Yesterday, I had the opportunity to detail a 2004 Mustang GT. Unfortunately, I was unable to take as many pictures as I would have liked because of time constraints, but I still managed to take some decent shots even with the iPhone camera.



Plan of Action



- I really wanted to get a "base" time to see how long it would take just using the system.



Before Shots - As received from the customer



- Car looks clean from a distance, but we'll see later that the paint if full of imperfections and has a lack of "pop" to it.



- Front bumper and hood scoop were in bad shape. There wasn't much I could do.



- Swirls on the roof



Progress



- The clay bar "bled" a lot. I'm unsure if this is normal with the more coarse clay bars, but it was a little annoying to clean up.



- If you can tell from the crappy picture, I taped off a section of the hood. Top half (front) of the hood remained untouched, while the bottom (back) of the hood had compound applied.



- Here is a better picture of the imperfections I was referencing early. The car was covered with these pesky swirl marks.



- Same swirls, different lighting



- Compound applied. Similar results were achieved throughout the entire vehicle. Most swirls were removed, and some deeper scratches remained. Since time was an issue, I didn't address the deeper imperfections.



Finished Results





- Roof again



- Here is a great picture of the "pop" back into the paint. It's amazing how much more blue the car appeared.







Overall, I feel like the Meguiar's system is very efficient at removing light swirls. I really did enjoy using the microfiber pads instead of the more traditional foam pads. No pad saturation, no product sling, and REALLY EASY cleanup. As stated above, deeper imperfections remained. If time allowed, I would have brought out a stronger compound/pad to handle those imperfections accordingly. As far as the wax, I can't really comment on the durability yet. Supposedly, the wax contains a polymer blend so it should hold up pretty well. As you can see, it really brought the blue out on the vehicle.

I would really love to start detailing more on the side, and I am hoping these pictures could help me sell my services. I still have ton to learn, so if anyone has questions or feedback please let me know! Thanks for looking

 

Wow great write up... I'm more of a Griot's guy myself though but non the less I enjoyed reading it.

 

nice job, good to see that it got the "rust" off the mustang. jk

 

Very nice work! That blue definitely popped afterwards. Having a friend hook me up with a full detail like that at the dealership, and I can't WAIT to see how my Brickyard looks with some more POP!

 

Thanks. If I took a picture of my "arsenal", I am definitely a Poor Boy's guy. I was a little apprehensive on using something so mainstream as Meguiar's (Except M105), but after seeing some demonstrations I was sold.

Haha, thanks. Needless to say, my Z was a little mad when it had to move out of the garage for a domestic.

Thanks for the compliment, and I hope your car yields similar results!

 

nice work! But gosh does that lifted Mustang need more to look good haha

 

No problem! Can't wait to see how she turns out. I have some bug-guts that look like they MAY not come out, which makes me nervous. If that's the case, my hood will be getting repainted from Nissan. I had to laugh when you moved the Z for a Mustang. I sold my Stang to pick up my Z!

 

damn is that a special edition lifted stang or what lol if you dont mind me asking how much did u pay for all the supplies to do this job? It looks very clean afterwards!

 

Is this the new mustang truck? Holy fking wheelgap batman!

Nice job on the detail man.

 

that came out really well...I have to do this to my car when I come across some free time

 

Haha. Trust me, I give the owner crap about it weekly. I think I am slowly convincing him to get a 1" drop.

I believe it was $90 for the Meguiar's DA Kit. $130 or so (not sure what they go for now) for the Porter Cable. Then add in the price for the wash, towels, and clay and lube. I used some other misc. materials like Black on Black, tire shine, pad cleaner, etc...

 

assuming you do the two bucket method to wash your car, and daily driving, how long would this detail last before you see swirls and lack of "pop" again? Ive never detailed my car since I bought it in 2008.

 

This is a general schedule most daily driven cars should follow:

Every 1-2 weeks: Wash
Every 3 months: Wax (optional)
Every 6 months: Sealant and Clay
Every 12 months: Inspect Paint for Correction

Ideally, you shouldn't have to apply compound to the vehicle more than once a year.

 

heard great things about this kit