billyblooshes: Jeep Commander

i was contacted via this forum about detailing the owners cars, as well as his harley. kind of a funny story because we had talked previously about a month or so ago, but lost touch as we both lost each others cotact info :doh:. needless to say, damon found me on here and we got the ball rolling. this vehicle is his wifes daily driver as "kid carrier". i must also give credit when credit is due, as damon is by far THE most meticulous person i have ever done work for, in regards to caring for and maintaining the appearance of his own vehicles :worship2:. this commander was pretty darn clean when i picked it up, but needed some correction work. the owner also wanted the interior spotless and the exterior well protected as it will be getting all the abuse this winter. this vehicle was a pleasure to work on, but i must be honest, i definitely underestimated the amount of time it would take me! there is a LOT of real estate to correct on these vehicles, and the interior is pretty spacious, to say the least :giggle:. anyways, the exterior was one-stepped with power finish and blue ubers, which yielded great results and really gave the finish great depth and clarity. and after LSP, the flake on her really popped for sure! the power finish was spread at 1000, worked at around 1500, then brought down to 1200, then down to 1000 to finish/refine. the full size spare was treated as well, being fully cleaned, hand polished to remove oxidation, and then sealed. and last but not least the windshield was treated with aqualpel.

Toal Work Time: 14 Hours

Wash/Wheels:
2BM
DG Soap
Foam Gun
My secret pre-soak mixture (since everyone is coming up with all these secret mixtures lately..)
Uber Sponge
Autoglym CWC (with secret additives, which make the best wheel cleaner ever conceived by man)
P21S TAW
Zep Citrus
DD WW Drying Towels
3M Adhesive Remover
Stoners Tarminator
Various Brushes
Hose with water in it :

Clay:
Bilt Hamber Soft (what a pleasure to use)
Water as Lube

Correction:
Makita
RB Backing Plates
Blue Ubers
Menz Power Finish
IPA 50/50
Menz Top Inspection
1000W Dual Halogens
Brinkmann
DD OG Ubers (or should it be O "D")
Green Tape

Trim/Tires/Engine Etc:
Megs Hyperdressing
Black Wow
Adams In and Out (im out of it now! total bummer....)
1Z Gummi Pflege

Interior:
Rigid Shopvac
1Z Trio (Cockpit, Deep Plastic, Leather Care)
Majestic Solutions SGS
DD Ubers
Sprayway
Werkstatt Satin Prot
SV Brushes
Magic Erasers
3M medium duty scuff pads

LSP:
Collinite 845
Swissvax Onyx
(wheels were also sealed with Collinite 845, including the full size spare, and all chrome pieces)

 

Great work!!!

 

Great work ... I see that you are using 845 on metallics more ... it looks awesome.

 

thanks guys.

gianni, yeah i've been using the 845 a good amount lately. i stole phils idea by topping it with the swissvax. gave it a really nice extra pop and wetness. once the spring rolls basck around i'll probably start using my other sealants more and not be using the collinite so much.

 

I also noticed that Phil is using 845 as a base wax for the dd's that he has been doing lately. It's funny 'cause I remember reading everywhere that 845 couldn't be used with anything else, but I haven't seen any major issues with any of the combinations tested by the guys here.

 

yeah, i know there are some waxes that are definitely big no nos to use with colli, but im not sure what they are. all i know is that swissvax and lusso work well over it.

 

You did a great job making a color that has no life look great!

 

Great work, Billy! I really like how this Jeep came out! Paint looks awesome!!!

 

thanks very much for the compliments. im very happy with how the paint came out. putting down the swissvax over the base of collinite 845 really made the car look really wet and let the flake pop right out! the pics dont do it justice.

 

I'm gonna try this combo myself.

 

definitely do! let me know how it turns out.

 

Nice one! Really looks good.

Blue pad with Power Finish...huh. Maybe I should try that. Also...SGS for interior work? Am I missing out on something great? I've never tried SGS on an interior.

 

yeah man! blue pad with power finish. it was my first time with power finish, and the paint was already in pretty good shape, so i wanted to make damn sure it corrected as well as finished down properly. and the blue with PF did the trick as you can see! as far as the SGS, it works great! i primarily used my 1Z Cockpit and Deep Plastic, but i used the SGS for some of the tougher stuff and stains at 10:1, just like you would with megs apc. i've used SGS for almost everything at some point, and havent been let down yet. hell, i even have added a couple ounces to my foam gun mixture for a little extra cleaning/stripping power....ooops! now the secrets out lol.

 

Looks like PF + blue was the perfect play for some light correction. It's probably my favorite detailing product of any category - it's so versatile. And you weren't kidding, that customer does an outstanding job taking care of his Jeep. I've worked on "garage queens" that looked worse than this Jeep!

I'll try a weak SGS mix as an interior cleaner. I use a bunch of SGS already, and who knows, maybe it can replace MS Leather and Plastic Cleaner as my interior cleaner of choice. SGS smells a heck of a lot better than LPC, too. BTW, that Satin Prot looks very nice. That's one that I might have to try.

I too have used SGS as part of a stripping wash. It works really well, and doesn't take much.

 

just a little update on this vehicle guys...spoke to the owner today about getting some work set up for the spring, and the owner was happy to report that the protection is still holding strong almost 4 months in! nothing crazy impressive, but its nice to hear things like this for sure. the jeep had a run in with a field and some mud over the winter (which was a rough one for us up here) and he was able to powerwash the mud off with much ease.

 

Looking great!!! Its always good to hear positive comments!!

 

looks good keep it up

 

Billy...I missed this one originally. Nice work for sure. I see in the pics there was sun behind...why didn't you back it up and capture it in the full sun? Might have made the metallic pop even more in the pics.