In a nutshell, this thread is going to serve two purposes. One is a roadmap of what a detail in preparation for a meet/show entails and to chronicle what I am actually going to be doing to my Max for an upcoming meet.

Bear in mind, most of the meets are not Concours events but that does not mean that we cannot achieve those kinds of results and with patience/practice, we can achieve them.

With that said, I am going to be prepping my Maxima for an upcoming show in August. Considering that my car is a daily driver, she is going to need a bit of work here and there to achieve the results I desire.

One of the things I am learning about this process is that it can be quite long and quite tedious. When you are detailing for a show, that means you are getting into every nook and cranny to get the dirt out. You are going to be doing things that you never thought were done such as cleaning the back of the wheels and tires, thorough engine cleaning, using swabs to clean some of the smaller crevices in the Max....to name a few.

I plan to do this in stages with assistance from a few friends on Autopia (Two of which are Concours winners, one of which constantly wins awards for detailing).

The first thing I did is do an assessment of what needs to be done on my car to get it in show condition. From the looks of my list, it's pretty lengthy. Mind you, this is just for the interior

Stage I: Interior

- Blow out loose dust in crevices
- Pre-treat headliner spots with EF Spot Remover
- Clean headliner with Blue Coral Dry Clean (as soon as I can get it)
- Pre-treat carpet and seats with EF Spot Remover
- Pay a visit to my friend's detail shop and use their cyclo polisher and extractor to clean the carpet and seats.
- Clay Interior glass (Stoners/Clay Magic)
- Clean vinyl and plastic surfaces with Lexol Leather Conditioner
- Clean crevices with swabs
- Clean vents with vent brush
- Clean cup holders thoroughly with swabs
- Polish plastic on speedo and radio with Plexus
- Clean gated shifter with swabs
- Polish AE Door Sills with Metal Polish
- Clean out trunk
- Clean weatherstripping and treat with 303 (including sunroof)
- Treat Interior Vinyl and plastic with 303

I plan to start this as soon as possible so I can get the ball rolling and give you all updates/ideas on what to do in preparation for a show.

 

The Exterior portion is going to be more involved and will be broken up in two stages.

 

when will you have the exterior one up?

 

Exterior Stage I

- Remove Wheels and clean behind rims/tires with EF HI
- Clean Fenderwells and other components using Griot's Undercarriage Spray
- Clay and Klasse the rims
- Treat Tires with 303 Protectant on both sides
- Treat Fenderwells with Meguiar's Engine Kote
- (optional) Paint calipers black


Exterior Stage II

- Wash with Dawn and EF HI
- Clay with Clay Magic
- Go over car with DACP or PI III
- PC w/ Klasse All In One
- Klasse Sealant Glaze (3x)
- Top with Pinnacle Souveran
- Clean and AIO door and trunk jambs
- Clean trunk railings and treat weatherstripping with 303
- Treat weatherstripping around doors with 303
- Polish my AE door sills
- Polish the exhaust tips (Found soemthing at a bicycle shop that I am inclined to try)
- Clean grime in crevices under hood and AIO
- Clay glass (including foglight lenses)
- Polish glass (including foglight lenses)with Z12
= Polish plastic with Plexus
- Clean and treat weatherstrip around sunroof

 

my guess is it will be up soon


thanks for this thread PrinzII, I appreciate it.
MrGone

 

There's one thing that ALWAYS bugs me when detailing a car so much for an upcoming show... how are you goin to keep it so clean if you have to drive there?? Some shows/meets here are 20-50 mi. drives. Perhaps you can explain some stuff you wait to do at the show or something like that. Thanks!

 

That is in the works. BTW, the show is going to be around 30 miles from home.

 

yeah for instance i want to do nopi which is 10 hours awaay from me. i may trailer the car in

 

The show is 9/20/03 in Addison, IL.