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-   -   A superb Car cleaning, polishing & detailing guide (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/102011-superb-car-cleaning-polishing-detailing-guide-230.html)

@Abhipuru 16

Chill mate, take a jibe in the right spirit :)

M sure you meant you garage IS in a desert. Anyway no harm no foul. Ah they are "ride after detailing pics", now it makes sense. Understandable :) I guess what your detailing lacks in lustre it makes up in character. No issues, as long as your happy.

Peace

You still didn't get it, did you?

My garage isn't in a desert, the place where I took those pics is.

I found a shop with a DeWalt sign outside it opposite the RMZ building in Perungudi.

Just in case anyone is interested.

Abhipuru - Nice results ! As you have correctly mentioned, the better a surface is "prepped", the easier the wax goes on & wipes off & better will be the effect.

You can also consider treating the black plastic surfaces on your bike, it will enhance the overall effect. A little tire shine too !

Detailing is never ending, there is always scope for improvement, keep trying different products & techniques :D

The fake formula one wax is seriously injurious to health :Shockked: You can remove the residue stuck in the crevices using a wooden tooth pick.

Vasoo - The orange peel effect would primarily be present on repainted panels due to many reasons like poor technique, improper gun, drying etc
HIghly unlikely that Honda would have allowed such extreme cases of defects to be passed from the factory. Have you got your panels repainted ?

Thanks Nirmal!
But first, I need to get diesel to dissolve all the Fake Formula One wax that is stuck on plastic parts of my bike. These service center people are such pests, it was all due to their fault!
Will it work?

Abhi - try using the normal shampoo that you're using (Amway) in a concentrated solution with a toothbrush to gently dislodge the wax in the crevices. It should come out safely with this, if not use very little diesel for stubborn places. Wash off the remains of the diesel on the paint & then apply wax to protect !

@ abhi : great results , i think i also have to detail my pulsar also !!!

@abhipuru16 - You can use IPA(rubbing alcohol) as well to remove wax residue!!

For a bike, one additional product is required(essential), i.e. chrome polish and maybe a plastic polish like Meguiars PlastX(or the visor)

This is like the first black pulsar I've seen that has actually seen waxing and polishing!! :thumbs up
People here ride on swirled out messes!!

Yup! Orange peel needs to be wetsanded to level the paint and then Compounded> polished > finishing polish > sealant > wax to a perfect finish!

I've done wetsanding to remove orange peel. BUT, Never wetsand on a factory painted panel!!

Factory baked on clearcoats are very-very thin and while wet-sanding them, its super easy to get through to the color coat.

I would recommend wetsanding on a bodyshop repainted panel as the clearcoat sprayed is thicker, so there's more room for wetsanding!!(+ you can tell the bodyshop guy to spray maybe like 3-4 layers of clearcoat so you get more room to 'play' lol!!(but remember, time between each clearcoat layer sprayed should be at least 30 minutes)

For your rear quarterpanel, I'd do a few passes with Meguiars M105 with a yellow cutting pad, follow it up with M205 and a white pad and finish with Menz PO85rd and a black/grey pad!

M105 is like magic in a bottle!!! I tried compounding two of my car's panels with it and damn! UC is like nothing in front of it!!

It easily compounded the sections I was working on, only drawback is the massive dusting!(but I was working in a windy environment, so the wind took it all away! lol)

And amazing thing with that is, if it starts dusting, just spray some UQD on the pad and the panel and start again!! (since it doesn't have diminishing abrasives, you can just re-lubricate and start working again without the need for more product!)

I finished with Menz PO85rd and a white pad and man the gloss was like Whoa!!!

but I still felt something was missing!! maybe M205! dunno.:D
And tried BFWD for the first time and all the time your comments were coming in mind that "its really slick, easy on easy off etc." and yes it was exactly as you described it!

Some before afters!

Before -
Scratches from wetsanding(basically leftover scratches from previous improper compounding job!!)





After -

(before LSP(sealant))





A reflection shot(previously it was totally lacking in clarity)



After LSP(unfortunately it was dark then! but I checked out the whole panel with my phone cam\'s flash and didn\'t find any swirl!






Still there is room for improvement!(I'm yet to find the perfect product/pad combo for this paint! I guess the search continues!)

I have it on my car in most places. It seems to be there in mkh's car also. Please see the second picture in this post carefully. You can see small imperfections on the paint surface. I believe this is a case of orange peeling. Might have caused due to insufficient curing or painting when the metal is hot, or something like that. Looks like it is pronounced on the habanero red colour. I do have one of the panels repainted due to an accident repair. However that panel doesn't have this issue!

@ sohail : impressive , but how do you get hold of menzerna in india ???

Sohail - The new place looks nice, lots of room to move around ! I Liked the nice lawn, serves dual purposes - to relax after detailing & also useful to take reflection shots :D
Awesome results with the before & after clap: Can you please share with which make of foam pads did you use ?

Btw, finally my consignment from Autogeek was delivered yesterday !
I got the following :

1. Flex 3401 DA kit with the Megs twins (105&205) 2 Cobra MF's.
2. Lake country CCS pads - got a mix of Orange, black, white, blue & red ones. (Thanks to Garipagol for the inputs !)
3. Megs 36 mm masking tape
4. Megs water magnet drying towel

First impressions :

- Flex DA, all that i heard about it being built like a tank are misleading.
It IS a Tank !!! Typical solid German build, built to last.
- Useful packing by Autogeek of the pads, each one comes with an individual plastic cover, mentioning the usage directions too. Informative booklet from Lake country explaining a bit about the pads was included too.
- Cobra Mf's are nice & thick, look like they're quite durable.

Next Plan of action :

- Have to figure out a way to get extension wiring done to work in the apartment basement. Will need to take a connection from my house on the ground floor.
Garipagol - please do share some inputs about the grade of wiring you used for your Flex & also any other points i need to keep in mind ?
- Am thinking now which car do i first work on ?!

My cats were wondering whats going on as I had to borrow their couch. My fellow not looking too happy having to share their couch !!

Well, i went ahead and examined the ENTIRE car, i was sure that this effect was not so pronounced as i had seen pics of my car from before( posted here too)
The ENTIRE car almost has this effect,if seen carefully, the doors, the roof, the boot. I doubt that this really is a defect of sorts or anything like that and also that this became more prominent with my detailing efforts.
Maybe an examination of new cars in the showroom of the SAME colour will get the real facts out, however i am at peace living with this, does not really make a big difference to me( and this is just for me)
A DA pass is to come soon( as soon as nirmal exercises his skills on the Flex:D), so post that will be clear if this warrants a serious look

That apart, today i embarked on an effort, what have never done before. Before like minded detailers start to guess, it was cleaning the California Duster after almost a year of usage!
Man- i have never seen so much grime come out of something, ever! After 5-6 runs under the tap, the water was still BLACK and i gave up then.
I guess they mention, the dirtier, the better, they may have NEVER thought about Indian Conditions before posting that on the product. Just yesterday , i had to use it 3 times, leaving office, then leaving home late evening and then when returned at night. Kilos of dost were on it, just a drive of 20 kms. Hope to have the duster in "cleaner" state post the drying. One thing is sure- the BEST acquisition i have and can confidently state - anyone who likes to keep car swirl free, is the California(or jopasu) Duster.
5 of my friends got them too, after seeing mine, testimony itself on its obvious utility and value.

Woo hoo - some hefty stuff you got there Nirmal!
I was wondering (rather day dreaming) - can we bhpians register a detailing company and open branches in each metro city wher we are located? That way we can import detailing content cheaper in bulk, have a chance to follow out passion, and make some nice bucks by pursuing detailing on a prefessional scale!!
(I know you guys are very busy with current job profiles - and successful too! This was just wishful thinking!! :))

O.T - I love your cats' pics. Perhaps you can post some of their pics in the non-auto image thread?

@mkh - I shall pick up a california duster this time around from US.

Also plan to get a power drill+screwdriver set, and a DA+accessories (need inputs from you guys on what to pick up). I am travelling in to US VERY light this time, as those stuff have a lot of weight!:D

@ nirmal : Great , please share the cost breakup. how much time it took in total to reach the consignment to india ??

@ blackasta : have seen this detailing way also and even talked to some higher ones , the minimum investment needed for all tools and accessories are 5lakhs !!! :Shockked:

+ there wont be any garantee of cars comming to your way if do dont invest a huge amount in advertising.

+You have to get training in surat (meguirs) and it will cost any where between 50k to 100k foe a week training !!! :Shockked:


afrer keeping all this in mind, i have kept my detailing limited for my cars or my friends cars only !!!

Nice pics and equipment.

There was some painting work done in my place and my car was nearby. As a result there are a lot of small paint drops on my car. I can remove them using my nail - but whats the easy way to do it? Would using IPA just remove it?

Suggestions please.