Awesome Car, Awesome Shop, Awesome Detail! 08 Jaguar XKR Portfolio

[Dream Machines73]

First off I have used the search function but can't find an answer to my question, most of the stuff is "What is the best claybar?".



Ok now to my question, I have a zaino claybar coming with my order of zaino. How exactly do I use it? I plan on using a mixture of Z-7 zar wash and water as my lubricant. How much Z-7 and how much water do I need to mix together to use as my lubricant?



Also, after completing a section of my car with the clay do I immidiatly wipe it off with a towel and/or rinse it with water then wipe it off or do I just then move on to the next section and live the completed section as it is and come back and rinse off the whole car at one time after I have completed claying the whole car? Please give me your techniques and or suggestiong on what to do.



BTW, this is the first time I will be applying Zaino or any other type of polish or wax to my car if that matters.



Thanks

-01WS6

 

[Roadster J]

The basic procedure is pretty much spelled-out on the Zaino site:

Z-18 CLAYBAR INSTRUCTIONS

 

[taegers]

Well, I am far from an expert, but I clayed my car for the first time last week and it was real easy. I bought the Mother's brand from Wal-mart for $13.87 and it came with a bottle of QD and a small bottle of carnuaba wax. I did exactly as instructions told me: spray on QD, and rub clay in back and forth motion, I applied only enough pressure as so bar would not slip out of my hand. (Box says if you drop bar on the ground, just throw it away!) Needless to say, I was careful not to drop it. After claying one section, I wiped dry with soft cotton cloth, then wiped again with MF towel.

I did sections at a time, fender, one door, next door, quarter hood, etc...it really was easy, just time consuming. Being that your car is a 2001 ike mine is, you probably won't hear or feel the difference while claying, but if you do the finger in plastic trick before and after, you will tell the difference. Oh, forgot, after each section, I kneaded the clay like bread dough in my hand and merrily went on to next section. Directions say to do that. One bar is supposed to last 3 cars worth. Geat stuff at a great price!

Hope this helps. I used up maybe half the bottle of QD on the wole car, i was probably too generous, but it said NOT to use water. Good luck.

 

[buldog]

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

(Box says if you drop bar on the ground, just throw it away!)</blockquote>
I was wondering if you put an old bath towel or something clean on the ground while you're claying that if the clay does slip it would'nt be a waste of $.

 

[JasonC8301]

you can just cut up the clay bar and use [pieces of it. Brad B. and many others cut up their bars into little pieces and clay the surface, then when the piece gets dirty or dropped on the ground just chuck it.



The idea about the towel on the ground sounds nice, but for me I woudl need a very large bath sheet



Jason

 

[Dream Machines73]

Thanks guys for the suggestions. Now its just a matter of waiting for my big order of zaino to get here. Anyone know about how long it takes to get it if ordered directly from Sal? I put my order in yesterday. Oh and buldog your towel idea sounds like a great idea, I plan on trying it out.



Thanks

-01WS6

 

[Tru_Shine]

Ladies and Gentlemen.......I would like to introduce to you this very sexy and very rare 2008 Jaguar XKR Portfolio. This 4.2L 420hp supercharged V8 Jag has seen better days. The customer contacted me after seeing some of my work and asked if there was anything I could do to help with all the swirls and scratches in his paint. After pulling a few strings and calling in some favors, I had a buddy of mine let me use this shop that he works in for the detail. I called in my good friend Tim Buxton from Knox Details to Tag team this car with me. Overall time spent on this car was about 26 man hours over the course of 2 days. The car didn't appear to be that bad outside, but the halogen lights say it all. Let's see what I had to work with.

Now that I know what I am working with, time to gear up!

We started off with the wheels.

First we pre-rinsed the wheels getting most of the heavy break dust off.

then I applied some P21s wheel gel to wheels. This is awesome pH balanced wheel cleaner, it's a little pricey but it gets the job done and its safe on all types of wheels and brakes.

Then it was Agitated with an EZ-detail and other various brushes.

Then rinsed

Next we pre-rinsed the car getting any heavy contaminants off the surface.

We pre-rinsed the motor and applied some meguiars APC+ and then agitated it with brushes.

Next was the wash step.

I first foamed the car down with a mixture of Dawn ULTRA concentrate and Meguiars APC+ to strip off any protection,waxes or oils.

Isn't that a beautiful shot?

Then we rinsed off this foam and applied another coat to wash with.

Using a 100% sheep skin wash mitt, I wash the car using straight lines reducing the chances of circular marring.

While I was washing the paint, Tim took care of all the jams.

Once everything was rinsed, we pulled the car inside and began the prep stage.

The prep stage consist of clay baring, and taping up any plastic moldings, and fragile areas.

After wiping down the car we began the taping using Meguiars Professional Masking tape. this stuff is incredible tape. VERY high quality stuff, tears off evenly and sticks and releases nicely and doesn't leave behind any residue.

While I was taping off the trim, Tim was taping around the Clear bra that was on the front bumper, keeping any residue from getting in it.

Next we took paint thickness measurements to make sure the paint was thick enough to safely correct the paint. 4.0-4.5 mils are typical thickness for original paint thickness (some make and models slightly differ).

Now it is time for some paint correction!

Check out what this car really looks like under the halogen lights!

 

[Tru_Shine]

After test a few areas with different methods. the final choice for the cutting stage was non other then the Surbuff pad and M105 combo. This paint had some serious defects and needed leveled out badly!

I taped off an area for a 50/50 shot

And this is what we got!

BAM!..... A whole nother shade of blue!

sorry got distracted......

So while I was tackling the driver side, Tim was handling the passenger side.

Look at that sexy bootay!

Double time!

While I took on the hood, Tim took on the rear bumper and hatch.

The roof had 4 deep scratches that needed wetsanded out, I used 3M 2000 grit sheets of sandpaper for this step. To remove the wetsand marks I buffed them out with Surbuff pads and M105, two passes of M105 cleared up the wetsand marks.

The paint was polished out using M205 and LC white pads and LC black finishing pads.

Next I sealed the wheels using some REJEX

and Tim polished out the tail lights.

Next I sprayed down the engine bay with some 303 aerospace protectant and let it dwell for about 30 min before wiping away excess.

While that was Dwelling, I applied some Black Fire Wet Diamond paint sealant to the paint.

I used 303 aerospace protectant on the dash and seats and all the interior to condition and protect all the surfaces.

now it was time to wipe away any excess 303 in the engine bay

So we cleaned the windows and shined the tires and the Black Fire Wet Diamond has had time to cure, time to wipe it off!

This is what we were left with.

Outside shots

Thanks for viewing, Have a blessed day!

 

[bmw5541]

:hurray::hurray::hurray::hurray::hurray::hurray::hurray::hurray::hurray::hurray:
I know that you can't see me, but I stood up from my desk and am giving you a standing ovation!!!

What a brilliant job you did on the extraordinary car. I wanted to cry when I saw the condition that this beauty was in, but then I remembered that my man Eric was on the job, and there was no doubt in my mind that you would restore this sexy mama to her true glory.

How nice was it having someone to work with to make things move along?
I was also truly amazed at that shop you were working in. What a stable of cars in there.ancing Dot:

 

[imported_RaskyR1]

Great work guys! The work, pics, and write up were all top notch!


Cars not to shabby either.

 

[Ron-M]

Really looks nice. Its great to see a beautiful car brought back to its glory.

Pretty hard to tell from an Aston Martin.

 

[imported_kakeuter]

Love it Eric! The 50/50 on the door is incredible.

-Kody-

 

[Puckman]

Stunning work, Eric. Those outside reflection shots are phenomenal!!!

 

[SoonerFan]

Pretty amazing. Love the midnight blue. Great Job!

 

[imported_broker99]

Awesome job. The 50/50 shots are night and day. Great work, love the color of that Jag.

 

[Knox Details]

Fantastic write up! It was a pleasure to work with you on this one Eric!

 

[imported_Bunky]

Great writeup... decent number of process shots. The color of the paint is quite nice..I really like dark blue.

Do you like Karcher?

 

[Todd@RUPES]

Wow that Jag is STUNNING, particularly after you gave it some love. Seriously top work, great pics! Thank you for sharing!

 

[imported_Auto Concierge]

Very nice correction work!!, love that car with the nice lines and interior. What I could do with that building and a million dollars.........

 

[Puckman]

I just went through this again and have to agree the 50/50's look awesome especially with that color. Even though I love black and you can see stark contrast after correcting black I still LOVE darker colors for the character. Now you can see the blue the manufacturer intended for that paint!