This car was a referral. It is brand new. He was not happy with the condition of the paint and I must say, it seemed to lack any kind of glow or decent reflection. Pity. Well, at least he brought it to the right guy. This was an outside job only and I finished it in 6.5 hours. I broke my tripod so the shots are only inside (I finished at 1:30 am) and are grainy...proof of the usefulness of a tripod!! Process: Wheels/Barrels/Tires/Wells: Wheels were cleaned with DG all wheel cleaner and mini EZ brush and SV knock off brushes from Ken. RG brush for under the front caliper. Tires cleaned with Zep purple Wells cleaned with Zep Citrus Wheels subsequently hand polished with DG 501 Wheels then sealed with DG 105 Tires treated with DP gel Wells treated with Adams Wash/Clay (had to be done inside as it was WEll below freezing) : Foamed with DG 901/Zep Citrus Washed with 901 Clayed with CM blue (I did not microwave it and REGRETTED it..so much easier to use that way) Exhaust Tips: Polished with Autosol and terry towel Sealed/cleaned with DG 501 and mf Glass: Cleaned with Zep professional Sealed with DG Rain Repel Paint: Polished with UCCL and white LCC pad Cleaned with DG 501 by hand Sealed with DG 601/105 combo BEFORES: DURING: ONLY 1/2 THE HOOD: SURPRISING ON A NEW CAR! UCCL only..no 501 yet or LSP: AFTERS:
its really surprised how dirty of the new car ... just wonder How long did you take to clean 4 wheels, tires & wells? they look really nice ... always love your work .... Your step look like very easy, but final result is awesome by your simple touch up ..
looks great. but you need to take better pics to show how good it turns out. major tricks are low ISO and tripod you got good camera. you probably using it on auto settings, you should be able to change ISO range your ISO on most of pics is 1250. u need 400 800 at most. ur ISO 1250 my pic at ISO 400
Looking good richy, man you've been bussy lately, that's good. By the way the garage is looking much, much brighter then before, the extra lights look like their coming in handy :thumb: Keep the details coming richy :cheerl:
Looks great, the paint looks amazing and just seems to have a life of its own...or maybe that is the 3 hours of sleep talking...
Thanks very much. Usually, I take 15 minutes per wheel/tire/well to clean. This one only took 10 minutes per. Thanks Piet...you're right..it really makes the car...especially the wheels. Thanks a bunch, Billy. Thanks Chas..I appreciate it. Misha..I had written this disclaimer in my writeup: I broke my tripod so the shots are only inside (I finished at 1:30 am) and are grainy...proof of the usefulness of a tripod!! I bought one on ebay and am just awaiting its arrival. Thanks Kei..always more inspiring I think when you're working on a really pretty car. Carlos..I'm back to working shiftwork which means a compressed work week and therefore more days off. I'm back on afternoons today so more jobs until next week now. BTW..no more jobs after January..more surgery..but I'll get into that later. Thanks Ankeet. Your perception is just fine I think..
I'm not that fast really. It depends entirely on how many steps I do. In both this case as well as the sunfire, I only had to do 2 steps prior to sealing. Reminds me of the quote in our pistol range "Speed is fine, but accuracy is final". The speed will come but what matters most is the results. I really don't give a damn how long I take; I do it until I'm satisfied.
hey, Richy, does microwaving clay changes it's performance? I mean you said it is easier to work with, right? How long does that effect lasts?
I did not do it for this car and it left marring. I had to wash the car in the garage and did not want to keep taking my boots on and off so I did not do so...I should have. The garage is only heated with a small space heater (it is insulated) so the temp gets to about 60. I find after doing a hood or the roof, that the clay is cold again and not pliable. Heating it in the microwave MAY lessen its aggressiveness. I use either Riccardo or CM blue for the most part and both I would consider mild. They are so, so much easier to use when warmed up. I think it makes it better as it is so easy to mold. This will be my trick for all colder weather details. I was nucking it for about 30 seconds this time. I had to keep going in to redo it because it would harden up as I said usually after one big panel or a few small ones. It is worth taking the time to do, no question.
Man what a turn around. What is Zep Purple? You turned me onto Citrus I love it. DG501 is my absolute fav. At the dealer I am at customers can purchase first place finish which allows them to get a "Paint Renewl" (wash and wax) every 6 months for 3 years. Well a customer came in for some work and the Paint Renewl. She was NOT happy at all with the work. 3 days later I drove to her house dropped off a loaner drove 09 Murano back to the dealer, washed with their stuff, then used DG 501 and made the Pearl White BLING. I then cleaned the rest of the vehicle and delievered back to her. She said the vehicle looks better now then the day she purchased it. All I did was use 501 with a PC and white LC pad.
