165,000 mile Trailblazer

rzatch

New member
This belongs to the owner of the 335 BMW I did. Same scenario gravel roads, tar and some more tar it even had tar on the trim above the rear window. The hood and roof were probably the worst part of the car as far as paint is concerned. It was corrected using Fixer and an orange LC flat pad and an 849X rotary . The rest of the car was cleaned up with Megs D151 and a white part using GG6. It was then topped off with DG 105/601 as it sees a tough environment in farm country . The interior was done in my normal routine of APC+ and LGM on the carpets. OPC on the seats and conditioned with CG leather conditioner. All trim was dressed with Perl at 5:1.

The SUV as it arrived. Typical dirt swirls scratches and so on…..Typical is a joke, this is not typical around my house unless it belongs to someone else but it seems to be typical anymore judging by the last few cars I’ve done.
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Am I the only guy around here that owns a vacuum???
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Even the interior had gravel dust everywhere. It just kept coming out of all of the body seams. I had to flood the car with gallons of water before it started to run clear.
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Dead trim….
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Who knows when this was ever cleaned last.
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Dawn foam soak.
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Interior all cleaned up and looking nice.‎
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As you can see it was getting dark once again by the time I was finished so I wasn’t able to get as many ‎exterior finished pictures as I would have liked.‎
New DP trim dressing used on the engine bay and cowl.‎ A little too shiny for my taste. A wipe down does calm it down some but it still stays greasy.
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Fixer 50/50 shots. This was with Fixer only no other polish was used in these pics. This stuff works!‎
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Hope you enjoyed the post. ‎
 
This was my first chance to really try Fixer on some jacked up paint and I was really impressed. So much so I stopped what I was doing so I could get pictures of it. Glad I did now.
 
Great turn around! That paint was deader than a door nail before you touched it, don't know how someone could let their vehicle go that far. Although seeing that dirty engine makes me ashamed I haven't touched my trucks in a year :notme:
 
Really nice job. Have a question though..how much time was spent and products used on the engine detail? That compartment looks really good!
 
Those 165,000 miles were painfully apparent in the before photos but the after shots are truly incredible. I love the 50/50 hood shot and this clearly illustrates how paint can be brought back from the dead...:bigups

I'll bet the owner was shocked!! :eek: :yourrock

When I do a job like this the thing that disappoints me is the chips that become filled with polish. As much as I clean them afterwards they still stick out like a sore thumb....
 
Great work!! The 50-50 hood shot is impressive.

Thanks Mike. I think its a pretty dramatic shot also.

Great turn around! That paint was deader than a door nail before you touched it, don't know how someone could let their vehicle go that far. Although seeing that dirty engine makes me ashamed I haven't touched my trucks in a year :notme:

Thanks, yes I have to agree but its people like this that give us something to do when we run out of our own cars. :rofl

wow! that was brought back from the dead!

Thanks

Really nice job. Have a question though..how much time was spent and products used on the engine detail? That compartment looks really good!

Thanks, I normally use various brushes and APC. Zep citrus degreaser was also used on this one, it has an oil leak so it needed a bit more help. The dressing used was Perl and the new DP Trim Detailer. I would normally use a trim dressing like Perl or Opti Bond. The trick is to use something water based that dries and not stay oily. I only used the DP on the larger top plastic covers but I'm afraid its going to attract too much dust and dirt though as the DP stuff never really dries. Won't be using it for this again. Its also way too shiny for me. I do this early into the detail actually prior to even washing the exterior of the car. The reason for this is the dressing over spray will drift all over the the tops of the fenders and so on but will be removed though your normal wash so it will be gone when the polishing starts and propose no problems for you. By the end of the detail it has had a chance to dry and then give it a final wipe down at the end. Simply spray it on the engine while its still wet that also helps to dilute the dressing, move it around with some brushes close the hood until much later. It also gives you a chance later on to touch up any spots that remain wet or that you might have missed.

Those 165,000 miles were painfully apparent in the before photos but the after shots are truly incredible. I love the 50/50 hood shot and this clearly illustrates how paint can be brought back from the dead...:bigups

I'll bet the owner was shocked!! :eek: :yourrock

When I do a job like this the thing that disappoints me is the chips that become filled with polish. As much as I clean them afterwards they still stick out like a sore thumb....

Thanks Bobby yes she was. Her comment was it hasn't looked this good sense it was new

man was that a great save. looks new !

Thanks Steve, looks new may be a stretch but appreciate the compliment.
 
Nice turn around. BTW i have that same pressure washer and it works pretty good. The only thing i hate is that the hose is just a little to short. I also have a MTM foam lance for it.
 
Excellent turnaround. That thing was abused. Interior is way nicer now. Nav screen looks streaky though.

I like the 4 sets of rear floor mats. WTF is up with that? I see that once in a while and wonder what those people are thinking.

Good job bringing that workhorse back from the brink!
 
what a mess you started off with! great job!

Thanks Andrew

Nice turn around. BTW i have that same pressure washer and it works pretty good. The only thing i hate is that the hose is just a little to short. I also have a MTM foam lance for it.

Thanks, its a nice machine for the money.

Excellent turnaround. That thing was abused. Interior is way nicer now. Nav screen looks streaky though.

I like the 4 sets of rear floor mats. WTF is up with that? I see that once in a while and wonder what those people are thinking.

Good job bringing that workhorse back from the brink!

Thanks, abused, just little :cool: The nav screen and everything else was given a final wipe down as always before being returned.

It was a first for me. I do the rubber over the carpets ones in the winter but I've never seen 4 stacked though. I would like to think maybe they get peeled back as they get dirty but we know thats not the case.
 
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