Having a week off work I have decided to have a go at a bit of a detail on my black Fabia mk2 vRS.

 

I had it professionally detailed early last summer (instead of paying for paint protection on the new car at the dealers) and the guy that did it used Blackfire as the sealant. I was more than pleased with the results so a little while ago bought the Blackfire 'Wet Ice Over Fire Total Kit' along with some 'Gloss Enhancing Polish' and this was my first real opportunity to give it a go.

 

I hadn't quite appreciated the time it would take to do the full 4-stage treatment, but I'm so far on day two and it's looking very promising already!

 

Yesterday was full wash and dry, and today was a going over with the Gloss Enhancing Polish (actually a paint cleanser it turns out), followed by the first coat of 'Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection' - a sealant so I gather.

 

The WDAFPP is nothing short of amazing. It has admittedly been some time since I bought an (expensive) car product but this went on and buffed off so easily I thought I had done something wrong! The paint feels lovely and slick/slippy and that is after just the one coat. Tomorrow will see a second coat of this (as it needs to cure for 12 hours) and then the following day a coat or two of the 'Midnight Sun Ivory Carnauba Pasta Wax' finishing with the 'Midnight Sun Detailer'- I'm hoping that will go on as well as the sealant did.

 

So far very happy at my first attempt at a proper polish/seal.

I'll get some pics up when it is done

Lets see those pics, sounds great, funnily posted just after a thread with someone looking for hints on getting a black Fabia looking good.

Look forward to see if you meet Baker21's standards

Me too

There will be pics! I wish I had taken some 'before' ones now - the difference is startling.

 

I don't think it will be up to Baker21s standard, but we'll see! I'm hoping having the luxury of being able to give it curing time will make a difference.

Day 3 completed. Just a fairly quick one today - a second coat of the sealant 'Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection'. That will cure overnight again and then I'm intending to add 2 coats of the 'Midnight Sun Ivory Carnauba Pasta Wax'.

 

Some pics: this is after a wash and dry (day one), Gloss Enhancing Polish and one coat of Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection (day two), another coat of Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection (day three).

 

 

 

Edited 16 January, 201412 yr by zouche

 those links haven't quite worked buddy
 






fixed that for you

Mmmm...Might be better if you take the pictures outside

It doesn't look too good to me

Sure/hope..... it must be the camera

Suspect camera, looks foggy and bad lighting angles.

 

also all of your reflections are coming from greys and concrete material so perhaps not really showcasing the work.

Looking at the Spec on 'Polished Bliss'

You should get 3 months from the sealer and wax

Yes, wasn't easy to get pictures - the photos don't show just how badly lit it is in the carpark that I have been doing the work. I will try to get some outside pictures when finished, but for 90% of today it was absolutely throwing it down and I didn't want to risk rain on the paint before the seal has cured. They do look kind of foggy which is odd, the car is definitely bright and shiny - better pics tomorrow I hope!

 

Glad to hear that it should last 3 months - this isn't a process I'd like to have to do too often! It's very easy to get the products on and off but because of where I live (with underground carparks) that has its own complications - water supply, lighting etc etc.

Well, it's all finished (thank goodness!).

Day 4 today saw a bit of a quick wipe over to get the dust off - and also some condensation-type misting which seemed a little odd. I think it is rather damp in the carpark and the rain outside blows in some misted water - it is open to the sides (although a bit of a distance away).

 

Anyway, then there was a coat of the 'Midnight Sun Ivory Carnauba Pasta Wax' applied. Nice and easy to put on and take off - followed the instructions to not let it haze, but buff off straight away - very easy to remove.

After that I decided that just one coat of the wax would be ok - partly as I wasn't seeing a great difference and partly as I had had quite enough of wax-on wax-off! Finally a going over with the 'Midnight Sun Detailer' to finish off.

 

I'm really quite pleased with the results and the process has taught me a lot:

• you need A LOT of micro fibre towels. Very glad I bought a 36-pack prior to trying this!
• lighting is important - it has been quite a challenge to do this by only a few fluorescent tubes.
• it takes time - a lot of time (by hand)
• i have got to know every inch of the car and it has been quite disappointing to see just how many dings, stone chips and scratches are there after about 9k miles of use :(
• I have also been able to see just how much machine marks, holograms, scratching etc there is on the car. Now it might not be much in actual fact, but Baker21 did such an amazing job of getting rid of them back in the spring of 2013 that it is a shame to see some now - as a result of a body shop giving it 'quick polish' for me no doubt :(

I also saw there was some odd ghosting type marks (the only way I can describe it really) and I wonder if this is a result of me not buffing off the sealant well enough in a couple of spots (as I perhaps couldn't see it?). I suppose I will tell the next time I do this if they are still there. Overall it needs another machine polish I think to get rid of it all. I don't think I would trust myself to try (if I had a polisher) so looks like a professional detail later in the year might be in order.

 

Anyway, overall I think the car is looking great. There was very little by way of dryness/sunshine today, but I have tried to get a couple of better pics!

 

Anyone have any tips on my method/technique? What could improve things?

 

 

 

 

 

Looks like a great job to me. Well done.

Regards

Mike.

Couple of things,

 

Still don't think it's the best venue for photography, some of the photos still make the finish look marginally hazy, so it's very hard to judge

 

You look to be suffering the same orange peel paintwork I have, nothing to be done there, it's a factory thing, unless you want to pass the wet sandpaper

 

Some of the comments on marring and scratches I can't help feel are a result of having a black car, beautiful beasts when cleaned up, but they show all their flaws very easily, they are also far less forgiving to work on, just like solid reds

 

You've got some great products there, however they do sound like some of the more technical ones to apply, i.e pro-level.  This could be causing some issues as you have done this process over several days in an environment with weak lighting, some exposure to the elements etc.  I also don't know how picky they are on the application and prep etc.  With that in mind, for a first go this looks good and subsequent details will just get better and better.

 

I still suspect you have achieved a much superior result to what the pictures suggest, some of the photos show really great gloss and reflection, particularly side on.  Sometimes the environment you shoot in and often the way you shoot will radically alter how the car looks (something I have no idea how to get right btw)  I find my Fabia has tricky angles to capture on film and always looks much better in the flesh.

 

Not a word of the above is intended as criticism.  All in all, I have to say really well done to you for sticking the process up for other people to learn from.

 

Sorry buddy, but we might just need more photos   I know you have got her all perfect and clean but we need some shots from the outside world...........not peaking her nose out from the underground parking

Is the bodyshop "polish" something you had done after the Baker21 detail?

2nd to last and last pic of the set show the most promise Zouche, they look to have the most natural light hitting them.

I will get some outside photos done over the weekend, the weather was just too horrible to venture out today!!

The body shop polish was done a little while back after my car was lightly hit in the rear at a roundabout. This required a minor rear bumper repair and spray. The repair was fine but as an extra 'service' they washed the car for me and covered it in scratches. To rectify this they gave it a machine polish. Not happy! I did get £100 in compensation from them so that will go towards a proper polish (hopefully by Baker21 again!) at some point. Not a happy chap!

car is looking good I will keep an eye out for you in "doughnut city"

£100 would buy you a good DA polisher and with a little instruction you could then do it yourself.

Once you know the correct process for detailing the only thing stopping you achieving near professional results is time, practice and willingness to invest in good products.

Clearly I'm not saying services like the one you got from Baker21 don't have their place, the very best guys can work wonders on a car.

Just something I'm looking to do soon, (buy the DA) probably will take one on the group buy from cleanyourcar £100.00 for a nice powerful DA.

Hi zouche i must say you have made a great effort so well done it looks great and as sparkly says the second last foto is a cracker so once again well done and keep the good work up.

Cheers guys!

I would consider getting a DA but is be concerned about technique - burning the paint etc. Didn't know there was a group buy on... Must not spend more money! Are they really pretty simple to use?

You in Basingvegas then superbrex?

A DA Polisher is very safe to use

You wont burn the paint....keep it moving and do 18" squares at a time

Just work it in at a medium speed and watch for the polish to go clear, then a quick pass at higher speed

Its really easy.... but understand your nervousness

A medium polishing pad and some light cut polish will make a massive difference

It takes time ..possibly 5 to 6 hours, but the results will be epic!!

 

You look to be suffering the same orange peel paintwork I have, nothing to be done there, it's a factory thing, unless you want to pass the wet sandpaper

 

 

 

You say " " but I would actually love to try a full wet sand and polish on someone's car one day.  Sure it will take twice as long as a regular polish, but I think it could be worth it.  I would only do it on a relatively new car, or a car which had never been polished properly before.  You do need some paint to work with as a wet sand is probably like doing 4 full machine polishes.

Yikes! Now that sounds scary!!

Chris, I would love to be proficient with a DA but I would be nervous especially as the only practice cars I have are my own and my partners A3 (which REALLY needs a DA polish tbh!!). I imagine there is a fair cost involved aside from the DA itself?

Not much cost

These packages are good value:

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polishing-machines/das-6-pro-dual-action-polisher/cat_81.html