Ok, this is kind of shameless, but I saw that there were no February entries and decided to throw this in at the end of the month. Normally, if I were going to do this, my pics would be a little tigther and before and afters would be better. But, I think the pics do show the level of effort that went into this. Also, this is a joint entry with MadOzodi and myself. Back in late December, we talked a few times about teaming up on some cars to knock them out quicker. I have to say that so far it has been a fairly successful venture. I think we complement each other well and bring valuable tools to the table that each other doesn't have standalone. This was our 2nd job together. Previous was a wash, wax, and interior on a Buick Lesabre (brother's company car). This was a paid detail for some neighbors downt he street that were referred to me by another neighbor whose Accord I did last year. Here's the write-up: The car was pretty nasty as it still had a lot of junk on it from a snowstorm last month. Upon initial inspection, swirls didn't look that bad, but they were hiding underneath the dirt!!! Also, I quoted her out a full exterior detail with a 2 step polish, dress all exterior trim, LSP, windows, etc. Wash and Clay - Pre-rinse using foam cannon from Jose Rios (Advs1), Tory-Bilt PW, 5 oz. Adam's car wash - Wheels were done with pre-rinse first with PW, then heavily dosed with P21s wheel gel, Ace Powerstick, Bosch drill, and assortment of other various brushes - Wheels also hit with Meg's Wheel Brightener (yep, the wheels were pretty nasty and we still didn't get all the brake dust off the front inside barrels. We truly thought that they would have to be taken off and seriously worked). - Tires cleaned with P21s TAW and tire brush - Wheel wells with P21s TAW and black Schmitt - We let the pre-rinse on the paint soak for about 10 minutes and then used about a 25 degree nozzle to thoroughly rinse. This got rid of most, if not all the heavy dirt. - At this point we agreed that an ONR wash would work best so that we could also clay at the same time. - Pulled the car in and did a top to bottom ONR wash, but did not dry. We used some ONR lube cooked up by MadOzodi and Adam's grey clay. This thing was nasty. We had to hit a lot of areas 2-3 times. - Then we hand dried using Uber WW drying towels. Polish - After claying and drying, we did a little wet-sanding on some of the deeper/wider scratches. I really wish I had some pics of this, but on paid details I like to stay heads-down and get through it. MadOzodi used some Meguiar's 2000 grit paper. It helped minimize the deeper ones, but they still remained. We think they were just too deep / wide to fully correct. - For polishing, we did a full 2 step. This is really where we worked well in tandem. I did the 1st step mostly with the Flex 3403, SIP, and an orange LC pad going from 1100 - 1500 - 1200. Bumpers for first pass were done with 3401, PowerGloss, and orange 5.5" LC pad. MadOzodi followed me with his 3401 (yeah, baby, 2 Flexes running at the same time), PowerFinish (203), and a white LC pad. Some areas were hit with either SIP another time or PowerFinish another time. - Menzerna Top Inspection and Prep All was used extensively to check work as we moved along. - We used a ton of blue 3m painter's tape and green automotive tape. - For lighting we used some Sears halogens and Fenis "light of truth" compliments of MadOzodi (I think he sleeps with it at night!) - For polishing towels, I've been using the Sam's MF 16 x 16 towels lately and they seem to be getting the job done LSP - After polishing the car was backed out and foamed and rinsed to make sure that all the polishing oils, dust, etc. was cleared off and rinsed using CR Spotless. - LSP during winter details I like to use Collinite's 845 IW. Provides good shine, slickness, and durability using the Flex 3401 and LC red pad. Wiped off using Uber MF towels. Other - We clayed the face of the front wheels as well trying to get some more of the brake dust off with limited success. Heck, we even tried steaming them!!! - Clayed windshield and headlights - Rejex was applied to the face of the wheels - Tires dressed with Adam's VRT - Wheel wells dressed with Adam's Undercarriage. - Sideview mirror plastic surrounding areas adn front air dam dressed with Adam's In & Out (on endangered species list) - Rubber trim around windows dressed with Gummi Pflege. I picked this tip up from someone else on here, forget who though. - Headlights and tailights polished with 3401 + PowerGloss + yellow LC low profile CCS 5.5" pad followed by Power Finish + white LC low profile CCS 5.5"pad - Headlights and tailights sealed with Prima Hydro - Front windwhield polished with 3401 + LC 5" white pad + Duragloss window polish - Inside and outside windows and sideviews cleaned with 1z Eiszett window cleaner. Detail was for exterior only, but I couldn't stand the exterior windows being cleaned while there were still a bunch of smudges and dirt on the interior. - Tailpips inside and out were hand polished with steel wool and Power finish. They were pretty nasty and, again, wish I had the pics to show. They were polsihed again using a MF hand applicator and P21s Finsih Restorer to bring back the shine, then sealed with Rejex. - There were some parts on the front bumer around air dam and sideview mirrors that were hand polished using SIP/Power Finish and orange / white hand CCs pad. - Door jams were ONR'd and seals were treated with Gummi Pflege - B-pillar black shiny sections were hand polished using Clearkote Vanilla Moose Hand Glaze. I have to give props to Paintcare N' Detailing for this tip that I picked up on the GMC Acadia forum. He posted on there that using the Vanilla Moose plus a hand applicator does wonders for these shiny areas that are swirled up, and he was right!!! Here are some full sun pics after washing, claying and taping: Hood: Trunk: Doors: B Pillar befors: Afters: Clay: After polishing foam and CR Spotless Rinse: MadOzodi in action!!! MadOzodi firing up the CR Spotless: Finished shots in my garage. It was already dark and this is the best I could do as I had to take the car back down the street that evening. Close-up detail of Gummi Pflege and Adam's In & Out after being applied: More finished shots: After polishing shots. This is the best I could do with what I had. Silver and lighter colored cars are a pain for this without full sunlight. No matter what white balance, flash, settings I used, I just couldn't get anything real good, but I think these suffice: Doors: Hood: I think the main thing I want to convey on this is the partnership I formed with MadOzodi for detailing. With 2 small kids, sometimes it is hard for me to dedicate a full weekend to working on a car. Having MadOzodi there with his skillset and arsenal was of tremendous value. We seem to work very well together and keep each other in check from a quality standpoint. Cool thing was we hung out after working and drank a few cold beers as well just shooting the breeze (and talking about our next purchases of course). Without this forum, I probably would've never have met MadOzodi. I have a new friend now and detaling partner. When I returned the car, the owners were absolutely ecstatic about it. When spring hits, they want me to do their red Vette and maybe an Acura TL too. They were originally going to get it detailed at the Nissan dealership, but I think they are glad they changed their minds now. Please let me know if there are any questions on it and thanks for viewing. - DJ_JonnyV & MadOzodi :drinking2:
The car looks great. Working in tandem can be so nice for correction work. Not trying to take away from the paint reflections but the glass reflections photographed great.
Thanks guys! Silver is a PITA, LOL. I think DJ_JonnyV's eyes are better than mine at catching stuff...and yes, working in tandem is great for correction work. :thumb:
You guys did great on your detail and write up. I really like silver. It's my favorite...Keep up the good work guys...:thumb::thumb::thumb:
Looks great! Did you try a tripod and longer exposure? That would get you some good reflection shots.
Yeah, the stupid thing is, I had a tripod sitting in the garage already. Not quite sure why I just didn't grab the thing. I was in somewhat of a hurry to get it back down the street. Thanks for the positive comments. Actually, I think the owners are trying to keep it safe in their garage now. I haven't seen it outside since!
