130 Hour Bentley GT Restorative Correction

Longtime client picked up a used Bentley GT (Black/Black) and I inspected the vehicle while I was working with Jeff from Immaculate Reflections on this clients Ferrari & Maserati in Napa Valley, at the time I knew it was pretty bad.......................... but after a two hour wash/decon the true horror and damage would be revealed.

Jeff and I worked on the car for a combined sixty five hours over a week plus in my shop, with a few late nights mixed in as I was in production on other vehicles as well. Here are some initial pics I took...


Washed with a deckbrush possibly?




Beginning passes with M101, M105 would have worked fine but I needed "Decimating cutting power" on this car.




Cutting through layers of neglect.




One of the late evenings toward the completion phase of the job, at this point Jeff will chronicle the effort put in on this Bentley which has become the clients daily driver.

 

This Bentley required extensive work and an extreme number of hours to get it looking as it should, flawless jet black. I did my best to document the entire process that ended up being right around 130 hours. This was far beyond detailing, this was in restoration territory.

When the new owner took delivery of the car, he took it straight to the bodyshop to have the front bumper license plate holes filled in and then repainted. Once they were done with it, we got to work. There was a lot to do.





Swirls, RIDS (random isolated deep scratches), holograms/buffer trails, overspray, and just about any defect you could ask for.... This was the initial condition, before removing the previous wax to find even more defects.








































We did a Dawn wash to strip the previous wax. You can see a total lack of beading on the trunk where we had stripped it off.












After getting it into the shop, we clayed it and I started to document the issues now showing in their full glory.
















Under the lights the car didn't even look black. Yes it looked rough under direct light...but how does it look under INDIRECT light? You be the judge....








This was where I started the correction as it was one of the worst areas on the car.












Decided to do a different take on the usual 50/50 shot. How about a diamond?












Remember that INDIRECT light picture? Well this was shot under the exact same lighting conditions.











After compounding steps were completed and medium polishing was carried out..... (final polishing to be carried out later)


















Carefully polishing the fuel door with the Griots 3" DA









"Issues" on the passenger door.











Experimented with another variation on the classic 50/50 shot.












Bob working some heavy compounding to sort out the issues on the door.









Making progress..... The compounding leaves a more leveled surface but its lacking in gloss. Multiple polishing steps would follow to restore a deep gloss to the paint.










Time to work the other side...















Dry, lifeless paint......













After compounding










After medium polishing











At this point we pulled it out in the sun (or what little sun there was...) to take a look at the progress.
















Wheels were removed for a thorough cleaning.















Looking much better

















Next up was the wheel wells and brake calipers. Some parts needed refinishing/replacing, but we did what we could within the time-frame we had to work on the car.






























Here I am polishing the centercaps...










Reinstalling...










The start of MANY hours jeweling the finish to as brilliant a shine as possible.











After all the paintwork was done, I took some reflection shots inside the shop before we took it out for copious sun pics.


































What's this beast lurking in the background?






























Go ahead....take a dive into that paint!









Interior was shown a few hours of love too and was looking ship shape.















































Time for the sun pics















My Z06 lurking in the background....










































































Bob looking very official while flipping the car around for the shots of the other side....




























I hope you guys like these shots.....I laid down in the middle of the street to get them.

















Thanks for reading!

 

Good God, So much depth achieved!

 

Absolutely fantastic job guys! That was unbelievably hammered. Finished pics are stunning.

 

What the hell did they wash it with ajax and brillo pad:shakehead:. You guys did a flat out amazing job, some cool 50/50 shots you did there.:thumb:

 

wow..........


next time, tape off some flames, that would be the most epic 50/50................

outstanding work.

 

Beautiful work gentlemen. Thank you for sharing.

 

No surprises here guys, phenomenal results achieved.

-Kody-

 

Brilliant work although I shudder to think what the final bill must of been*. It is hard to imagine what sort of idiot a-hole must have owned that car previously.

*Having dealt with high roller clients for years (not in detailing) I still struggle to wrap my middle-class mind around their world view. Early on I was getting ready to present, what was to me, a staggering bill and I took it to one of the guys I'd worked before I went out on my own to look over. He said, "Don't worry about. It is a trivial expense for them and the clients that will give you a hard time are going to do so no matter how cheaply you sell your skills." I think it was good advice.

 

Incredible job.

 

No sarcastic comments coming out of me this morning, top class work and one of few "100 hour" details where I wouldn't doubt the amount of work put it.

Just incredible restoration on every surface!

 

Incredible work! Couldn't believe the damage.....jesus

 

Another incredible example of unparalleled talent coming from you two on a car that surely deserved to be brought back to its true righteous form. Applause from me.

 

Another jaw-dropping writeup from Bob and Jeff! From horribly abused to better-than-new condition, this is talent, passion and dedication right here. Killer work from two of the best around! And pro level photography too, Jeff. The pics are flat-out amazing.:headbang:

 

that was a truly thrashed bentley, got her restored to her former glory

 

As this was a good client the bill was not for the 'Time spent", with this level of commitment it goes beyond how much I will bill..................the car was so bad that I had to mentally harden up and get the mindset that "I was winning...period". We did not even take all the pics of the correction "Under the hood/bonnet" as I spent more than a few hours there as well cleaning the engine and correcting the scratches in the finish on the underside of the hood which was just as bad as the outside.

Thanks for the comments guys, validates the work Jeff and I put in.

 

Thanks "J"....................... btw "Mugga on tha beat" oops that conversation is for another day.............. :giggle:

 

Somebody want to teach Bob english so we can understand WTF he is saying! LOL

 

Fantastic turnaround gentlemen!!!

 

Unreal job guys!