6gc's resident detailer is in! post your questions here!, need some help detailing? ask here Options

[opie_7afe]

so ive been away from the forums focusing on my other passion at heart and that is detailing, not your run of the mill detailing most shops and car dealerships offer, im talking OCD perfectionist detailing, removing swirls/scratches,prepping cars for car shows ect. ect. ect. so basically if you need any help getting your celica to look its best ask me some questions!, if your local to me i will even teach you better methods to detail your car. if you need any suggestions on good products to use, ask me. if you want to know how to get rid of that oxidized finish on the single stage paints used on celicas post in this thread!. hope i can help you guys who really want their celica to look its best figure out the best methods of detailing, maybe i will start writing some detailing articles here.

This post has been edited by opie_7afe: Jan 24, 2012 - 5:15 PM

[richee3]

Some of the other forums I'm on have a detailing how-to stickied. We don't. I say we change that

[opie_7afe]

i will work on getting one made up just for the 6gc's just kind of hard for me being as from the doors up needs new paint. and i have hubcaps so i cant give my tips on how to clean the barrels of the wheels, one of my pet peeves is when people have nice wheels and dont clean the barrels.

[cheela]

I gotta say I hate our doors for being so beautifully made becuase door dings are so prominent on them!!

I've been a detailer for a while now. not the best but better than most hahaah
I would love to get some tips on better detailing

[Tigawoods]

when i was checking out my buddies end of the year evaluation thread i saw a post from a celica owner was it you?
its was in Oakes Detailing thread.

[opie_7afe]

yep opie_7afe is my main forum name for most forums.

[opie_7afe]

yeah i seriously have a problem! im addicted to detailing, the pics below explain it all!











only thing that is not shown is my 2 tubs of microfiber towels and my tub of applicators and my crappy turtle wax products that are collecting dust!

[EKAn]

Any tips on cleaning the engine bay? what to use? And how do you get rid of that oxidized finish?

[opie_7afe]

tips for the engine bay, basically what i do is wrap all the electronics(alternator,fuse boxes,relay boxes, map, fuel injectors,distributor, ect) and use some electrical tape wound tight around it to help prevent water from going into electronics, spray it down with some meguiars all purpose cleaner plus or la's totally awesome or purple power diluted 10:1(10parts water 1 part cleaner) spray down let soak for a minute or two, then use an assortment of brushes.also need some time also, helps to remove some items like the air box if you have one.

to fix the chalky oxidized finish you need to have a rotary or a random orbital polisher(not the cheap 10" or 6" ones) and need to have an assortment of pads/polishes to get it done right. if its really bad applying some meguiars #7 show car glaze and letting it soak for 12 hours(out of the sun) and then remove it. this feeds the paint with oils making it much easier to remove the oxidation. most jump to a wool pad on a rotary and some compound like meguiars m105, however you can use a 5.5" lake country orange or yellow pad on a random orbital with some m105 or the meguiars dual action microfiber system and that will remove the oxidation but will leave a haze/light hologramming(if your using a rotary) hologramming/haze is expected with a heavy cutting compound like m105. so you then follow up with meguiars m205 to remove the haze and bring up the gloss on a white lake country pad, if this is leaving slight holograms/haze then switch to a black lake country finishing pad or a different polish with a black pad. just a pointer the single stage white paint is really hard due to the titanium dioxide used for pigment in the paint, on the other hand black single stage is soft because the pigment is carbon, as you should know carbon is soft on the mohs hardness scale. it really does take a good bit of time for an oxidized finish but worth it when its done. you also need to judge on how bad the oxidation is to determine what the best approach is, what i will do is tape off a square on the hood or somewhere using painters tape and use the least aggressive polish/pad combo first, if that dont remove the oxidation then go more aggressive.what does work on white is some pinnacle xmt360,optimum poli-seal, meguiars paint reconditioning creme. stuff like that works great on white if your not trying to create a flawless finish, all of those products will remove medium to light oxidation and light swirl marks, deeper scratches you need to use something more aggressive, always remember to work clean also, meaning clean paint, and a clean pad. when your fixing oxidized paint the particles of paint and polish will get into the pad so you need to either wash your pad or switch to another pad,if you dont you will start seeing the pad not working well like it was when you first started, takes some time,effort,and patience to make oxidized paint look great but its worth it. if any of this has you stuck reply back listing what your stuck on and i will help further

[cheela]

HOLY *****!!!
what a collection.

[JasonTX]

i just had my car painted black. in about a week when i'm back in town i'm taking it back to get it buffed out (have a run in the back) after its buffed what would you recomend as far as procedure to keep my new paint protected?

thanks

peace

-jec

[Culpable04]

I have to say, out of everything pictured, the back to black product is total crap ( not hating on you ) just a small review on it.

I bought it full of hope after seeing the " actual results " on a TV car program, applied it to my window trim and rubber trim around teh hatch, looked awesome while wet, let it dry, and looks just as bad as it did before applying the product.

after that I went ahead with my online search and found a rough formula on how to make your own black plastic touch up mix, got the supplies and try it, is awesome, I will take before and after pictures when I do the car again, and will post what I found were the % of addition of each ingredient that worked best.

I would like to know how to clean the barrels on the wheels, I haven't found a good way of doing it yet, the car sits too low and wheels are jsut 16s so not enough room to do it from behind the wheel without jacking the car up at which point might as well take the wheel off.

[opie_7afe]

to jasonTX, find out what methods they are using to buff the car, im betting almost 100% they are just goint to wetsand, buff with a wool pad and some rocks in a bottle 3m compound and then cover it with a glaze which will fill and hide the holograms/swirlmarks in the paint...which will be shown in a few weeks after a few washes, but thats besides the point and is expected with a new paint job in most cases. as far as protection best would be to find out what clear is being used, paint requires 30-120 days to cure(not as long for factory paint due to it being baked in an oven). so untill the paint is cured i would not use any wax, what most do is just use a glaze, key terms on the bottle to look for is "body shop safe" or "fresh paint safe" waxes/sealants can seal the pores in the paint up which is not good when it cures as it needs to breathe/finish outgassing the solvents used. so i would just leave it along untill the 30day minimum passes then you can wax with no problem, if you end up getting the typical bodyshop buff job im sure i can find you a competent detailer to remove the buffer trails/holograms after the paint is nice and cured. as most say prep of the paint is 95% of the look the other 5% is your wax/sealant. after your paint has cured a nice coat of some collinite 845 will be great, usually lasts 4-6 months, or you can break down and spend for 60$ get some opti-coat and never have to wax for atleast 5 years.

to culpable04, for smaller wheel sizes/bigger brake sizes best is to get a brush called a daytona brush, its black and red and is flexible, if the brake dust has never really been cleaned you might need to remove the wheels just this one time to get them fully cleaned, then protect the barrels with a sealant or even better opti-coat. this will prevent the brake dust from sticking, it really does take some time and is a pain to get done. good products to use is meguiars wheel bright(do not use on raw aluminum or andonized aluminum wheels), or carpro's iron-X. iron-x would probably be the best bet for the caked on brake dust as most of the dust is iron particles, the iron x uses ph balanced chemicals that react only with the iron and removing it from the wheels/paint. as i said if they are horrible you wont be able to really get them clean without removal of the wheels, if they are not that bad then you can use the daytona wheel brush and some wheel cleaner. wheel bright worked great for my steelies a nice soak and a stiffer brush got it right off with ease.yes i know back to black sucks bigtime, used it once and it ran. dont know why i even took a picture of it LOL. but yes not a good product.

This post has been edited by opie_7afe: Jan 26, 2012 - 3:43 PM

[JasonTX]

the guy that painted my car told me to wait a couple of weeks to bring it back to buff it out. for the same reasons you were saying when we do this will i have to wait again for wax? or will the pant have cured fully ?

i will research this opti coat product. it seems like this type of product is a good solution for me. Espically since i'm at a point where i really have no blemish in the paint yet.

thanks for the info

peace

-jec

[opie_7afe]

i dont know why he said wait a couple weeks to buff it out, all the body shops ive heard of they buff right on the fresh paint, basically most of them will wait a day then get to wet sanding and buffing, i hope he is going to wet sand it. i would wait another 2 weeks before you wax just to be sure, i would rather be safe then sorry and just use a glaze for protection and to hid the buffer trails/holograms hes going to instill in your paint.i just dont understand why he said wait 2 weeks before buffing it, all the body shops ive heard of and most of the compounds out there are body shope/fresh paint safe so it would not stop it from curing at all, infact its actually easier to buff/wetsand fresh paint as its way softer. but like i said you will need another polishing step after hes done buffing it, i just dont understand paintshops doing it just makes no logical sense because in a few weeks the paint looks like crap thanks to the holograms they put into the paint.here is a prime example of what your paint will look like after he buffs it and the glaze he uses wears off http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n...ml#post611325... but yeah opti-coat will be great for a new paint job but for that i would wait atleast 3 months after painting just to be 100% sure it is cured, wax isnt as big of a deal as the opti-coat. basically the opti-coat is a product that adds a thin layer of extra "clear coat" thats harder and has hydrophobic properties unlike normal clear coat. it really is a great product, most say they just need to rinse their car off and dry it and its clean. same with wheels, it works amazing on bmw wheels as you know how much bmw's brakes dust.

This post has been edited by opie_7afe: Jan 28, 2012 - 2:15 PM

[JasonTX]

the guy that painted the car is a friend. we waited cause this is my only car now and we had some time constraints to deal with the 18th is when im in town next when were both free.

i just ordered opti coat 2.0 and plan on using that product after he buffs the car out.

i'll try and post some pics in a couple of weeks when its done.

eace

-jec

[forkee]

So lets say you have a carbon fiber hood.....and/or hatch....and the shiny clear top coat of fiberglass has gone to sh!t and turned into an ugly haze, how would you restore it to its former glory? is it something as easy as using a headlight restore kit? or much more complicated involving sanding it and reglossing it with something? not that it has happened to me or anything 0:)

[opie_7afe]

its either clear epoxy gelcoat or clearcoat so you treat it just like paint, you will need to most likely polish it using a machine and something like meguiars m105 then follow that up with some m205. but if its hazed the clearcoat could be failing and need to be re-clear coated. some good close up images would help

[Lil-Joe101]

yeah i seriously have a problem! im addicted to detailing, the pics below explain it all!











only thing that is not shown is my 2 tubs of microfiber towels and my tub of applicators and my crappy turtle wax products that are collecting dust!

What about the engine detailer?

[opie_7afe]

you mean a product to detail engines? i just use a mixture of purple power on certain greasy parts and the meguiars all purpose plus on painted areas, aluminum. rubber ect. then to dress i use trim shine and wipe off with a ragged microfiber thats clean but is all but useless for anything other then grease and such...