74.jpg (http://s1306.photobucket.com/user/_JamesT5/media/P1011173_zps24f61d74.jpg.html)

http://i1306.photobucket.com/albums/s562/_JamesT5/P1011176_zps4c6aaf35.jpg (http://s1306.photobucket.com/user/_JamesT5/media/P1011176_zps4c6aaf35.jpg.html)

http://i1306.photobucket.com/albums/s562/_JamesT5/P1011177_zps6e754115.jpg (http://s1306.photobucket.com/user/_JamesT5/media/P1011177_zps6e754115.jpg.html)

:beer:

[graemewelch]

looks good but the dirty wheel arches stand out like a sore thumb

[JamesT5]

looks good but the dirty wheel arches stand out like a sore thumb

They're rusty wheel arches unfortunately.

[V70 Graham]

Looks like a good days work, not bad for 20 years old.

[JUDGENINJA]

There's a V40 waiting for you...

[V70 Graham]

There's a V40 waiting for you...

Get in the que.....

[stephenevans99]

Dare I say I always liked the look of the 3 door Frontera... seriously, I did.

[JamesT5]

There's a V40 waiting for you...


Hang on them let me work out the petrol to and from Surrey, material and beer money and I'll let you know. ;) :hilarious

[JUDGENINJA]

... Yeah and hurry up, but I'm in Sheffield tonight...