StuLax18's Detailing Thread

[StuLax18]

Thought I'd start my own detailing thread rather than post random pics, kinda like what Andrew "Big A" has done. This is my summer job that I ended up doing just to make back the money I spent on my polisher and all that stuff. Then I realized I could actually make a pretty good amount of money off of this, and it's some nice business experience.

Gonna throw the photos from the details in here. Feel free to ask me any questions. Thanks!

Usually I use these products:
Optimum No Rinse (ONR) wash
Griot's Garage clay
Simple Green for loosening bug and tar deposits
ONR diluted in a spray bottle for clay lube, quick detailer, and windows
Sonax Full Effect wheel cleaner
Lexol leather conditioner
Stoner tire shine
Nevr Dull metal polish
Griot's DA polisher
HD Uno polish
HD Poxy Sealant



My first detail: Audi S5.
Befores:







And Afters:











Half and half shot of the front of a Mercedes SUV:



Audi Q7:




Sonax applied:


I failed on remembering to take pictures afterwards.
Also failed to take any after pictures of this Cayenne. The heat gets to me.






My uncle's massive F250:

Befores:





Nevr Dull is awesome!


Afters:






Porsche Carrera S:

Befores:











Rinsed off:


Afters:







Cleaned up, and tire shine applied:


This one had sometime really weird with the paint. Felt like the clear was messed up. The fenders felt smooth, but the hood had these rough patches, even after clay and sealant applied. Also noticed one of the rear fender clear bras was painted over completely. :confused.:

Normal side:


Painted side:

 

[pmanliu]

Nice work buddy! Ill be sure to hit you up for some more advice ;-).

Have you been laying the PC on those cars? Lets see some 50/50 shots!

 

[PMG 705]

Thatt's weird with the bra.. Looks like you get some nice cars in.. That S5 is sexy.

 

[StuLax18]

Haven't done any real polishing, most people don't seem to care. The Q7 had some horrible holograms from "dealer prep" I bet. Whenever I go over the FX fully I'll take shots though. I plan to do that before I leave, and layer on the Poxy sealant a few times to experiment. Then I can just do ONR washes at school to save time and money. I bought a gallon of the ONR that should be here tomorrow. It was like $30 so great savings for buying in bulk.

 

[pmanliu]

Nice. Bummer we aren't local, other we could split a crapload of detailing bulk.

Grad school? i've always wanted to go to UCLA (U C Lotsa Asians)

 

[jbaker1121]

i was thinking of doing the same but my schedule prohibited me from doing so.....

 

[jdTrader]

Stu, have you driven all the cars....just curious what you think of each, especially the Q7, S5, porsche, lol....compared to the FX.

 

[StuLax18]

I drove the Q7 to and from the house, it has lots of fancy electronics which was cool, but it's a TDI so it doesn't drive too smoothly engine wise.

I actually drove the S5, and it was nice having sharp steering even at low speeds. That thing was amazing to just swerve back and forth and feel the whole car move underneath you. It was also amazing how quiet both the engine and exhaust were. Didn't feel that fast until you looked out the window at how fast everything was moving past.

I didn't drive the Carrera S, but I drove a Carrera a couple years ago and loved it. Real smooth and easy to shift, and the traction control was perfect.

F250 just felt like a tank. Every time I got out I forgot I actually should use the running board and would fall a foot farther than I was expecting.

 

[ocal21]

Great work what did you do exactly to the floor mats? I have a dog hair issue with my FX since the dog sheds like it's going out of style lol.

 

[soonster]

looks like a nice operation, if work picks up you can hire some staff and get this economy rolling. BOSS!

 

[StuLax18]

Great work what did you do exactly to the floor mats? I have a dog hair issue with my FX since the dog sheds like it's going out of style lol.

It's actually really easy haha. All I do is spray the mat with a light dusting of my ONR diluted in a spray bottle and then use one of those rolling vacuums with the long hose and one of these type of attachments. Then I short, quick strokes in one direction and it pulls the hair up and into the suction.

 

[StuLax18]

Mazda 3, also fairly new but I can tell it's been on the road often because there were rock chips all over the front and mirrors. Plus it had been sitting outside a lot as evidenced by the before pics.

Received:
ONR Wash
My special bug splatter treatment
Griot's clay
HD UNO on polishing pad
HD UNO on a finishing pad
HD Poxy on a wax pad
ONR wash on the wheels
Diluted ONR on the windows
Stoner tire shine
Nevr-Dull on exhaust tip

Before:













After:







And just for Pat, I did some 50/50 shots:

Before:


50/50:


After:


Final, I made another couple polishing passes between this and the previous shot: