Critique this plan

[joncz]

I've been reading and absorbing from this forum for well over the past month and finally have my opportunity - my wife is out of town this weekend. Time to break out the G110 and chemicals stockpiled (and on their way, thanks UPS) and see about revitalizing my wife's '99 T&C.

Hardware:

• Meg's Clay
• G110 & Pads
• Sheepskin mitt
• Microfiber
• Foam fingers, brushes, etc

Wetware:

• QEW (outdoor water ban in Atlanta)
• M105 / M205 sample bottles from AutoGeek
• Scratch-X / Swirl-X
• M07
• DC3
• QD
• QID
• Final Touch
• APC+
• HyperDressing
• Gold Class Leather Cleaner/Conditioner
  

Constraints:

• My APC+ and HD are due for delivery on Friday. My last UPS delivery was 7:40pm
• Have a window from 3-5pm on Friday, then after 8pm for a short while
• Have to work between a soccer game ending at 10:30am and another starting at 4:30pm on Saturday
• Have all day Sunday to work
• Have to be at a good stopping point by end of day Sunday

My Plan:

• Friday afternoon I will wash (QEW) and clay the van
• Friday night I will take it to the local DIY bay and APC the engine and wheelwells and spray them out. When I get home, I will dress the engine with HD. The wheelwells on the T&C have the rough asphalt coating, so nothing more needs be done there.
• Saturday I will go over the van with Scratch-X / M105 and follow it with Swirl-X / M205.
• Sunday morning I will apply M07 and then wax with DC3.
• Sunday afternoon will be spent inside - leather cleaner, APC+, dressing

I've been "playing" with some of the products and steps on panels: washed and clayed the back hatch, worked the Scratch-X by hand on a RID - Ryan Induced Defect (my now-11 year old son drew a fortunately faint line down the driver's side with a rock when he was 3!). I will be doing a test-panel to get comfortable with the G110 and new products.

Does this sound like a reasonable action plan to those with experience?

Thanks in advance.

Jon

[Carfire]

Re: Critique this plan

Sounds Good!!
Good Luck with Your Detail!!
Do you have UQD or QD, to dust the paint before you wax on Saturday?
You Should post Pictures later!!

[john m.]

Re: Critique this plan

yeah i think your plan of attack sounds good and definitely post pics when you finish up

[CieraSL]

Re: Critique this plan

I'd leave your van inside the garage or under cover in between work sessions so you don't have to worry about re-washing or knocking off dust or condensation. Just my two cents.

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Critique this plan

Sounds like a good plan. Besides keeping the van inside. Remember after your extended breaks inspect for dust and use the last touch.

Good luck.

Make sure you post some pics.

[joncz]

Re: Critique this plan

Thanks all.

Carfire: I have some QD I expect to use up claying and then some Last Touch (not Final Touch - why starch the vehicle?!?) after.

CieraSL, JA: Will be keeping the van in the garage until after waxing. Then I'll be moving it back outside to warm up the leather in the sun while I work on the interior. My '08 black Azera will sit outside this weekend

The Azera (a prior Enterprise rental - swirlomatic) will be the project after I get used to the process and products.

[Carfire]

Re: Critique this plan

Good Luck!!
Have Fun!!
Post Pictures!!

[joncz]

Re: Critique this plan

Thanks to all who responded. It was a long weekend, but ended up following the plan very closely - that or the steps expanded to eat up all the time I had made available for them.

I posted a write-up with pictures - First Timer - Town & Country, 146K

[slappy]

Re: Critique this plan

Thanks to all who responded. It was a long weekend, but ended up following the plan very closely - that or the steps expanded to eat up all the time I had made available for them.

I posted a write-up with pictures - First Timer - Town & Country, 146K

wow, that is so nice. so you just use Scratch-X and Swirl-X by hand or G110?

[Ganesa]

Re: Critique this plan

nice weekend plan.. good luck :].. cant wait to see the results

[joncz]

Re: Critique this plan

Slappy - I did everything with the G110.

I had 6oz sampler bottles of the M105 and M205 from my AutoGeek order. I figured I would use the M105 since the paint was really marred.

After thinking I had things in hand on the test spot (see the photos in my link - my test spot was the right rear panel with the Limited trim), I proceeded around the van following Mike Phillips advice to a T - dots of material on the pad, work a 18"x18" area, wipe and clean pad frequently. Went around with the M205 and as a I finished the back hatch, the sunlight hit it and I saw swirls! It felt like I hadn't even touched it; frustrating to say the least. Obviously my process wasn't what I thought it was, so I started experimenting more.

I had been running into a problem early on where the M105 seemed to go dry on me very quickly, so I'd been misting the panel with Last Touch to extend the work time. I started to wonder if I had actually not been using enough product on my sections - this is where I spoke about context in my post with photos. I had the LC pads - maybe the divots were keeping the pad too dry. I had also had issues with being unable to put anywhere near the 20-25 lbs of force on the G110 - this too made me think I was working too dry.

So I went back to my test panel again - this time with the Scratch-X and Swirl-X because I was actually close to running out of M105 and M205 by now, and I went with a more product on the pads. I was able to get more force on the pad without stalling the rotation and saw better results. I ended up having to work 24"x24" sections instead, but it all continued to work better with a little more product.

When I do my Azera, I'll again start out with Mike's directions as my starting point and adjust based on what I encounter. But I'm happy enough with the results I'm getting with the Scratch-X and Swirl-X that I expect to stick with them.