Yet another Honda Traitor

[Peniole]

Outdoor pics. It already has a fine layer of dust on it, so not the best pictures. I'm getting confident enough I'm considering doing some professional detailing on the side. I've been at it for 6+ years now on my own cars, my Dad's and a freebie for a friend at work. He couldn't believe how bad his dark blue subaru was till he saw it after I was done, it looked so dark indoors he thought it looked black till we took it out in the sun

I really enjoy doing it especilly on poorly taken care of paint jobs, plus it's good exercise. Let me know what you guys think.

[SatinSilver]

Whereabouts in Utah are you? Those backround pics(esp pic 2) look incredible.

Theres a long term writeup of the Jag in Automobile(or MT?) mag this month. Worth a look so you can stay on top of things.

Other than the polishing step what products did you use???

[hillstones]

Hopefully Ford's wonderful build quality didn't rub off on it since they owned Jaguar from 1989-2008. As another pointed out, ditch the car when the warranty is up. It will cost you a fortune to maintain it.

[88AccordLX-i]

Such a beautiful Jag!

I'm still so jealous!

[bukxanger]

detail looks great... beautiful car!

[DrumZ53]

Fantastic looking...my fav pic is the back end...
front grill emblem brings to mind Buick

[searich07]

Peniole, All great photos, wonderful bright autumn leaf reflections captured with purple mountains in background. Forget driving cars, photograph cars. Regards

Richard

[Peniole]

Thanks for all the nice comments guys.

For the timebeing I'm in Salt lake city Matt, those are the wasatch mountains in the background.

Procedure: I washed the car with a mild soap from meg (deep crystal purple), I knew it had no protection on it anyway so I didn't want to be too agressive with the soap, and dried it. I then clayed the car with meguiars smooth surface clay kit. Wiped down the car. I started with a gray lake country 5.5" CCS pad on the 7424XP DA polisher (hoping the scratches wouldn't be too deep and the polish alone would be enough without any real cutting power from the pad - no luck), so I moved to a white lake country 5.5" CCS foam pad. I primed both pads with Meguiars #34 final inspection and, used ScratchX as my polish. I was on power setting 3 on the machine. I would brush the pad after every panel. (Thanks to MCH for posting that very informative procedure from the corvette forum). I then hand waxed the car with Mothers California gold (non-abrasive) solid carnuaba wax. I followed the same for the polycarbnate pillars but the machine was on 1. I used mother's back to black on the black trim surrounding the exhausts. Ammonia free Gunk off for the windows/mirrors. I didn't polish the wheels but did wash them thoroughly with some dishwashing soap (they were pretty bad on the inside, it took two washes), and used a 6" foam painters roller on a chopstick to get between the 1000000 spokes (it sure felt like that many, they're probably 11 I think). Then waxed them. I couldn't have finished in 14 hours had my wife not helped me right and left, it was that bad.

Believe it or not, while Ford owned Jaguar they shot up to number one in JD powers reliability ratings (if you can really take stock in any of those numbers) so they must have done something right. I think Ford is underestimated, they have some really outstanding products, especially from their german designers. I've read their long terms tests, pulled up all the current TSB's and hoping to stay ahead of the curve during the first year of ownership (which I've found has the most issues from past experience - teething issues).

Photography is a hobby, I've done a couple of semi pro shoots and the clients were happy. I still get compliments at work on one of the labs I did not as much exercise though . Thanks for the kind words Richard.

[stevencrosbie]

What a wonderful car. Probably the best looking car in its!

I'd say one of the best looking sedans of all time.

Well Done!

[pwinskey]

Beautiful car! This past February at the Amelia Island Concours, I sat in several that were had set up and they were just really great cars.

Does your dad know about the car, or is it a surprise?

[Peniole]

He knows now. Sent him the pictures.

[SatinSilver]

The interior really matches the beauty of the exterior. Great color selection too. Should be much easier to care for versus a darker color.

Thank you for the write up on the detail. I'm a novice when it comes to the polishing step. The only thing I would consider adding is applying a sealant before applying the Mothers CA Gold. That way you will get some added durability for protection(months versus weeks).

[Peniole]

I considered the sealant, but I guess I'm worried I'd get lazy. This way I make sure to wash the car more frequently adding more and more layers of wax instead of relying on the extra protection of the sealant. Thanks for the tip though.

I've never had a light coloured interior before to take care of, and boy is it hard. EVERYTHING shows. I've always gone with light coloured exteriors always silver with black interiors. I think if I ever had a black car I'd go bananas, I'm OCD as it is.

[foamypirate]

Man, those pictures make me miss Utah. I lived 50 miles north of Salt Lake (Brigham City) for a little over 19 years.

I'm going to miss snowmobiling this winter, no such thing as snow down here in Austin, TX.

[SatinSilver]

Originally Posted by Peniole

I considered the sealant, but I guess I'm worried I'd get lazy. This way I make sure to wash the car more frequently adding more and more layers of wax instead of relying on the extra protection of the sealant.

I've never had a light coloured interior before to take care of, and boy is it hard. EVERYTHING shows. I've always gone with light coloured exteriors always silver with black interiors. I think if I ever had a black car I'd go bananas, I'm OCD as it is.

With a car like that I'd be OCD also.

A great interior cleaner that I learned about on here is mixing 1 part Woolite to 6 parts distilled water. Can be used on steering wheel, leather, interior door panels etc.

When you run out of your current shampoo consider getting Mequiars Gold Class shampoo since it has more lubricity to it which equals less potential microscratches.

Below are some other carnauba waxes to consider when your current one runs out. The concentration of pure carnauba wax is much greater. The Dodo juice $200 container can be had for $30 in the smaller size.

Even the Poorboys Nattys blue and red paste waxes for $20 are top notch.

www.detailedimage.com/Wax-C16/