I haven’t posted up a full detail in quite a while for several reasons. First, I’ve been pretty busy. Second, not all of my customers drive Fords. Recently though one of my regular customers needed his 2007 Saleen S281 (Mustang) detailed. He takes excellent care of the car, but unfortunately it sat on a dealer lot through one of our famous winters and I’m pretty sure they brushed the snow off of it with a rake. As you’ll see, it’s the details that make a vehicle look a ton better. BTW, at the owner’s request, this was an exterior only detail. (The interior was virtually flawless anyway.)
Most folks would say the car looked pretty darn good as it arrived, but as I said, let’s look at the details. Notice the front wheels. The black brake dust on the back side of the wheel always bugs me. Then there’s that ugly unpainted rotor…
Next was the paint. As good as the car did look, there was a good deal of marring in the clear coat which was only visible in direct sunlight. At least it was evenly distributed all around the car – and it wasn’t too serious.
I started with a full wash using Meguiar’s Gold Class in my Foam Gun, and the two bucket method followed with clay using Meguiar’s Quick Detailer for lubricant. Next, all of the black plastic that might cause problems if any of the next products came in contact with it was taped off with Blue Painter’s Tape. I then used Poor Boy’s SSR 2.5 on White LC pads on my PC, followed by SSR 1 on more White LC pads – followed by SSR 1 on a Black LC pads for burnishing. Finally, I applied Collonite 845 by hand with a foam applicator. Everything was removed with Ultra Plush Microfiber towels. As I think the “after” pictures will show, it came out quite nicely.
Remember those ugly wheels and brake rotors? I don’t do this for just anybody, but for this customer, all four wheels were removed, cleaned and polished – front and back. Meguiar’s Hyperdressing was used on the tires and wheel wells. The “hat” section of all four rotors was also painted high gloss / high temperature black. Notice any difference? This is one of those “details” that makes a huge difference.
A nitpicky question - why are you using UQD for a clay lube? 2 things - first, it's expensive. Second - I thought I read here somewhere that it's actually not a good clay lube due to its formulation, the regular cheap QD is a better lube.
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2003 F150XL 4.2 short cab/bed 4x2 5 speed manual 3.55 LS
A nitpicky question - why are you using UQD for a clay lube? 2 things - first, it's expensive. Second - I thought I read here somewhere that it's actually not a good clay lube due to its formulation, the regular cheap QD is a better lube.
You bring up a good point. Actually, it may not have been UQD because it was in the burgundy colored bottle - which now that you mention it is just plain QD. As I recall, I hated the UQD so much that I tossed it. Good catch!
Throw the UQD my way - I use it for its intended use. I use NXT 2.0/M21 2.0 for my LSP and UQD is designed to help boost the polymers after washing. For that use, it works very well.
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2003 F150XL 4.2 short cab/bed 4x2 5 speed manual 3.55 LS
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