Here's my second correction/detail. like the title says, 2006 Chevy HHR LT. This is my wife's "hotrod" lowered ~3 inches, the only other mod being a rear sway bar. This metal box can actually take the on ramps at a good pace, not that my wife does that... she just thinks it looks cool. Anyhow, similar story as my G6, never hand washed but she does run it through the "no touch" regularly in the winter. The "hotrod" only has 80000 km mostly babied on the highway. Now I'll warn you... there is a crap ton of photos. I realize this isn't the exotic that we usually drool over but I know most of you would appreciate looking at the work involved. One other note- I quickly found out the clear coat on this car is very hard. My Orange pad and #105 just didn't cut it. I'm thinking I would have needed a more coarse pad to get better results in less time. Products used, Gilmour foamer Sonax Full Effect Wheel Cleaner Adams Car Wash Optimum Power clean in various dilutions Optimum No Rinse Wash and Shine diluted for clay lube Riccardo Clay Blue Meguiars #105 Meguiars #205 Menzerna Power Lock Collinite #845 AutoGlym Vinyl and Rubber Care Sonus Tire and Bumper Porter Cable 7424 XP Lake Country CCS Orange 5.5" pad Lake Country CCS White 5.5" pad Lake Country CCS Black 5.5" pad RaceGlaze brushes Bissell LGM, the automotive version Here are the pics, Before... the "hotrod" IMG_3939 by J M Gale, on Flickr IMG_3947 by J M Gale, on Flickr IMG_3949 by J M Gale, on Flickr IMG_3950 by J M Gale, on Flickr Trying out the foamer for the first wash. I need to figure out how much soap solution to use, didn't get much foam but it still worked ok. IMG_3962 by J M Gale, on Flickr No product left on this paint, IMG_3965 by J M Gale, on Flickr The weather app says 10 degrees but the water was actually freezing slightly as I was drying it off, IMG_3968 by J M Gale, on Flickr Some stubborn tar and a few paint chips, before, IMG_4005 by J M Gale, on Flickr cleaned up, IMG_4009 by J M Gale, on Flickr Clay, IMG_4006 by J M Gale, on Flickr Second wash after clay, IMG_4012 by J M Gale, on Flickr Tape is applied and ready to go, IMG_4017 by J M Gale, on Flickr Condition of the paint before, IMG_4019 by J M Gale, on Flickr Hood 50/50 IMG_4048 by J M Gale, on Flickr IMG_4027 by J M Gale, on Flickr IMG_4045 by J M Gale, on Flickr Hood After, IMG_4055 by J M Gale, on Flickr IMG_4062 by J M Gale, on Flickr IMG_4080 by J M Gale, on Flickr Drivers front door before, some strange scratches, IMG_4097 by J M Gale, on Flickr after, IMG_4103 by J M Gale, on Flickr IMG_4104 by J M Gale, on Flickr front door done, rear door next, IMG_4105 by J M Gale, on Flickr Under the Fenix, IMG_4292 by J M Gale, on Flickr Rear quarter before, IMG_4115 by J M Gale, on Flickr IMG_4114 by J M Gale, on Flickr After, IMG_4117 by J M Gale, on Flickr Rear bumper left side before, IMG_4116 by J M Gale, on Flickr After, IMG_4121 by J M Gale, on Flickr Rear bumper right side before, IMG_4140 by J M Gale, on Flickr IMG_4141 by J M Gale, on Flickr After, IMG_4142 by J M Gale, on Flickr Rear bumper before, IMG_4159 by J M Gale, on Flickr After, IMG_4166 by J M Gale, on Flickr Before, IMG_4158 by J M Gale, on Flickr After, IMG_4165 by J M Gale, on Flickr Before, IMG_4156 by J M Gale, on Flickr After, IMG_4167 by J M Gale, on Flickr all together, IMG_4168 by J M Gale, on Flickr Rear hatch after, IMG_4148 by J M Gale, on Flickr IMG_4149 by J M Gale, on Flickr Roof afters, IMG_4195 by J M Gale, on Flickr IMG_4181 by J M Gale, on Flickr Doorjams and rubbers before, IMG_4203 by J M Gale, on Flickr After, IMG_4208 by J M Gale, on Flickr Before, IMG_4204 by J M Gale, on Flickr After, IMG_4211 by J M Gale, on Flickr Trying out the Bissell, picked it up on sale, thought it would be a ok extractor and I'll save for a decent steamer to go with it. IMG_4214 by J M Gale, on Flickr General interior shot after, IMG_4227 by J M Gale, on Flickr Rear hatch before, IMG_4151 by J M Gale, on Flickr IMG_4154 by J M Gale, on Flickr After, IMG_4237 by J M Gale, on Flickr IMG_4225 by J M Gale, on Flickr IMG_4224 by J M Gale, on Flickr IMG_4236 by J M Gale, on Flickr Exhaust tip before, IMG_4171 by J M Gale, on Flickr After, cleaned up with some 0000 steel wool and Mothers metal polish, IMG_4238 by J M Gale, on Flickr Under the bonnet, this is the hamster wheel that moves this thing, IMG_4234 by J M Gale, on Flickr Gas door, IMG_4223 by J M Gale, on Flickr The sun was going down quick, here are the afters, IMG_4242 by J M Gale, on Flickr IMG_4246 by J M Gale, on Flickr IMG_4249 by J M Gale, on Flickr IMG_4239 by J M Gale, on Flickr IMG_4247 by J M Gale, on Flickr IMG_4248 by J M Gale, on Flickr Reflection, IMG_4261 by J M Gale, on Flickr Roof, IMG_4270 by J M Gale, on Flickr Driver side, IMG_4276 by J M Gale, on Flickr IMG_4278 by J M Gale, on Flickr Side mirror, IMG_4264 by J M Gale, on Flickr Nice rubbers, IMG_4259 by J M Gale, on Flickr Like I said, the sun was going down fast, if you look close you can see the moon, IMG_4283 by J M Gale, on Flickr closer, IMG_4284 by J M Gale, on Flickr Pulled the car out of the garage for a couple of quick shots in the morning sun, IMG_4299 by J M Gale, on Flickr IMG_4300 by J M Gale, on Flickr IMG_4295 by J M Gale, on Flickr IMG_4301 by J M Gale, on Flickr IMG_4296 by J M Gale, on Flickr Thanks for taking the time to look!
Nice job. Was considering one of those for a work vehicle. Looks awesome lowered. Just tuck some 20's into those fender wells and you're golden.
I loved the negative camber.......... Great work, I like to see DD get brought back to proper status.
Thanks. The ride is rough but worth it for the look and handling. It doesn't feel like it's going to roll over when cornering now.
The panel version would make for a cool little work vehicle. I was thinking 20's too as long as if I could get the right combination without making the car look lifted again... I would also need to teach my wife how to drive again or else I would end up replacing some damage rims, you know, watch for pot holes, slow down for parking lot entrances, etc, she is better since lowering it, so it wouldn't take much. lol
Yeah, the tires are wearing on the insides (duh) but not too bad considering the car has had this stance almost since new. I expected the wear to be worse, helps that I put snow tires on for her in the winter... Which I'll be doing any day now... Ugh. Thanks for the compliment. When are we going to see a write up for your truck?
Great Job Jay, HHR is a great vehicle for detailer's Todd Helme used one for mobile jobs and the family hauler. I also detailed a vehicle this weekend but I had to keep my wax indoors until last minute because it kept freezing. And Mike's (auto aesthetica) rubber glove trick worked great, I had some giant rubber gloves laying around, I wore winter gloves under those and I wore my sheepskin over those gloves. It was a tight fit but I think I can even was the cars in winter as long as it's not snowing.
That glove idea is a good one. I'll try it next time. The big thing about washing in the winter is the water freezing on the driveway, any tips to prevent that? lol
I was able to learn a few things with this detail, and try a couple of new things, easy to do when your a rookie. And the client (my wife) is very pleased with the outcome. Thanks for the compliments!
Probably not until the week after thanksgiving...... I need a full day at least. I wont be correcting it, other then a one step polish, its in really good condition as is, plus its going to get used as a "truck".
I've never tried washing in winter yet but mike says use cold water it's feezes slower then warm, also I know that if you keep water moving it doesn't freeze, but you have a garage just do rinse less washes in there. That's after you to to a coin op to remove that salt and sand were use to getting
