Detailed (polish/waxed) my 08 T4R, first time too

[chayos00]

Well today was the day for my detail job on my 2008 Toyota 4Runner, man what back breaking work! Started with the wash around 9:30am, started the claybar at 2pm, started the compounding @ 3:30 till 10pm. Polish till 3am, then the wax till approximately 4am.

I started by washing the truck with some dish soap to cut all the dirt and wax on the truck. I then followed it up by clay baring it. Next was the Optimum Compound with an Orange pad. Followed by Optimum Polish with a white pad, then Duragloss TPP 105 with a blue pad. That DG 105 is sure easy to take off, that was very refreshing!

I believe these came from the dealer when they were working on my 4LO that was coming on for no reason.

These came from the dealer when they were working on my 4LO that was coming on for no reason. I told them not to wash it and they did, look what they did to my truck. I bet that is where more of my uncorrectable scratches came from. Damned auto car washes.

I don't know how this happened but I was pissed about it!

Idiots who don't know how to open their doors without hitting you!

 

[chayos00]

This was a test run of whether or not to use the Orange pad with the Compound or the Polish, I found the compound took out more of the defects, but some small scratches were still left. I didn't have anything "stronger/more aggressive" to use. (Note to self get some Hyper Compound)

After shots!

This defect was from me having a head cold, and I hocked a nasty loogie out the window and didn't clean it off for a week or two. I bubbled the paint.

 

[chayos00]

Question is this too much build up before changing out my pad.

 

[MikesToy]

Looks good to me! I assume you spent like 8 hours from start to finish. Your 4R would look sharper if you take the pinstripe out. Just my 2 cts.

 

[chayos00]

Looks good to me! I assume you spent like 8 hours from start to finish. Your 4R would look sharper if you take the pinstripe out. Just my 2 cts.

Thanks for the kudos on the job!

Actually it took longer than that, more like 12 hrs for just the paint correction portion of the job.

You know about the pin striping, I bought the truck from the dealer here in Tucson (none have it town), but this truck with all I wanted was in Phoenix. I assume the dealer in Phoenix installed the double stripe, my wife and I both like it. It gives it a more unique look from ever other T4R here in Tucson. Plus my 94 Ford Ranger had it also which I liked too. Oh well to each their own!

 

[leftyguns21]

did i read right, you washed your car with dish soap?
you should never wash a car with dish soap

 

[chayos00]

did i read right, you washed your car with dish soap?
you should never wash a car with dish soap

I've heard this from professionals, to do this before a wax job. Otherwise I would NEVER use it on a regular wash.

 

[anotherrunner83]

i have usually used dish soap prior to a waxing. it does an incredible job of cutting hard road grime, oils, bugs and pretty much everything else. great detail job chayos. i need to hit my white with something like this

 

[blcktpgsr]

Great results..it's like looking in a mirror..I used to have great patience in detailing like you have.

 

[chayos00]

i have usually used dish soap prior to a waxing. it does an incredible job of cutting hard road grime, oils, bugs and pretty much everything else. great detail job chayos. i need to hit my white with something like this

Glad to see I'm not the only person who's used dish soap, it's definitely designed to get rid of grease and crap like that!

 

[leftyguns21]

weird. i used to detail cars and i would never use dish soap on mine or anybody elses. a good quality car soap coupled with a good wash job should do the trick. then a clay bar and cleaner wax will clear up what was missed.

to each their own. you got good results from it but i would be nervous to wash my car with some dawn

 

[audiqtr]

Great job for your first time.

As far as your question about the orange pad build up. Brush it up between passes to avoid "caking" and mist your pad previous to putting the polish on there. Once you get to a point where the pad is getting build up deeper deeper, change your pad and immediately soak your used pad in a bucket of water with dawn to make cleaning much easier at the end. This will extend teh life of your pads tremendously in the long run. What you have on that pad will start infusing swirls if you keep using it more.

As far as using dish soap, you can use it for car washes if you are doing a complete detail. It strips all the wax. If you are not doing a complete detail, any car shampoo will do cheap or expensive doesn't really matter. Your application mitt is more important than your lubricant (car shampoo) here. Use a sheepskin mitt for ultimate results. One more thing, I recommend "Dawn" brand dish soap and not Palmolive or any other brand. I never tried Palmolive, so can't tell give you the reasons of why, but I am assuming chemical composition. People who told me to use Dawn were very reputable detailers I learned a lot from many years ago.

You are right about spit, bird poo, etc. 1 week is all it takes for it to penetrate thru the clear. Add the AZ sun in your case and it speeds up the process. Always get it loose from the clear even if you don't have the time to clean it properly

 

[leftyguns21]

Your application mitt is more important than your lubricant (car shampoo) here.

this i would agree with. the mitt is important. i only use mine for seasonal. basically one mitt for summer throw it out. new one for winter. throw it out. so on.

this dish soap thing is new to me i took this directly from Meguiars site:

<i>"Because most people wash their car more than any other procedure, it's important to use a car wash solution that is specifically formulated for the unique chemistry used to make modern clear coats. Above all, avoid using common dishwashing detergents because these products are extremely harsh and tend to dull the finish down with each use. Dish soaps are also hard on other materials and components such as rubber, vinyl and plastics, remember, when you wash your car with dish soap everything is subjected to the dulling and drying effects high alkaline soaps cause to your vehicle"</i>

i guess id say if you are going to use it, use sparingly and with extreme caution.

 

[CJ3Flyr]

Looks great! Seeing your Salsa look that good is motivating me. I need to get a buffer, pads etc. Let the research begin!


Nice job.:bigok:

 

[Uneek]

Looks great! Seeing your Salsa look that good is motivating me. I need to get a buffer, pads etc. Let the research begin!


Nice job.:bigok:

I'll help you Chris, if your budget allows, look no further than the Flex XC 3401 VGR.

Autogeek.net is very informational aside from being a retailer.

 

[EDness]

very nice! I recently did the same steps with my car...took me about 10 hours to finish. I love my car all over again.

 

[hyperthread]

Great job! I like the color of your truck....

and here's for the idiot's who scratched your truck..

:AK47:

 

[chayos00]

Great job! I like the color of your truck....

and here's for the idiot's who scratched your truck..

:AK47:

Yeah my wife pointed it out to me and I was like WTF!!!! :wtf::ak472::redbrick::sobbing:

 

[Justin727]

Good job on the runner working with the stuff you had avial!

Washing with dish soap is great prep for corrections and polishing. Strips wax and grime easier then car shampoo. Just don't use it the next time you wash.

The trick is to keep pads as clean as possible. I would clean that pad or use another pad to answer if that was too much build up.

You need to invest in some meguiars 105 + 205 and some menzerna polishes.
The m105 would have corrected alot more!

But nice turn around it looks good

 

[Skyway]

this i would agree with. the mitt is important. i only use mine for seasonal. basically one mitt for summer throw it out. new one for winter. throw it out. so on.

this dish soap thing is new to me i took this directly from Meguiars site:

<i>"Because most people wash their car more than any other procedure, it's important to use a car wash solution that is specifically formulated for the unique chemistry used to make modern clear coats. Above all, avoid using common dishwashing detergents because these products are extremely harsh and tend to dull the finish down with each use. Dish soaps are also hard on other materials and components such as rubber, vinyl and plastics, remember, when you wash your car with dish soap everything is subjected to the dulling and drying effects high alkaline soaps cause to your vehicle"</i>

i guess id say if you are going to use it, use sparingly and with extreme caution.

Of COURSE Meguiars is going to say this, they dont sell dish soap :

Dawn is fine for stripping wax, as someone else said, just dont use it often.