Detailing adventures

[gudge]

I did my first paid detailing project today. I polished my coworkers headlights and he put $10 in gas in my car . I did them on my lunch break so I was a little rushed. Anyways they turned out well. I used the Meguiar's kit. I think I'm going to get the 3M kit for the next set of headlights i do since it's more aggressive.

[gudge]

Also just as a fun game, who can guess the brand and model of the car?

[TDavis]

Pontiac G6.

[sleepyalero]

X2...

[Metallman56]

welcome to the club looks good, though the pics were either taken at different times of the day, or the car was moved so the lighting is different, it still looks like it came out nice. i don't think I've ever used the Megs kit, I'm guessing you wet sanded the lights, then buffed them out.

also getting paid $100 next weekend to do my mother in laws Altima. its a really nice deep blue, plenty of pics coming im sure.

[gudge]

Different times. I got them mostly done during lunch and finished them up after work so it's about a 3 hour difference in before and after pictures.

Yes I used the little wet sanding pads that come in the kit. They aren't aggressive enough though in my opinion. The 3M kit starts at 500 grit which will completely resurface the lens.

[gudge]

Tanner and Sleep are correct in it being a Pontiac G6.

I will be cleaning his wheels soon which I'm pretty sure have never been cleaned. I'm interested to see all the purple I get from the cleaner (Griot's Garage HD Wheel Cleaner). They are chrome clad but they hardly shine at all. Cant wait to see my smiling face shining off those wheels. I love before and after results on filthy cars!

[03GT SilverGun]

My wife's g6 lights are doing the same thing. Maybe I too should invest in the 3m kit.

[gudge]

There's a couple different kits. There's ones that you do by hand and ones that get attached to a drill. I haven't tried either one, just done research, so I can't speak on which one I prefer.

[Metallman56]

wow 500 grit seams really harsh, but I guess its in the kit for a reason.

btw if you guys want a good how to here ya go

http://grandamgt.com/forum/showthread.php?t=68607

[sudden_impulse]

If you already have a buffer and polish, just buy sandpaper for headlights. I've done 2 sets of truck headlights at work in the last week, starting with 400 dry, then using 1000 and 1500 wet. I then used my most aggressive pad (similar to wool, without the mess) with M105, then a heavy polish pad with M205. If I wanted a really good job, I'd have more stages of sandpaper, but these are work trucks that the company doesn't really care about (that, and I only have like 2 weeks left here ).

ETA: I used a rotary buffer, I don't know if a DA would get enough heat built up to get rid of big scratches, though going up to 2000 or even 2500 grit wet would solve that possibly.

[gudge]

Ordered some supplies tonight so expect some updates, specifically corvette detailing and glass polishing.

I ordered from autogeek for the first time. I joined their forum and got 15% off. I decided to order through autogeek because they have a contest right now. Raffle for tickets to this year's SEMA show. Wish me luck! I want to go.

[unchained_01]

For me I would rather use a high soap content and use 1500/2000 and spend less time buffing And at least 3 coats of wax/sealer on headlights
Maybe I am brute for punishment and have Karate kid flashbacks LOL
But also depends on the condition of the lights also I do agree 400/500 is a little out of the ordinary
The least I would consider would be 800 and that's pushing it and if it didn't do it I would toss the capsules for new

[gudge]

My parents dodge caliper battery died so they hooked it up to a charger and when I looked in the engine bay late last night for the first time ever I was shocked at how dirty it was and couldn't leave it be. So at 1am last night I did a little engine bay detailing.

Before:

After:

[gudge]

Griot's Garage HD Wheel Cleaner
I tried this stuff out a few weeks ago. It worked great! It is a bit expensive (Close to $20) and I don't know if I would use it every time since I wash my car so often, but if my wheels are super dirty this will be my go to wheel cleaner. Sprayed wheels, let sit for a couple min, agitated with a brush, and then rinsed off.

Before:

During:

After (Sorry its a diffrent location/lighting)

[Metallman56]

It looks like it worked really well. Well done

[MAC the KNIFE]

sweet pix yo. im mad jelly of that engine bay. in for pix of metall's blue altima job

[Metallman56]

Gudge which garoirs wheel cleaner did you use?

Mac are you high?

[gudge]

Originally Posted by Metallman56

Gudge which garoirs wheel cleaner did you use?

Griots Heavy Duty Wheel Cleaner

[MAC the KNIFE]

Originally Posted by Metallman56

Gudge which garoirs wheel cleaner did you use?

Mac are you high?

if you saw how filthy my car is, you'd say yes. but no im not really. it's the pandora stations ive been listening too lately