This job came to me via referral from a client who's S-line A4 we had just done. As with the A4, this client was moving into the US and the car had to have all traces of Canadian soil removed from the car. The car was booked in for a major cleaning and single stage polish over two days. Engine and all jambs were cleaned with AG Powermax3 Undercarriage and all inner fenders cleaned with AG Powermax3 as well Tires and wheels were cleaned with AG Custom Wheel Cleaner Car was washed with Gloss it shampoo and Raceglaze washmitt Clay of choice today was Bilt Hamber regular as I knew I was going to be polishing so just wanted to get the paint cleaned as quickly as possible. Car was polished with Menz Power Finish and 85RD on green and black LC CCS pads respectively LSP today would be DG 601 bonding agent followed by 105 and 111 Glass was cleaned with AG Fast Glass and treated with Rain Science Rain Clear Interior was washed down with AG Interior Shampoo and leather treated with DG Leather Conditioner Wheels were sealed with DG 105 and tires dressed with GI Tire Gloss At first glance the car looked very clean and defect free, even in the direct sun but this fantasy would not last. The wheels were in very good condition As was the interior. A little crud in her welts but nothing serious. Typical build up in the jambs and fuel filler door. Even the trunk release button was filthy and had to be scrubbed down with 203 on a MF to get rid of the build up. Engine was dirty but mostly just accumulated dust. After shampooing the engine was left clean with no dressing this time. Pic of the undercarriage after we had it jacked up. Soaking in Powermax3 A couple of pics of the shock tower mounts after cleaning. These required a couple of hits to get rid of all accumulated dirt. Inner fenders after AG Powermax3 and a good scrubbing. These were gone over one more time as drying showed a bit of dirt left after the first scrubbing. As you can see, once the side was jacked up, it was easy to get at the inner fenders and suspension for cleaning. As earlier stated, after washing with GI shampoo and a healthy dose of Tropicare Citrus Wash ( thanks Dust to Glory), everything the last detailer has used was stripped and this is what we found. A few 50/50s for your enjoyment Trunk lid before.... and after. Why you don't use a sharp implement to remove badges. Sadly, we hadn't the time to get rid of all of this. Sanding would have been required. Todays glass cleaners of choice. Wheels got DG 105 and tires got GI Tire Gloss applied with a foam applicator - not sprayed. Exhaust tips wer covered in road tar so were left to soak in Tardis for a bit and then polished with Autosol and finally DG metal polish. After applying DG 601 Bonding Agent, the paint was treated with DG 105 and the following day was followed up with 111 Clear Coat Polish My apologies for all the finished pics. Seats got GI Leather Polish for protection. The sun just wouldn't burn through the haze to show the bright blue flake so I had to improvise. Thanks for looking.
What a sad picture it was of the holograms, I would be pissed if that was my car and i washed it and found that shit under the "glaze". It turned out great, door jambs looked really good, you brought a really nice shine back to them.
Great work ken, as usual! Nice to see you posting some work here again. I enjoy your threads/writeups.
Awesome resurrection. I can't even imagine a "detailer" looking at the previous work, and congratulating himself on a job well done. That was pretty appalling.
Great job on brining it back to an amazing finish! Well if you cant see it because you did not pull it out in the sun to do inspection, but kept it in the garage it would look like a perfect finish. I was at a a performance shop in FL once with my uncle and there was a detailing shop next door and I peeked in and he was doing all the correcting with no extra lighting, just normal tube lights that did not light up the panel at all. Just seemed like he did all the work in there and once he was done I did not see him pull it out for inspection or anything just move it to the parking lot in the shade for customer pick up.
Great work Ken! Thanks for posting. Oh on a side note - I got a chance to use some of the goodies I picked up from you a couple months ago. 203 and 85rd worked AWESOME on green and black pads as you suggested. The BHAB was also very impressive. I gotta make time to post it...
Terrific work Ken, those holograms were something else! If I may ask, whats the deal with removing all traces of dirt when a car goes from Canada over the border into the US?
Nice work Ken. That hood was fudged up for sure. I want one of those plates or a sticker like that to put on my back window
Straight goods! That is truly a 'Black on Black' affair. Really if it was my car it would put on a flatbed, covered and sent home. So after reading, you mention... Are you saying that it IS possible for someone to use a buffer, create those swirl marks, holograms, continue to apply a wax, gloss or sealer and not see that in the end? All of that was basically hidden? Am I understanding that correct?:shead:
Ken..great save on the Acura! Thanks for taking the time to do the writeup too. What kind of bloody witchcraft in a bottle covered up that previous shitty work? Good Lord! I'd break my foot off in someone's ass if they tried to pass off that kind of shabby work. That's what gives detailers a bad name. That's why you got the repeat business. Good for you!
