The previous owner of this 2012 XF faithfully took it to the car wash where it could get scratched and marred on a weekly basis. I decided to do a complete three step paint correction followed by a glaze (to hide anything I missed or could not remove), followed by a sealant, and a wax. I did this over the span of 3 days. Hopefully you can pick up a few tricks and time saving tips that can help with your own detailing efforts!

Note: I am not affiliated with any product line or company, nor am I a professional detailer. The products I used were either items I used previously or found to be regulary used with success by others on detailing boards.

First the wheels, wheelwells, and tires were cleaned with Advantage which is an all purpose citrus based cleaner.

Next the car was rinsed with water and foamed down with a foam gun. I used Dawn Dishwashing Soap to remove the wax and other debris on the finish using the two bucket method with a microfiber wash sponge. This is the ONLY time you want to use a dishwashing soap. Otherwise, stick to a brand name car wash soap perferably with a wax. Otherwise you will strip off all of the wax on your car and dull the finish.

I then pulled it in the gargage and clayed it while it was wet. I used Griot's Garage Spray Wax as my clay lubricant. As you can see, the car had a significant amount of contamination. The debris you see in the clay was after only doing the hood!

Next, I taped off all of the areas I did not want polish to creep into. Don't skip this part because it can take alot of time to remove polish residue from these areas and you also run the risk of getting the dried polish on your surface and causing scratches.

I used the Griot's Garage Dual Action Orbital Polishers. They come in a 6 inch and a 3 inch size. I also used a swirl finder light to identify problem areas. To polish, I used Griot's Orange Pads and Hex-Logic Orange Pads from Chemical Guys.

The back trunk area had several badly scratched areas(see pictures). However, I kept working on the area and got rid of them all. There were a few other areas that I had identified and I focused on knocking these out prior to doing the rest of the car.

Then after doing a test spot in a 2 x 2 section of the worst area, I tried using different compounds to see what would work. I ended up using Chemical Guys V32, V36, and V38 on the entire car with the results pictured below.

 

I next used Manzerna's Finishing Glaze 115C and the Manzerna Poly Lock Polymer Sealant. I used Griot's Red Pads. The shine and reflection was really good!

 

The final step was a coat of Pinnacle Souveran Wax.

 

Here is the finished car after 32 hours of work.

 

Absolutely beautiful. So out of curiosity when the car needs a washing do you do it by hand though?

 

I will NEVER take any of my cars to commercial car wash. Consequently, I will never again need to spend all those hours polishing out scratches in the clearcoat the brushes at the car wash caused. Take a look at some black cars in direct sunlight the next time you walk through a parking lot.........apparently this does not bother some owners.

 

Very nice!! How did you apply and remove the Souveran? By hand or DA?

Cheers,

Allan

 

Applied using DA and wiped off by hand. Souveran is SO easy to work with and the wipe off is practically effortless!

 

XJL - I'm with you buddy, who takes their car to a drive thru car wash???

Totally over the moon with those results after all that hard work I'll bet......Kudos to you my friend and congrats on a beautiful looking car.

One point of note here ( constructive criticism ) I guess you'd call it.

Your detailing efforts are excellent, I'm a little envious even, but.......

You really need to brush up on your photography skills to show off both your gorgeous looking car and the results you managed to get.

Thanks for sharing...........happy motoring

 

Awesome job..I bet your arms and hands ached for days ...


Note to the wise: I made the mistake by taking mine to a brushless car-wash for a quick wash and blow dry...Little did I know that WHATEVER they're using as a detergent/Clearcoat protectant/Spotless rinse..really dulled and stained the chrome trim pieces around the and top of all the door windows...WTF!!!..It took me an hour of polishing and redoing with WD-40 to remove the staining and dulling...Never again...If I ever go through one again..I will immediate get out and put some spray wax on the trim and wipe them down before it has a chance to dry...

 

Thanks, I have bought some and plan to apply it the same way.

What did you use for polishing and protecting the chrome trim and wheels? Same products?

I'm getting ready to do the first full detail with paint correction on my 94 XJS which I have owned since new. The paint is in generally very good condition but over the many years there are now some scratches and light to moderate swirls.

I am finalizing my workflow now and will post when I get done.

Cheers,

Allan

 

It's amazing you are the original owner of an 94 XJS! I absolutely love that model and I would get one but I already have an 08 XJ and a 12 XF so no more Jags for now!

The new Jags have the plastic chrome which you can't polish. I just put a light coat of sealant on those parts. My wheels are not chrome. For your situation I would use a chrome polish and then coat with a sealant for protection. Todays sealants are far superior to wax as far as durability and protecting the paint.

Has your car been repainted and clearcoated or are you working with the original paint? If it's the original single stage paint, you won't have any clearcoat to work with which will make your job alot easier and faster. Find out before you decide your work flow. Here is a link to an article from another board that will be helpful:

The Secret to Removing Oxidation and Restoring a Show Car Finish to Antique Single Stage Paints - Auto Geek Online Auto Detailing Forum

Here is a link to an article to help you determine if you have a clear coat or single stage paint:

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums...e-paint-system

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

Thanks for the links!

The paint is all original but unfortunately does have clearcoat. Not sure when Jag started using clearcoated paint but I think it was in the early 90's?

I'm probably going with Wolfgang TSR 3.0 then the Finishing Glaze 3.0 (which is really just a fine polish) and then the Deep Gloss Sealant. After some curing time I think I will top with Souveran.

I also use the GG6 with 4" and 6.5" pads and have a GG3 for little nook and crannies.

I am just about done finalizing my elaborate workflow and hope to start next week. I'm thinking it will take 30-40 hours.

Will try to document everything and post.

Cheers,

Allan

 

I've never used Wolfgang TSR 3.0 but I hear it's a great product. As a suggestion, pick up something a little more aggressive to have on hand just in case you need it. You will know if the Wolfgang TSR is going to work or not when you do your test spot.

I always try to use the least aggressive product, but using the Wolfgangs TSR and doing 20+ passess or using something more aggressive and doing 6 passess is a no brainer! Yes you will induce some marring but it will easily be corrected as you progress up to the fine polish.

 

Yes I agree. I already have some Megs 105 and also Megs UC on hand if I need to get more aggressive. My plan is to start out very benignly with the TSR and a white pad and see what it looks like, then go to an orange or yellow pad if I need a bit more oomph. If that doesn't do the trick I'll probably just move up to the 105 but I don't anticipate needing to do that.

Cheers,

Allan

 

Sound like a perfect plan! Keep us posted.