New Detailing Guide In Progress

I'm refreshing the full guide to detailing that I've had posted on my site for a few years. I'm using my Corolla as a test bed and posting it in sections. I just finished Part 2 and thought I'd share. I'd post it here, but it is very picture intensive and I'm not sure how many pictures are allowed in one post. When I get it completed then I'll see about posting the whole thing for posterity. Right now it is just on my blog until I can put it on the new OCDetails.com site (that I've been trying to finish for 5 years. lol)

 

OCDetails Detailing Guide: Part 1 (wheels/tires and engine)

 

OCDetails Detailing Guide: Part 2 (washing, claying, polishing, waxing)

 

I posted the wheels/tires and engine first because the weather has not been cooperating with me as I've been trying to get this done. When I get part 3 done (interior and final detailing) then I'll merge everything together in the right order and do some editing. I will also be including a list of all the products and tools that I used. Your feedback is helpful as I go through that process. If there is anything I'm missing that you feel should be included, please let me know. I'm sure I'm missing things that just seem natural that one would know, but if I'm assuming too much then tell me so I can include it. Thanks guys!

On the final detailing are you doing to do any more on the exterior, specifically tricks on hard to do parts like under the rear wing (where applicable) or front air dams. I personally just take the pad off my pc and use it by hand to get some product on but any other tips would be appreciated.

Under the spoiler I just use a normal hand applicator. I don't even bother with trying to do any swirl removal under there. First of all, A) how would swirls even get there, and B) who would notice them anyway? So I just let the pad reach as far as it can without the machine bouncing off the spoiler and then I hand wax underneath. Taking the pad off the polisher works too.

 

The final detail part will be some ideas for techniques and tools to get the polish out of seams, door handles, emblems, door jambs, and things like that. There are a lot of little tricks for interior detailing that might come in handy too. The hard part is going to be putting all of these things together in one coherent guide that one could follow. I'd like to put it all in a PDF and make it available for download just in case someone wanted to print it. I'm keeping all the pictures in one folder so it is easy to find them when the time comes to format it in a different way. I'm really working on making this as detailed and thorough as I can. It may be that not every aspect is super secret or hard to figure out, but I'm hoping that by putting it all together that someone might get a useful process out of it. Part 3 will probably be the hardest to write though.

I've been watching from the sidelines since i am a newbie to detailing, but I am very interested in getting good at it.

 

I have to say your site has helped me and a new guide is a very welcome addition, thanks for the help you have given to the auto community

I OCDetails tutorials!

Thanks for the guides! Any ETA for interior detailing? I'd love some tips on how to truely clean some of the hard-to-reach areas, and "fix" the door scuffs.

 

Also, any suggestion on cleaning chrome? My wife's Forester has some serious stains on the chrome that I have yet to find a way to clean.

I'm working on it. I would liked to have done it on Saturday, but it is getting to be that time of the year when I am getting really swamped with everybody else's Spring Cleaning needs. I can't really complain, but I would like to get on that article so I can get the whole thing put together and be done. And believe me, my interior needs it. I'm trying not to clean it until I can document everything for the article, so it is getting pretty gnarly.

OCD, can I bother you with some tech aspects? I also have a blog on Blogspot, how'd you get those tabs on the top? Home, About, etc? very nice to have but have yet to figure out how.

^ It's a mix between his theme... and him creating "pages"

 

http://grab.by/3HFk

Got it, thanks nemo, I'll have another look.

Say OCD, I don't see individual links to your other articles on your blog.

You got me convinced to switch to a sealant from the typical wax, or maybe both if I feel patient enough

I don't even have a frickin' proper wash mitt.

Can you use non-soapy water as a lubricant for the claybar? I plan on washing the car with Ajax to get rid of the old everything. I've waxed this thing in the past but want to start anew.

Thanks OCD - I wish I was as OCD as you. I'm not, but your guides are always welcome!

^ It's a mix between his theme... and him creating "pages"

 

http://grab.by/3HFk

 

Kinda sorta. I'm using the theme and then I just created a separate blog for each of the tabs. Then I went back to the template html and changed the links on all the tabs. There is probably an easier way to do it, but that way worked for me. I'm only really going to be adding regular content to the main page and the rest of it will stay fairly static, so while there is probably an easier way to do it that would transfer all my widgets to each page, I wasn't clever enough to figure that out. I'm from the school of "figure it out as you go along and then regret all your poor design decisions later" I guess. lol

 

OCDetails.com is getting an overhaul. I was just going to cut and paste all the stuff from the original site over, but because I had no idea what I was doing when I built that site, they don't transfer very well. Since I know a little more now than I did when I wrote them originally, I figured I'd just rewrite them with better pictures and more updated techniques. OCDetails.info is where the new site is sort of under construction. I'll be posting all of the articles over there and linking to them from the blog. It is just easier to update the blog at this point since I haven't had time to work on the website. I really just want to finish that site since it links the articles, the blog, and my services page. Then it would be so much more useful to me as a URL on my business card.

Can you use non-soapy water as a lubricant for the claybar? I plan on washing the car with Ajax to get rid of the old everything. I've waxed this thing in the past but want to start anew.

 

 

Ajax....? Uhmmm... let's not do that. Just wash the car like normal with normal car wash. I don't know what is in this Ajax that you are referring to, but all I can think of is Comet cleanser. I don't want you using that. If you haven't waxed your car in the last two or three months, then there most likely isn't anything to remove. The clay will get anything left anyway, so don't worry about using anything harsh.

 

Soapy water makes a fine clay lube. Water isn't slick enough, so squirting a little car wash soap works well. Stick to car wash soap made for cars. Dish soap and hand soap usually have moisturizers and other things that can leave streaky films on the car. Just use some normal car wash that doesn't have any wax in it or anything like that. It will work fine.

Sounds good then, I'll ditch dishwasher soap and just stick to Meguiars, I have a jug of the purple stuff.

Last I waxed the car was way back in July and that was the only time I did it in 2009.

Kinda sorta. I'm using the theme and then I just created a separate blog for each of the tabs. Then I went back to the template html and changed the links on all the tabs. There is probably an easier way to do it, but that way worked for me. I'm only really going to be adding regular content to the main page and the rest of it will stay fairly static, so while there is probably an easier way to do it that would transfer all my widgets to each page, I wasn't clever enough to figure that out. I'm from the school of "figure it out as you go along and then regret all your poor design decisions later" I guess. lol

 

OCDetails.com is getting an overhaul. I was just going to cut and paste all the stuff from the original site over, but because I had no idea what I was doing when I built that site, they don't transfer very well. Since I know a little more now than I did when I wrote them originally, I figured I'd just rewrite them with better pictures and more updated techniques. OCDetails.info is where the new site is sort of under construction. I'll be posting all of the articles over there and linking to them from the blog. It is just easier to update the blog at this point since I haven't had time to work on the website. I really just want to finish that site since it links the articles, the blog, and my services page. Then it would be so much more useful to me as a URL on my business card.

 

Ahhh... yeah my way is much, much easier :lol: It just stuck out cause I just set up a blog on Blogger and then switched over to Wordpress. They're both pretty powerful and can pretty much create a whole website for you using just the blog.

 

If you want, and you have any questions I can try to help out. Just let me know.

 

[/hijack]

I wanted to do a wordpress site, but my hosting doesn't let me. I may have to hit you up when it is time to redesign the blog. The way I have it now is more work than it has to be, but it works. Since it is the end result that matters, I won't worry too much about how I got there. It is good to know though.

do you have any recommended products for chrome polish? my exhaust tips are getting kind of dingy looking.

 

oh i noticed that you are also skipping the paint cleaning process. is that something that you only have to do once in a while?

Paint cleaning and paint polishing are the same thing. If washing, claying, and polishing the paint doesn't clean it, then I don't know what will.

 

Any chrome polish works fairly well on the tips. Eagle 1 makes a good wadding that I like, so that is what I use when I have to get the soot and corrosion off. It does a good job. On turbo cars you have to polish the tips almost every other day if you want to keep them looking good, so it is up to you on how much work you want to put into that particular project. Once you have them looking good then you can just use glass cleaner to shine them up. That is how I do the chrome on my bike when I want to get the dust off or just make it shine again.

what i meant with the by paint cleaning was like a chemical cleaning with klasse or something like that.

That isn't something that needs to be done every time. I'm using bodyshop safe polishes, meaning they leave no oils or fillers on the paint, so using a paint cleaner isn't necessary. If I wasn't going to cut the paint and I just wanted to remove any oxidation and wax before applying a new sealant, then I would probably use a paint cleaner. Actually, I would probably just use a really light cutting polish since having some physical abrasives always makes cleaning the paint easier than with just chemical abrasives. I don't use Klasse AIO very much any more. I use it as a primer for the sealant glaze, but only because I've found those two work really well together. Typically I use a polish with some bite rather than strictly chemical abrasives. It is still an awesome product that I use for oxidation removal on single stage paint for sure. It comes off much easier than physical abrasive cutting polishes.

oh man, im officially OCD now. Thanks OCD. A clean, swirless car is a beautiful site indeed.

There are few things I like more than the look of well aged yet perfect looking paint. It just says something about a car owner who is able to keep the car looking good while still driving it every day. Some of these cars were fun to detail because the end result just looked the way that cars should look. I love it when your efforts produce results. I'm writing this guide for purely selfish reasons. I enjoy seeing well polished cars, so my only option right now is to put as much information as I can out there so people have something to show off and I have something shiny to look at.

OCD - what about stains on chrome (like the silly chrome badging on the trunk)? Do you know of any good products that will restore chrome? I've tried standard chrome polish, and it doesn't seem to do anything.

There are few things I like more than the look of well aged yet perfect looking paint. It just says something about a car owner who is able to keep the car looking good while still driving it every day.

 

 

Almost 6 years baby. I have ocdetails to thanks for really getting me into detailing.. I was always into keeping my cars clean, but it wasn't until I met ocdetails that I learned how to truly take care of my cars finish.

 

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