I have been lurking around the forum for a few weeks reading things...watching youtube videos...trying to determine the best actions to make my car look as good as it can for as long as it can. I have never detailed a car and find my past car washing skills were absolutely horrendous after doing a lot of research.
My car is nothing fancy, a 2017 Toyota Yaris iA, a grey color, 30000 miles.
The paint is not bad at least in my eyes, there are rock chips on the front that I have no intention of fixing. There is an impact area on the rear bumper that is about 2 inches that I also do not plan on fixing. The rest of the coat looks pretty good, it is shiny and looks new still. There are some little dings and a few scratches in the coat. I cannot feel the scratches with my nail. I would like to do the car really well by hand for now. If all goes well, then I will move to a DA.
So my understanding as a basic model to follow is:
1) Wash
a. Rinse (I do have a pressure washer)
b. Apply foamed soap (I purchased a hose soap foamer attachement, should have gotten a foam cannon!) and let it sit for a minute
c. Wash in straight line patterns, doing only sections, with a microfiber hand mitt rinsing the mitt off after each section (instead of the 2 buckets grit guard method) and applying more foam soap as I go never letting it dry.
d. Rinse again
2) Decontaminate
a. Apply an iron remover (I purchased Car-x Iron removal), do not let dry, wait for purple and rinse off
b. Apply a tar remove (I purchased Car-x Tar removal), do not let dry, wipe with micro fiber, then rinse
c. Claybar using a detailer for lubrication (I purchased Meguiars Clay and Meguiars Quick Detailer), Do not use a lot of detailer or the clay disintegrates but to little while not be enough lubricant.
d. Wipe off clay residual with micro fiber and spray with an alcohol based solution and wipe with micro fiber (Plan on using Iso 93% mixed with RO water)
3) Working the coat
a. Compound
a1. Apply compound using about the pressure of my arm's weight in small circles and straight lines making a few passes in a small section with level pressure from all fingers, not tips, not palming it either, more of a front palm and whole fingers.
a2. Use micro fiber or foam applicator pads depending on the paints hard/softness
a3. Use a compound that fits the abrasive needs of the scratches and paint hard/softness (I bought Meguiars UC)
a4. Wipe using micro fiber with the last wipe using a clean section of the micro fiber towel, apply Iso mix if needed
b. Polish
b1. Apply polish in the same fashion as the compound but with less pressure
b2. Use a foam applicator for polish
b3. Use a polish that fits the abrasive needs of the scratches and paint hard/softness (I bought Meguiars UP)
b4. Wipe using micro fiber with the last wipe using a clean section of the micro fiber towel, apply Iso mix if needed
c. Wax
c1. Wax or seal the car using the suggested applicator for the wax or sealant being used (I bought Meguiars Spary Wax)
Can someone correct any parts of that outline that I have wrong or have over generalized?
I am not understanding a few things:
Decontamination:
1) Should the Iron / Tar / and Claybar be used on the whole vehicle or only spots that feel bumpy? Is it safe to do the whole car anyway?
2) Should I decontaminate in sections, then proceed to compounding the sections, then polish, then wax or should I decontaminate the whole car first before compounding/polish/waxing any section?
3) Should the claybar pressure be similar to the pressure applied when polishing...as in fairly light pressure?
4) What is a good method of knowing how much detailer to use as a lubricant...a few sprays..a light coating?
Compounding:
1) I read that micro fiber is better than foam applicators for this, but I also read the opposite. Is this mainly based on the hardness of the paint?
2) Can I only compound on areas that have visible scratches and then polish or should I compound the whole thing? (I understand you may want pictures, which I will take soon when its not raining).
3) I have read its a good idea to apply an Iso mix after all the steps after claybarring...so Claybar->Iso->Compound->Iso->Polish->Iso->then wax. Is this right?
Polish:
1) No real concerns on this one...
Wax:
1) Is Meguiars Spray Wax ok to use after this or should I be using a different wax?
2017 Toyota Yaris iA
1) Can anyone tell me if the products I have purchased are good for this car? UC and UP I think are the only ones that seem specific and is micro fiber ok to use for UC.
Thank you to anyone that can help. I have never owned a car that still shined and they all had way more miles than my current Yaris. I had a old Jeep Cherokee, a Mazda Protoge, a Grand Am, Ford Feista, another Grand Am, a Mercury Grand Marquis that I had for 13 years, and now my current Yaris. I realize the work entailed here would be probably 10-15 hours by hand. But, I am willing to do it as I never knew all these odd things about cleaning my car to make it last and I love this little Yaris and would like to see it in good shape for years to come. I get my car is not expensive (paid 11570 cash) and some people may say I am wasting my time, but I have strong desire to treat it well.
My car is nothing fancy, a 2017 Toyota Yaris iA, a grey color, 30000 miles.
The paint is not bad at least in my eyes, there are rock chips on the front that I have no intention of fixing. There is an impact area on the rear bumper that is about 2 inches that I also do not plan on fixing. The rest of the coat looks pretty good, it is shiny and looks new still. There are some little dings and a few scratches in the coat. I cannot feel the scratches with my nail. I would like to do the car really well by hand for now. If all goes well, then I will move to a DA.
So my understanding as a basic model to follow is:
1) Wash
a. Rinse (I do have a pressure washer)
b. Apply foamed soap (I purchased a hose soap foamer attachement, should have gotten a foam cannon!) and let it sit for a minute
c. Wash in straight line patterns, doing only sections, with a microfiber hand mitt rinsing the mitt off after each section (instead of the 2 buckets grit guard method) and applying more foam soap as I go never letting it dry.
d. Rinse again
2) Decontaminate
a. Apply an iron remover (I purchased Car-x Iron removal), do not let dry, wait for purple and rinse off
b. Apply a tar remove (I purchased Car-x Tar removal), do not let dry, wipe with micro fiber, then rinse
c. Claybar using a detailer for lubrication (I purchased Meguiars Clay and Meguiars Quick Detailer), Do not use a lot of detailer or the clay disintegrates but to little while not be enough lubricant.
d. Wipe off clay residual with micro fiber and spray with an alcohol based solution and wipe with micro fiber (Plan on using Iso 93% mixed with RO water)
3) Working the coat
a. Compound
a1. Apply compound using about the pressure of my arm's weight in small circles and straight lines making a few passes in a small section with level pressure from all fingers, not tips, not palming it either, more of a front palm and whole fingers.
a2. Use micro fiber or foam applicator pads depending on the paints hard/softness
a3. Use a compound that fits the abrasive needs of the scratches and paint hard/softness (I bought Meguiars UC)
a4. Wipe using micro fiber with the last wipe using a clean section of the micro fiber towel, apply Iso mix if needed
b. Polish
b1. Apply polish in the same fashion as the compound but with less pressure
b2. Use a foam applicator for polish
b3. Use a polish that fits the abrasive needs of the scratches and paint hard/softness (I bought Meguiars UP)
b4. Wipe using micro fiber with the last wipe using a clean section of the micro fiber towel, apply Iso mix if needed
c. Wax
c1. Wax or seal the car using the suggested applicator for the wax or sealant being used (I bought Meguiars Spary Wax)
Can someone correct any parts of that outline that I have wrong or have over generalized?
I am not understanding a few things:
Decontamination:
1) Should the Iron / Tar / and Claybar be used on the whole vehicle or only spots that feel bumpy? Is it safe to do the whole car anyway?
2) Should I decontaminate in sections, then proceed to compounding the sections, then polish, then wax or should I decontaminate the whole car first before compounding/polish/waxing any section?
3) Should the claybar pressure be similar to the pressure applied when polishing...as in fairly light pressure?
4) What is a good method of knowing how much detailer to use as a lubricant...a few sprays..a light coating?
Compounding:
1) I read that micro fiber is better than foam applicators for this, but I also read the opposite. Is this mainly based on the hardness of the paint?
2) Can I only compound on areas that have visible scratches and then polish or should I compound the whole thing? (I understand you may want pictures, which I will take soon when its not raining).
3) I have read its a good idea to apply an Iso mix after all the steps after claybarring...so Claybar->Iso->Compound->Iso->Polish->Iso->then wax. Is this right?
Polish:
1) No real concerns on this one...
Wax:
1) Is Meguiars Spray Wax ok to use after this or should I be using a different wax?
2017 Toyota Yaris iA
1) Can anyone tell me if the products I have purchased are good for this car? UC and UP I think are the only ones that seem specific and is micro fiber ok to use for UC.
Thank you to anyone that can help. I have never owned a car that still shined and they all had way more miles than my current Yaris. I had a old Jeep Cherokee, a Mazda Protoge, a Grand Am, Ford Feista, another Grand Am, a Mercury Grand Marquis that I had for 13 years, and now my current Yaris. I realize the work entailed here would be probably 10-15 hours by hand. But, I am willing to do it as I never knew all these odd things about cleaning my car to make it last and I love this little Yaris and would like to see it in good shape for years to come. I get my car is not expensive (paid 11570 cash) and some people may say I am wasting my time, but I have strong desire to treat it well.
Comment