So last Sunday I picked up my brand-new Black 2014 GT Premium, and then it rained. Hard. For a week. And then the Tropical Storm came....

So.....I've finally got access to 1) OK weather, 2) an empty 2-car garage, and 3) time, so I'm going to do my 1st full-blown official detailing! I thought I'd share my excitement with you all!

I'm going to start this extravaganza nice and early in the AM so I don't have to rush and beat the sun/heat. I've got my foam gun, car shampoo, two-bucket system, complete with Grit Guarads, and my step ladder (so I can make sure I reach the center of the roof).

I'm gonna rinse, rinse, rinse and then work in sections so soap doesn't have time to dry. I've got my fuzzy caterpillar microfiber mits all nice and clean and ready to go!

Once it's nice and clean, I'm gonna rinse, rinse, rinse some more, then break out the leaf blower and dry, dry, dry! I've got my waffle-weave microfiber towels ready to blot up any runs and missed spots

Once that's all done, it's time to head into the garage and the real fun begins.....CLAY!!!!!!

I've got lots of clay lube and it's gonna be a clay-fest all up in this mug. I'm gonna clay the whole car - glass and all!!! It's gonna be so smooth, it's gonna pick up chicks at the bars by itself!

Next up, inspection and paint correction. I've got 4 levels of paint correcting polish (Chemical Guys v32, v34, v36, v38), so I'm ready for anything. Swirls? BAM! Holograms? BAZINGA! Scratches? HUZZAH! They're gone, baby! My brand-new Porter Cable 7424XP is going to have a busy day!

Once that's done, and the paint is so clean I can see back in time reflected in it, it's time for the glaze - Chemical Guys Black Light! That's right, a polish with such a cool name, it brings back the memory of a glowing 1970's Fuzzy Panther poster and some Led Zeppelin! One coat applied with the black pad, cure for 30 mins, then a 2nd coat by hand (per the recommendations). Oh baby, this is gonna be one SEXY ride!

The final touch is going to be the sealant - Chemical Guys v7! Smells like Orange Kool-ade! OH YEAH!!!

Then I can move inside and peel that plastic off the carpets - give it a nice vacuuming, and install those factory floor mats.

Depending on the time, I may need to take a nap before I finish the inside and leather work, but oh man, am I going to be giddy! I can't believe how excited I am - I never thought I could get this jazzed over cleaning something!!!!

Aaaaaaaaaand I'm spent.

 

Being a Cylon... just put your hand back in the data stream and recharge!

 

post pics when you are done.. would love to see the result.

 

Good luck and let us know if there are any hiccups.

 

So here we go. Got up bright and early on Sunday morning to wash and detail the new Mustang. Here's a few quick "Before" pics for reference:

General "Dirty" picture - note the grime behind the front wheel



This pic shows some 'hazing' that looks like it's from the original dealer trying to clean something off and not doing a very good job.



Several water spots



OMG! A scratch!



I'm not sure what this was - either old sap or bird dropping etching maybe?



At precisely 8:54 in the morning, I began the actual wash process. I had partial shade, but the sun was out, and it was already hot out. I did a rinse, wash, and re-rinse. I used the two-bucket method (with Grit Guards and MF Mits), and I'm using Chemical Guys Maxi-Suds II Super Suds Car Wash along with a . I read https://themustangsource.com/f659/any-tips-removing-water-spots-520703/#post6601922 post about washing the entire care before rinsing. I dried immediately using my Sears leafblower and followed up with my waffle weave towel. When I was done, I had THIS:




I figured this would go away when I clayed, so I didn't panic, however:

QUESTION #1 - How do I prevent this film from coming back?


Now on to the claying. I used a Meguiars Clay Kit and with one bar and the entire bottle of detail spray that comes in the kit, I did the entire car. When that was done, I ended up with this:



Note some more film still remains, probably from the detail spray







I'd read several posts that say that some micro-marring is expected after claying, and here's an example:





QUESTION #2 - Is this normal, or does this come from poor technique/inexperience at claying/poor choice in product/other?


Here's a shot post-claying, before polishing. Notice the sky has turned grey....




And now it's time to take the polisher to the car. My nerves started to kick in...after all, I was about to start grinding on my car with a power tool. Here's the combo I used: Porter Cable 7424XP with an Orange Hex-Logic pad and Chemical Guys v36 (2000-2500 grit) polish.




Now here's the rub (pardon the pun): This process seemed to go a lot smoother than I expected, but took a LOT longer than I planned. Combine that with a bad back, and it took me about 4 hours to polish the entire car. Also, at this point, the battery in my camera died, and it started to rain outside.

Once the polishing was done, I cleaned the entire car with a 1:3 Isopropyl Alcohol:Water mix, then applied my Chemical Guys Blacklight glaze with a white pad. I was planning to do a top layer of wax, but I just ran out of time. For the record, I bought a bottle of Surf City Barrier Reef Carnauba Wax (Liquid). By the time I was done both processes, it was 8pm and I was exhausted.

I waited until the next day to take some finished product photos. Here they are:













Here are a few "Sun" shots. I haven't erased all the swirls, but I think it's not too bad for a first try:





QUESTION #3 - Should I have used a more aggressive polish and/or a different pad? I have Chemical Guys v32 (1200 - 1500 grit), Chemical Guys v34 (1500 - 2000 grit), v36 (what I used, see above), and Chemical Guys v38 (2500 - 3000 grit)

Thanks to Junkman, Marc, and Mike for their teachings, help, and input - I'm looking forward to getting better and better at this as I go deeper into this 'hobby'. All comments, concerns, and questions are welcome.

 

Always start with the least aggressive polish first, then step up if it isn't cutting it (no pun intended). How many passes did you make on the paintwork? Sometimes it is better to do an area twice and check the results as opposed to going to a more aggressive polish right away.

Back issues... I have a wheeled mechanic's stool that I use when doing the flanks of the car and then for the rocker panels I go to a mechanic's creeper. Being a firefighter, I have had more than my share of "aching backs". It also helps to stretch and limber up before detailing. I find if I stop for any length of time and sit down to rest, my backe stiffens up faster than an old coot overdosing on Viagra! If I do take a break, I make sure to keep moving.


All in all.. not bad for a first timer.. nice work!

 

I only did one pass, and I used the "workhorse" polish - not too rough, not too smooth. My guess is that I should have either done two passes or used v34 then followed with v38 (this was my 1st thought but talked myself into the v36 1-pass based on a few YouTube videos).

I didn't even think about sitting down until I got halfway through the Blacklight application (mistake #1). Then I found an Igloo cooler to sit on. I think the next time I'll get a rolling stool and/or mechanics creep. I didn't take any Advil either (mistake #2), and I took appx. 15-30 minute breaks where I sat down (mistake #3). It doesn't help that I'm about 75lbs overweight either....

Thanks for the compliment - hopefully 2nd time's a charm!

 

A very successful day I'd say!

Not only were you able to improve some things, you learned a lot in the process, and learning it the key to improving your finish. None of us are born knowing how to make our cars look outstanding, so everything you learn is something you'll do better or more smoothly next time.

The post wash and dry pic looks like you failed to do a final thorough rinse prior to blow-drying. You sure had a lot of shampoo residue, and you won't want to deal with that every wash.

Yes, claying is going to cause some damage, though it's usually very light.

You're not always going to immediately get 99.9% correction on a vehicle because it doesn't matter how many or few defects you have; it matters how deep or shallow those defects are.
Additionally, to a trained eye, it's very apparent that you need to use another polish (or two). In a couple of the sun shots, you can see micro-marring from the aggressive combo that was used on the paint. Forum member Max stopped by my house a month or so back to get my opinion, and despite his car looking flat out beautiful (much like yours!), if you want to nit-pick and figure out what to improve, this is it. He recently went back to redid some things ( https://themustangsource.com/f659/pa...a-boss-522349/ ) but I still think he was too aggressive using an orange pad rather than white or black.

Once again, I'm not here to try to lie to you and tell you you're car doesn't look awesome, because it truly does, but I hope you can learn from all the good things you did and apply that knowledge to future days of working on your baby. Great work and thanks for sharing!

 

Fantastic results for your first time! I'd say you've probably got your car looking better than nearly any other black car you're likely to see in a while.

As always, Ron's and Marc's comments are spot on. I agree with Marc that if you want to step up the finish just a little more, there are a couple of things you can try.

Let's use your last pic as an example. Looking closely, there are a couple of deeper straight line scratches called RIDS (random isolated deep scratches) that you might be able to remove by stepping up to a more aggressive polish such as the V34 first, or V32 if V34 doesn't do the trick. Or you can let them go until next time you polish the car.

The micromarring Marc refers to is also clear in that last pic if you look closely to the sun's reflection. There is a very slight haze around the sun, which can be from the V36 being too aggressive to finish well on this paint, from the orange pad being too aggressive or both. It's very faint, and nearly impossible to see while you're working unless you use a high-lumen LED. Even halogen lights don't do well for exposing this last little bit of marring. To remove this micromarring and get that last bit of potential from your paint, you'll need to find what combo of V36 or V38 works best with either a black or white pad. You may even need to do both...V36 on white followed by V38 on black. Dialing in a good, clean combo is what we refer to as a test spot.

All that aside, the car does look incredible. And the time you put into it is definitely on the mark. People don't often realize just how time consuming this process really is. But now that you've learned the basics, you're ready to make a couple of tweaks and get that last 1% out of your paint!

 

So I have a few follow-up questions:

1) If I try doing a 2-step to get rid of the swirl marks, should I use two different pad types (White, then Black), or the same type pad for both levels of polish?

2) Since this is going to take more than one day, I assume the following schedule:

Day 1 - Rinse/Wash/Rinse, Polish w/v32, wipedown with IPA, Polish w/v38, wipedown with IPA
Day 2 - [Do I need to re-wash since it sat overnight?], glaze with Blacklight, wax with carnauba, seal with v7.

3) Should I use more than 1 pad during each step of the polish process? My orange and white pads seemed to get kinda 'thick' with polish (I used 4 dots to prime at start, then only 3 dots per 2' square section). The orange pad washed out fine, but the white pad with the Blacklight is still loaded full of the stuff. Any tips on getting that out?

Thanks for all the encouragement! This weekend is Father's Day weekend, so I won't have time for another detailing, but the weekend after I may tackle it again if for no other reason than practice.

 

1. It all depends, you just have to mix and match til you find what works on your car. It's a puzzle that only you can figure out on your particular car! Generally speaking, don't expect a black pad to do much correcting, regardless of how aggressive a polish you use with it. It's just not firm enough to do much cutting. By that same token, an orange pad may not always finish well even with a light polish. The pad does have cut of its own, and it may be too aggressive regardless of the polish. It's all about trying different combos until you find one that works.

2. I strongly suggest checking progress going from V32 straight to V38. Noting that I haven't used CG polishes myself, usually going from a heavy cutting compound straight to an ultra-light finishing polish is asking for trouble. You may not be able to clean up the compounding haze with a jump like that, or worse, you may ending up filling in the haze only to have it come back after a few washes. Those middle polishes and pads exist for a reason!

3. It always helps to work clean, and having multiple pads of each color help do that. If you only have one of each currently, you'll have to constantly clean your pads. Use either a brush like this http://www.oxo.com/p-336-grout-brush.aspx or a cheap MF towel to clean your pad face frequently. Also, you'll usually go through the heavy cutting pads probably 3-1 compared to the finishing pads. Since they are more aggressive, they get loaded with clumped polish and cut-off paint a lot faster than a lighter pad that isn't removing much material at all. So stock up on orange pads, but you can probably get by with fewer white and black pads. And dark products like Blacklight will stain a white pad. It should still be safe to use though.

 

^ x2

 

Reading your first post made my morning. lol Its rare to find people so excited to clean! Most car guys I know really never have clean cars... they're just dirty modified ones.
So seeing the time you put into yours for its FIRST wash, awesome! Keep it up! Black is a tough one. Pretty when clean.... but a pain at times!

(i think its worth the pain though)

 

Excellent effort and result. Now you just need a Mustang show to attend.

 

Thanks guys, but it's nowhere near ready to show off yet. I am, however, going to join the local Mustang Club though, if for no other reason than to make some new friends and have an excuse to get out of the house with my new toy!

This Saturday (after a wash), I'm going to start my audio system upgrade. I'll be putting the Alpine component speakers in the doors and measuring the subwoofer location for replacement with a new mid-bass driver (JL ZR800's, I think).

I just wish IDataLink would hurry up and make the dash kit I want so I can really get to work.....

 

Just wanted to update the thread. Last night after the sun went past the trees I washed the car and did a complete wipedown with Chemical Guys v7 Detail Spray. I'm still having an issue with water spots, but the v7 removes them (at least I think it does).

This morning I got up at exactly 7:07am and waxed the car with Surf City Barrier Reef Carnauba Wax (liquid). It's drying now, and I'm going to go wipe it off in a minute.

The end results:

 

Stunning. What else can be said?

As you'll see, reflection shots are quite easy. The car can be lightly dirty / dusty, and have decent marring / swirls and still reflect quite well. Those sun shots tell the story my friend.

Now do yourself a favor and get some Optimum Tire Shine (notice: Tire Shine NOT tire gel). It's my favorite on black cars. It's water-based, so it'll look a little more shiny when first applied than it will in about 10-15 minutes after. Nice silky black look to compliment your beautifully prepped paint.

 

Tires and interior are next weekend. Today I'm installing new door speakers. Having to fabricate new brackets using the OEM speaker housing is fun! Lots of melted plastic everywhere.....

 

Your car looks great, and having just gone through this first learning experience as well, as Marc mentioned, I am personally satisfied, even though I still see a few things here and there. I do wish I HAD a white pad to start with, this is why I went with orange. But next time I will stock up and I might consider some more intermediate steps.

Anyway, welcome to the support group, our neighbor's think we're nuts!

 

This.....