100 pics, 10+ jobs. A little of everything.

[EcoAutoCT]

I think the last thread I made was about a year ago, so a quick update will precede the jobs I've collected here for you all. Business has been up 30% each year since the start, but this year's Winter and Spring are up almost 60%. I held a GroupOn during the Fall/Winter of 2011 and had 150+ sales for a combination Interior Detail with Ozone Generation. There are about 100 pics here and as usual I'll try my best to document my process and length of job in hours. It's been a long time, I shouldn't have left you without a strong post to rep to. Feels good, man and OT > Misc > *



These are in no particular order and I humbly try to vary the content that I post on this forum.



Behold! The power of CarPro Iron X Dwell time 5 minutes, scrubbed with a sweet horsehair brush from Detailed Image that I don't think they sell anymore Glad I bought a few as backups

72 Chevelle, 1.5 Step M205 on light green/rotary, followed with M205 on blue/DA. 3 hours

Challenge Stradale TDF Blue M105 on light green/rotary, M205 on blue/rotary, Ultrafina on blue/DA. 6.5 hours.

Porsche 993 M105 on yellow/rotary, M205 on light green/rotary, Menzerna Super Finish on blue/DA. 8 hours.

360 Spider and 996 Turbo Poorboy's Red vs Blue. 2 hours each.

Jaguar Mold Removal Convertible top cleaned with a combo of white vinegar, BioKleen and a stiff brush, paint around gas lid had to be wetsanded with 2000 grit. M105 on yellow/rotary, M105 on lt grn/rotary, M205 on blue/rotary. Entire car, 8 hours.

Porsche Cayenne M105 on lt grn/rotary, M205 on lt grn/rotary, M205 on blue/rotary, lots of tape. 8.5 hours.

Maserati Gran Sport This was a peculiar car that regrettably didn't give me or the customer the results either expected. What I budgeted a full day for, turned into a return trip the following week. Products used in various combinations were M105, M205, Menzerna 1000/1500/4000, Ultrafina SE, Zymol Ital, Rotary and Yellow/Green/Blue/Waffle Black, DA and Blue/Green/Megs Microfiber plus Iso wipedowns and sunlight, halogens, LED torch. Cob web swirls remained after the first visit, my suspicion was the polishes weren't breaking down properly possibly due to some barrier of sealant that remained from previous detail? Revisited, used BRAND NEW pads and TOWELS the only thing that seemed to finish out closer to 100% was Ultrafina on the rotary with a blue pad @ 1000 then dialed back to lowest setting for finish with no pressure. I threw everything I had at this car and I'm not foreign to Italian vehicles or extremes of hard and soft paints. Disappointed and dumbfounded; while the pics look nice, but in person not so perfect.

 

[EcoAutoCT]

Porsche 996 Carrera M105 on green/rotary, M205 on blue/rotary, Ultrafina on blue/DA.

Ambulance and Emergency Response Tahoe Washed daily, but left to air dry daily with hard water. These have years of stains and are deep enough to catch your finger on- no saving the paint or glass without serious time and materials investment. Goal was to get them cleaned up for an 50th anniversary open house. Nothing touched them, not decontaminant washes, not vinegar, not clay, not steel wool, glass was barely improved by 105 and/or Menzerna 1000/1500. Two ambulances and the Chevy, 11 hours.

Sprinter Airstream 23 feet of HNNNG. Interior/Exterior approx 7 hours.

Lotus Evora Just a quickie wash/vacuum/windows/wheels, but it was my first non-Elise. 1 hour.

Mercedes S-Class This had full correction done about a year ago, touched up with M205.

Audi R8 This is THE car used in the Iron Man movie.

BMW M3, Jet Black Quickie scratch removal.

I don't recall the LSP on all of these jobs but I typically make a decision based on what level of correction was done, paint color, customer preference, duration between detailing appointments, strength vs appearance, etc. What I usually carry is Natty's Red and Blue (liquid), Collinite 845 and 475 and Menzerna Power Lock.

 

[Thomas Dekany]

I have one question for you - how can you do it so fast?



The after pictures look great.

 

[Scottwax]

Nice work on all of them, really like the Nova.



With regards to the red Maserati, what you might have to finish with is Ultrafina and a polishing pad (the Meguiars yellow foam pads work great) and a DA. That's usually what I end up going with on jet black BMWs as the final step, seems pretty much everything else will leave either holograms or micro-marring.

 

[EcoAutoCT]

I have one question for you - how can you do it so fast?



The after pictures look great.

Thanks. I've been debating doing a video of my process as this question seems to come up every other time I make a thread. I try to focus on efficiency in both my process and for the prices I charge a customer.

Nice work on all of them, really like the Nova.



With regards to the red Maserati, what you might have to finish with is Ultrafina and a polishing pad (the Meguiars yellow foam pads work great) and a DA. That's usually what I end up going with on jet black BMWs as the final step, seems pretty much everything else will leave either holograms or micro-marring.

I already knew you'd like that Nova.



The Rosso Red paint was on a level comparable to Jet Black for me in terms of care and consideration while finishing it out, being careful not to take steps backward and I literally cracked open new pads and towels once I noticed the problem. I could see how mixing Ultrafina with a firmer pad would help; but I tried to do that with the Menzerna 4000 and the Megs Microfiber DA pads and it wasn't enough to finish flawless and was really grinding my straight cut close ratio gears. I wonder how SF4000 compares to UF in terms of cut or lack thereof?

 

[CGdetailing]

awesome thread. glad you are doing well with the exotic car community.

 

[EcoAutoCT]

awesome thread. glad you are doing well with the exotic car community.

Thanks. I'm fortunate enough to both get my hands on some very nice cars and vary my work; I've also got some more exotic stuff scheduled over the next few weeks. If I posted some of the daily drivers or GroupOn I've had, some people wouldn't consider me so lucky. :lol Always remember- if you're trying to do this full time there are more Maximas than McLarens; find your bread and butter it.



I am still looking for opinions on the Maserati Rosso Red paint and if anyone has encountered problems with it. Upon my return trip I stripped the surface with two iso wipedowns mixed stronger than 50/50 and restarted at the beginning. I know that the longer work time with Menzerna 1000/1500 reacted better than Megs 105 I used on the first trip, and 205 on the first trip was remaining very 'oily' so I switched to Menz 4000. While the red looked wet and overall paint condition improved versus the starting point at the end of both trips, it wasn't 100%. I explained my problems to the customer but don't like having to make excuses to anyone when perfect is what they're paying for and expecting. Anyone have anything to add other than Scott's suggestion to combine the UF with a firm/yellow pad?