Altima coupe wash and detailing

[mcheddadi]

Hey guys! I just found a post where some guy (wolfpacker92) details his altima coupe. When I get mine, I'm sooo using the same method and products he used

Hey guys if you saw my S&S on the Toyota Camry that my co-workers daughter was trading in well this [altima coupe] is the car she traded in for. This [altima coupe] is a really cool car with a lot of pep. Well she got the car on Monday and when she picked it up it really did not look clean at all. The before pics are after only 3 full days on the road so you can tell the dealership didn't do much for it. In fact she was so preturbed with the dealership that the first thing she asked me was "Can you please take their sticker off the back" (which I did). She brought it over Friday after lunch and before I could start my Surf City Garage products arrived, so I thought what a perfect time to try them out. The Surf City Garage products I used were: Pacific Blue Wash and Wax, Beyond Steel Wheel Cleaner, Nano Seal Protective Coat and Clearly Better Glass Cleaner. I'll talk about each in detail in the steps below. One thing that I really liked is that non-spray bottles have a cap plug in them to prevent spilling. I really like this idea and wonder why more don't use it. You see I'm kind of anal or have a small case of OCD when it comes to taking off the little paper covers most bottles come with. I can not put the top back on until every single solitary sliver of paper is off the rim....I know, I know sounds stupid but just a hang up I have. So the Surf City products helped alleviate this. Here's what it looks like: Well here is what I did: Wheels: The wheels already had some road grime on them and I decided to use the Beyond Steel Wheel cleaner. It is not a gel and tends to run off pretty easily but with its cleaning power I guess it doesn't have to sit on there for a long time. The directions say you can just spray on and rinse off. Well I'll tell you I always put my wheel schmitt on wheels and a brush to get the back side of the wheel but thought well I'll try just the spray and rinse to see if it works well if you look at the next pics you will see that it did:Well I still went back and put the schmitt on it but it really didn't need it. This stuff is really safe because after I sprayed the last wheel my cell rang and I answered it and after the conversation I forgot to rinse the wheel. About 15 minutes later I realized I had not rinsed it and immediately rinsed and it came clean and looked as good as the other 3. Needless to say I really liked this product and will be ordering more. I used Meg's APC undiluted on wheel wells. I dressed the tires with DP Gloss Tire Gel and sprayed the front two wells with Stoner's More Shine. The back wells have a type of felt material, I don't know why maybe for road noise suppression. Wash: I used the Pacific Blue Wash and Wax in my AG foam gun and a rinse bucket. Well I think this is designed to be used in a bucket because it didn't foam real well in the gun. I smells like one of the bubble gums my kids like with a slight hint of Juicy Fruit chewing gum. Although it didn't foam real well in the gun it cleaned like a champ. Before I start every wash I clean the bugs with PB Bug Squash and Pinnacle Safe Scrub but with only about 100 miles on the vehicle I didn't want to do anything but wash it so I figured I would be scrubbing vigorously with the Schmitt and my soap....WRONG! This soaps cleaning ability is great. I was able to wipe the bugs right off and the soap has great lubricity, very very slick. This stuff worked great but it was a new car, however I will be posting a S&S of a neglected 01 Honda Accord that resides in PA that I did with the Surf City products and it worked great on that neglected paint as well. Glass: I will preface this with any glass product I use will be compared to Stoner's IG because for me that is the benchmark in glass care. SIG is my all-time favorite glass cleaner so everything else is up against that. Well the Clearly Better Glass Cleaner performed everybit as well as SIG but it is a little more expensive. There is one area that it did out perform SIG and that was in the sun and heat. Anytime I use SIG I have to be in the garage or turn the AC on in the car to cool the windows down or I get streaking from the glass being so hot. Well I used Clearly Better Glass in the heat and sun just as a test and it cleaned with no streaks. Is it worth the extra $ well if you have to clean glass in the sun I would say yes. Glass was every bit as clear with Clearly Better as with SIG (and she already had some dog snot on the passenger window). Paint: I was just going to use a paint sealer since it was new but whoever had washed the car before looked like they just let it air dry and there were water spots throughout. So I started with my trusty Pinnacle Paint Cleansing Lotion with a LC white pad. After polishing with the Pinnacle I proceeded to the Nano Seal Protective Coat with a LC blue pad. This stuff smelled like bannans to me and was a yellowish tan color. It went on very easy and came off just as easy. The directions say that 90% of the pores are sealed in 20 minutes and all will be in 24 hours if you can wait that long to remove it. Well I didn't have 24 hours so I waited about 1 hour and wiped it off with a Cobra Indigo MF. My best description of the paint was WET! I was really pleased with the look. Now as of now of course I don't know about the durability of it but since I work with her father and I did his camry with DP Surface shield he can keep me updated as to its durability compared to his camry. So I'll keep you updated on that. One other thing I liked about it was that it comes in an 8 oz bottle which fits well in the pocket of the shorts I wear while detailing, therefore I always had it right at my finger tips while sealing. I know the little things really impress me[IMG]http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ima ... tongue.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Stick Out Tongue" class="inlineimg" /> . I didn't have to do anything to the interior except vacuum and protect with DP Interior Surface Protectant. I can safely say I have added a few mainstays to my aresenal (I have the Killer Chrome Perfect Polish but have not had the chance to use it yet). I was so impressed with these products that I will be ordering other products off of this line soon. Well here are the before and after pics:here's the original forum post http://www.autogeekonline.net/....html

[guitarmn07]

Thanks so much for sharing that!! I would stare at that car all day...sooooo shiny...

anyway, I was wondering what kind of bug remover to use, so my question is answered!

[SHIFT_COUPE]

Looks great in red. I like his front tag too.

Thanks for sharing that!

[Lyte00]

When it stops raining over here i'll be outside bright and early.

[Plastics]

Well, I took my 3.5 SE Coupe black for some warrenty work and the service advisor offer me a free courtesy car wash, but he said it was with a brush.

I ask him, if he would wash a new car off his lot with the brushes...and he said "NO". So, I told him, why would they wash my car which is 1 month old, when they won't wash the new cars on the lot with the same brushes...what a moroon....

Plastics

[MisfitBrian]

Well, I took my 3.5 SE Coupe black for some warrenty work and the service advisor offer me a free courtesy car wash, but he said it was with a brush.

I ask him, if he would wash a new car off his lot with the brushes...and he said "NO". So, I told him, why would they wash my car which is 1 month old, when they won't wash the new cars on the lot with the same brushes...what a moroon....

Plastics

Good call. Those brushes can really do a number on your paint.

[LongBeachCoupe]

Ok this is the wash thread so ill keep my banter in here...

To do a standard weekly wash, do you guys sugguest one of these foam guns or should i just get 2 buckets? (i have never really cleaned a car before, lol, seriously..)

What about the Mr. Clean AutoDry?

[MisfitBrian]

Ok this is the wash thread so ill keep my banter in here...

To do a standard weekly wash, do you guys sugguest one of these foam guns or should i just get 2 buckets? (i have never really cleaned a car before, lol, seriously..)

What about the Mr. Clean AutoDry?

The 2 bucket is the better of the 2. I've never heard anything good about the Mr Clean set. A nice microfiber mitt/sponge works pretty good. Just don't work it too hard. Rinse off the car 1st, then start your wash. Do a section at a time...wash/rinse then move on. If your wheel wells are really dirty, a cheap toilet bowl brush(no kidding) works good to get around you tires.

[LongBeachCoupe]

Misfit... I just got.. well orderered... painted 20" wheels with a polished lip... Im gonna need something smaller than a toilet bowl brush to get in the tight spots.. but i see the tool and stuff i need...

As far as the std car wash fluid... not detailing yet... is turtle wax ice wash good?http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...ZWDVW

Thanks so much for the help man..
Modified by LongBeachCoupe at 8:50 AM 9/7/2007

[MisfitBrian]

Misfit... I just got.. well orderered... painted 20" wheels with a polished lip... Im gonna need something smaller than a toilet bowl brush to get in the tight spots.. but i see the tool and stuff i need...

As far as the std car wash fluid... not detailing yet... is turtle wax ice wash good?http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...ZWDVW

Thanks so much for the help man..

I've never used the Ice wash before so I can't speak to that. From what a few other people said, it seems like pretty good stuff. For the wheel wells, you'll probably need to get a smaller hand brush to get behind the tires. It will be a dirty job. One more thing...NEVER use dish soap to wash your car. I know some people do this when they want to remove old wax & such. Dish soap will suck the moisture out of your finish & can cause serious harm. If you feel the difference between dish soap suds & good car wash suds, you will notice the dish soap will dry your hands out, while the car wash feels slick. There's a reason they make soap specifically for cars & dishes.

[dynot]

I'm surprised I don't hear more about people using sheepskin mitts to wash their cars. I use that to wash and a good quality authentic chammy to dry.

I'm really careful when I wash but still notice the beginnings of swirls on my black 3.5.

[LongBeachCoupe]

Where are swirls coming from, i dont understand... If you are usiong a sheepskin mitt and a MF cloth to dry.. it shouldnt leave any marks... I mean, i might as well let it sit dirty rather than swirling the paint right?

[MisfitBrian]

Where are swirls coming from, i dont understand... If you are usiong a sheepskin mitt and a MF cloth to dry.. it shouldnt leave any marks... I mean, i might as well let it sit dirty rather than swirling the paint right?

I like the sheepskin mitts myself, but he did say he was using a chamois, which is not a mf. Black is the hardest color to keep clean because you can see every imperfection. It's also the best looking color when it's clean. You might want to wash out your chamois really well...it could have grit in it that's leaving fine scratches. Either that or change to a "fake" chamois. I have used them in the past & they really sucked up the water without dragging it all over your paint. Just my .02