Ryan Paymaster
New member
I sort of lurk around reading everyday because that's the kind of nerd I am about keeping cars clean. After all, it's about spending money you don't have on cars you don't need to impress people you don't know. Or something along those lines.
I've detailed (fully) at least 10 cars now. I don't charge for my services because they're all friends or family members vehicles and I'm a teacher so it's not like my summer is busy. I don't let anything leave my garage without looking its best (within reason - I'm not wet sanding anything. :hmph
This car is an original 70 Mach 1. It's 17 year old lacquer and it hasn't seen wax in its entire life I'm pretty sure. There are rust bubbles coming up and discoloration underneath the paint but for its age I'd sure tap it. It also has a lot of bondo work (I believe) because some of the panels are not smooth and no amount of wet sanding will save them since its all under the paint. But enough with the intro.
I apologize for the poor photos. Taking before and afters were really an afterthought but I did them regardless because my friends always wonder what the hell I do all day.
At first glance it looks pretty nice but it was really neglected. Driven around in the summer and stored in a storage shed. Kids ride their bikes around it and run their hands over the car. I knew he needed help when he said, "Hey, will you go to AutoZone with me and tell me what I should buy?" :rules:
Aghhhh, stripes. The stickers were on there pretty good so I was able to go over them.
The paint was toast. Buying a wax really wasn't going to help this car out without getting attacked.
I set up my little gangster shop and went to town. Yeah, the pad is touching the floor in this one :rules:. I swapped for another afterwards since that one was gone.
Gross.
I focused a lot of my efforts on the quarter panels of the car. Not only were there scratches on her wide hips but they were really dull.
Lacquer paint REALLY makes you think you're getting the job done. It also makes you think "WHAT THE HELL I JUST TOOK IT ALL OFF AGHHH") This was after washing a pad.
And due to a lack of good photo taking (after thought as I said) I'll just give this post a climax and abrupt ending with what really matters. The interior was also fully done but it was a basic vacuum job. I cleaned the floor mats out and sprayed it all down with Meguiar's Professional Interior Spray (I think #40 - fantastic product). Looked fantastic. The vinyl seats were treated as well.
Final shot from the passenger side. He likes that side the most because his turn signal didn't fall out on that side. (He just has to get it glued back in. I was going to do it but after 10 hours I ran out of time.)
No sun shots but the hood was saved the best it could be. I find hoods tend to get really beat down (obviously). There were still RIDS in the hood and it was really a candidate for a respray. Wetsanding may have helped but it was in rough shape. The black areas came out fantastic though!
At least there's a gloss on her now. Not a swirl on it.
He was absolutely ecstatic. Had no idea it could come out like that and said he wouldn't trust anyone else to do it (or think they would due to rust bubbles and discoloration.) It was a pretty good compliment but I'm sure a pro would have handled it as well. There were a ton of gouges and scratches that came out with probably 95% correction. Stupid ones that made him sick (like boxes falling off shelves and hitting the car.)
Products used:
PC7424XP
105 w LCC Yellow Pad
105 w LCC Orange Pad
205 w LCC White Pad (select areas - I was satisfied with the level of correction just after 105 especially with paint as imperfect as this.)
50:50 IPA Solution
Klasse AIO
Meguiar's High Tech Yellow Wax #26 (I was going to give it AG HD Wax but given the paint's condition it wasn't worth it. It was also easier to instruct the owner to just buy a bottle for $10 from AutoZone and throw a coat on after washing every couple weeks. For doing it for free and on the paint of the age on a car that needed body work and another paint job it worked well.)
Meguiar's Hot Shine Tire Spray (Aeresol can. Meijer's had these for like $2 and buy one get one free at a store opening about 5 years ago. I bought 20 of them. As you can tell I used a lot of my old supplies on this car. :bat)
Interior:
LA Totally Awesome Cleaner ($1 at the dollar store and an amazing cleaner.)
Meguiar's #40
Vacuum (durrr)
Stoner's Invisible Glass
Will it stay swirl free? Probably not but one can hope. Since he's a good friend of the family I was giving him specific washing instructions and told him if he needed it refreshed bring it by.
Thanks for reading!
As for what's next:
1996 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra (Mine) Over 1000RWHP. The engine builder definitely doesn't keep paint pristine but it's been blown up every year (stock motor and drive train kept getting beat from racing it) so I never bothered to detail it since I bought it from a dealership a few years ago (stock.) Should be fine but I really hate clay baring white cars. :wall
I've detailed (fully) at least 10 cars now. I don't charge for my services because they're all friends or family members vehicles and I'm a teacher so it's not like my summer is busy. I don't let anything leave my garage without looking its best (within reason - I'm not wet sanding anything. :hmph
This car is an original 70 Mach 1. It's 17 year old lacquer and it hasn't seen wax in its entire life I'm pretty sure. There are rust bubbles coming up and discoloration underneath the paint but for its age I'd sure tap it. It also has a lot of bondo work (I believe) because some of the panels are not smooth and no amount of wet sanding will save them since its all under the paint. But enough with the intro.
I apologize for the poor photos. Taking before and afters were really an afterthought but I did them regardless because my friends always wonder what the hell I do all day.
At first glance it looks pretty nice but it was really neglected. Driven around in the summer and stored in a storage shed. Kids ride their bikes around it and run their hands over the car. I knew he needed help when he said, "Hey, will you go to AutoZone with me and tell me what I should buy?" :rules:
Aghhhh, stripes. The stickers were on there pretty good so I was able to go over them.
The paint was toast. Buying a wax really wasn't going to help this car out without getting attacked.
I set up my little gangster shop and went to town. Yeah, the pad is touching the floor in this one :rules:. I swapped for another afterwards since that one was gone.
Gross.
I focused a lot of my efforts on the quarter panels of the car. Not only were there scratches on her wide hips but they were really dull.
Lacquer paint REALLY makes you think you're getting the job done. It also makes you think "WHAT THE HELL I JUST TOOK IT ALL OFF AGHHH") This was after washing a pad.
And due to a lack of good photo taking (after thought as I said) I'll just give this post a climax and abrupt ending with what really matters. The interior was also fully done but it was a basic vacuum job. I cleaned the floor mats out and sprayed it all down with Meguiar's Professional Interior Spray (I think #40 - fantastic product). Looked fantastic. The vinyl seats were treated as well.
Final shot from the passenger side. He likes that side the most because his turn signal didn't fall out on that side. (He just has to get it glued back in. I was going to do it but after 10 hours I ran out of time.)
No sun shots but the hood was saved the best it could be. I find hoods tend to get really beat down (obviously). There were still RIDS in the hood and it was really a candidate for a respray. Wetsanding may have helped but it was in rough shape. The black areas came out fantastic though!
At least there's a gloss on her now. Not a swirl on it.
He was absolutely ecstatic. Had no idea it could come out like that and said he wouldn't trust anyone else to do it (or think they would due to rust bubbles and discoloration.) It was a pretty good compliment but I'm sure a pro would have handled it as well. There were a ton of gouges and scratches that came out with probably 95% correction. Stupid ones that made him sick (like boxes falling off shelves and hitting the car.)
Products used:
PC7424XP
105 w LCC Yellow Pad
105 w LCC Orange Pad
205 w LCC White Pad (select areas - I was satisfied with the level of correction just after 105 especially with paint as imperfect as this.)
50:50 IPA Solution
Klasse AIO
Meguiar's High Tech Yellow Wax #26 (I was going to give it AG HD Wax but given the paint's condition it wasn't worth it. It was also easier to instruct the owner to just buy a bottle for $10 from AutoZone and throw a coat on after washing every couple weeks. For doing it for free and on the paint of the age on a car that needed body work and another paint job it worked well.)
Meguiar's Hot Shine Tire Spray (Aeresol can. Meijer's had these for like $2 and buy one get one free at a store opening about 5 years ago. I bought 20 of them. As you can tell I used a lot of my old supplies on this car. :bat)
Interior:
LA Totally Awesome Cleaner ($1 at the dollar store and an amazing cleaner.)
Meguiar's #40
Vacuum (durrr)
Stoner's Invisible Glass
Will it stay swirl free? Probably not but one can hope. Since he's a good friend of the family I was giving him specific washing instructions and told him if he needed it refreshed bring it by.
Thanks for reading!
As for what's next:
1996 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra (Mine) Over 1000RWHP. The engine builder definitely doesn't keep paint pristine but it's been blown up every year (stock motor and drive train kept getting beat from racing it) so I never bothered to detail it since I bought it from a dealership a few years ago (stock.) Should be fine but I really hate clay baring white cars. :wall