Wet Shine Detailing: March 2009

This detailing clinic was held in mind to introduce detailing to those who are new to detailing. To demonstrate surface preparation techniques, from washing to claying, sanding, compounding, polishing and waxing. All in all, it was a clinic meant to be educational to all, from beginners to seasoned enthusiasts.

The clinic was held on the 14th of February

Venue was at Osren’s HQ at Taman Wahyu.

First thing on the agenda was to demonstrate full surface preparation on a test panel.

The test panel from a Daihatsu Mira repainted with Dupont High Solid is washed to remove loose contaminants.

There were a variety of products that were brought by attendees of the clinic. Shown below are products from Menzerna, Meguiars, Lake Country, Finish Kare, Collinite and Dodo Juice, fresh from the dodo!

Demonstration on the test panel is to be shown like this,

This allows us to see the progress of each step and how different pad and product produce different results.

Whole bottom half of the hood has been sanded,

the following section on the right has been sanded and compounded using Osren Crystal Cut 3.0 with Lake Country 4ply twisted wool pad via rotary.

The following section is then polished with Osren Perfect Cut 2.0 with white Lake Country polishing pad via rotary. Flex XC 3401VRG coupled with an Orange Lake Country pad was also tested on the panel

Pads should be cleaned regularly during a detail to prevent product caking on the pad and this helps to ensure a smooth buffing experience. The pad is then spun dry in a bucket and checked for dampness.

The final section is then finished with a variety of pad/polish/machine combinations and members got some hands on polishing experience. Finally it is waxed with Osren’s Crystal Block wax.

And finally the result,

Next is to show washing techniques starting from the wheels, wheel well and tire.

Meguiar’s Super Degreaser and Meguiar’s Wheel Brightener was used with a variety of brushes.

Attendees who were new to detailing got down and dirty with the brushes while the veteran and enthusiasts look on.

Next, Krismas @ Azizi wash the front end of the car with a Lake Country wash mitt using Chemical Guys Citrus Wash and Gloss as shampoo.

Washing using a straight line gentle motion, together with the two bucket system with Grit Guards help to minimize the chance of marring the paint during wash. Notice that Azizi is just gliding the wash mitt on the paint, without adding pressure, gentleness is the key to a perfect wash!

Members look on as Azizi rinse and dry the paint using the pat dry technique with a Cobra Guzzler waffle weave microfibre towel.

Other members took the opportunity to test some machines and products on the test panel.

Makita 9227C rotary polisher and a Meguiar’s yellow light cut solo wool pad.

Joke:
What did the American and German polish say to the two beautiful Malaysian Polishes?

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.

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“I like your round abrasives.”

Not funny, moving on.

Keep your wool pad soft by frequently spurring it with a Duo Wool Spur.

Here, Mr.Heng is demonstrating the Lake Country polishing ball on the fog lights

Kok Yi demonstrates the Lake Country polishing cone on the grills of the bumper.

The insides of the fender is then taped and covered with newspaper to prevent polishing dust from entering the engine bay, this eases clean up afterwards.

The condition of the paint under a 250w metal halide lamp.

In a lower exposure setting,

Surface preparation started by compounding with a Lake Country 4 ply twisted wool and Osren Crystal Cut 3.0 via Rotary.

Hmmmm, what’s going on back there?

Members comparing waxes.

Back to that later. :D

After Kok Yi finishes compounding the half the hood, this is how it looks like.

Buffer marks and some Random Deep Scratches remain.

Half of this section is then polished with Osren Perfect Cut 2.0 with a White Lake Country pad via Rotary.

The remaining area is polished with Meguiar’s #205 Ultra Finishing Polish with a white Lake country CCS pad via the Flex XC 3401 dual-action polisher.

Both pad/polish/machine combinations achieved a Last Step Product (LSP) ready surface.

Osren Perfect cut 2.0/White/Rotary result,

Meguiar’s #205/White CCS/Flex result,

Dance of the rotaries,

In the photo above, Azizi is using Meguiar’s #205 ultra finishing polish via rotary to remove the swirls. Although the surface was swirl free, but the reflections were not as clear the surface that has been compounded.

The polished panel is then polished again with Osren Radiant Polish with a Black Lake Country pad via rotary to further enhance the gloss and it also acts as an undercoat that improves the durability of the sealant that goes on top of it.

Osren Synthetic Sealant is applied by hand.

Water sheeting is tested to compare the surface prepped and protected section with the unprepped section.

Below are photos of the hood’s reflection comparing between prepped and unprepped. I know this looks like a photography trick, Gaussian blur or out of focus picture but I can honestly say that those were the true results. The camera had a very hard time focusing on the reflection of the roof in the unprepped section, it was the best picture taken for that section.

On the prepped section however, reflections were just clear and the camera focused with ease.

Not prepped, only a wash,

Prepped,

Here, the waxes that were applied on the test panel earlier are compared for their water beading, pre-APC wash and post-APC wash.

It was hard to tell which product beaded the best as it was an ad hoc test.

Below are pictures taken with a camera phone, between a panel that has been purposely repainted with orange peel, and the test panel, which has been sanded and compounded quite a number of times.

This shows that orange peel, or the absence of it, plays a huge role in gloss and clarity.

All in all it was a fun and learning experience for all of us, and I would like to thank Osren for providing the place and facilities to hold this clinic, to Bryan at Autorage for the photos and to all forum members and detailing enthusiasts for making this event possible!

THANK YOU

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