Documenting "Operation S4 - Detail and Protect" from Start to Finish

[ThatOneDude]

Ok folks I am documenting my "detail and protect" project from start to finish.

I've completed through step 7 so far and I will post the results of the Nano Resin coating below.


Total Product Cost Including Shipping: $426


The 11 Step Plan




































The Whole Kit and Caboodle

[14S4GWM]

Nice kit but you should get another bucket and grit guard. 2 bucket method no matter what. How much did you spend on all that?

[ThatOneDude]

Nice kit but you should get another bucket and grit guard. 2 bucket method no matter what. How much did you spend on all that?

Hi! Total product cost was $426. (It's listed at the top of the OP)

Also, I prefer to foam, full rinse, refoam and use hand wash mitt with one bucket to rinse.

So instead of using the mitt to apply soap all over from a "soapy water" bucket, I just respray the car with soap and use a fresh water bucket with grit guard to rinse out the mitt as I hand wash the car.

Works great and guarantees that I can discard all grit into only one bucket.

[14S4GWM]

Hi! Total product cost was $426. (It's listed at the top of the OP)

Also, I prefer to foam, full rinse, refoam and use hand wash mitt with one bucket to rinse.

So instead of using the mitt to apply soap all over from a "soapy water" bucket, I just respray the car with soap and use a fresh water bucket with grit guard to rinse out the mitt as I hand wash the car.

Works great and guarantees that I can discard all grit into only one bucket.

I just looked at all the pics lol, didnt see the price. As long as you have a great method that works properly then you are good to go. I think you might be wasting some product in your method but hey you do it how you want. Cant wait to see the finish product. pics please. How does the citrus compare to a normal soap with the foamer and cleaning wise?

[ThatOneDude]

I just looked at all the pics lol, didnt see the price. As long as you have a great method that works properly then you are good to go. I think you might be wasting some product in your method but hey you do it how you want. Cant wait to see the finish product. pics please. How does the citrus compare to a normal soap with the foamer and cleaning wise?

I've washed this S4 twice now. Once with 2 bucket method and once with 1 bucket plus refoam method. Not sure which I prefer yet but both work just fine :)

Also, not sure how I feel about the citrus wash yet. I wanted it to produce a thick foam for prewash soak but honestly I haven't been successful achieving that yet. I don't know if it's the sprayer gun, the soap itself, or perhaps I'm using the improper ratio? But regardless, I have yet to achieve that thick foam that I've seen others get.

Pics of wash, clay, polish, and nano resin to follow shortly....

[S4inBC]

I use a foam cannon on my pressure washer with Chemical Guys Glossworks car wash. I blast off the major mung with the PW first, then foam it and wash it down with a wash mitt rinsed regularly in a single bucket with grit guard. Most water comes off with the leaf blower followed up by a wipe down with a drying towel and quick detail spray. Quick and easy and results are wonderful.

[drob23]

I've washed this S4 twice now. Once with 2 bucket method and once with 1 bucket plus refoam method. Not sure which I prefer yet but both work just fine :)

Also, not sure how I feel about the citrus wash yet. I wanted it to produce a thick foam for prewash soak but honestly I haven't been successful achieving that yet. I don't know if it's the sprayer gun, the soap itself, or perhaps I'm using the improper ratio? But regardless, I have yet to achieve that thick foam that I've seen others get.

Pics of wash, clay, polish, and nano resin to follow shortly....

Does that spayer produce a lot of foam? I use the MTM foam cannon with honeydew foaming soap. That stuff works great, I would think a lot better than the citrus wash. Then I two bucket with adams shampoo. I think the adams wash works better than the citrus wash, the mitt seems to "glide" a lot better.

I've found there is no wrong way to do this, some approaches just take more/less time. And ideally, whatever you are doing does not cause swirls/scratches. It's not like I was unable to wash a car until I got a foam cannon lol...it is just easier now and I'd say I do a better more efficient job.

But I also treat my microfibers terribly and don't hand wash cleaning mitts with fancy soap. I also have a dark gray car...so it's nearly impossible to see swirls

[collins4]

no polisher? everything by hand? I love detailing my car. can't wait for "before" and "after" pics!

How did you choose your products? I've never heard of Dr Beasley

[WJN S4]

Few recommendations from washing my cars the last 15-20 years:

• Definitely use a second bucket/grit guard
• Get a second mit for cleaning the lower half of the car, or get a big "uber" mit for the top half of the car. You don't want to use the same mit for the top half and bottom, dirtier half
• Didn't see wheel cleaning tools or chemicals
• Is that drying towel a chamois? Don't use those, they cause scratches big time
• Use quick detailer spray before wiping with microfibers, helps lube the paint/water for swirl and spot free drying, especially for windows
• I would just use only citrus wash only for detailing washes, as I understand it is not pH neutral and will cut into the top coat more if you use it for maintenance washes
• Wash and rinse in between polishing and wax/sealing
• You are going to need A LOT more microfiber towels than that

[Justin R]

never use an Absorber to dry your car

[grovlet]

I've washed this S4 twice now. Once with 2 bucket method and once with 1 bucket plus refoam method. Not sure which I prefer yet but both work just fine :)

Also, not sure how I feel about the citrus wash yet. I wanted it to produce a thick foam for prewash soak but honestly I haven't been successful achieving that yet. I don't know if it's the sprayer gun, the soap itself, or perhaps I'm using the improper ratio? But regardless, I have yet to achieve that thick foam that I've seen others get.

Pics of wash, clay, polish, and nano resin to follow shortly....

Chemical Guys Soap Chart

I found that the Chemical Guys HoneyDew Sno Foam works better for foaming.

According to the chart it's better foam action and got more slickness

[ThatOneDude]

no polisher? everything by hand? I love detailing my car. can't wait for "before" and "after" pics!

How did you choose your products? I've never heard of Dr Beasley

Everything by hand... and let me tell you... that polish/glaze was INSANELY hard work. I don't know if I'd ever do it again.

Results were fantastic. Ultra gloss finish, but dam it will kick your ass.

Few recommendations from washing my cars the last 15-20 years:

• Definitely use a second bucket/grit guard
• Get a second mit for cleaning the lower half of the car, or get a big "uber" mit for the top half of the car. You don't want to use the same mit for the top half and bottom, dirtier half
• Didn't see wheel cleaning tools or chemicals
• Is that drying towel a chamois? Don't use those, they cause scratches big time
• Use quick detailer spray before wiping with microfibers, helps lube the paint/water for swirl and spot free drying, especially for windows
• I would just use only citrus wash only for detailing washes, as I understand it is not pH neutral and will cut into the top coat more if you use it for maintenance washes
• Wash and rinse in between polishing and wax/sealing
• You are going to need A LOT more microfiber towels than that

-Ok most people are really pushing the second bucket. I think I will go ahead and order another one to be on the safe side.
-Wheel cleaning... not too concerned about it yet because I am going to powder coat the wheels and then protect them with the CarPro DLux. Once I have the wheels finalized, I will implement a good plan for maintenance.
-Chamois - had no idea. thought it was a good idea. But I will never use one again
-I just put 2 coats of Nano Resin so I will not ever be polishing this car again.
-More microfiber - Yes I bought another 6 pack. Had 18 in total and I used 15 of them for the whole process

Thanks so much for your info

never use an Absorber to dry your car

This guy is super cool. Doesn't take long to know that he definitely has experience and knows what he's talking about. Thanks for sharing this. I will order some of that AMMO spray for sure.

I'll also try to see if I can find more of his videos because I like his style of explanation.

Oh... and I will never use a chamois towel again for drying my cars. Luckily, after the first wash, I didn't need it for any of the other processes.

With the Nano coat, Dr Beasley's recommends you don't wash your car for a week so I haven't washed/dried it since. Quite glad to find this stuff out now versus later.

[Justin R]

Everything by hand... and let me tell you... that polish/glaze was INSANELY hard work. I don't know if I'd ever do it again.

Results were fantastic. Ultra gloss finish, but dam it will kick your ass.




-Ok most people are really pushing the second bucket. I think I will go ahead and order another one to be on the safe side.
-Wheel cleaning... not too concerned about it yet because I am going to powder coat the wheels and then protect them with the CarPro DLux. Once I have the wheels finalized, I will implement a good plan for maintenance.
-Chamois - had no idea. thought it was a good idea. But I will never use one again
-I just put 2 coats of Nano Resin so I will not ever be polishing this car again.
-More microfiber - Yes I bought another 6 pack. Had 18 in total and I used 15 of them for the whole process

Thanks so much for your info




This guy is super cool. Doesn't take long to know that he definitely has experience and knows what he's talking about. Thanks for sharing this. I will order some of that AMMO spray for sure.

I'll also try to see if I can find more of his videos because I like his style of explanation.

Oh... and I will never use a chamois towel again for drying my cars. Luckily, after the first wash, I didn't need it for any of the other processes.

With the Nano coat, Dr Beasley's recommends you don't wash your car for a week so I haven't washed/dried it since. Quite glad to find this stuff out now versus later.

He goes above and beyond explaining things. You don't necessarily need to order his products ... the technique works with any instant detailer spray. I like the Griots speed shine

[grovlet]

- You can get a bucket @ Home Depot for $2 (any old 5 Gallon Bucket will work....) - just order the Grit Guard seperately......
- I got my Micro Fibres from CarPro - (10 Pack) - but I've found TheRagCompany is highly rated and much cheaper
- I would also get some Micro Fibre Cleaner to properly clean them afterwards

[ThatOneDude]

Ok so here is the documentation pics of my ALL DAY project from last Sunday.

Overall I used 6 pair of gloves and 15 microfiber towels.

I will post the pictures in real order, but keep in mind, I was working alone all day. Nobody to help take pics and that means that I simply could not capture everything because I was constantly switching out wet gloves with product all over them. Washing up between every step to take pics is just completely impractical. So what I was able to capture was mostly the "finished" shots of each step.

Here she is all dirty. Yes I know it's hard to tell, and actually it's pretty awesome. This Glacier White Metallic paint hides dirt and dust better than any color I've ever seen. But take a close look at the back bumper and you can see lots of grime and dirt caked on.



WASHED AND CLEAN



CLAY BAR SYSTEM WITH GLOSSY HOOD PIC AFTER CLAYING (I CLAYED EVERY INCH OF THE PAINT - NOT JUST THE HOOD BTW)


Product Review: Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay was great. The spray lube smelled very pleasant and wiped off very easily with their microfiber towels. The clay DEFINITELY helped with plenty of little contaminants. I used 1 full bar and have 1 full bar left over. I used the entire bottle of spray and actually barely had enough to finish. More spray would have been welcomed.
Overall: Great product with great results.


SMOOTHING POLISH AND FINISHING GLAZE


Product Review: Dr Beasley's Smoothing Polish and Finishing Glaze - This step will KICK YOUR ASS! BY FAR the most physically taxing step in the whole process. Both the smoothing polish and the finishing glaze took some serious elbow grease to buff off. I think the product is very time consuming and difficult to buff out completely. I was constantly looking into the glare of light to find that I had missed sections when buffing and had to revisit areas far too often. I found myself wanting to shortcut this process like 50 times, but I DIDN'T! I polished and glazed every inch of every panel. One thing about the smoothing polishing is that it helped tremendously with fine marks and little "dots" that the clay bar just didn't pick up. The polish really "cleaned" the paint better than anything else I did.
Overall: Very time consuming. Very laborious. But the result is eventually rewarding. This step took over 3 hours alone.



AFTER CARPRO ERASER WIPEDOWN - FULLY PREPPED FOR NANO RESIN BUT LOOSING SUNLIGHT FAST


Product Review: CarPro Eraser wipedown was sooooooooooooo easy and very pleasant. I was super impressed with how simple and foolproof this was. Spray on. Wipe off with MF towel. It truly was an important last step as it ensured there was no more unbuffed polish spots that I might have missed. All 5 pics above were taken just after the wipedown and as you can see, it was still ultra glossy!
Overall: Excellent product. Extremely simple and effective. Pleasant scent.


GLOOMY MORNING AFTER PICS (WHICH IS THE REASON FOR THE CHANGE IN IMAGE TONE) WITH 2 COATS OF NANO RESIN - BASICALLY USED THE ENTIRE (TINY) BOTTLE. I DID THE FIRST COAT IN MY DRIVEWAY AND THEN IT GOT DARK SO I PULLED IT INTO THE GARAGE AND TURNED ON LIGHTS FOR THE SECOND COAT. THESE PICS WERE TAKEN THIS MORNING.


Product Review: Dr Beasley's Nano Resin The bottle was suuupppper tiny. Couldn't believe that it was going to coat my S4 twice. It was simple to apply, but because it's crystal clear, it's quite difficult to see it on the car surface, especially with a white car! Also, the applicator suede cloth was tricky to manage because the suede cloth does not stay on the applicator pad so I had to readjust it like 100 times. Sorta annoying. I think there could be a better application method for sure. I applied evenly and let sit a few minutes, then gently wiped off the entire area with a MF towel. Each application took about an hour. Product has no scent at all and feels like some kind of ultra lube but more sticky.
Overall: Excellent product that produced a rich gloss and glorious feel to the touch. Feels like super smooth gloss. Application is a little tricky with that tiny suede cloth.

So there it is! I think overall everything went really well. Each step was essential to produce the end result and now my S4 is protected as well as you can hope for with a DIY process.

[S4inBC]

That looks awesome! Good job.

[ThatOneDude]

He goes above and beyond explaining things. You don't necessarily need to order his products ... the technique works with any instant detailer spray. I like the Griots speed shine

Personally I like his explanations because it helps clarify why he says what he says. And I don't mind ordering from him. I'll check out Griots Speed Shine too

If you wanna hear a guy go above and beyond and back again and repeat himself in different ways twice to the 11th power times 3, just listen to this guy for a while.

Took him like 2 hours to explain why not to wear a ring and a belt right around the 5 minute mark.

He could have just said "Don't wear a ring or a belt. You might scratch the paint." lol

[14S4GWM]

Looking good. I have the same ride.

[FliGi7]

Someone already mentioned chucking the chamois (thank you), but do yourself a favor and pick up a couple waffle weave towels for drying. If you don't want to order online, go down to Wal-Mart or Kragen/O'Reilly/AutoZone/whatever and get a Meguiar's Water Magnet. That's going to be critical in protecting your paint as you dry it.

Personally, I prefer a sheepskin mitt over Microfiber for washing as it has a much deeper nap (deeper nap = less chance of pinning debris between the material and the paint, which is what causes the marring). But, I do use a Chenille/MF mitt for my lowers (everything from the bottom of the door downward) as it matters much less down there.

As for glaze, I never use it. The only purpose of a true glaze is to hide imperfections. It does nothing but fill things in that are still there. From my PoV, if marring is still present, I need to keep polishing not just cover it up. But, I understand sometimes you may just want to fill the remaining 5% of stuff in and move on. Just an FYI for you.

Great writeup and thanks for sharing.

[s4buckeye]

Someone already mentioned chucking the chamois (thank you), but do yourself a favor and pick up a couple waffle weave towels for drying. If you don't want to order online, go down to Wal-Mart or Kragen/O'Reilly/AutoZone/whatever and get a Meguiar's Water Magnet. That's going to be critical in protecting your paint as you dry it.

Personally, I prefer a sheepskin mitt over Microfiber for washing as it has a much deeper nap (deeper nap = less chance of pinning debris between the material and the paint, which is what causes the marring). But, I do use a Chenille/MF mitt for my lowers (everything from the bottom of the door downward) as it matters much less down there.

As for glaze, I never use it. The only purpose of a true glaze is to hide imperfections. It does nothing but fill things in that are still there. From my PoV, if marring is still present, I need to keep polishing not just cover it up. But, I understand sometimes you may just want to fill the remaining 5% of stuff in and move on. Just an FYI for you.

Great writeup and thanks for sharing.

waffle weave suck for drying. skip those and "do yourself a favor"

get these:

http://www.chemicalguys.com/Fatty_Su..._p/mic_881.htm

[AKPS4]

Agreed. Waffle weaves are useless. I actually use a chamois which works incredibly well. Yes it can cause scratches if you let dirt on it ( drop it, place it on dirty surface, etc). Otherwise it has worked well for me for dozens of washes.

Do not use for wheels, tires, exhaust tips or along the edges beneath the car. Those areas will destroy the chamois.

These complete details usually take me a full day as well and are completely exhausting. I always start very early just incase additional time is needed.

[speed_racer]

Save yourselves scratches guys... Foam first.. let it sit about 5 minutes (cool to the touch and in shade), then wash. The foam will lift the sediment so you're not scratching it into the clear coat as you wipe.

And I always use sponges and wipe in long straight lines.

Im thinking of shooting a time lapse of my next wash as my car is FILTHY with dust right now from the dry season were having.

[14S4GWM]

Save yourselves scratches guys... Foam first.. let it sit about 5 minutes (cool to the touch and in shade), then wash. The foam will lift the sediment so you're not scratching it into the clear coat as you wipe.

And I always use sponges and wipe in long straight lines.

Im thinking of shooting a time lapse of my next wash as my car is FILTHY with dust right now from the dry season were having.

Eff a sponge!

[ThatOneDude]

haha. you guys are hilarious. so many differing opinions.

i think there is no single right way. but it's good to hear a variety of methods and find what works best for you and your car.

after getting all the stuff in my full kit picture above I felt almost like mr pro level car washer detailer guy. (not really). and now i feel way back down to like beginner/intermediate level. lol

good stuff.

[speed_racer]

Eff a sponge!

I was taught by the guy who did my ceramic pro and works directly with Audi, Ferrari, Porsche, and Bentley of Orlando.

Yes, i use special super soft sponger. I even have 2 in line filtration systems to remove any sediment from the water Im spraying on my car.

9 months and 20 washes later and I challenge anyone to find a scratch :)

Just for the "F a sponge" comment I WILL do a time lapse of washing my car, and show you how easily it can be done with the right procedure. (which I'm sure there are 1000 "right procedures")

Should be fun! :)

[Mike Panic]

I really enjoy Larry, Ammoy NYC's videos but I refuse to buy their products. I was dead set to buy Plum wheel cleaner and found too many articles like this: https://www.reddit.com/r/AutoDetaili...l_cleaner_and/

So I bought a gallon of Griots for $50 shipped from Amazon and it works, IMHO, better than Sonax, smells better too.

I was then all set to buy Ammoy NYC tire mud, but no listing on the website for how many ounces, OK whatever, $18 I can live with. Shipping was $10!!! I live in a neighboring state. I'm not paying $28 for tire shine. Ended up buying Chemical Guys Natural Satin Shine, review and photos are here http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...ressing-review

Recently I've been watching this guy's YouTube videos, http://www.obsessedgarage.com/home/gear/detailing-gear/ - they aren't as polished (pun intended) as Larry but he's pretty comprehensive in what he does for an amateur car detailer. I also really like that he's not afraid to talk shit on a product or admit when he finds something better. On his suggestion I bought Cockpit for my interior, it's amazing.

[14S4GWM]

Can't wait to see the time lapse. The only right way is the way you want to do it. Without a sponge for me. Lol

[FliGi7]

waffle weave suck for drying. skip those and "do yourself a favor"

get these:

http://www.chemicalguys.com/Fatty_Su..._p/mic_881.htm

I'm not sure where you buy your waffle weave towels, but I've been using them for 10 years and every one I've had has been super absorbent and caused zero marring from responsible use. Even a cheap Meguiar's Water Magnet works very well. I'd suggest you start buying yours elsewhere as there's a lot of good options out there.

[FliGi7]

Agreed. Waffle weaves are useless. I actually use a chamois which works incredibly well. Yes it can cause scratches if you let dirt on it ( drop it, place it on dirty surface, etc). Otherwise it has worked well for me for dozens of washes.

Chamois works great for absorbing water... and causing marring. In fact, they're nearly unequivocally unrecommended for safely drying a car by any detailer you'd care to take your car to. There's no way you can prevent every particle of dirt from getting pinned between the chamois and the paint, and the chamois simply doesn't have enough nap to prevent that pinned dirt from marring the car. It's not really even a debate, it's science. The thicker the nap (among other variables), the better it prevents against marring. Chamois has little to zero nap. I've heard a lot of people say they had good luck using a chamois with no marring, but I've rarely seen that backed up with proof.

At the end of the day, do whatever works for your level of risk and how deeply you can inspect your paint and identify marring. Some can see the tiniest of marring in the right light, some can't. It's all in the eye of the beholder.

[drob23]

Get a foam cannon, even jokers like me can get it to work



paris hilton approves

[vwaddikt]

I'm not sure where you buy your waffle weave towels, but I've been using them for 10 years and every one I've had has been super absorbent and caused zero marring from responsible use. Even a cheap Meguiar's Water Magnet works very well. I'd suggest you start buying yours elsewhere as there's a lot of good options out there.

I have used a number of waffle towels and they worked well, however CG towel in the link above is fantastic. Been using one for a couple of months and need to order a couple more.

[FliGi7]

It is indeed another great option.

[ThatOneDude]

Is this Speed Wipe from CG the same type of product (or can it be used in place of) AMMO Hydrate for lubricating the MF cloth while drying?

[Brother Owl]

Get a foam cannon, even jokers like me can get it to work

paris hilton approves

Guaranteed that's the only time Paris wasn't getting "foam cannoned"

[s4buckeye]

I'm not sure where you buy your waffle weave towels, but I've been using them for 10 years and every one I've had has been super absorbent and caused zero marring from responsible use. Even a cheap Meguiar's Water Magnet works very well. I'd suggest you start buying yours elsewhere as there's a lot of good options out there.

no, they are shitty.

[FliGi7]

An overwhelmingly large amount of professional detailers with decades of experience with waffle weaves (not to mention the facts of science) disagree with your opinion, but you're obviously entitled to it.

[s4buckeye]

An overwhelmingly large amount of professional detailers with decades of experience with waffle weaves (not to mention the facts of science) disagree with your opinion, but you're obviously entitled to it.

thanks bro, they are still shitty for drying. like the "facts of science" drop tho.

[S4inBC]

There are lots of quick detail sprays that you can use as a drying aid. I just got some Chemical Guys Extreme Slick QD spray:

http://www.chemicalguys.com/Extreme_...wac_116_16.htm

It works really well, I picked it because it says it was safe for any coatings (my car has Gtechniq C2/Exo on it), I am quite impressed. I've heard lots of good stuff about Adam's Polishes QD spray as well.

[Guitarmageddon]

waffle weave suck for drying. skip those and "do yourself a favor"

get these:

http://www.chemicalguys.com/Fatty_Su..._p/mic_881.htm

Agreed. Waffle weaves are useless. I actually use a chamois which works incredibly well. Yes it can cause scratches if you let dirt on it ( drop it, place it on dirty surface, etc). Otherwise it has worked well for me for dozens of washes.

Do not use for wheels, tires, exhaust tips or along the edges beneath the car. Those areas will destroy the chamois.

These complete details usually take me a full day as well and are completely exhausting. I always start very early just incase additional time is needed.

Completely false and arbitrary statements

https://www.detailersdomain.com/coll...r-drying-towel

That is the best drying towel I have used to date, and Ive tried a lot of shit.

Also, if you are washing/drying incorrectly then you will degrade the ability of your towels much faster. The only benefit to a chamois is that it can be rung out and reused as opposed to needing a new dry waffle weave. Also, a chamois will retain dirt much easier (with not many places for it to hide except right on the surface of the towel) and then before long you are undoing all your precious hard work.

Chamois works great for absorbing water... and causing marring. In fact, they're nearly unequivocally unrecommended for safely drying a car by any detailer you'd care to take your car to. There's no way you can prevent every particle of dirt from getting pinned between the chamois and the paint, and the chamois simply doesn't have enough nap to prevent that pinned dirt from marring the car. It's not really even a debate, it's science. The thicker the nap (among other variables), the better it prevents against marring. Chamois has little to zero nap. I've heard a lot of people say they had good luck using a chamois with no marring, but I've rarely seen that backed up with proof.

At the end of the day, do whatever works for your level of risk and how deeply you can inspect your paint and identify marring. Some can see the tiniest of marring in the right light, some can't. It's all in the eye of the beholder.

+1

[MrFunk]

3 bucket system only... you need a third and separate one for the wheels...
Dampen your drying towel before using it... if using a microfiber it will suck up water much better this way... also mist the car with detail spray before drying it.
Put a water filter/purifier on your water source to your hose - this reduces hard spots...
Get a foam canon - much better than the foamer you have (I used that one for a couple years also before "upgrading" to a foamer - night and day). You'll need a Pressure Washer but worth the investment (you can get an electric one for a fair price which is suitable for car washing).

Enjoy..!