The '03 Stang's First Wash

Ok, the title is a little misleading. I'm sure it's been washed many times, but I just bought it a at the beginning of the month and this is the first chance I've had to wash it. As the pictures below illustrate, it is currently in, what I like to call, "10 ft" condition. This, of course, means that from 10 ft away, it looks great. Upon closer inspection, you can see swirls and contamination. I don't intend to turn this car into a show car, but I want it to be the best it can be within reason. It's a daily driver and will see plenty of road abuse. I will likely have the front bumper repainted, but the rest of the car isn't beyond correction. These pictures were taken after a simple hand wash with Meguiar's Ultimate Wash and Wax. It was evident that it has been a LONG time since this car was last waxed.

Note: I couldn't find time to wash it, but I somehow found time to install my Mach 1 grille delete, Mach 1 chin spoiler, and smoked headlights... priorities!

 

[Joe Dirt]

I'm impressed that you washed that whole car with ONE small bottle of water!

 

[X6StringerX]

I only used half for the car. I was thirsty!

 

[GRNMACHINE]

Nice Stang, it still shines, you can see your flippy floppies

 

[X6StringerX]

Don't be fooled by the shine. It is definitely in need of some correction. I think the wax in the wash concentrate is just making it pop a little. The whole car is covered with swirls from years of improper washing technique.

I've been bouncing back and forth between Meguiar's and Poorboy's World. I've used Meguiar's almost exclusively for a number of years now, but I kind of have the itch to try something new. On the otherhand, Meguiar's has a relatively new "ultimate" line that I haven't tried yet... aside from the wash concentrate that was used on the Mustang. I guess that qualifies as "new", haha. I have to admit, I was disappointed in the quantity of suds, but the finished product shines more than I had anticipated.

Joe and Monmix (or anyone else),

Opinions on products? Have you used any of the Meguiar's Ultimate lineup? I'm specifically interested in the compound, polish, and liquid wax.

My full detail process will be the usual:

Wash with Dawn
Claybar
Compound by DA
Polish by DA
Sealant or Wax by DA
Buff by hand

 

[Joe Dirt]

I would check out the Microfiber system... Varying results, I think I had incredible results... Check the thread again: CLICKhttp://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=305234&page=22

 

[X6StringerX]

I knew when I made the initial purchase that I was committing to a 2nd full-time job in maintaining the black exterior. With that in mind, I decided to buy a DA to make life a little easier.

With my newly acquired Meguiar's G110v2 in hand, I decided to perform some light swirl correction over the weekend. My overall experience was good, but there were a few hiccups along the way. I was battling against an intermittent rain storm, so I didn't compound some areas that could have used it. Instead, I just polished the whole car.

My process was as follows:

-Thoroughly rinsed
-Cleaned wheels with Megs All Wheel Cleaner
-Washed with Megs Ultimate Wash & Wax (two bucket method)
-Dried with Megs Waffle Towel
...then it rained for about 20 minutes
-Rinsed rain water
-Dried with Megs Waffle Towel
-Clayed with Megs Clay Kit
-Washed with Megs Ultimate Wash & Wax (two bucket method)
-Dried with Megs Waffle Towel
-Polished with G110v2, a 6.5" Megs Soft Buff Polishing Pad and Megs Ultimate Polishing Compound
-Buffed remaining residue with the aid of Megs Quick Detailer
-Waxed with G110v2, a 6.5" Megs Soft Buff Finishing Pad and Megs Ultimate Liquid Wax
-Buffed until arms fell off (I'm typing this with my nose) with a variety of Megs microfibers
-Applied a small amount of Megs Endurance tire shine
-Admired

Then it rained again, so I got some cool shots of the water beading action. There are a few more afters than befores as I was trying to beat the storm.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Others:

 

[section525]

Wow!!! Looks great! Love the car.

 

[X6StringerX]

Thanks man. It takes some good old fashioned elbow grease to get black looking like that, lol.

 

[1996BLKBauer]

Woh, Wanna come and do my Ex? Great work, but I doubt even you can get rid of the 14+ years of abuse on my paint job.