Finally I found the time to give my Silver GTI a proper detail, rather than just a wash and a quick detailer, which was a good, low time-consuming way of getting a decent finish and some protection to the car but no substitute for the full monty
I should make it clear here that given that this was my first ever detail of a car and all done by hand the result i was aiming to achieve was not a proper correction of the paint - i have no tools with which to measure this by nor the skill it requires - but rather to create a showroom look i can be proud of and a knowledge that my paintwork is being properly looked after
Day 1So it began on Bank Holiday Monday where i spent about 3 hours, during which time i rinsed the wheels, washed them with Valet Pro Bilberry Wheel Cleaner and then sealed them with Poorboys Wheel Sealant. I then moved onto the exterior plastic trim - side skirts, rear valance & front splitter as well as the plastic bits next to the wing mirrors and on the undersides of the wing mirrors themselves using Poorboys Natural Look Dressing. I had to call it a do by early afternoon as we were going out later for the day.
Day 2So i resumed on Tuesday, early in the morning, around 8.00am, knowing this was to be the big day. I also thought i would complete everything before the day was out - little did i know...
I began with putting a second coat of Wheel Sealant on my alloys after giving them a quick prep with Megs Final Inspection. I then rinsed the car and washed it with Meguiars #62 Car Shampoo using the 2 bucket method and 2 wash mitts - one wash mitt for the upper parts of the car and the other mitt for the lower bits. Once washed the car was rinsed and towel dried using a premium plush towel (amazing thing) and was ready for claying.
Claying wasn't as difficult as i had expected. I used Megs Final Inspection as my lube and made sure to use enough - to begin with i was probably guilty of using too much as i was wary of marring the paint but once i gained confidence i soon found the right balance. Funnily enough it was at this point of confidence that i decided to fling my first piece of clay into the tarmac
I managed to clay the rest of the vehicle with the 2nd piece with no further mis-haps, all the time folding the clay in on itself to ensure i was most of the time presenting a clean side.
Next up it was the AS Tardis, next time i'll Tardis, then clay. Tardis was effective at removing fresh tar spots but there were some really stubborn spots, probably years old which refused to budge even when leaving the tardis to agitate for a minute or two and really working it with a microfibre. Ho hum. So next came another rinse down and a repeat of the 2 bucket wash and another towel drying.
By this time the day was getting beyond me, it was about 16.00 and i still had to tape up the car, polish, gloss and wax... Yes my ambition was clearly exceeding my talent
It took me an hour and a bit to tape the car up. First time i'd ever done it and lets say you live and learn. I needn't have done such a thorough job
. Unfortunately by the time i'd done this and then spoken to the wife and given my son some attention - i was being a bad daddy
it was getting on for 19.00. I was in two minds whether to start the polishing. I felt robbed that the day had elapsed and i'd barely got anything done but i didn't want to leave the tape on the car overnight...
So like a pillock i started to polish it. I used Auto Glym Super Resin Polish, which i couldn't stand the smell of but my concern was the fading daylight. Somehow i managed to put it on the whole of the car in near darkness and by the time i was buffing it off i was doing so with the aid of my bicycle light because night had fallen
Amazingly as i was to find out the next morning i had practically buffed it all off, leaving just the odd miniscule amount here and there which you tend to do even in full daylight
It was time to call it a do - time for my son's bathtime and i'd yet to eat dinner as it approched 21.00. My final schoolboy error for the day was to remove the car tape as i actually needed to keep it on for the Auto Glym Extra Gloss Protection i was going to be using in the morning
Day 3Day 2 had wrecked me. 12 hours cleaning the car and my back was aching in areas i didn't even know i had muscles there to ache! But i was driven on by the desire to complete a full detail and the knowledge that i should at least protect the polish i had done.
However with no garage and just on-street parking i decided that the car wouldn't be in a fit enough state to start the EGP straight away so my first job was to give the car a full clean with Megs Final Inspection. I also thought the car would benefit from another polish - this of course after having re-taped the car up
So finally i got to the gloss stage by 15.00 - Auto Glym Extra Gloss Protection goes on very easily, its a lot more watery than the polish but you have to be careful not to over apply the product and to make sure that the application is evenly done. It was then time to grab some lunch and spend some time with my wife and son as the EGP cured to a haze for 30 mins or so before buffing it off. The wife then told me that was enough for the day, i agreed, knowing i could do the waxing the following day, having already got this far spacing it out over 3 days... Anyhow if you've managed to read this far you deserve some eye candy but please do read on for Day4's shenanigans and pics of the final results
Day 4Yes! Today was the day i'd been looking forward to. I finally get to wax! Now waxing is the fun bit but i knew from reading the threads on here and taking advice off the lads that if you don't put the effort into the early stages of the process, then you won't get the results from the waxing, it was this knowledge that spurred me on to polish the car twice despite detesting the smell of the AG SRP
So after giving the car another Megs Final Inspection top to toe clean, i then waxed on and buffed off (but not like Daniel-san because circular motions are not the done thing!) using Dodo Juice Light Fantastic and after just a couple of hours i was finally finished
I think the whole process had taken me about 19 hours, all done by hand. I have admiration and respect for those who detail a car in 8 hours! I learned a lot along the way and i dare say when i do the whole detailing thing again next March it will only take me about 15 hours. With time and practise maybe one day i'll get it down to 12...
And voila, here are the final shots - you'll see that the wax has enhanced the results from the SRP & EGP on day 3 but also brought out the flecks in the metallic paintwork to give it some sparkle. I'm really happy with the resulting combination of sparkle and gloss
- Thanks for reading
