Hey guys, I've just started detailing about a month ago. Well, I really slowly walked into this then got pushed over when I bought everything hahaha.

Well, here are the pictures of the first few details I've done.

CG CWG
CG Grime Reaper for engine bay (I used this on the engine bay, but I forgot to take pictures of the engine bay. It still looks a bit dirty though.)
Clay Magic Fine Grade Clay Bar
Clear Kote Quik Detailer
Menzerna PO106FF
Hitachi rotary polisher
Jetseal 109
Stoner Invisible Glass


Wheels
CG CWG - degreaser
Clay Magic Clay Bar
Klasse AIO

I got too hungry and tired to put on wax... I said I'd do it the next day, but I never did haha

BEFORE









what the hell SpecC? your car is dirty!!!

After wash



The swirls are very light, and it was hard to capture them with my crappy camera. I need a UV light!




After Jetseal








yes this is a scratch and yes i am an idiot driver to do this

 

That's it for the tC. Now how about the arch nemesis BMW!

if i'm completely honest, I didn't do that great a job claying because i had to rush it in the sun if I wanted to polish in time for dinner. Not that I did it in time any way. I tried my best to take my time on this detail. 10 AM - 10:30 PM and didn't even wax it. Took two hours the today in the afternoon to wax it.

Materials:

Exterior

CG CWG
CG Metal Polish
Clay Magic Blue Fine Grade Clay Bar
Clear Kote Quik Shine clay lubricant

Jetseal 109
Liquid Soveran Wax


Engine Bay
CG Grime Reaper
Costco microfiber towels
old nylon toothbrush

Paint Correction
Hitachi Rotary Polisher w/ white pad
Menzerna 106FF

Wheels

CG CWG presoak
Wheel brush
Meguair's Hot Tire shine
Klasse AIO applied by hand

Didn't get to use jetseal on the wheels cause mom decided to take it out in the morning, and they got dirty really really really fast....

Now for pictures...

Before



Don't be fooled by the gunmetal shade, that's all dirt!








yeah this thing was pretty disgusting




everyone has a clay bar so i decided to show mine too, but i'm cheating cause i clayed a wheel with this

After sealant...

 

Here are the final pictures, and yes, I know that i used too much sealant
















forgot to take pictures of a few things so i snapped em at night with a flash!






I'm very satisfied with the engine bay detail. It was easy because the E90 really had nothing I really had to cover up. Just spray and soak! The pipes are a different story. I used a microfiber cloth to try to smear it all on, but some really really stubborn dirt on the left one wouldn't come off... I'll fight it again next time when I get some steel wool.

anyways, enjoy!

 

1989...

This car was preowned and the paint was in great condition for such an old car. It did have a lot of swirls on it, and they are really deep!

Also, let me just tell you which products I did not like at all and will recommend not touching.
Meguiar's Hot Tire Shine is terrible! I put two coats of it on and it just went away by the next day I saw the car. NO durability whatsoever. I'll be looking for a different tire shine when I gather some more budget.

Wash & Dry

CG CWG
Micro-chenille wash mitt
Grit Guard
Microfiber waffle weave drying towel
Clay magic blue fine grade clay bar
Diluted CG CWG as clay lubricant

Engine Bay

CG Grime Reaper
Microfiber towels

Tail Pipes
CG Metal polish
Microfiber towels

Glass
CG CWG
Stoner's Invisible Glass
Jetseal 109

Paint Correction

Hitachi Rotary Polisher
Menzerna Nano
Black finishing pad
Orange light cutting pad
Meguiar's Ultimate Quick Detailer

LSP
Jetseal 109 - cured overnight
Pinnacle Liquid Souveran Wax
Meguiar's foam applicators

Wheels
CG CWG presoak & wash
Micro-chenille mitt
Wheel brush
Klasse AIO
Jetseal 109
Meguiar's Hot Tire Shine

The car was washed and waxed before I got here. This was one on very short notice and I just had a change of plans so I decided to swing by, and luckily, he wasn't doing anything that day! Even though it was already washed and waxed, the CWG should have stripped all the wax off. Even after that, the claying process was very easy and efficient. Four pieces (including one I dropped and tossed) were used to clay the entire car and wheels. Props to drsourmonkey for maintaining the paint!

Washing...











who knew that w203s had projectors?



The engine bay did not look very dirty at first, but I let it soak in some CG Grime Reaper, and the dirt just wiped right off! Sorry, there are no pictures of the engine bay before detailing.





Now, here's almost 20 years of washing and maybe even no polishing!

 

Now, let's see how bad this is with the lightest cut I have...



And... I decided that it made absolutely no difference even at 1700 RPM and multiple passes. So, it's time to bring out the big guns! ORANGE LIGHT CUTTING PAD GO GO GO!




While detailing, my friends were all watching! Next time, maybe I'll just set up a SpecC detailing channel and link everyone. :bellyroll



Polishing sure is a dusty job though!



Here's after polish




As you can see, the swirls are still there. I probably only removed about 70% of them which doesn't cut it at all! I'll be trying to get some more intense polish then I'll battle these swirls again.

 

After LSP. Jetseal cured over night.













Just in case you didn't know, this MR2 is...



And...



Gotta include this for his crew!

In the end, he was very satisfied with the detail. I'll be battling these swirls again hopefully before his big meet. I've got some Menzerna SIP for the next time. Now if that doesn't work, I'll need some more money to buy and hope that I don't tear through all his paint.

Sorry I used a ton of pictures! But hey, more pictures make the thread more interesting! I'm working on a really messy STi too. This thing has some of the nastiest grime on wheels I have ever seen. Will post that when i get it too.

Thanks for viewing and enjoy!

 

Thanks for sharing all those great photos about your detail. It was fun to look at them all and see your hard work. I think if you use the orange pad and SIP on your next attempt you'll be much closer to perfection as you suggested. Keep up the great work!

Greg @ Detailed Image

 

thanks greg! and thank george for me too! You guys gave me 80% of my material

 

very good read, like the bmw looked awesome.

 

seems like everyone likes the MR2 one the most, but how can i fix something that's not as broken (tC, E90)!

I am way more proud of my BMW detail though. Brought out the real luster in the paint!

 

Looks great Ben!

 

thanks phil! your stuff is put to good use