Finally got the micro-scratches out of my baby! Read my story.

[jfelbab]

You've got it too. It's a sickness I tell ya. Once you get infected there is no hope, you'll have it for life. I know because I have it too. That is exactly how it started for me some some 47 years ago. I started with family and friends then I found myself doing their family and friends etc. before I knew it I was detailing a hundred cars a year.

But there is nothing like the feeling of driving a perfectly detailed car. It really does make your vehicle last longer and be worth more over time too.

Some tips for those who have swirls, FWIW.

Pay particular attention to how you wash, dry and maintain your finish and you can mostly eliminate those swirls from returning. Use clean wash mitts and replace them often. Use the two bucket wash method with grit guards in the buckets. Use the hose with the nozzle off and low pressure to sheet off most of the water and then dry gently with waffle-weave microfiber towels. Inspect every applicator and towel you use on your paint to insure it's absolute cleanliness.

Very nice job, Ben. BTW, after using #83 on a dark color car, I go back over it with #80 to take away the slight haze left by the #83. It always seems to clear the paint even more when I do this.

Welcome to the world of fanatic detailing. For those not infected yet, be very careful this is highly contagious.

[ben_r_]

Originally Posted by Alvin_H

...and I must say...that's pretty nice work .. I actually have several questions and am looking for some advice if you don't mind me asking too much..

I just bought a black IS350 ...its been 2 weeks old and I have a feeling after my first wash my car will be full of swirl marks.(my dealer took 3 days to "clean up" my car). I was actually shocked you mentioned the term "clean up" because that was exactly what the salesman told me!) Well my car was looking great back when I purchased it but ever since then bird craps and other fine scratches are being accumulated.

I was thinking, is it too early for me to polish/wax because it's such a new car? Can I omit the clay bar process and just straight up doing some polish and then wax?

One more thing, if my front bumper has a huge scratch, what should i do? I have heard that I can just simply wipe it off with some scratch remover. But exactly how should I do it? Are there any certain steps like cleaing the surface area first?

Sorry if it seems like a such a long message but it's my first black car (used to own a metallic Topaz blue 325 so it's pretty easy to take care of )

Thanks,
Alvin

No problem at all man! Glad to help! Okay, first let me just say no, its never to early to detail a car. Like I showed in the thread and you see from you own car, they need. The dealer doesnt care about your car and takes care of it very poorly. Now as far as the claying process goes, thats a common questions, do I need to clay a brand new car... I did just to make sure I had the cleanest surface to work on I could get. Sure you can bypass it, but this is your baby, so I wouldnt. Its true it wont remove much, but it might take off some stuff that you dont want to polish over. If you want minimize the amount you clay, just do the hood, roof, and trunk hood. Those are always the worst places that need clay the most. Now, as far as these magical scratch removers youve heard of that with one wipe the scratch is gone... Well, kinda, but not really. What those products do is literally fill scratches in order to attempt to hide them, some even do have a little abrasiveness to them like Meguiar's ScratchX and can help to or sometimes remove scratches, but most are just products with tons of fillers in them. The only way to really get a scratch out if it can come out is to polish it. As far as that goes, just washing the area and using a 4" spot buff polishing pad on a porter cable with some mildly abrasive compound should be your baseline to start off with.
Hope some of that helps. You really should check out autopia.org. Its a bible of detailing wealth.

[ben_r_]

Originally Posted by jfelbab

BTW, after using #83 on a dark color car, I go back over it with #80 to take away the slight haze left by the #83. It always seems to clear the paint even more when I do this.

See darn it! Now here is where the addiction sets in further! Now I am mad that I didnt go back over the slight haze with 80... So now Ill have to wait about 3-4 weeks for the wax to naturally wear off then Ill re polish with 80 and re wax.

[tuan92129]

Great job on the detail
I just detailed my es yesterday also, using almost the same steps.. 83 w/ Meguiars soft buff yellow pad and 80, then Show Car Glaze. using a generic rotary buffer. (I think i spent like over $250 in detailing/cleaning supplies for my car already)

[darchard]

That was a long but great posting. It's amazing what the dealer or even "detailer" consider a good job. Even though I am still learning the detailing steps, when you do it yourself you get a great job. Your car looks great.

[vandit23]

Originally Posted by spin

Iceman and I are detailing our cars on saturday, we got UDM's, im going to show you what a real detail is =D

I got UDM, as well...AWESOME machine. Lots of power, and more convenient than the PC7424 (IMO). I did a quick detail on my car, and it worked great. I think I may do a full detail one of these days, since I now know what the UDM is capable of.

[iSuxeL]

Im sorry but you got ripped. My brother has a black E46 and he bought a detailing kit for about $300-$350 and it takes out like 95% of swirls to the point where honestly its not even barely visible, showroom quality if you will.

[iSuxeL]

BTW what are you using for your interior?? Im trying to find out whats good for the dash and stuff. Are you or anyone else with the ISx50 cleaning your upper half of the interior with anything?? Mines dirty from opening the windows but the material makes me scared to use anything rough, by upper half I mean the light gray part.

[kickin8]

Originally Posted by ben_r_

Here is a pic of my end result after two days and about 12 hours of work. This pic was taken around sunset but it at least gives an idea.

good job ben!

[osucowboy]

My wife and I are considering an IS250 and love black. However, we have vowed to never buy another black car because of the difficulty in caring for it (her black Camry has not weathered well). Do you guys have any opinions on the Smokey Granite exterior. Is it easier to care for than black?

[tuan92129]

Not really how 'easy' it is to care for different colors of paint.
Lexus uses the same paints in each color IS...the clear coat, and they all will require the same care.
Darker colors will show the scratches on your car more easily though...so you would still have to have the car professionally detailed to achieve the 'flawless' look.

[Armand]

I think that most professional auto detailers love working on black cars because of that "wet" look you get once it's been deswirled and properly polished thenwaxed but would never own one. If you care that much about keeping a car de-swirled [which i do btw] the absolute worse color to get for you is black you'll only be satisfied for the first 1-2 hours after you wash then the dust settles on it and forget it you'll go nuts.

[samathews]

Originally Posted by osucowboy

My wife and I are considering an IS250 and love black. However, we have vowed to never buy another black car because of the difficulty in caring for it (her black Camry has not weathered well). Do you guys have any opinions on the Smokey Granite exterior. Is it easier to care for than black?

I asked that identical question on autopia.com a few weeks ago. I have Smokey Granite and had the same concern. The general opinion was much easier to care for than Black, but not nearly as easy as silver/grey. There is a ton of good advice here and on other forums. You will really help yourself a lot by reading about and using proper wash/dry techniques - stop the swirls before they happen. Most people just don't understand the damage they can do with a careless wash/dry.

Cheers,
Scott

[BmoreGS4]

My name is BmoreGS4 and I am a Clublexus and Autopia addict...I love my car and I love a clean car even more, 2 weeks ago I had a choice between a Mercury Metallic and Obsidian GS300 AWD and I chose the dark side of the force...I had an Alpine Silver '98 and it looked stunning after each wash but I longed for the 'wet' look of a black vehicle...I will be taking my heavily swirled 300 2 'klasse' this weekend and this thread has given me hope...Black is VERY difficult 2 maintain but the payoff is GREAT! and you did a terrific job...thanx