[DIY] Detailing Your Car For Car Shows

[THansenite]

Well, with show season starting up, I thought I would write a post for people new to the "show scene" explaining my procedure that I have developed (with help) for preparing for a show. I have gotten this procedure down pretty well, but expect to spend a lot of time the first few tries at doing this. I am going to include the supplies I recommend as well as the brands I use. Feel free to improve on this procedure to suit your needs.

Pre-Show - Part 1 (1 to 3 days prior)

Supplies:
Water Blade (California Jelly Blade)
Engine Degreaser (Simple Green)
Clay Bar (Maguires Clay Bar Kit)
Wax (Currently using Maguires Gold Class but planning on trying out their NXT next show)
Foam Wax Applicators (cheap Wal-Mart brand)
Scratch Remover or Car Polish (Maguires Scratch-X)
Microfiber Towels (Blue ones from Wal-Mart or Sam's Club)
Shop-Vac

Washing:
I start out by going to a wand car wash. I pull in and pop the hood and spray everything with simple green and let it soak in while I go and get $5 in quarters. I come back and use the rinse selection to clean off the engine. I don't pull the trigger doing this just so I don't force water in the fuse box and short something out or cause another electrical short.

This is usually good enough for now so I shut the hood and switch to the soap setting to get rid of most the dirt and grime on the outside of the car. Pay special attention to your rims and shoot some soapy water into the wheel wells.

Then, switch back to rinse and (surprise) rinse all the soap off the car, again being sure to spray the wheel wells, lug nuts, front bumper air inlets, and door seals (dirt and soap likes to hide in those). After I get all that off, I use the spot free rinse setting to mist over the whole car and I always give my water blade a quick spray to get it lubricated.

Once my time runs out, I usually disregard the sign in the carwash that says "no drying" (unless it is busy). I use the water blade to get as much water off the car as I can and get the remaining droplets with a microfiber towel.

Clay Bar:
Clay bars are great for removing bugs, tree sap, water spots, and a number of other things. Always be sure to use it on a washed and dried car, otherwise, you will scratch your paint.

You need the clay bar, detailing spray that usually comes with the clay bar, and a clean microfiber towel. Spray down a good amount of detailing spray where you want to use the bar. It is very important you have enough spray to keep the clay lubricated so you don't scratch the paint. You don't want to feel any resistance when using the clay. Don't use a lot of force, just lightly move the clay back and forth over the car and it will do the work for you. After you are done with an area, use the microfiber to remove the detailing spray.

A good test to show how well clay works is to do a side by side comparison on someplace like your hood. Clay half of your hood. Run the back of your fingers over the un-clayed area, then over the area you just clayed....you should feel a big difference.

Important: If you drop the clay bar on the ground, THROW IT AWAY. If you drop it, the clay WILL pick up small rocks and it WILL scratch the hell out of your paint.

[THansenite]

Pre-Show - Part 2

Scratch Removal/Polishing:
Pull out a fresh, clean microfiber towel and scratch remover or polish. I usually notice at least one small scratch on my car while washing so I use Scratch-X to get rid of it. If it has been a while and I notice a lot of "spider-webs" or light scratches all over my car, I will go over everything with the Scratch-X. This just makes your paint look nicer once it is waxed. You can also use a polish for a deeper shine as well.

Always go in a back and forth motion when using this, either side to side or up and down. You do not want to use a circular motion because the polish or scratch remover will leave fine swirls in your clearcoat that will catch sunlight at shows. If you go in straight lines, you reduce the angles at which the abrasions can be seen.

Waxing:
Again, it is paramount that you use CLEAN microfiber towels for each step so that you don't pick up any dust or dirt that will scratch your paint. I usually start at my front driver's side quarter panel. Using a foam applicator, I put a good amount of wax on it, then dab it all over the panel to get it evenly distributed. Again, using back and forth or up and down motions, work the wax into the panel. The whole panel should be hazy from the wax. You don't need a lot of wax, but you want enough to cover everything well.

I typically do the front panel, front of the door, back of the door, rear quarter panel to the wheel well, from the wheel well back to the rear bumper, then go over the A pillar, roofline, C pillar and side mirrors with the wax. Usually, i have enough wax left on the applicator that I don't need to put any on it to do the mirrors and pillars. After I do the whole side of the car, I get out the microfiber and buff it all out. Using side to side or up and down motions (yep, there it is again), wipe off the wax residue from the panels in the order it was applied. The longer you let the wax sit on the panel (to an extent), the better it looks and the easier it is to remove.

Do this on both sides as well as the hood and hatch. If I am going to a big show, I also lightly wax my rims.

[THansenite]

Day of the Show (before you leave)

Supplies:
Blue-Bra (2" 3M Blue Painters Tape)
Shop Vac
Microfiber Towels (from Wal-Mart)
Quick Detailer (Maguires Speed Detailer)


Blue Bra:
If I am going to a show that is a long ways away (4+ hours), I sometimes put a blue-bra on my car to protect my freshly waxed bumper. This makes things much easier when you get to the show.

I usually cover from the back of my headlights forward. Make sure if it is hot out, you cut out the tape so you get airflow over your radiator. I start from the hood and work my way forward and down to the top of the grille. Then, I go to the bottom of the bumper and start working my way up. It doesn't have to be pretty, just make sure it is taped well enough that it won't come off while driving down the road.

Doing this helps to prevent rock chips, bugs, and road dust from contaminating your freshly cleaned car. Once you get to the show (if you taped it well enough), you can usually pull it all off in just a few large pieces.

Vacuuming:
I start by pulling out all of the pop bottles, Arby's bags, CD's, dead hookers, and anything else in the back seat of my car. Then, I pull out the floor mats and put them somewhere else.

Using my shop vac, I vacuum the floors and seats, then put on the crevice tool to get under and beside the seats, edges of the trim where it meets the carpet, cubby holes, and anywhere else dirt may have settled. I use the wider attachment to vacuum off my floor mats and hatch mat. I usually put the rear mats back in the car, but the front mats go in the hatch so I don't get any dirt on them from my shoes.


Quick Interior Detail:
I used to do an interior detail once I got to the show, but discovered it is better for me to do it before I leave home. At the show, I am usually so concerned with the exterior that I remember that I forgot to clean the interior right about the time the judges are getting to my car.

To clean my interior, I take a clean microfiber and lightly spray a squirt or two of quick detailer on it. I go over the dash, center console, and pretty much all plastic in the car.

DO NOT use Armor All as it has been known to leave a very greasy finish and dull the color of interior plastics. I find the quick detailer leaves my plastic clean, but not wet looking. The microfiber also picks up dust that has accumulated on the dash or other plastics.

[THansenite]

At The Show - Part 1 (before judging)

Supplies:
Microfibers (yes, again from Wal-Mart)
Tire Shine (I think it is Armor All Extreme Tire Shine)
Quick Detailer (Maguires Speed Detailer)
Glass Cleaner (Stoner's Invisible Glass)
Old Blanket
Camp Chair

Getting There:
At most shows, there is someone at the entrance directing you where to go. If not, park somewhere out of the way and look for a tent/canopy or a table with important looking people standing around it and ask them where to park.

Once you get to your spot, empty everything out of your car that you feel comfortable leaving on the ground. I don't like having a lot of stuff in my car at shows. Pack light so your hatch isn't overflowing with stuff.

Notice I included a camp chair in the supplies. These fold up chairs are very nice to have at shows. Chances are, you won't spend the entire 4+ hours at a show walking around looking at the cars and your legs will get tired. These chairs are nice for relaxing at shows, chatting with people, and gives you somewhere comfortable to eat and hold your drink for you.

Exterior:
I use the quick detailer to go over the whole body of the car, even if it looks clean. It will add some extra shine that may help in the judging and you will have inevitably picked up some road dust, some rogue bugs, or maybe hit a small mammal on the drive. Wipe everything down to make it look good again.

Spend extra time on the side skirts because some judges like to stick a finger under there to see if you cleaned under your car. This goes for the wheel wells too. Whenever your microfiber gets dirty, switch to a new one. They are cheap. Don't worry about your rims yet, just the body of your car.

Glass:
Use the glass cleaner to clean all your windows and windshield. There will probably be bugs here too. Do both the inside and outside of the glass to get it as clean as possible. Don't forget your mirrors, headlights, and turn signals as well.

[THansenite]

At The Show - Part 2

Wheels/Tires:
Tires take some time to get right. Also, this is where the old blanket comes in. Doing your wheels takes some time so instead of kneeling down and trashing your knees, you can put it on the ground and sit on it. Plus, you can have a romantic picnic with your significant other if food is being served later on during the show.

I found the best way to use tire black is to use an old microfiber folded into quarters. Spray some tire shine on to the microfiber, not on the tire. Spraying it on the tire puts way to much on and it looks bad, plus, you usually leave overspray on the ground that doesn't look good. By spraying it on the towel, you can pat the tire to distribute the shine, then wipe the tire to even it all out. You can keep lightly spraying the towel until the tire is uniform in the amount of shine on it. I refold the microfiber on every wheel so I am using a "clean" side of the towel.

The tire shine I use is very oily so you may want to wash your hands before you start cleaning your rims...or you can just do what I do and wipe them on my pants or an old microfiber towel. Use the quick detailer on your rims. You can either spray directly on the rims or on a microfiber towel and wipe them off. Be sure to get the back of the rims and the inside lip of the wheel. A lot of dirt and brake dust collects there so clean it well. I do the rims after the tires because the tire shine looks really bad on the rims. This way, any excess shine can be wiped off with quick detailer.

To make things easier, you may want to bring a small jack along with you to raise each corner of the car. That will allow you to clean the wheels easier. It will also make it easier to get the tire shine on the whole tire so that there are no "dirty" spots where you couldn't reach with a microfiber.

Engine Bay:
Time to pop the hood and get everything cleaned under there. Here, you can use the microfiber you used to apply tire shine to your tires if it is clean enough. With a very light spray of tire shine on this towel, go over you hoses, vacuum lines, weather stripping, and anything else like this. It will make it look like new.

Using a fresh microfiber, spray some quick detailer onto the towel and go over the engine cover, fuse box cover, and any other plastic pieces to get your engine nice and clean. It can be tough getting in all the nooks and crannies, but it pays off. I usually leave this to last so that I can spend extra time cleaning my engine bay if I have it.

If you have any chrome, glass, or other material, use the appropriate cleaner to pretty it up.

Relax and Enjoy the Show:
Now, just flip on your lights, put out your battle-board, and turn up your stereo if you have any of those and marvel at your car. You know yours looks better than all the other cars there, just hope the judges think the same.

Walk around, get ideas for your next mods, chat with fellow owners. Car guys (usually) love talking about what they have done to their rides and often can provide good insight into what mods you may be looking into in the future. It is fun hanging out with people that have the same interests as you and I have made many new friends by going to shows. Once you get tired of walking around, remember your camp chair waiting for you to relax in.

If you see the judges looking at your car, you can go up to them and ask if they have any questions. Let them know that you are willing to explain anything they have questions about and maybe point out some mods you have done. Remember though, they have a job to do and a lot of cars to look at. Be there if they need you, but stay out of their way.

Most of all, enjoy yourself. Car shows are meant to be fun. Go to them to meet other people and to see unique cars. Trophies are nice to win and are a nice reminder of all you have done to your car, but don't go to each show expecting to win. You will be very disappointed if you do. All judges are different and some may not like your style....who cares? Have fun, meet people, and get ideas for your car....after all, you are the one driving it.

[20evlvntc09]

Thanks for this. I will be going to my first show next month.

[scion1nk]

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