My Triumphant Return to the Detailing World

[Z51L9889]

I have not been able to do any sort of vehicle detailing work for about the last 4 years due to disc issues in my neck and several pinched nerves.  I was unable to hold a PC (much less my Flex) and was barely able to wash cars.  The combination of pain and struggling to do even simple everyday things with my hands and arms (like turn a doorknob) led me to go see a surgeon last year, where I found out I had 7(!!!) pinched nerves in my neck and arms.  I had surgery last fall on both hands and elbows (ulnar nerve and carpal tunnel release) to relieve the pressure on the nerves and it worked beautifully.  I'm able to do things now that I had to give up, so I decided it was time to see if I could once again detail a car.

 

My wife and I bought a 2006 Mazda 3 from a neighbor about 6 months ago.  They were the original owners and had cared well for the car except for the finish.  He waxed it religiously twice a year but never clayed it and it either went through a car wash or he washed it with an old rag and dish soap.  The car is silver so it hid the damage pretty well and looked OK from a distance:

 

 

Up close, it was a different story entirely.  The paint was rather dull and oxidized, plus it had a TON of swirls and scratches that you could only see if the light hit it just right.  If the light was right, they just leaped out at you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had some SSR, SHR and FMP left over from about 5 years ago that was stored in the house so I decided to use it up.  A pass of SHR removed a fair amount of oxidation but it did nothing for the scratches.

 

 

I settled on two passes of SHR with a microfiber cutting pad followed by FMP.  I did the hood and it looked pretty good so I did the correction steps on the rest of the car but found I just couldn't get rid of the scratches.  They were really hard to find but if I got the light right they just leaped out at you.  I then tried several other combinations including SSR on a green pad and a microfiber with no real improvement.  I was getting desperate when I read in one of the threads that Paint Correcting Polish had quite a bit more cut than the older versions I was using. I had purchased PCP and PFP this spring so I broke them out and gave them a try.  One pass with PCP/microfiber and PFP/white pad did the trick.  I followed this with BG and LPS and this was the result:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best of all, I can use the buffer for hours on end, clay, and hand buff, etc., with no pain at all.   I'm so thrilled to be able to get back to detailing.  You really don't realize how much you miss doing something until you are physically unable to do it ...

 

  

[Odds and Ends]

First, congrats on the successful surgery!

 

Second, nice job on the silver. I know everyone likes black when it's clean and shiny but there is nothing like a silver (or light colored metallics) when they are clean and swirl free. They can have great depth and clarity if maintained properly.

[LT1xL82]

Modern medicine can e a wonderful thing. Congratulations! 

[Chris@Adams]

Nice shine you have on the Silver!

[Z51L9889]

Thank you!!  I'm really happy with the way the car turned out, especially for a 10 year old daily driver.  This is the first silver car we've owned, and I didn't think that silver could look that deep.

[Dan@Adams]

Very good story and great pictures! Thank you for the share and I'm glad to hear you can detail again, that must be a wonderful feeling to regain all of that functionality again

[buffalobob920]

Great job very nice

[BrianT]

Very nice results!! Congrats!