Brett's detailing post...........

[Jake Spoon]

 *******message below**********

+-----Original Message-----
+From: Brett Dikeman [mailto:quattro at frank.mercea.net] 
+Sent: Sunday, April 23, 2006 9:04 PM
+To: capnkidd
+Cc: SuffolkD at aol.com; quattro at audifans.com; cody at 5000tq.com
+Subject: Re: My red 5k-t-q quattro Digest, Vol 30, Issue 41
+
+
+On Apr 22, 2006, at 1:37 PM, capnkidd wrote:
+
+> Why don't you share the brand name of that "miracle paint product"  
+> that you
+> don't believe in?
+
+Chances are it's just polishing wax, with a very aggressive 
+compound and lots of fillers and gloss enhancers.  It breaks 
+the "do as little as possible" rule with paint care; stuff 
+like that is a great way to remove a quarter of your clearcoat 
+in an afternoon.
+
+I recently cleaned up the paint on a friend's VW Cabriolet.
+
+1)Started with a complete wash with P21S auto wash (the orange 
+citrus- y stuff).  This removes all the loose dirt, oil, and 
+previous wax if any.
+2)Did each panel with a clay bar.  This  removes any embedded 
+dirt, sap spots, etc.
+3)With a porter-cable random-orbital buffer, applied 
+Pinnacle's swirl remover (not a filler- an actual abrasive 
+swirl remover).  I then wiped it down with a damp microfiber 
+cloth, and looked over the surface; any heavy scratches were 
+removed with Mother's pre-wax cleaner.  Supposedly the 
+abrasives in the swirl remover break down and become smaller 
+and smaller; whatever- it worked.
+4)Sealed the car with Zaino.  Liquid Glass would work for 
+those looking for something quite a bit cheaper; if you want 
+"really cheap"  
+then try liquid NXT wax from Meguire's, though I would 
+strongly recommend steering clear of the paste wax, as I tried 
+it and found it very difficult to apply (felt like it had dried out.)
+
+Seeing perfectly finished white paint is something special, I 
+have to say.  I really wish the car had been pearl so I could 
+have seen what really clean pearl paint looks like.
+
+It is virtually critical that you do some form of #1 before 
+#2, and same with #2 before #3.  You want to remove dirt, 
+especially before you hit the car with a polishing pad.  Once 
+you've done the car, it is important you not put any scratches 
+ back into the paint if you don't want swirls. This means:
+
+-remove compounds and such with either a completely clean 
+cotton towel, or completely clean microfiber cloths.
+-wash the car with a boar's hair brush.  Everything else 
+presses dirt against the paint and leaves scratches.
+-dry it with a squeege (California water blade is nice) or if 
+the car is beading water nicely, you'd be astounded at how 
+well an electric leaf blower works. This will garner many 
+strange looks from your neighbors, but nothing's better for 
+getting the water off the car, particularly our older cars 
+with a billion nooks and crannies and trim pieces.
+
+You may have used a "glaze" or "swirl remover" before- unless 
+they are abrasive, they are nothing more than fillers, and 
+next season, you'll find all those swirls staring you in the 
+face again.
+
+Liquid Glass, by the way, seems rather good at protecting 
+wheels, but any wax will make life easier...
+
+Brett

Hi, 

I left it intact.  Great post.  You outdid yourself on that one.  In my
memory you mentioned something from every post I've seen on detailing.  You
even mentioned some things I hadn't heard of.  What's a California water
blade?   Boar's hair brush?  Careful or the sows will demand equal time.
Now, the leaf blower I get and that's a great idea.  


Do you make housecalls?

Cheers!

Jim Jordan