well not bad for first effort but definitely in need of a buffer for a more professional/showroom look. Washed with mequiars gold class, followed by clay bar, then mequiars ultimate compound, ultimate polish and then topped off with Gold class carnuba paste - yeah I know a mequiars fan - great products imho. still some things I need to address like the peeling side view mirrors, but pleased with a 13 yr old car for enduring the Carolina heat

 

Mine's next! I'm in hickory NC so you can be here in a few hours. I'll have all the cleaning supplies ready!!
Looks great!!

 

Looks great! If you charge $400 (that's the going rate here for a high quality detail) a pop and find cheap Southwest Airlines fares you could make this a nationwide business.

 

OMG. I looked closely at one of your pictures. Is that a Smart Car in your driveway?

 

love it i use the same stuff
looks great

 

Yeah I am going to do mine as well. I have light scratches so going to use rubbing compound. But I have never done this sort of thing before. Never had a car that really mattered. So I figure to take the safe route. Going to pratice on my daily driver ( ford focus wagon ) and learn on that one. A few mistakes I dont care. Figure by the time I finish should kinda know what I am doing. When I get the jag done will post but may be later on in the summer and will take some before and after pics !!!! Yours looks great by the way !!!!!

 

thanks all and at 400 a pop that's not a bad chunk of change for a few hours of work - may just have to consider a side job now that I'll be paying college tuition for the kidlet!

hdsg - I have to agree - my other cars were just that other cars so would hit the drive through or the local fund raiser for scouts/baseball, etc. Not the Jag and have just been washing/waxing to this point but decided after reading forum posts on detailing to take a stab. I had a few scratches and some swirls - did everything by hand as I was a little leary of trying a buffer for this run. using the mequiars ultimate compound - it didn't remove them completely but did reduce visibility, but the swirl marks are gone. Maybe a buffer would have helped, but am thinking I will go with the mequiar's rubbing compound or scratch remover the next time, then follow up with the rest of the regimen and hope for better results.

 

I use many of the same products...only difference is a synthetic sealer over the polish instead of a wax. You did a very good job if that is all by hand, you'd find the job easier, quicker, and a noticeable improved result if you invested in a Porter Cable 7424 (highly recommended by our detaling gurus here in the forum)

 

Thanks Matt - yeah reading the posts in the detailing section along with some recent pics of detailing jobs is what kicked me in gear to give it a try- so porter cable is next on my list. How much longer does the sealer last compared to the wax?

 

He Steve, I can't tell you if it really lasts longer, I simply liked the application of the sealant - wipe on and no buffing. After all the previous steps of cleaning, compound, and polish, I was happy to lose one stage of material removal via buffing. Zaino claims 9 months of protection.

Zaino Z-CS Z-CS Clear Seal: Zaino Store

 

thanks for the link - will check it out - good point on cutting a step out of the process.