When I bought this car, it was ROUGH. It had spent it's entire life going up and down rock roads, all while never receiving a bath. The exterior was filthy, the interior was filthy, and the suspension was shot. I got it for a great deal, but it needed some love.

I sorted out the interior and suspension quickly, but the exterior had to wait as I didn't really have anything that I could use on it. I ended up scoring a Porter Cable 7424 at a garage sale for $40 and then bought detailing supplies. I washed the car two weeks ago with the goal of doing it then, but having a 7-month-old at home means you follow that schedule and not your own. I started it last week, but then ended up spending the evening at a dealership buying my wife a car so I didn't finish. I started this morning at 7am and got it all done this afternoon.

This was my first time polishing a car on my own. I read a few guides online and then followed the instructions on the detailing supplies. I was pretty nervous at first!

Detailing process:

1.) Washed car.
2.) Ran water over car and cleaned the paint surface using a Nanoskin Autoscrub (think of it has a clay bar that holds up far better because it isn't clay).
3.) 3 overlapping passes on each panel using Meguiars M105 (using a good amount of pressure) with a Lake Country orange foam pad.
4.) 3 overlapping passes on each panel using Meguiars M205 (using a decent amount of pressure) with a Lake Country white foam pad.
5.) Sealed the paint using Blackfire Wet Diamond.
6.) Dressed the paint using Meguiars Gold Class carnauba wax.
7.) Wheels were first polished (by hand) with Meguiars M205, then sealed with Blackfire Wet Diamond. Tires were dressed with Meguiars Endurance tire shine (with a lovely grape smell).
8.) Exhaust tip was polished using Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish. This stuff will make ANYTHING shine.

The end result was better than I ever could have hoped for.


This is what I started with. The paint was HEAVILY damaged with deep surface scratches, marring from a failed buffing attempt, and in some areas oxidation. Oxidation on a 2012 model year car! BTW, the ENTIRE car was in this condition. This wasn't one panel. It was this bad from the side skirts to the roof.


The same exact panel after all polishing was done. As you can see it's a night and day difference.


One absolutely filthy exhaust tip. I don't think it's ever been cleaned.


Oh yeah. Much better.

Now for some nicer pictures of the car:














Direct sun, no swirls. Mmm.


In some areas, there were some swirls remaining. I estimate I removed 95% of them, but some scratches were so deep that I needed more aggressive pads and compounds to get it out. Still quite the improvement though.

 

Great work. Looks amazing.

 

Well done. Thanks for posting.

 

Looks awesome! Love those wheels!

 

Here's the write up I did for mine
First Major Detail: my 2012 Honda Fit - Auto Geek Online Auto Detailing Forum

 

Shine bright like a diamond!