LawrenceSA
New member
An existing customer of mine recently purchased this car and with roughly 30k km's on the clock, it was obvious the previous owner didn't show it any love. The swirls you will see ran so deep into the paint, 2 compounding session wasn't enough to remove all of it, and in hindsight, a full wetsand would have probably been a better approach - but that wasn't the scope of the detail.
Whichever 'body shop' did the repaint on the front end also didn't show much love for their work either, but that's unfortunately par for the course in a lot of cases...
So time to get started. The engine bay was tackled first. It wasn't all that dirty and so the a basic clean was performed - everywhere was cleaned using Carchem APC and MF towels, Q-tips, a blower and various brushes. The plastics were then dressed using Autofinesse Dressel and the painted surfaces cleaned/polished/protected using Autofinesse Tripple
Next up the wheels. I was asked by one of the forum members to show the brushes I use for wheel cleaning so here is a small sequence of pictures to show what I typically do when cleaning the wheels.
First, I have a dedicated wheel bucket with a grit guard in it
I usually fill it halfway with hot water, then to 3/4 with cold, and some shampoo, and hit it with the hosepipe to create some suds
I then take my brushes
And place them in the bucket a short while before getting started on the wheels/arches/tires etc.
This is what the wheels looked like on arrival
Fender wells - HP rinse | Clean with Carchem APC | HP rinse | Dry | Dress with Autofinesse Dressel
Tires- HP rinse | Clean with Angelwax Billberry | HP rinse | Dry | Dress with Gyeon Tire Coat
Wheels - HP rinse | Clean with Angelwax Billberry | HP rinse | Dry | Seal with Gyeon Wetcoat
Brake Calipers - HP rinse | Clean with Angelwax Billberry | HP rinse | Dry | Seal with Gyeon Wetcoat
(no dedicated pics of the wheels after)
Then it was time to wash the car and decontaminate the car
Condition before
It was still early in the morning making it difficult to capture the defects in the paint
Pre-wash - HP rinse | Valet Pro Citrus Prewash | HP rinse | Angelwax Fastfoam | HP rinse
Wash - Carchem Luxury Shampoo | Lambswool wash mitts
Dry - Waffle Weave Drying Towel | ONR as a lubricant
Tar removal - Valet Pro Citrus Tar Remover
Iron removal - Carchem Revolt | HP rinse
Clay - Shield Heavy Duty | ONR as a lubricant
Inside Fuel Flap / Door Shuts - HP rinse | Carchem APC | HP rinse | Dry | Polish and Protect with Autofinesse Tripple
This was all over the passenger side rear quarter panel
Tar remover was used to knock off the bulk off it (the rest was polished off)
Then it was time to tackle the door jambs and boot jamb, and other little areas all too often overlooked.
Cleaned/Polished/Protected - Autofinesse Tripple | Q-tips | MF towels
The sunroof also needed some attention
Exhaust tip cleaning - Carchem APC
Exhaust tip Polishing and Protection - Menzerna Polishing Cream | Meguiars NXT All Metal Polish
Then it was time to tackle the paint.
Paint readings
Bonnet - 189µ to 264µ
Driver's side A-pillar 74µ to 93µ
Remainder of the car - 102µ to 138µ
Paint Correction - Menzerna FG400 | Blue Lake Country Hybrid Wool Pads / Flex 3401 (twice everywhere, with certain spots hit for a third time)
Paint refinement - Menzerna SF4000 | White Lake Country Hybrid Pads | Flex 3401
Paint Inspection / Pre-sealant Clean - Gyeon Prep
Protection - Dodo Juice Iron Gloss Sealant | Dodo Juice Orange Crush
Then the interior was sorted out
Glass - Autoglym Fast Glass
Plastics - Clean with Carchem APC | Wipe with damp MF towel | Protect with 303 Aerospace
Carpets - Vacuum | Brush | Vacuum
Leather - Clean with Carchem APC | Wipe with damp MF towel | Protect with Collinite 855
Door rubbers - Clean with Shield Heavy Duty Vinyl and Rubber Cleaner | Protect with Aerospace 303
Finally the exterior rubbers and glass were tackled.
Exterior Rubbers - Shield Heavy Duty Vinyl and Rubber Cleaner | Aerospace 303
Exterior Glass - Gyeon Prep
Whichever 'body shop' did the repaint on the front end also didn't show much love for their work either, but that's unfortunately par for the course in a lot of cases...
So time to get started. The engine bay was tackled first. It wasn't all that dirty and so the a basic clean was performed - everywhere was cleaned using Carchem APC and MF towels, Q-tips, a blower and various brushes. The plastics were then dressed using Autofinesse Dressel and the painted surfaces cleaned/polished/protected using Autofinesse Tripple
Next up the wheels. I was asked by one of the forum members to show the brushes I use for wheel cleaning so here is a small sequence of pictures to show what I typically do when cleaning the wheels.
First, I have a dedicated wheel bucket with a grit guard in it
I usually fill it halfway with hot water, then to 3/4 with cold, and some shampoo, and hit it with the hosepipe to create some suds
I then take my brushes
And place them in the bucket a short while before getting started on the wheels/arches/tires etc.
This is what the wheels looked like on arrival
Fender wells - HP rinse | Clean with Carchem APC | HP rinse | Dry | Dress with Autofinesse Dressel
Tires- HP rinse | Clean with Angelwax Billberry | HP rinse | Dry | Dress with Gyeon Tire Coat
Wheels - HP rinse | Clean with Angelwax Billberry | HP rinse | Dry | Seal with Gyeon Wetcoat
Brake Calipers - HP rinse | Clean with Angelwax Billberry | HP rinse | Dry | Seal with Gyeon Wetcoat
(no dedicated pics of the wheels after)
Then it was time to wash the car and decontaminate the car
Condition before
It was still early in the morning making it difficult to capture the defects in the paint
Pre-wash - HP rinse | Valet Pro Citrus Prewash | HP rinse | Angelwax Fastfoam | HP rinse
Wash - Carchem Luxury Shampoo | Lambswool wash mitts
Dry - Waffle Weave Drying Towel | ONR as a lubricant
Tar removal - Valet Pro Citrus Tar Remover
Iron removal - Carchem Revolt | HP rinse
Clay - Shield Heavy Duty | ONR as a lubricant
Inside Fuel Flap / Door Shuts - HP rinse | Carchem APC | HP rinse | Dry | Polish and Protect with Autofinesse Tripple
This was all over the passenger side rear quarter panel
Tar remover was used to knock off the bulk off it (the rest was polished off)
Then it was time to tackle the door jambs and boot jamb, and other little areas all too often overlooked.
Cleaned/Polished/Protected - Autofinesse Tripple | Q-tips | MF towels
The sunroof also needed some attention
Exhaust tip cleaning - Carchem APC
Exhaust tip Polishing and Protection - Menzerna Polishing Cream | Meguiars NXT All Metal Polish
Then it was time to tackle the paint.
Paint readings
Bonnet - 189µ to 264µ
Driver's side A-pillar 74µ to 93µ
Remainder of the car - 102µ to 138µ
Paint Correction - Menzerna FG400 | Blue Lake Country Hybrid Wool Pads / Flex 3401 (twice everywhere, with certain spots hit for a third time)
Paint refinement - Menzerna SF4000 | White Lake Country Hybrid Pads | Flex 3401
Paint Inspection / Pre-sealant Clean - Gyeon Prep
Protection - Dodo Juice Iron Gloss Sealant | Dodo Juice Orange Crush
Then the interior was sorted out
Glass - Autoglym Fast Glass
Plastics - Clean with Carchem APC | Wipe with damp MF towel | Protect with 303 Aerospace
Carpets - Vacuum | Brush | Vacuum
Leather - Clean with Carchem APC | Wipe with damp MF towel | Protect with Collinite 855
Door rubbers - Clean with Shield Heavy Duty Vinyl and Rubber Cleaner | Protect with Aerospace 303
Finally the exterior rubbers and glass were tackled.
Exterior Rubbers - Shield Heavy Duty Vinyl and Rubber Cleaner | Aerospace 303
Exterior Glass - Gyeon Prep
