First Timer - Town and Country, 146K

[joncz]

My thoughts for other first-timers:

1. Test spot
2. You're not going to get it dialed in on your test spot, so plan on redoing some work when you do finally get it dialed in. I repolished the entire van when I finally realized how I could improve what I was doing - step 3.
3. Context - Understand the context of the how-to's and advice from Mike Phillips, et-al. Mike's directions are based on Meg's pads. I have LC pads and it took me a while to figure out how to adjust for them.
4. Realize that not everything can be fixed. Know when to stop working a spot. This van is 10 years old, has seen two boys from infants to ages 9 and 11, two dogs, is used as a daily driver, and has hauled tons of soil and mulch from Home Depot.
5. The consumer products (Scratch-X, Swirl-X, DC3) work very well. Don't feel the need necessarily to go find the professional line (I had 6oz samples of M105 and M205, but ended up polishing the van with Swirl-X).

Before:














Cuts in bumper from a rototiller


After:
Scratches are still there, but greatly diminished.


That brown smudge is a reflection of a dirt spot on the driveway






Springtime in Atlanta - already pollen collecting on mirror!






Cuts still there, but definitely shinier now


HyperDressing 4:1 for a nice satin look

[Tuck91]

Re: First Timer - Town and Country, 146K

great work on the van! i see you have a helper as well

[Carfire]

Re: First Timer - Town and Country, 146K

Great Job!!
Looks Great!!
Nice Job on the Mirror!!
My Moms is pretty similar to that.
I Can not capture the Swirls!!
Excellent Work!!
Keep up the Great Work!!

[Murr1525]

Re: First Timer - Town and Country, 146K

The dog shined up good.....

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: First Timer - Town and Country, 146K

Van looks a lot better. Nice helper you have there.

Excellent points about the consumer line.

[yalerd]

Re: First Timer - Town and Country, 146K

Very nice work!!
I think your dog is exhausted from the work

[billoftt]

Re: First Timer - Town and Country, 146K

Nice work. I purchased a Town and Country last August and did not realise how much of a bear it is to clean. A lot more surface area than teh Monte Carlo i traded it for.

Excellent point about the consumer products. I used SwirlX on my 2005 Impala recently and it did an AMAZING job of breathing new life into my finish. I plan on swirlxing (New word?) my van this weekend and topping it off with some Gold Class plus.