TLMitchell
is dazed & confused
I've been putzing around on my own vehicles as well as those of friends, family, coworkers and anyone else's vehicles that I could use as guinea pigs to improve my detailing abilities and refine processes and narrow down products.. As I'll be undergoing forced retirement at 56 from ATC in a few months I figured I might do some part time work for fun & profit. Plus I just like to make things shine :tongue: This was my first serious correction for dollars.
2004 Lincoiln Town Car Ultimate w/ 70k on the clock. A recent acquisition from a used lot by an owner who wanted swirl removal. When I inspected it it was dirty, swirled, RIDS, a few dings and some scratches that only a respray would fix. It appears the former owner frequented swirl-o-matics or possibly dealer washes drying with dirty rags with some Brillo corrections here n there. Neglected would be an understatement.
A dirty car.. how bad could it be?
The budget called for a 1-step. I had my doubts full correction could be achieved without some serious compounding followed by refinement... I was thinking 105/205.... but the gentleman's budget was set. I advised the swirls would be gone but a gloss finish may serve to only highlight the remaining defects.
The owner dropped the vehicle on Friday evening so I could wash/decon and have the nooks & crannies dry for tapeup and polishing first thing Saturday morning.
Wash
3 BM w/grit guards
sheepskin mitt
CG CW&C @ stripping strength
Meg's Super Degreaser & OPC here n there
Stoner's Tarminator
Shop Vac blow-dry
Little Blue & Cobra WWs
Clay
Started with Riccardo yellow and changed to Clay Magic Blue lower on the car for the stouter contaminents
ONR lube
Inspection
Yowza!
Swirls
and swirls
and more swirls
etched bugs
etched water spots
Various crud on trim
The engine/interior wasn't part of the exterior-only correction but it demanded some attention.
Oh Lord, what have I gotten myself into? :Cry:
After decon and inspection it became apparent the dealer had been most generous with glaze and fillers. In addition to the defects holograms and buffer marks were rampant.
With many 1-steps I frequently reach for the sweet-finishing Menz 203 Power Finish. I'd also considered giving the Meg's MF DA System a shot at this. Only problem with that this was a 1-step budget and I'd already decided Collinite 915 Marque d' Elegance would look sweet on this car as well as add longevity for an owner that was just learning how to properly care for the finish. D301 from the MF DA System would work for a 2nd step/LSP but topping with 915 would add another round on my own time.
After some test spots 203/LC orange provided a very satisfying correction. Just for grins I gave D300/ 5.5" MF a whirl using a GG 6" DA and it provided a comparable finish without the hazing or marring I expected on black. I'd used it and gone straight to LSP on white but I didn't think I'd be able to get away with it on black without sacrificing the result. I ended up doing the entire hood with D300 with more-than-moderate pressure for 3 passes and backing off for a couple of passes and was rewarded with this:
Backed it out under an overcast with bits of sun here n there and I was amazed at how good it looked. I decided to proceed with D300 on the entire car and if the finish would seriously benefit from refinement I'd go with the D301 Finishing Wax instead of 915.
All taped up and ready to rock n roll. The chrome trim strips were marred with some kind of crud and the owner was expecting to replace them so I left them exposed to see how they might clean up.
I skipped the 50/50s and pictures during compounding/polishing as I realized after spending almost 3 hours on the hood I had seriously underestimated the time this was going to take. I recalled someone posting the first rule of detailing when you start doing it for cash.... you're not working on your vehicle, you're not prepping for the LA Car Show, you can't seek perfection and try to get every mark, RID and blemish corrected on a daily driver unless that's what you're being paid for or you'll end up working for about $2 an hour.
I ended up underestimating the time involved by almost 30%. Add to this the fact that as the sun set the 70 degrees, moderate humidity turned in to 90% humidity by 10PM. The D300 was gumming up a bit and it was difficult to wipe off... it finally got to the point where it was merely smearing. I'd always been impressed with the easy wipeoff of D300 and this baffled me as I'd never seen the slightest reports on this type of difficulty. I'd already talked to the owner earlier and told him I'd need the car into Sunday. No problem, so I bagged it for the night and hoped things sorted themselves out overnight.
Sunday around 8AM the humidity was just slightly lower but the sun was out and as the temps rose the humidity dropped and D300 resumed it's usual friendliness. I finished polishing and did one test spot with 915 and another with D301 Finishing Wax. Rolled it out in the sun and was pleasantly surprised to see no noticeable difference. Decided to go with 915 and rolled it back inside to finish.
The wells got AATF, 845 on the wheels and Optimum Tire Gel on the tires, black trim pieces received UTTG+ with Nevr Dull and 845 on the chrome bits. Under the hood got a light cleaning and sprayed with CD2 with a wipe down to lessen the shine.
Finished shots
The obligatory sun shot
A pause to reflect
I'm still astounded with the results capable from the MF DA System. Going from compounding straight to LSP just didn't seem possible before with these types of results.
Part of this detail was about testing the processes and products I've been working on in anticipation of doing some part time work after Club Fed gives me the boot August 31st. I bid it at about half the hourly price you'd expect some of the finer detailers to charge hourly and underestimated the time. Still, I'm not doing this for a living and this was as much about testing myself and further refining my processes as it was about providing a service to a customer. I would have loved to have given it the Full Monte with 105/205/85RD but I wasn't about to invest of myself that much at a budget 1-step price. I figured on 12 - 15 hours and ended up with over 20 into it as it was. So far, so good. :clap:
I'd be remiss if I didn't thank Barry Theal for inspiring me with some of his "turd polishing" posts, particularly that Mercedes he converted from a sow's ear to a silk purse eons ago. I really get a charge out of amazing transformations!
TL
2004 Lincoiln Town Car Ultimate w/ 70k on the clock. A recent acquisition from a used lot by an owner who wanted swirl removal. When I inspected it it was dirty, swirled, RIDS, a few dings and some scratches that only a respray would fix. It appears the former owner frequented swirl-o-matics or possibly dealer washes drying with dirty rags with some Brillo corrections here n there. Neglected would be an understatement.
A dirty car.. how bad could it be?
The budget called for a 1-step. I had my doubts full correction could be achieved without some serious compounding followed by refinement... I was thinking 105/205.... but the gentleman's budget was set. I advised the swirls would be gone but a gloss finish may serve to only highlight the remaining defects.
The owner dropped the vehicle on Friday evening so I could wash/decon and have the nooks & crannies dry for tapeup and polishing first thing Saturday morning.
Wash
3 BM w/grit guards
sheepskin mitt
CG CW&C @ stripping strength
Meg's Super Degreaser & OPC here n there
Stoner's Tarminator
Shop Vac blow-dry
Little Blue & Cobra WWs
Clay
Started with Riccardo yellow and changed to Clay Magic Blue lower on the car for the stouter contaminents
ONR lube
Inspection
Yowza!
Swirls
and swirls
and more swirls
etched bugs
etched water spots
Various crud on trim
The engine/interior wasn't part of the exterior-only correction but it demanded some attention.
Oh Lord, what have I gotten myself into? :Cry:
After decon and inspection it became apparent the dealer had been most generous with glaze and fillers. In addition to the defects holograms and buffer marks were rampant.
With many 1-steps I frequently reach for the sweet-finishing Menz 203 Power Finish. I'd also considered giving the Meg's MF DA System a shot at this. Only problem with that this was a 1-step budget and I'd already decided Collinite 915 Marque d' Elegance would look sweet on this car as well as add longevity for an owner that was just learning how to properly care for the finish. D301 from the MF DA System would work for a 2nd step/LSP but topping with 915 would add another round on my own time.
After some test spots 203/LC orange provided a very satisfying correction. Just for grins I gave D300/ 5.5" MF a whirl using a GG 6" DA and it provided a comparable finish without the hazing or marring I expected on black. I'd used it and gone straight to LSP on white but I didn't think I'd be able to get away with it on black without sacrificing the result. I ended up doing the entire hood with D300 with more-than-moderate pressure for 3 passes and backing off for a couple of passes and was rewarded with this:
Backed it out under an overcast with bits of sun here n there and I was amazed at how good it looked. I decided to proceed with D300 on the entire car and if the finish would seriously benefit from refinement I'd go with the D301 Finishing Wax instead of 915.
All taped up and ready to rock n roll. The chrome trim strips were marred with some kind of crud and the owner was expecting to replace them so I left them exposed to see how they might clean up.
I skipped the 50/50s and pictures during compounding/polishing as I realized after spending almost 3 hours on the hood I had seriously underestimated the time this was going to take. I recalled someone posting the first rule of detailing when you start doing it for cash.... you're not working on your vehicle, you're not prepping for the LA Car Show, you can't seek perfection and try to get every mark, RID and blemish corrected on a daily driver unless that's what you're being paid for or you'll end up working for about $2 an hour.
I ended up underestimating the time involved by almost 30%. Add to this the fact that as the sun set the 70 degrees, moderate humidity turned in to 90% humidity by 10PM. The D300 was gumming up a bit and it was difficult to wipe off... it finally got to the point where it was merely smearing. I'd always been impressed with the easy wipeoff of D300 and this baffled me as I'd never seen the slightest reports on this type of difficulty. I'd already talked to the owner earlier and told him I'd need the car into Sunday. No problem, so I bagged it for the night and hoped things sorted themselves out overnight.
Sunday around 8AM the humidity was just slightly lower but the sun was out and as the temps rose the humidity dropped and D300 resumed it's usual friendliness. I finished polishing and did one test spot with 915 and another with D301 Finishing Wax. Rolled it out in the sun and was pleasantly surprised to see no noticeable difference. Decided to go with 915 and rolled it back inside to finish.
The wells got AATF, 845 on the wheels and Optimum Tire Gel on the tires, black trim pieces received UTTG+ with Nevr Dull and 845 on the chrome bits. Under the hood got a light cleaning and sprayed with CD2 with a wipe down to lessen the shine.
Finished shots
The obligatory sun shot
A pause to reflect
I'm still astounded with the results capable from the MF DA System. Going from compounding straight to LSP just didn't seem possible before with these types of results.
Part of this detail was about testing the processes and products I've been working on in anticipation of doing some part time work after Club Fed gives me the boot August 31st. I bid it at about half the hourly price you'd expect some of the finer detailers to charge hourly and underestimated the time. Still, I'm not doing this for a living and this was as much about testing myself and further refining my processes as it was about providing a service to a customer. I would have loved to have given it the Full Monte with 105/205/85RD but I wasn't about to invest of myself that much at a budget 1-step price. I figured on 12 - 15 hours and ended up with over 20 into it as it was. So far, so good. :clap:
I'd be remiss if I didn't thank Barry Theal for inspiring me with some of his "turd polishing" posts, particularly that Mercedes he converted from a sow's ear to a silk purse eons ago. I really get a charge out of amazing transformations!
TL
