Last weekend I got together with a fellow Autogeek (pun intended) and we gave his 2006 "Red Fire" Mustang a much needed detail.

Jeff purchased the car used a couple years ago with only 25,000 miles on it and for the most part the car was in great shape. He has regularly maintained it with the standard wash and wax but as long as he has owned it, the car has never been clayed, polished, or seen a true coat of carnauba.

The only part of the car that had any swirls on it was the hood and the trunk lid. They were very minor and were only visible under the right lighting at the right angle, so heavy correction work wasn't necessary.


Wash/Dry
-Pinnacle Foam Gun
-DP Xtreme Foam
-Cobra Blue Chenille
-Cobra Guzzlers
-Dual Wash Bucket Method
-Pinnacle Bug Sponge
-Poorboy's Bug Squash

Wheels/Tires
-DP Wheel Cleaner
-Daytona Speed Master Wheel Brush
-Montana Boar's Hair Wheel Brush
-DP Wheel Glaze
-Wolfgang Black Diamond Tire Gel
-Wolfgang Finger Pockets

Clay
-Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay & Lube

Polish
-Porter Cable 7424xp
-Griot's Garage 6" Polisher
-Pinnacle Advanced Swirl Remover
-Pinnacle Advanced Finishing Polish
-Lake Country Hydro-Tech Low Profile 5.5" and 4" Pads

Convertible Top
-Raggtop Vinyl Convertible Top Care Kit
-Raggtop Natural Horse Hair Convertible Top Brush

Wax
-Dodo Juice Purple Haze


Here are a couple of pictures of how the car looked when I arrived on Sunday. It wasn't bad to begin with, but it could definitely use a good wash, polish, and wax.

















Jeff had yet to see a Foam Gun in action, and being that the Florida sun was rising quickly and the day's forecast was expected to be nothing but sun and 90 degrees, we wanted to wash the car quickly and effectively - that's where the Foam Gun really shines.

When used in conjunction with the DP Xtreme Foam Shampoo, the Foam Gun produces mounds of suds that cling to the car which makes washing safe, effective, quick, and easy.

 

Once we finished washing the car and rinsed it off, it was time to focus some attention on the convertible top. The Mustang features a sailcloth single texture vinyl convertible top and to properly clean it while also preserving its color and texture you want to avoid harsh cleaners that will deteriorate and discolor the top over time. The Raggtop Fabric/Vinyl Convertible Top Cleaner is an effective cleaner that's also pH balanced and will not discolor the convertible top or cause it to dry out. This cleaner will cause no harm to paint, glass, or chrome if over spray occurs.

To make cleaning easier we used the Raggtop Natural Horse Hair Convertible Top Brush to agitate some of the more stubborn stains.





Last but certainly not least, the wheels and tires needed to be properly cleaned. To tackle this job we used the DP Wheel Cleaner along with an assortment of brushes. This wheel cleaner in particular is pH balanced and non-acidic so there was no question that it wouldn't harm the delicate polished aluminum wheels on Jeff's car.

The Daytona Speed Master Wheel Brush made cleaning the wheels a breeze. If you're not familiar with this brush already, you should know it's the perfect brush for wide wheels or other types of wheels with intricate designs.





The Daytona Speed Master bends and twists to easily clean all the hard to reach areas that your normal wheel brush wouldn't be able to touch.





Now that the wheel barrels and all the other hard to reach areas were clean, I grabbed a Boar's Hair Wheel Brush to clean the face of the wheel. This is my go to tire and wheel brush because it's super soft and I'm confident that when I use it even on the most delicate wheels, it's not going to scratch them.





It also works well to clean the tires and wheel wells. When you're cleaning the wheel wells there is no need to worry about scratching the paint if you accidentally go over the edge of the fender.

 

After washing and drying the car it was time for lunch so we cooked some burgers on the grill and watched the newest episode of What's in the Garage? After seeing Jack Miller's awesome collection of Mustangs it was time to get back to work on Jeff's Mustang.

To protect the freshly cleaned convertible top we used the Raggtop Vinyl Convertible Top Protectant. This protectant was designed specifically to be used on vinyl tops and provides excellent UV protection and water repellency all while enhancing the appearance of the top.





For the clay I decided to go with the Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay. I chose this clay in particular because it's ideal for newer or well maintained vehicles that don't require a more aggressive clay. The Ultra Poly Clay is also very easy to work with and doesn't stick to your hands or break apart after being used multiple times.

Here is how the clay looked after doing the hood...





While Jeff clayed the rest of the car I got to work on the wheels. To protect the wheels and make future cleaning much easier I used DP Wheel Glaze. DP Wheel Glaze is a very durable polymer sealant that was designed to resist brake dust sticking to the wheels and also enhance the appearance.

To apply the Wheel Glaze I used the Wolfgang Finger Pockets. These are great because they're durable, gentle on the wheel's finish and work great for getting in all the hard to reach areas.







While the Wheel Glaze was drying I added a very thin coat of the Wolfgang Black Diamond Tire Gel for a low gloss, natural look. Once the Wheel Glaze fully hazed over, I buffed it off using a soft microfiber towel.





By the time I was finished with the wheels and tires Jeff had just finished claying the rest of the car. It was time to machine polish!

There were very minor swirls on the hood and the trunk lid. To remove the swirls I used a Porter Cable 7424xp along with a Hydro-Tech Low Profile 5.5" Cyan Cutting Pad with Pinnacle's Advanced Swirl Remover. The Advanced Swirl Remover is ideal for moderate to light swirls all while giving you a long working time with very little to no dusting. To refine the surface after polishing I used the Pinnacle Advanced Finishing Polish along with a Hydro-Tech Low Profile 5.5" Tangerine Polishing Pad.

While I was polishing the hood and trunk lid Jeff went over the rest of the car with the Advanced Finishing Polish and a Tangerine Pad on the Griot's Polisher to clean up any minor imperfections and bring out the depth and gloss that had not been apparent in the paint before.

This combo yielded an excellent, show car finish that was ready for the Dodo Juice Purple Haze. The wax was applied using both polishers and a Hydro-Tech 5.5" Low Profile Crimson Finishing pad. The Purple Haze went on like butter and after about 10 minutes of hazing, it wiped off effortlessly.

 

Here is the end result...





























Thanks for looking.

 

Nice work. Nice Car !!
Thank you for the step by step and the explanation of the different products. Little by little I am realizing that I know nothing about proper washing, waxing and detailing. But I am learning, I can sure see the advantage of the foam gun. I sure wouldn't mind having one of those.

 

Amazing work.

I'm slowly working to having a closet full of Pinnacle products. How do you feel some of these other wheel cleaners work compared to Sonax? I personally have not seen anything yet first hand that works better, but the stuff is not cheap either.

 

I will be looking into some of these products! Great work Nick!

 

As will I. Looks great!

 

Slightly off topic question but how do you know if you have a vinyl or cloth convertible top?

 

Check out the Raggtop Convertible Top Guide to help determine what kind of material your convertible top has.



The Sonax Full Effect is my go to wheel cleaner on wheels that are severely neglected. For 90% of most wheels that I come across, the DP Wheel Cleaner does an excellent job and is very cost effective.

 

my trucks next right nick?haha looks great!

 

Excellent... My wife asked me if I missed our '02 Stang GT; I said "NO". Now I miss it.

Enjoy.

 

I'm not a real big Mustang fan, but after the detail Jeff took me for a ride with the top down and I gotta say, the rumble from that V8 is addicting.

 

If you ever get the chance to drive the new BOSS 302 Mustang, do it. Handles better than an M3, does 0-60 in 4.0seconds, and has a factory exhaust system where you can select the exhaust to go out the sides, totally missing the mufflers.

It is so much fun to drive.

 

I've been reading a lot about the new Boss 302 and Ford really hit a home run with this one.