Detailing my FiST

[getdetailed.ca]

Hi Everyone,

I detail many new cars. Let that sink for a bit, you're thinking why is this guy detailing new cars? There NEW! Well I believe in starting off on the right foot(protecting my investment) which means investing in protection and dealerships often do give each vehicle enough attention, It's certainly not their core competency and their staff is not properly trained.

Anyways, let me begin.

Interior

Starting off with a thorough vacuum of the carpets, seats and mats then a fine mist of 303 Fabric Guard to add spill/stain resistance. I don't plan on any foods in my cars but that doesn't mean it'll be liquid proof.

Using steam to clean the door cards and leather portion of the seats/steering wheel, then to make sure there nothing else use HD Total (all purpose cleaner)

Then some Fabric Guard on the fabric portions on the Recaros and Opti Guard Leather Guard on the leather portion (it's like a conditioner that lasts 3+ years)

Applying the leather guard.

Center bolster covered in leather guard, don't worry that shiny effect is just the product that gets absorbed by the leather

All clean and protected. Carpet, mats, and leather.

 

[getdetailed.ca]

Exterior

Now before I got my car there was a problem, a bird dropping left a etching which then resulted in the dealer giving the car to the body shop. The body shop wet sanded the etching and polished it but as I'll show you there polishing skills need improvement.

Here's the spot in the sunlight, full of holograms and swirls. Basically the polishing was not properly completed.

Also some wax in the paint protection film.

First thing was a very good pre-rinse to remove a majority of the dirt and debris and to make the paint safer to clean.

Then 2 bucket method wash with grit guard.

After that I used a clay towel to clean the vehicle from any fallout/embedded contaminants.

Finally a dry with high quality drying towels.

Next I masked off the trim and things I didn't want my polisher to touch.

Going around the car and I decided to do a 50:50 shot for you guys. This shows you the before and after of the results I was achieving.

Can you see the difference between the swirled and polished paint?

The swirls aren't just lines in the paint, these things attribute to the final shine in the paint. Less swirls/cobwebs in the paint mean shinier paint. Swirl makes are made from improper washing techniques. Have questions on how to wash properly? Ask here, I'm sure many people will be able to answer the questions correctly.

Final Results.

Paint was protected with Opti Coat: Ceramic Clear Coat <- Protects the paint for 5+ years.

Still to do and document is how to clean the rims and properly coat them.

 

[dyn085]

Nice job so far!

Ok, me next.

 

[Rejeme]

Looks good. I'm a little new to using a DA polisher. I had good success on my previous car using megs ult comp, then ult Polish followed their black wax paste. How would you describe the paint on the FiST. Was it fairly easy to get the swirls out? I don't think I would need to compound it (no holograms or major flaws), but my tint guys did leave some slight swirls cleaning up their work. That detailing is a lot of work even with the DA doing most of it. My previous car was smaller than this one and took two long days to complete but the results are worth it.

 

[westcoaST]

Only thing I would add is to use a masterblaster to dry your car. The less you rub on your paint, the less chance of making swirls. Also, when I detail, I tape up most of the headlights and anything else, like trim with green masking tape, made especially for cars. Most cars from the dealer are covered in swirlmarks.

I also did an iron treatment after washing, washed again, I use a foam gun with a pressure washer, Adams car wash diluted 3 parts soap to 8 parts water. Then I clay bar the surface, debadge, then remove all traces of badge adhesive, do my paint correction using a Girots 6" buffer and lake country pads. Wolfgang swirl remover works great with an orange pad. Then I polish with Menzerna PL-88 powerlock paint sealant. I use sonax polymer net shield, as well as their glass cleaner, dashboard cleaner, and tire gloss shell. I originally bought some cheap microfiber cloths, but now only use them for wheel cleaning and interior cleaning. I purchased several types of high threadcount microfiber towels from chemical guys through Amazon. Green for exterior, black for wheels, gray for final wipedown, orange for trim. I also use detailers domain for microfiber towel washing, and their powdered soap for pad cleaning. My FiST and Mustang look better than the day I brought them home from the dealer.

I get most of my supplies from Autogeek.net

 

[getdetailed.ca]

Looks good. I'm a little new to using a DA polisher. I had good success on my previous car using megs ult comp, then ult Polish followed their black wax paste. How would you describe the paint on the FiST. Was it fairly easy to get the swirls out? I don't think I would need to compound it (no holograms or major flaws), but my tint guys did leave some slight swirls cleaning up their work. That detailing is a lot of work even with the DA doing most of it. My previous car was smaller than this one and took two long days to complete but the results are worth it.

You should be able to remove all the swirls marks with ult. compound and ult. polish. The reason you need to use compound is ult. compound is a light compound and Ford Fiesta paint is a hard paint (ceramic based) but it looks like you know what you're doing.

 

[getdetailed.ca]

Only thing I would add is to use a masterblaster to dry your car. The less you rub on your paint, the less chance of making swirls. Also, when I detail, I tape up most of the headlights and anything else, like trim with green masking tape, made especially for cars. Most cars from the dealer are covered in swirlmarks.

I also did an iron treatment after washing, washed again, I use a foam gun with a pressure washer, Adams car wash diluted 3 parts soap to 8 parts water. Then I clay bar the surface, debadge, then remove all traces of badge adhesive, do my paint correction using a Girots 6" buffer and lake country pads. Wolfgang swirl remover works great with an orange pad. Then I polish with Menzerna PL-88 powerlock paint sealant. I use sonax polymer net shield, as well as their glass cleaner, dashboard cleaner, and tire gloss shell. I originally bought some cheap microfiber cloths, but now only use them for wheel cleaning and interior cleaning. I purchased several types of high threadcount microfiber towels from chemical guys through Amazon. Green for exterior, black for wheels, gray for final wipedown, orange for trim. I also use detailers domain for microfiber towel washing, and their powdered soap for pad cleaning. My FiST and Mustang look better than the day I brought them home from the dealer.

I get most of my supplies from Autogeek.net

A master blaster works great (I have a vac n' blo) but your paint has to be well protected (beading) so that water actually rolls off and you're not just moving it from once place to another. Also I used HyStik automotive adhesive tape, it's like the green 3M tape your suggested but's it's more economical and it's better.

 

[timboslice]

Looks great! Pro detailers never fail to impress (even on a brand new car). Any tips on cleaning the little plastic protectors around the wheel arches? Dirt and clay from the clay bar always get stuck in there and its a real pain to clean out. I've also got a slight grease stain on the vinyl b pillar trim piece. Any ideas on how I could remove it?

 

[timboslice]

Had you joined sooner, I would have also taken my car to you for the new car wash and paint correction. My dealership did a decent job of the delivery wash and prep, not too orange peely and swirly but still not as good as a pro. Mine is oxford white so surface imperfections are hidden at a lot of angles.

 

[getdetailed.ca]

Looks great! Pro detailers never fail to impress (even on a brand new car). Any tips on cleaning the little plastic protectors around the wheel arches? Dirt and clay from the clay bar always get stuck in there and its a real pain to clean out. I've also got a slight grease stain on the vinyl b pillar trim piece. Any ideas on how I could remove it?

A all purpose cleaner preferably citrus based used gets stuff out of the edges of the plastics protection film. Use mineral spirits to clean out anything left on the edges. Also use mineral spirits to clean up that grease spot.

 

[Dangerzone]

What polishes did you use?

 

[getdetailed.ca]

What polishes did you use?

For polishes, I compounded with Americana AmeriRocks, a great compound. For Polish, I use HD Polish, smells nasty(in my opinion) but works great.

 

[theDUDE8370]

Thanks for the info. This country boy is used to dirt on cars and trucks.

 

[Bleach_Trap]

Great info, much appreciated.
Do you recommend using only that specific 303 Fabric Guard? Amazon has a few different bottles of it, and I'm unable to discern the differences.
Thanks!

 

[getdetailed.ca]

Great info, much appreciated.
Do you recommend using only that specific 303 Fabric Guard? Amazon has a few different bottles of it, and I'm unable to discern the differences.
Thanks!

Hi,

No any bottle will work, you may want to get just a 32 oz bottle though. It can take a bit of time to go through.

 

[Bleach_Trap]

Thanks!

 

[XR650R]

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