"The Whole Enchilada" 1997 Toyota Land Cruiser gets it all

[DETAILKING]

As many of you know, I am not a fan of strong chemical wheel cleaners. I use them as needed, but once my wheels are clean, I protect them with a sealant, and just wash them with car wash and a sponge every week. Over time, some brake dust particles become embedded in the clearcoat of the wheel, and sometimes it takes something a bit stronger than clay to remove them.

I tried MOTHER'S Clear Coat Wheel Polish on my wheels this weekend. It appears to be a very mild abrasive (which I was looking for), and took more elbow grease than a chemical cleaner, but the results were very pleasing. I used a foam pad cut in half for application, and the product was very easy to work into wheel surface. After a few seconds of rubbing, it buffed off very easy and clean with a cotton towel. It removed the embedded particles of brake dust, as well as some surface scratches on the wheels from road debris and rocks. It left the wheels very glossy and smooth, with a perfect "like new" finish.

I followed up with a spray of car wash in a squirt bottle and a hose rinse, and then applied a sealant to the wheels. I plan to do this polish/sealant process every few months as needed on the wheels. I give Mother's clear coat wheel polish a thumbs up, and feel I had better results with it than using a harsh chemical wheel cleaner. If your wheels are a bit neglected though, I would use something a little more aggressive.

 

[truvette]

Good review DK.



I have this product too and I haven't gotten a chance to use it yet. Looks like I'll be using it as soon as the weather gets warmer.

 

[Lemonxxs]

I looked in two local autoparts stores and Kmart no luck just the chrome polish.



I am on a search again to add to the stash.



Like I needed another excuse!

 

[mhaber]

Thank you for this product report. I have a bad case of swirls on my clearcoated, high polished aluminum rims. I have not tried any abrasive compound on them for fear I'd make matters worse. Do you think the mild abrasive in Mothers would help? Thanks.

 

[DETAILKING]

It is very mild, but a great product to start with. Let me know how you make out.

 

[Lemonxxs]

got some and just tried it. Pretty good stuff.



I did what DK said but used a small cotton wash cloth for application. It did remove black gook I could not see since the rag turned a black in certain areas. The shine when done was not bad either.



I did not coat wheels yet with anything since it is dark now and I will probably try it like it is for a while to see how the next wash goes.



I will post how it hangs when I wash truck next aqnd being Mardie Gras is next week I am not sure when that will be.

 

[Tru_Shine]

This detail was done a few months ago, but I'm just now getting to the write up. This vehicle took me 32 hours in 3 days to complete. It was one of the biggest jobs I have taken on.


This is a 1997 Toyota Land Cruiser that has NEVER been detailed (or probably waxed) lol. This was scheduled for full exterior, Full interior, leatherique leather treatment, and engine degrease. The whole enchilada!

Let's begin by showing you what I had to work with. Sit back and enjoy
(I hope you have a strong stomach)

Dont even Ask?

Now for the inside!

See how nasty and shiny and oily the seats are? also all of the cracks and creases.

The carpet

I think that's my tip?

The back of the seats

So lets get to work!

I began by degreasing the engine bay with APC and degreaser using my Karcher foam gun.

Then I agitated it with various brushes

then rinse

 

[Tru_Shine]

I hand dried all of the standing water

then applied the 303 protectant.

Next it was time for a bath, a foam bath that is, using Dawn detergent to strip off any and all waxes and oils and such.

applying some P21s wheel gel to the wheel

Then agitating them

I rinsed off the first foam bath and finished the wheels

Next I got out the real Foam cannon and applied some real foam.

Then I washed it using two bucket method and 2 grit guards and a 100% sheep skin wash mitt.

Then another thorough rinse

After I dried it off, I took some shots of the engine bay after the 303 soaked in real good.

Way better!

Now it's time to see the paint condition.

Very Dull and Faded!

'

Day one I started the interior. I knew that the leatherique needed to dwell for 24-48 hours so I had to clean it up first.

here is a 50/50 of some APC and lots of scrubbing

Sorry for the lighting.......

It was a long day of interior detailing. lots of APC and rags and brushes.

I used my Cyclo polisher with carpet brush backing plates to scrub the big areas.

So this is the seats after a full on scrubbing (not to bad, but not good enough)

After this step I smeared the Leatherique Rejuvenator oil into every crack and crevice of the seats. and left it to dwell for 48 hours.

Sorry I didn't get any pics of these steps. but here is the seat after the 48 hours of dwell time.


The Rejuvenator oil soaks into the leather raising all of the oils and grim to the surface and softens the leather tremendously. causing a lot of the creases and cracks to go away.


In this picture you can see all of the Nasty Oils and grim that has risen to the surface of the leather.

To Remove the Rejuvenator Oil, you take a bucket of water and a Damp towel and scrub the seats, rinsing the rag out as needed.

here are the the seats after

Here is a pic of the back seat before and after

and now after cleaning off the Rejuvenator Oil, It's So plump and Soft

Here is the bucket of water after just a couple of seats (And Remember, these seats were already cleaned once before, that just goes to show how much nasty grim gets down into the leather)

Ewww, just aftera couple of seats!

And here is the final Interior shots

 

[Tru_Shine]

Remember those Dirty Creases? BAM! this is what leatherique does!

Now lets go back in time to Day 2 "the Paint correction"


The paint was very dull and swirled. The correction was done using a FLEX 3401 and Harbor freight Rotary buffer with various backing plates and Lake country Purple Foamed wool pad and Hydrotech pads. all with Meguiars M105 & M205.

Here is a 50/50 shot.

Wow!

here I am Polishing the tailights using 4" Cyan hydrotech pad and M05 via Rotary

All of this clear coat on the back was faded and staind so I had to buff it to get it all out

Here are the front fog lights.

and here is a 50/50 of it

By the time day 3 rolls around I was almost finished. I applied some Black Fire Wet Diamond

And finally, the Finished product.

Thanks for viewing, Have a blessed day!

 

[imported_jaredpointer]

Great turnaround.

 

[Old Pirate]

Now that's a detailer's delight, back breaking work for 3 days and a great save Eric.

 

[imported_Larry A]

Great job! You must of charged him a $1000.00 for all that work or was he a friend. How long do you think that the Toyota will stay that way?

 

[michakaveli]

Great job.... That's a ton of work \m/

 

[imported_Fast Eddie]

Holy cow, that Cruiser was thrashed, excellent turnaround.

 

[Tru_Shine]

Great job! You must of charged him a $1000.00 for all that work or was he a friend. How long do you think that the Toyota will stay that way?

Close, but $1000 would scare away most people around here. but this was my biggest ticket yet, thats for sure.

Great job.... That's a ton of work \m/

Thanks, it makes me tired just re-reading this wirte up

Holy cow, that Cruiser was thrashed, excellent turnaround.

thanks Eddie!

 

[imported_kakeuter]

Kind of mind-boggling how some cars can be neglected for so long isn't it?

Fantastic work Eric, I always enjoy reading your write-ups because I always pick up a tip or two to try out on my next detail. I need to invest in some Leatherique.

Thanks a great post.

-Kody-

 

[Tuck91]

Great work!

 

[bmw5541]

Eric, you are THE MAN!!!
Holly S*@!t, that thing was a disaster, and you knocked it out of the park. The interior was down right scarry. What a fabulous save!!!
Great writeup as well.
Thanks for sharing it with us here at TID.:clap::clap::clap:

 

[Tru_Shine]

LOL, thanks Barry! it was a doozy for sure.....

 

[delder0]

Totally AWESOME!!!!!

Skills plus the patience of Job.