Detailing in the winter DUCKS

[Tungsten]

It's a balmy 34 degrees outside here today with wind chill, so I decided to break out the Seal Skinz gloves, grab my cleaning supplies, and wash the 2002 Denali that I bought last week. The poor vehicle looks great from a distance but once you got up on it, you could see tons of swirl marks in the clear coat.

I think a person has to be mentally sick to handwash their car in near freezing temperatures. But I did it, and I even clayed it and then pulled it into the garage to start doing some swirl removal.

Good grief, GMC clear coat is *hard* stuff to work. In a little under 2 hours I only managed to completely work the hood with #83, #82 and top it off with some #21. And it still really needs some work from someone with a rotary polisher and more aggressive polishing compounds!

Anyway... the truck probably hadn't been waxed by the previous owner in over a year so it already looks tons better than it did. I'm hopeful that I can at least get it looking good enough to make it through the winter, and then find someone skilled with the rotary to hit it for me next Spring.

[Murr1525]

Re: Detailing in the winter *****

Cleaner/wax or ColorX is your friends in winter...

[Nappers]

Re: Detailing in the winter *****

Your not the only one thats sick. My wife's Neon em brake froze on her after washing it the day before, she doesn't set the brake anymore.

Last night I did our daughters Lumina, wash, interior cleaned and then got the itch to do our Yukon, I was frozen by the time I was done. Drivers rear door was frozen shut even after drying and sprucing up the interior. That Meguiars interior cleaner in the pink bottle worked wonders on the rug of the Lumina and it smells good too.

I worked on the hood of the Yukon with ScratchX by hand and it still needs work, took over an hour but, I am doing it right as the swirl marks in the hood are quite a bit less than the marks on the rest of the car. The paint is tough, years of abuse by previous owner and yours truly until I found this site

Waiting for Christmas for my G100

Aaron
Born Again Detailer

[BlueZero]

Re: Detailing in the winter *****

That Meguiars interior cleaner in the pink bottle worked wonders on the rug of the Lumina and it smells good too.

What stuff is that? Only pink good smelling stuff I can think of is Last Touch.

[Scottwax]

Re: Detailing in the winter *****

I detail full time professionally and I agree, detailing in cold temperatures $uck$! I wear cotton gloves with neoprene gloves over them. My hands still get cold but that's the breaks, I guess. What I hate even more is that it takes longer and more towels to dry a car when it is cold, especially late in the afternoon.