mblouir

Thank you! Coming from a detailer that means a lot.

mblouir

Sorry I missed this earlier. If I were to charge someone to do this to their vehicle, it would depend on what steps they wanted done. I'd guess $200, depending on how much paint correction was necessary. Maybe more, maybe less. That would include a good solid wash, clay, and in-depth paint correction. The heavy work is definitely the claying and paint correction. Since I didn't have to clay mine as much as normal it saved a lot of trouble.

Considering I don't do this for a living and it's something I enjoy doing, I wouldn't charge as much as professional detailers. I've talked to some and they charge upwards of $500 to do all this to our trucks. Then again, you'd definitely get better results from a detailer, considering they do this for a living (granted you go to a reputable one).

Plus I don't have any spare time at the moment. My senior course load and work keep me busy.

88rxn/a

man you make it look easy!
superb write up!!!
im going to be following this by the book!
maybe if i get time ill post a before and atfer pic. im just nervous about the corner and edges of the truck when polishing it.

mblouir

Sounds good, man, give it a try. I had one person follow it already (bought everything and went step-by-step) and his results were great! No more swirl marks.

If you're worried about the edges of the truck when polishing in terms of wearing paint down, don't be. It is easier to run through paint on edge, yes, but using a PC makes it virtually impossible to burn the paint. That's why beginners should always use a dual-action polisher. The random action of the head makes it so there is no concentrated heat build-up.

MMasz

Nice write up and work. I too have the Porter Cable D-A and it is a necessity if you want to do any paint correction and keep your vehicle looking fine. It's well worth the $$$ as it saves anyone gobs of elbow grease.

I did detailed for a time before herniating a disc in my low back. I detailed my Dad's clean Honda Odyssey for Christmas a couple years ago. I did the full wash, claybar, seperate polish (Optimum) and wax (Collinite 845), as well as steam clean the engine/door jambs, etc., clean the upholstery/carpets with a commercial extractor. The Odyssey looked brand new even though it was 6 years old. Took me 12 hours! I would have charged $350-400 for that job.

Mtaters

great job your truck looks great. im deff going this route on my fx4 after i take off the stupid lower chrome strips idk what you call them just want them off.

and how would you go about washing the pads and microfiber towels and how many uses can be expected from each?

oh and when u use the clay bar you just leave the residue on the vehicle you dont rinse it off?

GREAT WRITE UP!!!

mblouir

Most of the time you will be supplied with some small packets of pad-cleaning solution (powder). If not you can buy some---it's real cheap. I just mix a packet in a 5-gallon bucket and throw the pads in to soak. After 10 minutes I rub them with my hands and squeeze everything out of them. Then rinse and let them air dry.

I'd expect them to last quite a while if cared for properly.

I didn't clean the clay residue off because I was going to be polishing the truck. That removes the clay residue. The residue is mostly dried quick-detail spray, so when it becomes wet again it actually helps with the polishing process.

Mtaters

hey thanks for the great info man one last question tho what color pad would you use for the Meguiar's Deep Crystal Car Polish

mblouir

Depending on brand, whatever is equivalent to the blue Lake Country Pad.

dpk1nba

Is it ok to do the detailing proceedure in this thread with a factory clearcoat on my truck? This will be my first time detailing a vehicle