1998 Ford Taurus (You know me and pictures)

This vehicle belongs to a co-worker, the vehicle is a:

1998 Ford Taurus

First of all this vehicle had some serious scratches, I didn’t get it 100% because some of the deep scratches required touch up paint to completely correct them but I was satisfied with the end results. Well on with the detail, here is what I was up against:




I did not need the Sun Gun to see the imperfections on this vehicle



Well the vehicle was dirty but nothing that I couldn’t take care off. The temperature wasn’t that great inside the garage and first thing I did was turn my heater on inside my garage:

Left it on for a few minuets came back and checked on the temperature:



Much better, temperature was ideal and I was set to go.

This detail is only the exterior and engine bay, so I got started on the engine bay. First I got my CR System:


Gave the engine bay a quick rinse


Then got the tools fit for the job:

Meg’s brush, long reach brush, P21S Total Auto Wash (Red bottle) and Meg’s APC (4:1) in bucket.

First covered the engine bay with P21S Total Auto Wash




I let it sit for a few minuets


P21S works really well, I haven’t even started the scrubbing and it was already working it’s magic:


Got my long brush and started scrubbing:


For those hard to reach areas I used my Swissol brush:




Once the entire engine bay had been scrubbed it was time to rinse it off:


Once the engine bay was done I moved on to the rims. Got my tools ready:

P21S Total Auto Wash (Red bottle), P21S Wheel Gell (Green bottle), Meg’s brush, long reach brush and my Swissol brush and some soapy water to help with the scrub of the tires

First sprayed the wheel wells with P21S Total Auto Wash:


Sprayed the rims with P21S Wheel Gell:


Came back to the wheel wells with my long reach brush:




Once the wheel well was done I came back to the rims and with the help of my Swissol brush I agitated P21S:


Then gave the tires a good scrub:

(Sorry for the out of focus, just couldn’t get a good shot)

Now to rinse everything off:


All the rims, wheel wells and tires were done this way. Once I was satisfied with the rims I moved on to the rest of the vehicle. Gave the vehicle a good rinse first, then I applied Bug Squash all over the vehicle:




I let the Bug Squash sit for a bit while I got my two buckets ready for the wash:

For the wash I used the two bucket method with the Black ShMITT and Pinnacle Bodyworks Shampoo.

On to the wash


Once the entire vehicle had been washed it was time to clay the vehicle:

The vehicle needed a good clay so I went with my red Clay Magic and Pinnacle Clay Lubricant.

Began claying from top and worked my way down:


Now when I made my way to the lower panels the vehicle had lots of tar, majority of the tar was not that bad so I just kept on claying but when I got to these sections clay just wouldn’t cut it:




So got my Tarminator out to play, I’m very pleased with this product:


Sprayed the areas that needed it:


Let it sit for a few minuets and check this out:

This stuff works great, I’m quite pleased with it....but I need to pick some more up.

Here is how the clay bars looked after the entire vehicle had been clayed:


Once all the claying was done I got my air compressor to help me dry the vehicle:




What ever water was left was taken care off by my Dehydrator drying MF towel.


Once the vehicle was dried it was time to inspect the vehicle to see what I was up a against. As said earlier some of the scratches I didn’t really need the 3M Sun Gun:




This scratch was the worst one on the vehicle, quite deep and I didn’t have any touch up paint to fully correct it.


Front passenger side of the bumper had some good scratches.


Roof had some nice scratches too


Once the vehicle was dried I got my Pro Gauge out, I was eager to use it. Took some readings:




Here are two videos as to how this gauge works:
First video is taking reading on a flat surface:
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Second video is taking readings on a vertical panel:
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As you can see the readings weren’t so great. Got my Makita out with one of my favorite combo’s, Meg’s Polishing pad with Menzerna 85RD3.02


Taped the vehicle up and taped a test panel. Here are the results with just one pass of 85RD3.02

I’d say we got a winner :thumb:

So I was set, Meg’s Polishing pad, Menzerna 85RD3.02 and my Metabo at about 1,800RPM.

Here are some 50/50 pictures:













Well polishing was loads of fun, but all good things must come to an end. When all the polishing was done I decided to put one coat of Red Moose Machine Glaze, applied by hand with applicator


Removed with a Tornado MF towel:


Here is a picture of a section of Red Moose removed:

I like this Glaze, seems to give the paint extra depth.

Then it was on to LSP. I choose Victoria Concorse. Applied by hand and removed with various Tornado and General MF towels:



Here is a picture of the wax applied. One thing you’ll notice is that I applied it quite generously.

Now it was time to finish off the tires, for the tires I used Optimum Tire Shine:


Now for some before and after pictures:

Before:


After:


Before:


After:


Before:


After:


Before:


After:


Before:


After:


Before:


After:


By the time I finished the vehicle it was night time, so no outside pictures nor sun pictures for that matter but I got plenty of lights in my garage. Here is how the exterior finished off:












(here is that deep scratch I mentioned before)











Overall I’m pleased with the way the vehicle turned out, like I said not 100% but reasonable considering the amount of deep scratches it has. In addition, I successfully completed this detail with the Makita, took me longer then usual to finish the polishing but once I got comfortable with the Makita it was smooth sailing. There are some very nice features about the Makita, one for example is the trigger and how easy it is to set the speed dial. This time around on the vertical panels I managed to get the feel of the Makita and it worked out quite well. I still feel that when it comes to vertical panels I prefer the Metabo but I’m liking the Makita. I think I’ll keep the Makita.

Hope you enjoyed, as always feed back is always appreciated.

 

hahaha, I knew you would grow to love it. Everyone does.

The gauge looks very interesting. Thanks for the write up and the videos!

 

i love the videos, the car looks great nice work.
and what do you mean to cold? Ever tried to remove tar in like 5C... ohh wait you have...

 

Yup, the gauge is old school but it's good...I haven't tested it's acuracy just yet but when I get my other gauges I'll compare. So I'm trusting that it's accurate, the readings were consistent so it that was good.

I don't mind this gauge, very easy to use. I'll keep using it.

Glad you enjoyed the videos and thank you for the kind words.

I thought the videos would help illustrate how the gauge works. :rollinglaugh: yea you know me and temperature it has to be right for me to detail hahahahaha...when I came to see you and wanted to try the Swissvax clay my fingers were going numb :rollinglaugh: seriously I don't know how some people can detail outside. I'm sure if I had too I would but I love my garage :rollinglaugh::rollinglaugh:

Glad you enjoyed it.

 

Very nice detail there Nica Love how the red looks, nice!

 

That's a HUGE tub of Victoria Wax . The Taurus looks great Carlos. Thanks for showing how the paint gauge works, that's a pretty cool little tool.

 

What a transformation, Nice! I really like those pressurized spray cannons. I think I'm gonna get a couple of them myself from topoftheline.

Love your posts, they are picture intensive!

 

Carlos, I did not know a taurus would look that good. I am very impressed with the work you done...You are always stepping it up...Thanks for sharing...

 

Thank you my friend, glad you enjoyed it. I like how the Victoria Concourse gives red colour vehicles a nice glow and a very nice depth.

:rollinglaugh: yea you know me bought the biggest tub they offer :thumb:. Glad you enjoyed the video of the paint gauge. It works well, it's old school but it's quite nice..nothing wrong with old school. Glad you enjoyed the detail.

Yea, you know me with pictures. I take lots of pictures, my wife says I take more pictures of the vehicles then I do of the family :rollinglaugh:

The bottles work well, I'm pleased with. I've droped them a few times too and they just keep on working, apperently there there is a kit that you can purchase to replace the spraying nostles and components...well at least that's what I was told. When you get some I'd like to hear your feed back.

Sparkmyster, thank you my friend for the kind words. Glad you enjoyed the detail. I never realized how many curves these Tauru's actually have, the hood for example has some nice curves. The door panels are quite nice too, I had fun detailing this vehicle :awesome:

By the way I like your Avatar :thumb:

 

Excellent work as usual my friend, absolutely loved this one. The before and afters even after one pass of SIP blew me away.

Interesting paint guage, I might have to look at that. It looks like it pops when the guage is pulled up, right?

 

Glad you enjoyed it my friend and thank you for the kind words. I'm quite pleased with SIP.

The paint gauge, I like it...it's not fancy or anything like that but it works well...the price is definetly right too under $50. Yes, the idea is that as you pull it away it will pop you just need to see the number before it pulls off the panel.

 

That's genius, I wonder what the mechanics around it are.

PS: you got some good music going in the garage, something I need to setup...

 

To be honest it was Chris from e-Sine that told me about it he knows all about it, hopefully he will chime in and explain how it operates...to me it feels a like as though it's spring loaded and it may be but there is more to it then that.

Music, oh yes I had to get a good stereo in the garage...I tried detailing with out music and the first vehicle I didn't mind the no music as I kept thinking of other things but after a few vehicles it was starting to bother me :rollinglaugh:

 

Great work Nica, that Toreador Reds a great color when it's polished up properly!

 

Thank you Crossroad for the kind words. Glad you enjoyed it :thumb:

 

I wonder how long that tub will last u :rollinglaugh:. I never knew they made paint gauges back then, man I feel like I just came from a cave lol..

 

Don't feel bad klumzy, I've been doing lots of reading on gauges....I'm still only getting my feet wet on them though..lots to learn.

Wish Chris would chime in and explain how this gauge works though...hint hint oh forget the hint that's why we got PM :rollinglaugh:

 

The gauge is simple. It has a magnet on the end of it and a calibrated spring. The thicker the paint, the less the magnet will bond. If the paint is thin it will bond well allowing you to pull the gauge further (Lower numbers). The factory will calibrate is via setscrew (Which you can also do if needed) using a shim over a piece of metal. Once you have a known film thickness over metal you adjust the setscrew until the proper reading is met. This is all done at the factory. Simple yet effective. They are accurate on metals.

 

Okay now explain how the electronic gauges work....please