Detailed: 2007 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 - Black

[Marc08EX]

Wheels/Tires:
Sonax Full Effect Wheel Cleaner and Meguiar's Deep Crystal on wheels
Meguiar's APC on tires and wheel wells
Meguiar's Hyper Dressing on tires
EZ Detail brush for the barrels
Swissvax Wheel brush for calipers and small crevices

Wash:
CG Citrus Wash and Gloss via 2BM
Meguiar's Microfiber Wash Mitt

Clay:
Meguiar's OTC Clay
Meguiar's Last Touch

Paint Correction:
Flex 3401 VRG
Meguiar's G110v2 / 5" and 3” Backing Plates
Meguiar's D300 / MF Correction Pads
Meguiar's M205 / LC Black Pads
Craftsman 500W Halogen Lights
Brinkmann Dual Xenon Lights

LSP:
Meguiar’s Ultimate Paste Wax / 4” Meguiar’s Finising Pad

Interior:
Meguiar's Quik Interior Detailer

Exhaust:
Meguiar's NXT Metal Polish

I recently got a call to detail one of my dream cars. I didn’t hesitate to take on the job and I was extremely stoked to work on this amazing machine. When the car was delivered to me, it already looked very shiny and only minimal swirls were visible and the car was already in great shape to begin with. The car only had 6,400 miles. I thought to myself that this will be an easy one but boy I was wrong.

Before:

Dirty Wheels

Dirty Exhaust Tips

Wash:

Sonax doing its thing

Cleaning the calipers

Cleaning the wheel barrels

Cleaning the wheel wells

Gunk coming off the wheel wells

Cleaning the exhaust tips

Glaze or oils being removed by the citrus wash

Cleaning the gas tank

It looked like the dealer used some type of glaze because of the oils I was removing while washing the car. In addition, the mediocre beading I was getting before the wash was completely killed after washing the car. After drying the car, I was greeted with the true condition of the paint. It was definitely worse than I originally saw but it still wasn’t bad. Here’s a picture of the clay after doing half of the hood:

As you can see, there wasn’t much bonded contaminants on the car. I was thrilled about this because claying didn’t really take long.

After claying the car, I immediately got into polishing. I started out with Meguiar’s D300 using 5” and 3” MF correcting pads. Here are some pictures through the entire process:

All taped up and ready to go

Before: Driver’s side door

50/50: Driver’s side door

50/50: Driver’s side door

After: Driver’s side door

50/50: Driver’s side rear fender

After: Driver’s side rear fender

Before: Driver’s side pillar

50/50: Driver’s side pillar

After: Driver’s side pillar

Before: Driver’s side front fender

After: Driver’s side front fender

 

[Marc08EX]

Before: Hood

50/50: Hood

After: Hood

Before: Passenger side front fender

50/50: Passenger side front fender

After: Passenger side front fender

Before: Rear Bumper

After: Rear Bumper

Using the D300 created a very slight haze on the paint. This was more evident on the roof - I don’t know why. In order to create the perfect finish, I knew I had to follow it up with a finishing polish. The weapon of choice: Meguiar’s M205. I love this stuff. Here are some pictures after I treated the car with M205:

After polishing the car, I then applied Meguiar’s Ultimate Paste Wax. This wax looks gorgeous on black! Here are some pictures. You be the judge.

After:

Polished the exhaust tips too

 

[Marc08EX]

Photoshoot:

The Money Shot:

Approximate time: 18 Hours. I really need to shorten my detail time.
Location: Phoenix, AZ

What do you guys think? Opinions, comments and criticisms are welcome! The owner was very thrilled when he first saw his car.

 

[Rayner]

love the look... that ultimate wax is wonderful. also enjoyed the before's and afters... I notice you use the flex dual action... whats your opinion of this machine?

How hard was this paint?

 

[Todd@RUPES]

Very very nice write-up. Great before/after pics and the Corvette looks amazing in the sun now, wow! :yourrock

 

[mjlinane]

Great work!!

 

[BobbyG]

Hey Marc,

It's nice to see someone that's as meticulous as I am when it comes to detailing. I like your choice in products and equipment and the results are breathtaking!! :bigups

Superb work and the photos tell the entire story!! :yourrock

 

[CT3]

Nice work, it looks like a black mirror!

 

[Marc08EX]

love the look... that ultimate wax is wonderful. also enjoyed the before's and afters... I notice you use the flex dual action... whats your opinion of this machine?

How hard was this paint?

Thank you for the kind words, Rayner! I absolutely love UPW. It's a hidden gem and people don't give it a fair chance because it's an OTC product. It just works so beautifully on black paint.

The 3401 makes paint correction a lot easier especially when using foam pads. The forced rotation feature is what gives it the extra power. The build quality is top notch too.

The paint was moderate I would say. It's wasn't easy nor hard to correct the paint and the paint hazed slightly after using D300. Also, the paint gets scratched easily when wiping down polish residue when you're not careful.

Very very nice write-up. Great before/after pics and the Corvette looks amazing in the sun now, wow! :yourrock

WOW!!! Thanks a lot of the compliments Todd!!! That means a lot!!! I really appreciate it.

:autopia:

Great work!!

Thanks a lot mjlinane!!

Hey Marc,

It's nice to see someone that's as meticulous as I am when it comes to detailing. I like your choice in products and equipment and the results are breathtaking!! :bigups

Superb work and the photos tell the entire story!! :yourrock

Thank you so much, Bobby! That's why I don't make enough money - because it takes me forever to do correction work. I make sure it's done right. I wish people would pay the price here.

Nice work, it looks like a black mirror!

Thanks a lot, CT3! The paint definitely looked like a mirror.

 

[CH.Detailing]

That looks awesome, you did a great job. I wouldn't beat yourself up over 18 hours of work, that doesn't sound too bad to me at all!

 

[Bunky]

Nice work and writeup.

Why did you choose M205 over D301?

 

[The Gloss Boss]

This is my dream car too! You definitely suceeded in giving it the finish it deserves. Hats off to you!

 

[Marc08EX]

That looks awesome, you did a great job. I wouldn't beat yourself up over 18 hours of work, that doesn't sound too bad to me at all!

Thank you for the kind words and encouragement, CH! I'm happy to hear that my time frame was normal.

Nice work and writeup.

Why did you choose M205 over D301?

Thanks, Bunky!

I chose M205 because it was a dedicated finishing polish and this car came in for a multi-step polish. I wanted to give it the glossiest reflection possible and I'm sure M205 fit that job better than D301. I was also using a dedicated sealant so D301 just didn't fit right.

This is my dream car too! You definitely suceeded in giving it the finish it deserves. Hats off to you!

Thank you, Gloss Boss!! I appreciated the kind words.