I splurged at autozone's car care area

they didnt have CD2 engine detailer, but offered Black magics (which I went for so I can save my engine with something for now)

I may start out with my engine detail first, seeing that if i did this after my detail I'd get my car wet
I'll post pics of my attempt.


Exterior:
Im going 2 bucket method w/sponge and very soft bristle (one panel at a time wash as usual). My conv. top is wanting my attention once again, and im in decision to use a brush (moderate streangth bristle) to further clean and renew appearence.

Garage dry it, and work on my rims and tires alongside my sidewalls and muffler tips.
California dusting followed by my clay bar...ing.. (my first as well)
after claying my car, I will then spray detail (wont be waxing for another 2 weeks).
Then I would need to condition my top.
I will be working on my interior as well..
But im now going to start when I log off here in a minute.

Pics will be posted either tonight or tomarro.

 

wow, brutal. Engine bay is my disaster area I don't wanna touch. I'm detailing exterior today with the help of my good friend who supplied me with a pc. Special Thanks to Ed for taking some time out of your busy schedule and weekend as well. 4 hours of washing->polishing and now gotta clean other cars while I wait til tmr to wax.

Very impress with claybar for the first time. It's like the Inventions of ALL inventions. One thing I notice, no matter how thin the layer of sealant is, I will still get swirl marks. Thats where the extra hour came in. But I'm a satisfied camper with the result. Not very much different (think i did something wrong) but it feels great and so smooooth. Pics later, I'm hungry.

 

interesting process... and will look forward to your report!
i woulda done it a bit differently, but there is no right or wrong-
also hoping for some pics!

 

Ill probably be out for some night shots tonight, and then daylight shots tomarro. I am very very pleased with my engine bay!!!
Took me 2 hours of engine alone; 1 hour on the rims, tires, and wheel walls; and another 2 hours wash and clay (sadly I got my trunk clayed and dropped my damn bar ) so I spray detailed alone. Half an hour extra... What I did clay came out very smooth, although I was freaking out when I herd the scratching sound. Now im waiting for daylight again to see the damages... If there are any.

I'm also going to finish my interior tomarro

Some things I loved using, because I saw soo much improvement on appearance when using them in my engine. Blue coral citrus degreaser (after application I "dried" as quickly as possible with a damp terry cloth) to get off nasty ass ugly stuff off engine and engine bay. (some areas were very hard to get at)
When I applied the engine detailer spray at first, it sorta went all over the place and i was worried about some components getting this inside them.. I spent quite alot of time with a washcloth going over my entire engine and bay.
My next best friend Turtle brand polish had done wonders to nasty stains that wouldnt come off with degreaser. Be sure to protect with either wax or a detailer spray or quick wax..
Now for the detailer spray. I saw it wasnt a great idea to spray blindly at everything with it, so I decided to spray it on a wash cloth and apply manually to each component to which I was satisfied with. (valve cover, throttle body and the thingy its attached to thats attached to the engine , all hoses i can see, my intake box and "piping" its connected to and visable engine block as well as heat shields and manifold heat shield.. just about everything.. btw, I have the stock intake system)
Honestly no one really looks at my engine, but it makes me feel a whole lot better that I took care of it and cleaned it

I want to do soo much more now!! I cannot tame the wacko much longer!

 

A number of people on this board have suggested cutting the clay bar into several pieces and working with one of the pieces. Then if you drop it, you can toss it and use another piece.

 

uh oh...i smell swirls. id never use a sponge not to mention bristles on my exterior paint

 

Ill be finding out soon. As this is a lazy day, I just woke up and its 1pm.

 

Got my pics and will have them on shortly.

 

enjoy
Yet again I was fighting the cloudyness today.. I also did not notice swirls from using a sponge nore the clay bar (with what little I had done).

That thing in front of my pass. seat is an overly used california duster, which I plan on replacing quickly.



all important tips

 

BUMP?