Taking a week to get everything done

[zobie02]

Hello!

My car has been neglected for months, and after reading on this forum, I realize I never had really wash my car correctly at all. So, I would like to fix it. I am going to properly wash my car, then I would like to clay the entire car, compound it to get scratches and swirls out, polish it, and wax it. My issue is that there is no way I can do this in a day or two. This will most likely take me a week or two to do it, and I would be driving my car at the same time as well. Is this a major issue? Any ideas or tips about doing this in a relatively long period of time. Thanks!

[therdrman]

Re: Taking a week to get everything done

to do all of that should take a sunday afternoon at most. it shouldnt take 1 week 5-6hours? do the products the way demonstrated and you should be fine

[zobie02]

Re: Taking a week to get everything done

to do all of that should take a sunday afternoon at most. it shouldnt take 1 week 5-6hours? do the products the way demonstrated and you should be fine

Oh really? The reason I said this was because I just read a sticky about someone removing swirls off their truck, and they said it will be a weekend project just for the swirls. So I thought everything will take longer!

[Blazebro]

Re: Taking a week to get everything done

To do what your suggesting by hand is a good 8-10hr day. However when you really start to get down to the nooks and crannies of detailing you can spend that on just the wash cycle alone, perhaps even more.

It's possible to spend an easy 3 days polishing to get paint to a flawless standard.

To give you some idea a quick wash to me is 2hrs.

[zobie02]

Re: Taking a week to get everything done

Yes, I am also planning on taking my wheels off and cleaning the wheels from both sides properly and shining up the wheel well too.

But still, my question remains unanswered. Is it ok to do this in steps while driving the car?

[Murr1525]

Re: Taking a week to get everything done

If it were me....

I may consider trying to Wash, Clay, and Cleaner/Wax or ColorX all in one day. Plus a bit of the interior, wheels, etc.

Then focus on a panel a day for actual swirl removal. Just QD or kind of wash the panel, then use the cleaner (possible UC) as needed. Then 2 coats of wax. Panel done. Next panel the next day.

In a week or two, you can wash it all, and UQW the car to even things out.

[zobie02]

Re: Taking a week to get everything done

I am reading about all these products. I see Ultimate compound, ColorX, NXT wax paste, NXT wax spray, Ultimate Quik Wax, Ultimate Quik Detailer.

I know you use the spray stuff as more of a maintenance product. So, if you have NXT wax paste, and UQD for in between stuff, and UQW for waxing before you use the paste again. Is there a need for NXT wax spray? Why would you use NXT wax spray?

What if you use Ultimate compound to get rid of swirls and bring out color clarity? What is the point of ColorX?

Thanks!

[wifpd4]

Re: Taking a week to get everything done

Zobie,

Murr has given you a great idea and I agree with Blazebro a good wash easily takes me two hours. I applaud your desire to tackle this task over a period of time. Tear down and setup can be time consuming too. Therefore, I would suggest on that first very big day you be very organized and have everything ready the day before. Make sure you have all your tools and supplies ready to go. Run through the project in your head and the day of, hit it hard.

Your next daily or weekly activities will be easier and get progressive easier, just make sure that first day of correction you work on a small test spot and use that experience to plan your next days/weeks work.

Good luck and keep us posted. Some photos, if you have time, would be nice.

[Blazebro]

Re: Taking a week to get everything done

Yes, I am also planning on taking my wheels off and cleaning the wheels from both sides properly and shining up the wheel well too.

But still, my question remains unanswered. Is it ok to do this in steps while driving the car?

The main bulk of it should be done in a day, by that I mean the bodywork (Wash/Clay/Polish/Wax). The rest can be split up and broken down. One weekend you can do the interior, next a full wheel off clean, next engine and so on.

But the body work I wouldn't split up, because as soon as you start driving it your adding contamination imo.

[zobie02]

Re: Taking a week to get everything done

See the issue with me doing the bulk of it in one day is that I don't have the time to dedicate so much time to my car in one day. I go to school and study 10 hours a day, and the days off of school, I work all day. So, I can only put 1-2 hours every few days to my car

[Selectchoice]

Re: Taking a week to get everything done

Hi zobie02,

Personally, I would do the wheels and interior in one day. That should be easy to do, assuming things aren't too out of control. That will take a lot of the work out of the remainder of the job, and free your mind to concentrate on sorting the paint side of things.

The polishing and waxing shouldn't take you much time at all. It is the step before the polishing/waxing where your time should be used wisely. By that I mean do a test spot on a small section (like 12"x12") of a flat panel to see what works best at removing the swirls/scratches etc.

Clay the panel or section first. Then I'd start out the test with Swirlx, however by hand I am thinking you may need to go to Ultimate Compound, but this is where your test spot will direct you. Always try to use the least abrasive product because it will save you time later on. If the test spot comes out defect free (have a close look at the area in sunlight or under strong artificial light) you may be able to skip the polish step entirely and move straight to a wax. When you have the test spot looking good you can then have confidence the rest of the car will respond in a similar way. You will also know the kind of time it will take multiplying the same time/effort from the test spot to the rest of the car.

Once you have the car clean and defect free it's just then a matter of maintaining it, and a whole lot less time and effort the next time.

[I Shine]

Re: Taking a week to get everything done

When I first started to seriously detail my cars it would take forever to wash, polish, and wax my cars.


Try washing your car and then only concentrate on polishing and waxing sections at a time.

It might take a weekend to finish but it's much less intimidating a little bit at a time.

Good luck,

Joseph

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Taking a week to get everything done

How much total time will be required for the job will depend on the severity of the defects, the size of the vehicle, the workability of the paint, your skill level, and you total expectations. A good wash, clay and cleaner wax could take 4 hours while a full concours detailing could take 60 hours. Yes, 60 ( that is, admittedly, extreme!).

Let's assume, just for arguments sake, that this whole project is going to take 14 hours and you can only dedicate a couple of hours per day. Start with a complete wash and clay, then correct defects on just a single panel. But do that panel start to finish, taking it as far as you intend to go. Use some spray wax on the rest of the car and call it a day.

When you're next able to give the car some attention, wash at least the area you can dedicate some time to, and then fully correct that section. The car might have a bit of a patchwork look to it for a couple of weeks until you've tackled it all, but if all can give is a couple of hous at a time, you're kind of stuck.

Odds are it will take longer than a couple of hours to wash, clay and just cleaner wax the whole car, and that process will likely fall short of your expectations. It would take just as long, if not longer, to use Ultimate Compound by hand on half of the car, so how you break up the work is going to impact your results as well.

Odd as it may sound, the above may well be your best bet. And if someone comments on the difference in appearance between the sections you've finished and those yet to be corrected, you can always use it to show off yor work and maybe pick up side work in the process!

[Murr1525]

Re: Taking a week to get everything done

I am reading about all these products. I see Ultimate compound, ColorX, NXT wax paste, NXT wax spray, Ultimate Quik Wax, Ultimate Quik Detailer.

I know you use the spray stuff as more of a maintenance product. So, if you have NXT wax paste, and UQD for in between stuff, and UQW for waxing before you use the paste again. Is there a need for NXT wax spray? Why would you use NXT wax spray?

No, UQW replaces the Nxt Spray Wax.

What if you use Ultimate compound to get rid of swirls and bring out color clarity? What is the point of ColorX?

ColorX is a cleaner/wax. So it is a mild product that can be used for a quick clean and protection. ColorX is also great in the future for a quick detail, like:

1. Wash
2. ColorX
3. Wax

And you covered all the basic steps nice and easy. It would not be for a lot of defect removal, esp by hand.

See the issue with me doing the bulk of it in one day is that I don't have the time to dedicate so much time to my car in one day. I go to school and study 10 hours a day, and the days off of school, I work all day. So, I can only put 1-2 hours every few days to my car

You'll be fine going day by day... You can even do the wheels good one day, then the general car wash/clay/cleaner.wax a day. Then really go to work on the swirls as you have time.

Nothing to worry or feel bad about.

[zobie02]

Re: Taking a week to get everything done

OK. Thanks for the response guys! So no need for NXT spray wax which is awesome because Quik Wax is half the price! My car is actually relatively small, but the color is black so you see a lot of bad stuff. I'm going to try some product in the next few days and put pictures up to show you guys how it looks and how I should proceed. Thanks again!