Well I tried my first wash and wax attempts. I will admit, I'm not a complete wacko (IE: I didn't clean my exhaust and didn't vacuum the floors) . . . BUTTTT I did go at the seats, the dash, the paint, and the convertible top. Here is my arsenol:



Meguirs Deep Crystal Car Wash, Meguiers 3 step cleaning system (paint cleaner, polish, and I substiuited the NXT wax for the third step wax), 303 for the top, Lexol Cleaner and Conditioner, Megeuirs Quick Detailing Spray, and a bag with a microriber wash-mit, microfiber towels, and a big drying towl (For the Where is Waldo people, there is a mothers can there but I didn't use it).

I washed the car with the car wash and I used the paint cleaner on the hood and trunk because of the swirls the original detailer already put in it, it helped somewhat. I then waxed the car with NXT. I went back and put a second coat of NXT on the hood just for the fun of it because that is where everyone always takes pictures of, lol.

All in all I'm pretty happy with it. After washing and waxing I learned a few things. First of all I also did an IS300 today and I noticed the aftermarket paint on my car feels MUCH thicker than the factory lexus paint . . . it just feels like I'm touching a layer of glass or something on my car on top of the paint . . . I'm assuming that is because the painter said he used a lot of clearcoat. It just felt better. But washing and waxing I did notice a few imperfections here and there. There are a few occasional knicks in the clear (kinda like fisheyes), the painter told me if I found anything I didn't like he would fix it . . . but I don't think I'm going to mess with it . . . I want to start enjoying my car. As it is now, its beautiful looking and gets compliments galore. What do you all think?


Anyway here is the pics!

Hood looks good this time of day, there isn't a BRIGHT sun so you don't see any swirls, just a crystal clean refletion of the sky:













NONE of the pictures can really do this color justice. You just can't see all the metalic flakes or even the blue in the color in pictures . . . even googling M3 and M5's online I can't find any pictures that really capture this color . . . it just always looks black. In person it looks black, but in light you see blue when you get up close.

303 on the top








This picture actually shows some metalic flakes and some of the blue color. Is it just me or does this picture make it looked scratched or dirty? Thats actually just reflections and metalic flakes, lol.



I appreciate any feedback! Don't be afraid to criticize!

 

Hey meng, nice pics.

My only feedback is to be careful with the quality of the microfiber that your using and your general washing techniques. If you haven't see this already, watch this video. I learned alot from it.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...wcargarage.com

 

looks

love the colour and the last pic definitely is the best one at showing the colour and the fleck - nice work

 

nice shine on that car- i can tell that the pics would show better in diff light...

gotta badge reserved for you- all you gotta do is pm me to get it!

 

Splendid job with your limited supplies. I don't want to put you into a money pit, but if you enjoy detailing your car, I highly suggest you truck on over to autopia.org.... Your wallet will definitely feel lighter, I can guarantee you that!

Do you have more pictures of the paint in direct sunlight? In the last picture it appears that you have a bit of hologramming due to the improper use of a rotary.

 

I'll get some more pictures up. There is some swirls and I believe what you would call a hologram or two. The painer did an awesome job, but the guy I paid to wax the car and do the wetsanding (the painter said it was already gassed out) turned out to be less than stellar. I should have had the painter wetsand it and call it a day, but this guy worked right next store and seemed to do good work.

Regardless I'm taking the best care of it I can, and hopefully I can get the swirls out one of these days if I meet someone with a PC who can give me a hand.

I'm doing the best I can with limited hand supplies, I'm not enough of a wacko to start using a buffer. I've been to autopia and browse it on occasion but I'm not that hardcore, I'd love too . . . . but as a first timer I don't want to risk screwing up the paint as the car gets compliments everywhere it goes.

 

I can't guarantee it, but the PC is nearly idiot-proof, and you can't really damage your paint unless you really try hard to.

It may be very overwhelming, but it is not very hard once you get past the initial hump, and start getting comfortable with the machine. For starters, as long as you stay away from 4" pads, and a polish as agressive as say Menzerna's Power Gloss, you're pretty safe, and limited to what damage you can inflict!!!

Also, with a pad system such as Edge's 2k, damage from backing plates is nearly eliminated, and I can't really think of any ways you can damage the paint at this very moment. There are plenty of videos online that teach proper usage of the PC, and I'm confident that you'll be fine as a first-time-user!

Good luck!

 

Well one of these days I'll have to consider investing then

Thanks for the encouragement! I've always been under the impression you can burn the paint or something if you don't know what your doing.

 

[QUOTE=Jsmply,Jan 29 2007, 01:18 AM] Well one of these days I'll have to consider investing then

Thanks for the encouragement!

 

Ok, you asked for a little feedback.

Your car would look much better if you get those scratches and holographic swirls removed. I also see some light hazing likely caused by using too aggressive of a polish, not stepping the polish down or improperly using the rotary. It's keeping your car from looking wet.... like wanabe's.

It's time to do it yourself. Lose the Meguiar's three step process and buy some real polishes. Get a PC and ask questions. Your car will thank you.