Hammered 05 Mustang. Reconditioned by Esoteric Auto Detail

TSC17

New member
I met the customer of this hammered Mustang on a local car club forum here in Columbus. We've been trying to put together a schedule for me to work on it, and finally got the opportunity this weekend. He had purchased this used, and the previous owner seriously abused and neglected it. The paint had no reflection whatsoever since it was so badly covered in defects.



This was some of the absolute worst paint I've seen. Not only was it covered in major swirls, and a lot of deep scratches, but the overall feel of the paint was like sandpaper. The car was washed a total of 3 times during this detail! The claying process alone took almost an hour to complete to get the surface free from contaminants and smooth.



There were also a lot of big scratches (some upwards of 6" long) that had bad touch-up work done to them. There was so much touch up paint on them that it look like somebody had been welding on the paint.



I knew upon inspection under the halogens that I had a lot of work cut out for me that would require wetsanding and heavy compounding to get out the defects. 11 hours later, I was able to achieve about a 90% correction rate...the car was so bad that it would have required probably another 6 hours or so to get it to 95-97% correction rate.



Anyhow, on to the details:



Interior:

Vacuum

Clean all surfaces with Woolite/water mix

Stains spot cleaned with Folex

Console cleaned with Megs Quick Interior Detailer

All plastic/vinyl suraces treated with Optimum Protectant Plus

Glass cleaned with Stoner's Invisible Glass



Exterior:

Wash

Clean wheels with Megs Wheel Brightener (x2)

Wheel wells and engine cleaned with Megs APC+

Clay

Wash 2

Wetsand previous touch up and heavy defects with 2000 grit sandpaper

Compound with Megs 105 and 95 with Purple Foamed Wool

Wash 3

Finishing polish with Menzerna 106ff and white LC pads

IPA wipedown and inspect for holograms

Wax with Optimum Car Wax

Clean door shuts with Optimum No Rinse

Dress engine and wheel wells with Megs Trim Detailer

Dress tires with Sonus Tire Gel



Total time: 11 hours



Tools:

Makita 9227 rotary polisher

Blaster Sidekick blow dryer

Canon Rebel XSi with 18/55mm lense



Now on to some (dramatic) photos. Warning...some of the before photos can be quite scary and not for the faint at heart!



As you can see, the paint was in absolute horrible condition. Heavy swirls, scratches, and more.

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Here is an example of some of the touch up work that was previously done. This is on the hood.

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The paint was full of contaminants, and badly in need of claying to remove them. Even after a thorough wash, this is how much dirt and debris was removed...this is after doing one small panel!

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After claying, the car was pulled back outside for wash #2 to remove any remnants and residue from the claying process. Now it is ready for the polishing stage.

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Wetsanding in process to level previous touch-ups and heavy defects:

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Rear bumper sanding:

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Hood sanding:

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50/50 after the compounding stage:

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Hood in process. Looking much better already!

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Hood before. This photo does a great job showing just how dramatic and extreme these defects were:

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Another view:

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Hood after:

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Before: Notice there is very little detail or reflection in the finish.

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After: Clarity!

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Before:

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In process:

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11 hours later, all polished up...the money shots!



When I first started, the car had no reflection whatsoever. Now it has a tremendous amount of gloss and depth, and the reflections are stunning.



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Looks good. But I vote for full sun shots. By the look of your pictures, you were giving ALL day for sun pictures. Should've taken them.
 
The majority of the after shots get taken when I am completely done. In this case about 5:30 in the evening. There was no sun when I started the job so the before shots are limited to halogens.
 
TSC17 said:





Looks pretty sunny out...



5:30pm in Columbus. You still have 2 good hours of sunlight left man...



None the less, car looks good. Just a stickler for sun shots after a detail.:chuckle:
 
I take the same basic shots at about the same time of day every time and this is the first time I have come across photog critics. :). With the sun low in the western sky and my driveway facing west the only way to get a good sun reflection would be to face the camera west which would cause serious over exposure issues (photog 101) or turn the car sideways. I will chose photo methods that provide the best overall quality photos, but appreciate the input nonetheless
 
TSC17 said:
I take the same basic shots at about the same time of day every time and this is the first time I have come across photog critics. :). With the sun low in the western sky and my driveway facing west the only way to get a good sun reflection would be to face the camera west which would cause serious over exposure issues (photog 101) or turn the car sideways. I will chose photo methods that provide the best overall quality photos, but appreciate the input nonetheless



Not criticizing. Just trying to see if its fully corrected in the sun.



You have tons of reflection shots already.



I'll stop while i'm ahead. Sorry for putting this stuff into your thread. I'll stop:kewlpics:xyxthumbs
 
What are those white specks/flakes in the paint (before & after correction)



My 04 Black GT has the same thing, and they never seem to go away
 
Really great job. I haven't seen paint that bad in quite a while. Did you remember to break the customers hands so they can never make it look that way again?
 
weekendwarrior said:
Looks AWESOME my friend. It must be Mustang week here in the Click and Brag section.



Thanks David. Yes I see that it is Mustang week. It's also Viper week for me...stay tuned! ;)



Silverado_13 said:
Amazing job!



Thank you. :)



LouisanaJeeper said:
What are those white specks/flakes in the paint (before & after correction)

My 04 Black GT has the same thing, and they never seem to go away



Some of it is rock chips, some of it is probably polish dust that hasn't been completely wiped away.



jordanrossbell said:
Wow what a turnaround!!



Thanks!



backwoods_lex said:
Really great job. I haven't seen paint that bad in quite a while. Did you remember to break the customers hands so they can never make it look that way again?



Thank you. It was definitely some of the worst I had seen as well. In the amount of time I was budgeted, I would say 90% correction was a victory given what I had to start with!



Here's a copy of the car owner's post on the local car forum I belong to:



"Yes yes. . the difference is seriously like night and day. I really felt like I was picking up a different car. I'm glad I finally had something done to preserve the paint, as it was nearing unfixable.



Todd, as usual. . . performed a miracle. I couldn't be more pleased and impressed with the outcome.



Thanks again!"
 
tod great job on the car man! don't worry about photo critics your work looks great! remember your not a photograper your a dteailer! great work
 
bufferbarry said:
tod great job on the car man! don't worry about photo critics your work looks great! remember your not a photograper your a dteailer! great work



Thanks!



lt1_man said:
Great Job Todd the previous owner of that car did some serious damage.



Brandon



Brandon,



Thanks man! Yes, this thing was trashed for sure when the current owner bought it. It's a whole different car these days.
 
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