Rate my 1st detail. Please.

[The Stig]

Originally Posted by WhiteCrane

2 questions.

1. To clean the towels, if you don't use detergent... What do you use? I'll do it your way! Hand soap???

2. Darn. I didn't wait ANY time between my coats of Americana paste wax. That was Saturday. Can I just dust her off and wax her again? She's been driven, but for the most part has been in my garage.

1) I just rinse with hot water and work the dirt etc out with my hands. Does the job well. Another way to clean them is to put them in boiling water. It loosens all of the fibers and the dirt etc just comes right out

2) yea, the wax needs time to cure first before you can put another coat on

[Junkman2008]

Originally Posted by WhiteCrane

LOL. I'm cheap. I used WAY too much shampoo. I'm over it. Guys, THANKS for the replies. I'm glas the car came out great. Special thanks to Junkman for showing me the way.

I'll suck it up and buy a gallon of shampoo. I'm over it. lol.

I'm told to wash microfiber towels on HOT, and use normal detergent. Any thoughts?

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Where are you getting this advice?

Washing your microfiber towels in hot water will destroy them. Follow the instructions on the label, or do it as I do:

How to Wash Microfiber Towels

First off, you only want to wash them in COLD water. DO NOT use a lot of soap. My towels never get very dirty or greasy because they are only used to wipe polish or wax from the car, thus I can use a gentle detergent like Woolite. You don't want to use the hash detergents like the stuff you use on your regular clothing. If your towels are a little dirtier than normal, let them soak in the washing machine overnight. Simply add the proper amount of Woolite to the washer, add the towels and fill the washer to the proper level. Use the gentle cycle to wash these towels. Allow the wash cycle to begin for 1 minute so that the Woolite has a chance to mix with the towels and then shut the washer down. Let it sit for as long as necessary (overnight if that's what you need, shorter times for towels not as bad), and then start the washer back up later.

DO NOT use any fabric softener of any kind! Do not use too much Woolite! Read the bottle, a little goes a long way. If 1x is good, 2x is worse in this case. Also NEVER. EVER, EVER wash these towels with any other article of clothing, especially bath towels and wash clothes. That will ruin them too.

After the wash, DO NOT DRY THEM IN A DRYER USING HIGH HEAT!!! (if you do, you may as well use them to check the oil because they are useless at that point). I don't use a dryer at all. I allow them to air dry. String up a clothes line in your garage or outside somewhere and buy some clothes pins (if you can find some, that's some old school equipment right there!). If fabric sheets are used with these towels, it will destroy them. That will cause them to start scratching the crap out of your car. Drying them in the dryer with too much heat will do the same thing, that why I tell guys never to machine dry them.

If you follow these rules, your towels will keep the consistency and softness that they had from day one. If you allow your wives or girlfriends to do this, trust me, they will screw them up unless they have read this. Don't assume that they know how to do this and don't let them tell you that they know what they are doing when it comes to microfiber. They do not own, nor have they probably ever owned a piece of material like this so they will not be aware of these requirements. Test them before you hand them over and see if they get it right. I guarantee they won't.

I just had a funny thought. I would love to see the look on some of your wives faces when you ask for some Woolite.

As for your detail, before I can give you any advice, I would need to know EXACTLY what you did. I saw where you did a baggie test and felt grit. You should have clayed again. It's not about what you think is needed, it's about what the bag told you. The bag said to clay again. That's what you should have done.

Claying is the most important part of your paint prep. If you don't do it when it is called for, you doom your shine. Prep is key to success in detailing.

[=Stephens=]

Looks good, is that Armor All on your tires?

[rykeith]

Originally Posted by CamaroDreams07

Ok after reading that, this is beyond my abilities to fix.

[WhiteCrane]

Junkman, thanks for all your guidance up to this point. Adam's has a new lifelong customer.

Ill answer your questions junkman.

The baggie wasnt that gritty. Nowhere near as gritty as last time. It felt like glass with a bump once every 2-3 inches.
100% adams products

1. Rinse.
2. Foam gun
3. wash. 2 bucket system.
4. Rinse.
5. Spraydown with detail spray and dry with white drying towell as in instructional DVD. I dont own a leaf blower.
6. Hand polishes SHR using the 2 side applicator. 3x3 boxes. Elbow grease.
7. Applied Revive Polish, directly over SHR and applied elbow grease.
8. Buff it all out.
9. Americana paste wax, 2 coats. I was dumb, I did not allow wax to cure in between coats. My bad.

Fin. Car has never looked this good. Still feels waxy to the touch. Im very happy. Any thought or advice Junkman?

I regret not buying glaze...

On a sidenote, I did not expect this, but my swirls are mostly gone.

[Junkman2008]

It appears that you have the hand polishing process down. If it turned out that good, you'll be knocked off your feet when you see how much better a PC would make your paint look. I'm glad you caught the MSW mistake; that will help with the longevity of your protection. Until you get a PC, I would have went with Americana instead of MSW. Americana is made to be applied by hand. BG is a good is a good product to have when working by hand as it helps hide minor imperfections. When working by hand, some minor imperfections will remain.

Over all, you're good to go. In years time, you'll be an old hat at this to the point where you'll be teaching folks from your experience.

[cruznls]

Anybody ever use "3M Imperial Hand Glaze" before waxing?