The subject of Saturday's tuition detail, this Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch... The car is owned by Helen, MissyR on the forum, who is already experienced with a DA polisher but fancied learning how to use the rotary Gordon (caledonia) was also along for the day to help out, huge thanks to Gordon for his assistance on the day - very enjoyable team detailing today :thumb: Starting off with the wheels and arches, Bilberry Wheel Cleaner was used, with All Purpose Cleaner from Meguiars used on the tyres and arches. This was before the car was foamed using Meguiars Shampoo Plus through the foam lance... After washing the car using Shampoo Plus and the two bucker wash method, it was clayed using Bilt Hamber Soft Clay. The car had clearly been clayed quite recently, the paint aleady very smooth and only the odd bit here and there being lifted off the paint. With the car cleaned, and clayed, we could now assess the finish... the swirls were there, but they were very light... While Helen and I worked on the test car for rotary tuition, Gordon got started on the rear of the car... Once Helen was happy with the control of the rotary on the test car, it was time for her to tackle her bonnet... I stepped up first, assessing the paint finish and what was going to achieve the results and explaining the process of product choice as I went. A light finishing polish was knocking out all of the swirls but leaving some RDS in the finish. In the end, we decided on Menzerna PO85RD3.02 Intensive Polish applied by rotary using a Meguiars W8006 polishing pad, using a "correction-only" technique as follows: Spread at 600rpm Begin working at 1200rpm Work at 1500 - 1800rpm until defects corrected No attempt at refining was made here. Instead, we used a dedicated finishing stage: Meguiars #205 Ultra Finishing Polish on a Meguiars W9006 tan finishing pad. Quite a polish this new finishing polish from Meguiars, using unigrit technology it remains abrasive till the end of the set but you can vary the cut by varying the pressure you apply to the pad (as well as the pad itself...). For finishing purposes, we have used a finishing pad. Product applied as follows: Spread at 600rpm, light pressure Begin working at 1200rpm, light pressure Work at 1500rpm for a couple of minutes, moderate pressure, until the residue goes clear Refine at 900rpm, light pressure to burnish to a gloss The end result of this process: Happy with the results, Helen went down the passenger side of the car, putting into practice what she had picked up so far... Before: Working away... End results, well worth the efforts put in: I went down the driver's side, some befores: Working away... Using a 4" pad for tight spots and small details... End results... Corrected in the tight small regions... Door handles corrected (using rotary at slow speed, light pressure to avoid heating the plastic edges): Below the styling line and sill... Gordon was doing sterling work on the rear and roof... Paying off in the results... Helen corrected the front V-grille... Before: A full box of cakes were nearly completely scoffed by this point! :doublesho :lol: Protection for this car was chosen to be Duragloss Track Claw - something slick and easy to clean on a show stand after a long drive was the remit here. Track Claw also applied to the wheels. Glass cleaned with Autoglym Fast Glass, plastics with Black Wow and tyres with Meguiars Hot Shine. The afters are a result of teamwork - three of us working our socks off, some tuition, lots of cakes, good banter and all in a mighty enjoyable day The results of our efforts... Nice clean arches and wheels... More afters... Big thanks to Helen, Gordon and Jane for a cracking day
Awesome detail, but how do you keep your hand on the metal housing of the makita.... every time I put my hand there it gets really hot
WOW, awesome work from the three of you! I wish they had that car in the states, that is a slick lookin ride! How long have you been using the track claw?? I just recently heard of it.
I really have enjoyed your posts on DW over the years, and am thrilled you bring your knowledge over to this forum. Again, wonderful effort; not only getting the work done, but educating people on the proper techniques of auto care. Also, congrats on your engagement (not sure if you posted that on this forum as well). I wish you both the very best.
Mate, that car has a mean looking stance. Wish we had them over here. Thank You for sharing your knowledge and time:applause2:
I always watch to ensure I dont block the vents top and bottom on the head of the machine - easy for me as I have small hands. If the head is getting hot natrually, run the machine at 3000rpm for a minute or two every couple of passes - draws air through the gearbox in the head, cools it and the lubricating grease Been using Track Claw on and off for a little while... the advertising on the bottle is horrific, but the sealant inside is one of the slickest I have used and I really like it Working with people in this way is what got me into detailing and its the direction I am going to take my detailing in... I enjoy doing full cars on my own, or part of a team, but working with folks and seeing them enjoy getting results on their own car is even more enjoyable - you get more satisfaction out of seeing people happy than a car shiny (or I do anyway ) No, just a standard 18-105mm Nikon VR lens with Hoya Skylight filter on the front (to protect the lens)... Camera is a Nikon D90
very well done, Dave! I see you guys are practicing some skillz there! Gotta love teamwork! By the way, the car looks stunning!
Big thank you Dave. Had a fantastic day on this car. Friendly light heart banter (Scottish word) with a good few laughs. thrown in. Terrific car to work on with some nice challenging curves. For other member wondering about team work. I can only say do it. Great working with like minded individuals. Gordon.
Festoon Shinex. It not the cheapest machine around though. But a fantastic bit of kit. Festool RAP 150 FE GB SHINEX Rotary Polisher Enjoy. Gordon.
Dave..I looked at this earlier but couldn't post at the time...the car looks great and I think it's really cool to do the group effort. I have a small sample bottle of the Track Claw..I know it's slick, but how about the protection? How does it compare longevity wise to 105? What's your findings if you've been using it for a while? Thanks!!
I get between two and three months out of Track Claw, not quite as durable as 105 which is six months easily used over the 601. But the Track Claw is slicker and the car stays a little cleaner for longer - that was the aim as this was heading to Northampton after the detail (Helen left straight from the unit!) to be on a show stand so the car needed to be easy to clean
man that was a load of good pics, when I saw the first ones I thought that was it complete, great looking car and great finish
That was a really helpful write up. Car looks ridiculous(in a good way )! They need those over here in the states.
