For the Detailing Experts

[snowtop57]

Originally Posted by FP

This works like a charm. Thanks for the tip Snow.

You're welcome. Did you ever get your Rotex pads on? do it yourself or take it somewhere?

[FP]

Originally Posted by snowtop57

You're welcome. Did you ever get your Rotex pads on? do it yourself or take it somewhere?

I've been traveling, so no, not yet. Hopefully soon as I have to clean my wheels almost daily.

[FP]

I've never been a big fan of interior dressings. I don't like my interior shiny, but as of late I noticed that my dash and door panel look a bit ashy. I have the dark graphite interior. I would hate to dress it with anything that leaves a shiny surface. Our dashes and door panels have a different grain than most car interiors. It's closer to a pigskin texture than calf skin.
Do any of you recommend a product that enriched the vinyl, and provides only a low luster/satin finish?

[V-12]

great question -
my dash sometimes looks a bit spotty in certain light -
and I'm guessing it probably sat in the sun for 2 years before it came home with me -
...I don't want that greasy look either...

also has anyone been waxing the console for several years with no adverse results?

[acrispy1]

Originally Posted by midnightman

I'd like to know what specific (and locally purchasable) products work best to revive the black in the plastic parts such as the "tray" under the windshield wipers, the triangular plates at the front corners of the side windows, etc. and the rubber trim around the windows.

I've tried a few different products, the best on so far is Adams In And Out spray works great.

[Mike-in-Orange]

Being a resident of Southern California and therefore living quite close to Meguiar's headquarters in Irvine, CA, I've become a regular at their Thursday Night Open Garage sessions and have come to really love their professional product line. When I purchased my '05 Crossfire Roadster a few days ago it was dire need of a proper cleanup. What I did was this:

• Wash with Meguiar's Gold Class Shampoo.
• Clay with Meg's Smooth Surface Clay Kit.
• Machine polish (Porter Cable 7424 dual action orbital) using a Meg's polishing pad and M80 Speed Glaze.
• A few more, um, challenging areas required the use of a rotary with the same polishing pad and some M83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish.
• Finished with two coats of Meg's M21 Synthetic Sealant, including the wheels.
• Exterior trim bits like the black strip the roof seals to when closed, the windshield header rubber trim, etc, were all cleaned with Meg's M39 Vinyl & Rubber cleaner and then dressed with M40 Dressing.
• All interior grained vinyl surfaces were given the same treatment as above, but after about 15 minutes the M40 was "buffed" with a clean, dry microfiber towel to knock down the gloss. I'm not a big fan of shiny interiors either, and a second rub down of almost any vinyl dressing will reduce the shine.
• The leather surfaces were cleaned with Meg's Aloe Leather Cleaner and dressed with Aloe Leather Conditioner.
• Engine bay was cleaned with Meg's All Purpose Cleaner, rinsed and dressed with Meg's Hyper Dressing, diluted at a 4:1 ratio with distilled water.
• Tires were dressed with Meg's Endurance High Gloss Gel.
• Wheel wells were dressed with Armor All. (hey, it's cheap and I mean, c'mon, they're wheel wells)!!
• Windows cleaned with Meg's Detailer Line Glass Cleaner.

This car was a "left over" 2005 model and even though it only had 32 miles on the odometer, it was a mess. Now it looks like it should!! I get all my Meguiar's Professional line products from autodetailingsolutions.com (no relation to or compensation from) and I was basically taught how to do the machine polishing by the same people at Meguiar's who train body shop guys how to do it.

For any forum members who might be interested I can set up a Saturday detailing clinic at Meguiar's if you'd like me to. I'm involved enough in Meguiar's forum and their Thursday night sessions that I'm now given pre-production samples of new products for consumer evaluation, etc. Yes, I'm a bit addicted to detailing, and after trying more product lines than I care to think about I've decided Meguiar's Pro Line gives me everything I could ever need.

You can see a couple pictures of how the car came out at http://www.crossfireforum.org/forum/...d=1#post143611 and there are a couple more in my gallery.

[andrew]

here is another product to try:

http://zymol.com/shop/item.asp?PID=1391&scID=115

ps - i have not tried it personally...

[golfdude]

Sonus Total eclipse, Meg's #40 vinyl and rubber cleaner/conditioner, 303 Aerospace protectant, Sonus Cockpit detailer...check any of them out, but the Meg's and 303 stuff smells horrible.

[old school]

For a quick and effective low luster cleaner try Lemon Pledge spray. Works great, smells good, and can be used on leather, plastic, and cleans the instrument panel too. removed bugs and tar on the exterior. The WD40 of wax/cleaners! My 2 cents - Joe

[SRT SIX]

Originally Posted by Mike-in-Orange

Being a resident of Southern California and therefore living quite close to Meguiar's headquarters in Irvine, CA, I've become a regular at their Thursday Night Open Garage sessions and have come to really love their professional product line. When I purchased my '05 Crossfire Roadster a few days ago it was dire need of a proper cleanup. What I did was this:

• Wash with Meguiar's Gold Class Shampoo.
• Clay with Meg's Smooth Surface Clay Kit.
• Machine polish (Porter Cable 7424 dual action orbital) using a Meg's polishing pad and M80 Speed Glaze.
• A few more, um, challenging areas required the use of a rotary with the same polishing pad and some M83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish.
• Finished with two coats of Meg's M21 Synthetic Sealant, including the wheels.
• Exterior trim bits like the black strip the roof seals to when closed, the windshield header rubber trim, etc, were all cleaned with Meg's M39 Vinyl & Rubber cleaner and then dressed with M40 Dressing.
• All interior grained vinyl surfaces were given the same treatment as above, but after about 15 minutes the M40 was "buffed" with a clean, dry microfiber towel to knock down the gloss. I'm not a big fan of shiny interiors either, and a second rub down of almost any vinyl dressing will reduce the shine.
• The leather surfaces were cleaned with Meg's Aloe Leather Cleaner and dressed with Aloe Leather Conditioner.
• Engine bay was cleaned with Meg's All Purpose Cleaner, rinsed and dressed with Meg's Hyper Dressing, diluted at a 4:1 ratio with distilled water.
• Tires were dressed with Meg's Endurance High Gloss Gel.
• Wheel wells were dressed with Armor All. (hey, it's cheap and I mean, c'mon, they're wheel wells)!!
• Windows cleaned with Meg's Detailer Line Glass Cleaner.

This car was a "left over" 2005 model and even though it only had 32 miles on the odometer, it was a mess. Now it looks like it should!! I get all my Meguiar's Professional line products from autodetailingsolutions.com (no relation to or compensation from) and I was basically taught how to do the machine polishing by the same people at Meguiar's who train body shop guys how to do it.

For any forum members who might be interested I can set up a Saturday detailing clinic at Meguiar's if you'd like me to. I'm involved enough in Meguiar's forum and their Thursday night sessions that I'm now given pre-production samples of new products for consumer evaluation, etc. Yes, I'm a bit addicted to detailing, and after trying more product lines than I care to think about I've decided Meguiar's Pro Line gives me everything I could ever need.

You can see a couple pictures of how the car came out at http://www.crossfireforum.org/forum/...d=1#post143611 and there are a couple more in my gallery.

Mike,

I like the idea of a Saturday clinic. I have been using Maguiars products for years. I now use a combination from several mfg. But it might be fun to finally have a SoCal GTG. It has been brought up several times but nothing has come of it. You might want to start a new thread to get it all started.

BTW bought my SRT6 from HB about 1 1/2 years ago after spotting it on the Internet. Got a great deal on a fantastic ride.

[Mike-in-Orange]

Originally Posted by SRT SIX

Mike,

I like the idea of a Saturday clinic. I have been using Maguiars products for years. I now use a combination from several mfg. But it might be fun to finally have a SoCal GTG. It has been brought up several times but nothing has come of it. You might want to start a new thread to get it all started.

BTW bought my SRT6 from HB about 1 1/2 years ago after spotting it on the Internet. Got a great deal on a fantastic ride.

Do you have a rough idea how many SoCal members are on this forum? I'd hate to set up a session and have 3 people show up!!!

[SRT SIX]

Originally Posted by Mike-in-Orange

Do you have a rough idea how many SoCal members are on this forum? I'd hate to set up a session and have 3 people show up!!!

I believe there are quite a few. However, I haven't seen any actual GTG. There has been the occasional talk about it. Your idea might be a good catalyst.