Post by Aurora40 on Aug 24, 2004 20:45:04 GMT -6
I don't know if you all are ready for this. Perhaps it's a bit too obsessive. I tried to add in links for products since you all might not be familiar with them. I originally posted this on autopia.org, a detailing site.
I finally got a chance to try out a spit shine suggestion I'd picked up from autopia tonight. Basically the idea is to try to layer up wax on your car for an even deeper, more stunning shine. While a car is not like a shoe, I tried to be faithful to the point of spit shining.
First, I QD'd my car with Last Touch and a Concours Buffing Towel. I washed it Sunday and it hasn't moved from the garage since. I thought the extra gloss from Last Touch might help a bit, and of course wanted any dust, etc removed from the paint.
Then I went and got the #16 and two foam apps (in case I dropped one or it got cruddy). Then I took my Quik Detailer bottle (it mists very well) that had about 4 ounces of Last Touch in it, and added about 2-3 ounces of distilled water and shook it up. I decided to use QD and water as I thought it might enhance the gloss and also be easier to work into the wax. And perhaps it's a bit like using lighter fluid and water when spit-shining boots. I chose Last Touch because it is very glossy, but also because it's the only QD I have that specifically mentions diluting it.
What I did was get some #16 wax on the foam hand applicator, then lightly spray down the whole area to be waxed. I wanted a mist over everywhere, but it had to be a very thin mist or it would be hard to work in enough. Then I worked the wax into the paint with circular motions. It took several passes over any given area to work in all the water/qd mixture until the area didn't have water beads on it.
The resultant haze seemed extra hazy, and after doing the hood, roof, and trunk I decide to buff them. Ordinarily I do the whole car with #16 and then buff. But it just looked like it was getting real hard and I was afraid it would get impossible to buff off. To my surprise, it buffed quite easily off the paint, and the surface felt very very smooth and slick. I used an Autofiber as I was thinking an Ultimate Wipe might have too much bite (the point is to try to layer the wax up) and I figured a CBT/DFTowel might not have any/enough bite. While doing this, there were some areas where I overlapped onto vertical side panels, and it was here I could really see the effect. The paint had just been QD'd with Last Touch, which by itself will make things glossy and deep, but the overlap areas were noticable in spite of that. The area that had been spit shined was clearly darker and seemed somewhat deeper. It wasn't like you could tell from 10' back, but looking at it up close in the garage, it was plainly obvious.
I then went over the rest of the car, then buffed it off. The car looks very nice now, though it looked very nice after QD'ing (and before QD'ing). I was surprised by how easily the wax buffed off and how slick it was, as #16 isn't usually overly slick. The application however is not as easy. True the applicator pad glides over the surface, but you have to go over and over each area 2-5 times to really work in (or work off, whatever it is that happens) the water/QD mixture. When you first go over it, you can see the wax on the paint, but there is water and QD smeared around beaded on it. You've got to work it until this is gone. It's almost like waxing the car 3 times in a row. While not a lot of effort to move the foam app around, you have to move it around a whole lot.
Edit: Oh, I should have mentioned that I hand polished the car with #80 and waxed it with #16 only about a week or so ago. So the existing wax was quite new. I'll wait until tomorrow night to apply some Bug Guard to the front, and then maybe I'll drive it to work Thursday to check it out in the sun.
I finally got a chance to try out a spit shine suggestion I'd picked up from autopia tonight. Basically the idea is to try to layer up wax on your car for an even deeper, more stunning shine. While a car is not like a shoe, I tried to be faithful to the point of spit shining.
First, I QD'd my car with Last Touch and a Concours Buffing Towel. I washed it Sunday and it hasn't moved from the garage since. I thought the extra gloss from Last Touch might help a bit, and of course wanted any dust, etc removed from the paint.
Then I went and got the #16 and two foam apps (in case I dropped one or it got cruddy). Then I took my Quik Detailer bottle (it mists very well) that had about 4 ounces of Last Touch in it, and added about 2-3 ounces of distilled water and shook it up. I decided to use QD and water as I thought it might enhance the gloss and also be easier to work into the wax. And perhaps it's a bit like using lighter fluid and water when spit-shining boots. I chose Last Touch because it is very glossy, but also because it's the only QD I have that specifically mentions diluting it.
What I did was get some #16 wax on the foam hand applicator, then lightly spray down the whole area to be waxed. I wanted a mist over everywhere, but it had to be a very thin mist or it would be hard to work in enough. Then I worked the wax into the paint with circular motions. It took several passes over any given area to work in all the water/qd mixture until the area didn't have water beads on it.
The resultant haze seemed extra hazy, and after doing the hood, roof, and trunk I decide to buff them. Ordinarily I do the whole car with #16 and then buff. But it just looked like it was getting real hard and I was afraid it would get impossible to buff off. To my surprise, it buffed quite easily off the paint, and the surface felt very very smooth and slick. I used an Autofiber as I was thinking an Ultimate Wipe might have too much bite (the point is to try to layer the wax up) and I figured a CBT/DFTowel might not have any/enough bite. While doing this, there were some areas where I overlapped onto vertical side panels, and it was here I could really see the effect. The paint had just been QD'd with Last Touch, which by itself will make things glossy and deep, but the overlap areas were noticable in spite of that. The area that had been spit shined was clearly darker and seemed somewhat deeper. It wasn't like you could tell from 10' back, but looking at it up close in the garage, it was plainly obvious.
I then went over the rest of the car, then buffed it off. The car looks very nice now, though it looked very nice after QD'ing (and before QD'ing). I was surprised by how easily the wax buffed off and how slick it was, as #16 isn't usually overly slick. The application however is not as easy. True the applicator pad glides over the surface, but you have to go over and over each area 2-5 times to really work in (or work off, whatever it is that happens) the water/QD mixture. When you first go over it, you can see the wax on the paint, but there is water and QD smeared around beaded on it. You've got to work it until this is gone. It's almost like waxing the car 3 times in a row. While not a lot of effort to move the foam app around, you have to move it around a whole lot.
Edit: Oh, I should have mentioned that I hand polished the car with #80 and waxed it with #16 only about a week or so ago. So the existing wax was quite new. I'll wait until tomorrow night to apply some Bug Guard to the front, and then maybe I'll drive it to work Thursday to check it out in the sun.
But seriously, that is some HARDCORE dedication to your paint. And I know it will thank you in return. If only we could get rid of all the bugs on the road, and make it so rain & snow did not fall on pavement! 
