This client just imported this IS300F from the US a few weeks ago and contacted me about getting it waxed t protect it until the summer. As soon as the car was dropped off, some issues became very apparent. The barrels were brown. Solid brown. Like they had never been cleaned. It was overcast and you could see the marring in the paint without a light source. Good grief. Started by cleaning all jambs, around emblems etc with AG Powermax3. And started to wash with Optimum Carwash. Water was beading pretty good so I soaked the whole car down in Powermax mixed 4:1. After rinsing and rewashing, it seemed to have worked. No more beading whatsoever. Perfect. As discussed, the barrels were filthy. Used Gloss it Wheel Gel on the rears and let it soak for about 3 minutes. The rears came out mint. The fronts were another story. After Gloss it barely put a dent in them, I grabbed my strongest wheel cleaner mixed 2:1 ( normally mixed 8:1) and it still didn't remove 100%. This car is a 2008! I decided to leave the rest until summer when I will pull the wheels. Got brake dust? Marring on hood Rear bumper damage Trunklid Even more marring Nasty touchup Hood was repainted as evidenced by the sanding lines present. This residue was present all around the front window. This was the highest PTG reading ..... and the lowest. We needed to hide the marring somehow so it came down to the current champion, BH Auto Balm vs the newcomer, Blackfire Gloss Enhancing Polish. 50/50 of GEP on front door. 50/50 of AB on rear door. Even more residue. This time on the passenger side pillar. Got out some Scholl SO3+ and LC hand scrubber. Removed almost all of it. Rest of it will need some machine action to remove. Used one of my fav tire dressings today - White Pearl. Covers really nice and leaves a finish very similar to Swisswax Pneu. Applying BH Auto Balm with a PC. Used a Gloss it finishing pad on speed 3. If this was normal carwash damage this method would have been fine and its much easier than applying by hand. Unfortunately, the paint was hammered and benefitted from applying in a linear motion which did a way better job filling in the damage. 50/50 on the hood. and another reflection shots Stubborn brake dust. Worn leather All this damage on an 08 with under 37,000kms To put this in perspective, the car looks great from far.... but in reality is far from great. Afters At the end of the day, the GEP did a great job. The ability to mask minor damage was very similar to the AB but I chose to use the AB as it left a deeper finish which is what I wanted for the black paint. I did use the GEP on the charcoal Vette I posted and it worked fantastic on it.
Looks a lot better. Good job. Man that car was beat up. I have an 2008 ISF and I can tell you the breaks dust like crazy. I clean my wheels every two weeks. It would be better if I did it every week.
Another great job Ken, man those wheels looked nasty! GEP is peaking my interest after this and when you used it on the vett. Have you noticed any filling effect from RG Sig. Pre-Wax Cleaner/glaze or is it nothing like BF GEP?
The RG product is strictly a prewax cleaner whereas GEP is meant to mask minor damage. I've used the RG Prewax Cleaner and love it but honestly didn't notice whether it was filling or not.
Interesting, I was just going off the description PB has on there site. Have you seen any noticeable lessening of durability with the use of GEP, and what is the lasting power of GEP filling. May be a nice addition as I dont get to do full details that much.
mmmmm looks like chocolate milk lol car is looking good ken! is the owner waiting for warmer weather to do a full correction? i have a few of those customers lined up
Great job Ken, I know that must be tough not getting 100% on the first round about but that finish looks mint compared to original condition.
Boy oh boy....he must have really wanted to get that car. It's obvious it has been ridden hard and put away wet. I can't believe what poor condition it was in...and the wheels...they put the Germans to shame for brake dust and that's no easy task! I can't wait to see it when you've got about 16 hours to donate to that paint and make it amazing up close and not a "10 footer". The AB did a fair job at making a silk purse out of a sow's ear though.
Nice work on something really bad! I know you wanted to jump on it with S03+ and the flex, hehe. I can`t understand how a car with just 37 000miles on it, can look like that.
As I said, I don't use the RG PreWax as a filler, just as a prewax cleaner after polishing before LSP application so I've never seen it mask defects. I have a Porsche turbo coming in tomorrow that I may have to try it on. He'll be getting a single stage and thats it. Blackfire works more by rounding off the edges of scratches to reflect light better versus just filling like AB.
Tried it with the PC first and it was working but not as well as I liked so I did the rest of the car by hand.
Its actually closer than you think. The benefit is that with BH, you're finished. With the GEP, you still have to wax/seal .
looking good Ken. The car looks a lot better then it did. I'm not sure how that thing could be that trashed in the little time the car has been alive. Black however looks good but is a 2nd full time job to care for.
