Preparing for my New Arrival

[ACHiPo289]

I've resigned myself (ok, so you folks have convinced me), that I'm going to need to take a more active role in washing/waxing my soon-to-arrive A7. So as not to dive right in on my new baby, I figured I'd practice on my other cars that are in need of some TLC. First up is an always-garaged, but slightly abused grocery-getter. It's a 1996 Infiniti I30 with more than its share of door paint transfer, shopping cart dings, etc. I've got a 2-bucket grit-guard wash kit on its way, with ONR (in case it's raining--not that it ever does in Portland). I also have some Meguiars car-wash solution (supposedly the gentle, no-wax-strip kind). I have a Griot's Garage car care kit on its way with Speed Shine, clay, Machine Polish 3, Sealant, and Best of Show wax. Oh, and also some Sonax for the wheels. I figured I'd start with the wheels, then ONR to clean and strip any sealant/wax, then spot treat the paint transfers, followed by clay, Machine Polish 3, sealant, and wax. Is there anything else I should be trying? Are these the right products for the new car, or should I be looking at other stuff? If the Machine Polish 3 is too gentle, what would be my next step up (Maguiar's 105? Can I just use the Griot's 6" orange pads with 105 or should I get 5" pads, and if so, what kind?) Thanks in advance.

[detailersdomain]

congrats on the new car can you post up a pic of the test vehicle?

as well what color is the new a7?

[ACHiPo289]

Originally Posted by detailersdomain

congrats on the new car can you post up a pic of the test vehicle?

as well what color is the new a7?

Phil,
I'll post a pic when I can. It is "Savannah Beige", so hopefully will be a bit easier to keep looking nice in the Portland winter.

[ACHiPo289]

Wish I had the ability to edit posts...

Anyway, I will post pics of the Infiniti when I can (maybe tonight).

The A7 is Savannah Beige.

[ACHiPo289]

Tough to get good photos, but hopefully this gives you an idea of the test car. Any suggestions how to get the deep scratches out of the white plastic trim?

[ACHiPo289]

I tried to get a few more shots of scratches, swirls, and dull marks left from removing transferred paint. Any suggestions on the right approach would be appreciated. Also, any suggestions on getting good photos of blemishes on white paint would be great.

[ACHiPo289]

I've come a long way (and spent a lot of money) since this post in March. I successfully got out most of the scuffs on the i30 with a magic eraser, washed with Meguiar's car wash (2 bucket method with Grit Guard) clayed the car with Griot's (took almost half of the bar to complete there was so much stuff embedded in the paint), polished with my Griot's 6" random orbital using Griot's Machine Polish 3, and sealed with Griot's Car Sealant. The wheels took me several attempts. Mere car shampoo didn't touch the baked on nastiness between spokes. Ultimately it took two applications of Sonax and one of Meguiar's Hot Car All Wheel and Tire Cleaner to remove the brake dust. Once done, I discovered tar on, and am waiting on some Stoner Taminator, as the Turtle Wax stuff I had from long ago wouldn't touch it.
The results are not perfect, but I'm definitely making progress and enough confidence to tackle the Jag that the A7 will replace.

[ACHiPo289]

I gained enough confidence on the i30 that I wouldn't destroy the car's finish with the GG DA to tackle the black Jag XJ8 VDP that I'd be trading in on the A7. Not a lot to lose, although if I really messed up, it could impact trade in value, so it was another good opportunity.

By the time I tackled the Jag in June I'd received a second and third shipment of detailing supplies, including Sonax.

Here are the results. Again not perfect, but swirls reduced by ~80% and wheels much cleaner (it helps that there aren't 40 spokes like on the i30!) While the Sonax works well, I wasn't blown away by its effectiveness. I still needed to use it twice on the Jag to get these results, and the i30 needed 4 applications of the Sonax followed by Meg's All Wheel and Tire (I ran out of the Sonax and was really impressed with the Meg's, especially since it cost 1/3 what the Sonax costs.).

[ACHiPo289]

My A7 arrived the afternoon of May 8 and I picked it up that evening. The dealer detrashed it and gave it a wash and vac, but no detailing. The paint was in amazingly good shape with no swirls as delivered.

The following weekend I got a chance to clean it and protect it.
After just 40 miles the wheels were filthy, especially the fronts. I'd picked up a can of Armor All Wheel Protectant to see if the claims were true.

I started with the wheels, using Meguiar's Hot Car All Wheel and Tire cleaner. This stuff is great, and very cost effective. It goes on foamy, and was pulling brown stuff off the tires, and the brake dust came off easily with a little agitation with the Daytona brush and microfibers.

I washed it with Dawn to strip any wax, etc. from the finish. The finish felt smooth using the plastic baggy test, so I didn't clay it (Audi's ship completely wrapped, so no fall out or paint contamination on their journey.) I used the two bucket method with grit guards, a chenille MF sponge on the upper parts, and an old Meg's mitt on the rocker panels and wheels.

I dried everything with waffle weave MF towels for the body and cheapo MFs for the wheels. There are a lot of nooks and crannies for water to stay, so it took me probably 20 minutes of circling the car getting all the drips. I inspected the paint using a halogen light and didn't see any swirls, so I'm starting in good shape. Glad I had the dealer skip their detailing.

Once the car and wheels were totally dry, I sprayed the AAWP onto the wheels. It went on like clear paint--a bit milky at first then quickly flashed to clear. Just a bit of mist got into the lug holes, and water dribbled out--it definitely messes with surface tension. I resisted the urge to mop up the drips, as the instructions say not to touch it.

I taped up the rubber and badges, broke out the GG DA and gave the entire car, including the glass, a thin coat of Griot's Paint Sealant. After letting it dry for about an hour, I went over the whole car with premium MFs to wipe the haze. I then gave the whole car a once over with Meg's spray on wax. I wanted to give the car another coat of sealant followed by Best of Show wax, but that would have to wait for another day, as I was running out of energy and time.

Here are a few photos after its first wash and seal session. I haven't figured out how to post captions yet, so I'll submit another post with the "after" shots of the AAWP.

[ACHiPo289]

Here are photos of the wheels 340 miles after applying Armor All Wheel Protectant. The wheels were pretty dirty just after the first 40 miles without the AAWP, so the AAWP makes a tremendous improvment.

There are still patches of brake dust on the face, and quite a bit of brake dust on the barrel. I was a little disappointed that the brake dust didn't just rinse off, but it did come off pretty easily with a little agitation and Meg's All Wheel and Tire cleaner.