Well, i've had my head buried in detailing forum archives etc etc and have finally come up with and ordered a combination of products that i think will get the best out of the pearl white paint of my IS.

The plan is to kick off early tomorrow morning with the following (please don't rain!!!):

Pre-Rinse
Heavy shampoo using Meguiars Gold Class Shampoo and Paint Conditioner and the 2-bucket method
Rinse
Very Llight dry with sonus Der Wunder waffle Weave Towel
Using the remaining moisture on the car and Meguiars Quick Detailing Lube, Clay bar will be applied (Meguiars Smooth Clay Kit)
Rinse
Re-wash the car with diluted shampoo/water mix
Polish - Meguiars Scratch X applied by hand with 'Ultimate German Applicator Pad' (white side) to remove any swirls.
Buff to remove any excees (Eurow Buffing Towel)
Carlack 68 Nano Systematic Care (All in one type product) - applied by hand using Blue Perl Microfibre Applicator Pads (previously dampened with water)
Buffed with soft pile microfibre towel
Carlack 68 Long Life Sealant - applied by hand using Blue Perl Microfibre Applicator Pad (again, previously dampened with water)
Buffed with soft pile microfibre towel
Glass Clayed and further cleaned with Meguiars NXT Glass Cleaner
Wheel Cleaned with Auto Glym Wheel Cleaner
Tyres Dressed - Armour-All Extreme Shine Tyre dressing
24 Hours later - Carlack 68 long life sealant Re-applied as above
Another 24 Hours later - Carlack 68 long life sealant Re-applied as above

I'm not waxing the car, as i don't want to lose the pearlescent ping/nuances that waxes often cover up. The Carlack sealant kit is one of the best on the market and more than enough to protect the paint.

There's probably more, but that's the main detailing routine I have planned.
Its gonna be a long old day, but worth it in the end.
Any advice welcome.
Will obviously post pictures soon.

Cheers

Rob

Wow... that must have been alot of research.

Sounds like the results are going to be outstanding

Good luck with it, and ill be here eagerly awaiting some photos.... im dying to do the same time to mine [not washed it months]

Blimey, that's gonna be a long day, I'd be knackered after all that! All I want to do to mine is clean, polish and wax and can't even be bothered to do that (although the weather isn't helping)

Look forward to the pics though, should look amazing after all that

Ahhh, the days when I used to have time to devote to detailing. Dude, I hope the rain stays away!! I'd hate it when you'd finish 75% of the detailing and then it would begin to rain!

your gonna be shattered by the time your done, hope the weathers hols out for ya, supposed to be chucking it down round here all day ....oh by the way you forgotabout the Interior ........ just kidding mate

Good look with it all mate,

Personally i prefer the lazy option of chucking my mate £50 to do it all for me.

Stav

I'm knackered just reading that, good luck with it, might even start on mine if the weather stays fine.

Hey Rob,

I have seen you over at detailing world, I have been over there alot myself Just completed a mini detail on my black IS which is a neighbouring thread to this one, its sure gets addictive this detailing business. Hope the weather stays good, look forward to the pics.

you won't regret using the carlack,and don't forget about the half lls and half distilled water for the spritz,this will help when buffing off lls.good luckand hope it stays dry.

got a car porch(sp??) so can wash it and do all the rest under that if needs be?!!

when should i use the lls/water spritz?? just after its hazed and i need to take it off??

doing everything a panel at a time. that way nothing will over cure and i can keep good tabs on it.

still debating with myself whether its worth skipping the scratch X polish?? i'm just a bit 'afraid' of doing more damage than good....

yes,when buffing off.try a test area with the sx then decide,swirl removal will be most time consuming part of your detail.

Sounds like you've got a busy day ahead matey will you be doing the engine bay aswell?

but of course young man.....no point otherwise!!!

@dgman (sorry, don't know ur name mate), will the test area not be 'obvious' compared to where i haven't done??

the german applicator i have is used typically for hand polishing and user a denser foam so aids polishing. how heavy should you be pressing when applying the polisgh?? or in fact any of the other products?? and is there a set direction to apply it? i presume vertically up and down and buff off in a circular motion??

If I may be so bold....
You're doing more than is needed, with no benefit. In other words, waste of time and effort for no reward.
I'm not convinced Scratch X is going to offer any benefit over and above the finest marks - by hand, you'll be there all night, never mind day.
If the NSC is an AIO, then between the Scratch X, and Life Sealant, you're repeating steps.
I'd also be suspect of any improvement a 3rd layer of LS, 48 hours after the first one.

may not add the 3rd coat of LLS, depends how it looks and how i feel.

yes, the systematic care is an AIO, but it has NO abrasives to remove swirls.

the idea behind the scratch X is to cut through some of the swirls and not simply fill them in like a lot of other products do (whats the point in that!!).

the SC and LLS compliment each other and were designed to be worked together.

i thought adding the polish step was beneficial (in terms of swirl removal). will see how it goes on a test panel tomorrow.

you wouldn't wash the car again after claying??? most people would reccomend to do so... a simple rinse and dry may be enough before the polish i guess...

cheers

rob

a long day but its well worth it

Rob if you want mate i'll pop my lex over in the morning and let you practice on mine before you have a go at yours just to make sure your doing it right?

extra layers of lls add more gloss and more protection .

No, he really needs a white one to practice on. I'll be round nice & early!

That sounds like a great deal of hard work, Rob, but I am sure it'll be worth it. I'm out with the bike club in Leicestershire (Coalville to Hinckley via a very convoluted route then back to Ansty) tomorrow, so I too hope it doesn't rain.

One other bit of advice (which you've probably gathered from your research already - but it's worth overstressing)

If the Carlack 68 Long Life Sealant is the same as the Klasse Sealant Glaze (I think it is): do NOT over-apply.

You really need the tiniest amount on your pad for each panel - on first application you won't believe how little you'll use so will be tempted to over-apply - DON'T it's much better to use too little than it is too much. Over-applying will make it a real nightmare to buff out.

Doing this all by hand is really going to take you AT LEAST all day (that's before the next day's reapplication of the sealant glaze) - you really should consider a random orbit polisher.

But if you're determined to do it by hand one final tip: cut your fingernails before you begin

the klasse sealant is based on an old formulation of carlack but without the nano technology unless there has been a recent new formulation.

aha - thought they were the same. My single bottle of KSG has lasted me 4 years so far

Does the advise about being careful not to over-apply still apply though?

yes ,whisper thin. i also agree that application by pc is more satisfatory,i am sure rob will move up next time.

i'm pretty tired already, lol!!!

cars pre-rinsed, washed, dried, clayed, buffed....

now i'm wondering whether i should rinse it? or re-wash it? or just move onto the carlack?? any advise??

only going to scratch x some light scratches i've found....the clay bar has worked quite well with the swirls and with it being a white car, i''m not convinced scratch X'ing the whole thing by hand will be worth it....a random orbit will be the way forward for that i think....

ur more than welcome to round round mate......i've got loads of cloths you can use

you need to rinse the clay lube off.then get rid of most of the water with ablade if you have one,then nsc to entire car.

yep. just rinsed it and used the sonus der wunder waffle weave to remove nearly all the water and a eurow buffing towel to get it completely dry.

onto the scratch X - decided to do it only where need (very light scratches)

then the carlack......

on the carlack bottle, it says not for porous plastic surfaces (such as bumpers).....thought this would be fine for bumpers?? or is it referring to black none painted bumpers??

Non-painted ones.

thought that and went ahead.

car has now had the systematic care treatment and just needing the last panel to be buffed off. looks absoloutly stunning. got a real gloss to it!!

can the LLS be applied to plastic bumpers?? it sayd do not apply to any type of plastics??

same as nsc as long as they are painted.did you get my pm earlier.

DONE!!!!

Time Taken: 6 hours (including putting it al away)

Result: ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!!

Great depth of colour, shine is awesome and the paint literally feels like polished glass!!

will get some pics up but i need to rest

@dgman, no mate, didn't get a pm

did the nsc take much dirt off the paint and did you carlack the wheels.

yep, did the wheels.

and i was seriously surprised how much more dirt the NSC took off!!!

the mica colours are amazing once the paint is clean,do you have to put another coat of lls on tomorrow and are you fully converted.

yep another coat tomorrow at some point (off to watch the boxing tonight/tomorrow morning so will probably be later in the day).

its top stuff!!

pics will be added tomorrow hopefully.

Was going to pop round earlier as i've been over your way matey but ran out of time Looking forward to seeing your work though mate as quite interested in the outcome of the products you've used

cheers chris. will get some pics up tomorrow mate

if anyone local to the midlands wants to have a go with these products, then ur more than welcome to borrow them and see for yourself what they are like.

you literally need about 20 ml of NSC and about 10 ml of LLS to do the entire car.

OK, on with the pics (no before shots taken, just those showing the fruits of my labour ):

Very overcast day so no real reflection shots possible, will try to get some tomorrow if whether is kinder..















cheers

rob

Looking very nice matey What did you use on the engine bay in the end matey?? wish i'd popped round now

now that's a secret.....

Thats ok matey as i was going to tell you one of mine that will make it shine like new???

lol, i'm just messing mate.

basically, cleaned excess dust off with an old rag and then set about cleaning the plastic covers etc with WD40. its the nuts and makes the plastic look brand spanker again!! easy to apply as well

Looks good mate,

Well done.

Stav

Wow, that looks fantastic, Rob. Well done.

looks good rob,you need some sun to do it justice and some serious sunglases.enough praise,now get out there and get the next coat of lls on to it.

morning mate, i'm nursing a sore head from last night/this morning, so will have to give it an hour or two and a bacon sarnie

cheers for the comments guys, it is sooo glossy looking i don't think all the pics capture that.

will hte added coat of LLS improve shine? i take it i dont need to wash the car again before applying it?? its not been driven just kept under car porch overnight so had no rain either....

@ian, cheers mate. would give a mint finish to urs too mate!! have you got 040 or 051 white??

yes it will improve gloss and protection,no need to wash.

No added shine - just increasing the longevity a bit more.
No need to rewash, just go over with a fluffy microfibre towel to remove any settled dust.

040, Chamonix White, with added stone chips (I followed a gritter down the M6 the other night), road muck and a topping of brick dust and mud 'cos there's a building site next to my work.