Edit: S2000* not 200. Being an owner myself--you'd think I'd have caught that! I guess that's what I get for posting at 1am! Sorry this one has taken me so long to write up. I did this car early last week, and every time I went to do the write-up, my computer would crash. About half way through each time. Since then, I've just been putting it off :sorry: . Anyways! To the detail! I first have to give a HUGE thanks to Ken (911fanatic) and Denzil (..Denzil) for helping me through this detail. I called Ken on a Sunday not really expecting him to answer his phone, but when he did he was very helpful with my odd experience I was having correcting the car. Also to Denzil for letting me borrow his PC as well as throwing ideas out there to get the car done. And on to the car: a Berlina Black 2009 S2000 with only 2700 miles on it! When I got the car, I was really looking forward to the detail, as it's been 8 or so months since I've done a proper S2000 detailing, and on black none-the-less! The car was fairly hammered, with a lot of wash induced marring, and stupid stealership idiots who decided to remove the white shipping tape on new cars with BOX CUTTERS. As there were hairline scratches down both doors, quarter panels, by the headlights/tail lights, and mirrors :thud: . When I first started the car Friday afternoon: (notice the white line right below the reflection of the sun--that's a box cutter scratch, not a reflection) Another one: (tree sap etching) (hard water spots) The first thing up were the wheels. To start off with the faces weren't too dirty, but the barrels could use some love after almost 3k miles. First thing to do was to pressure rinse them down. After that was complete I sprayed the wheels with Autoglym custom wheel cleaner, and the tires and arches were degreased with P21S TAW. Why I love CWC is that it just CLINGS to the wheel faces, as opposed to just dripping down the rim: After that was complete I moved on to the wash. First the car was foamed with Chemical Guys Citrus Wash/Clear, and then the two bucket wash with more Citrus Wash/Clear was performed. As I was rinsing the car down, I noticed the convertible top was beading white water. So I call the owner out of curiosity and said "Say, you don't happen to use 303 on your top, do you?" And he responded with an "Of course!" It was quickly followed with an explanation on how to use it more sparingly. So I first deep cleaned the top with 303 Convertible Top Cleaner before applying a thin coat of 303 Protectant. After the top was cleaned, the car was rinsed down one more time before being brought inside for claying. It wasn't too contaminated as this piece of riccardo yellow shows after a whole fender and half a hood: AFter the claying was complete the car was taped up for surgery: Defects under brinkman while I was taping: The door jambs, trunk jambs, and hood jambs were all prepped with DG Aqua Wax as they weren't dirty at all. After: Getting ready for polishing and inspecting paint: Here is a 50/50 of the first combo I tried. It was 106fa on a Black Pad with the flex 3401: In the sun: So here is where the problems start. By this time it's around 10am Sunday morning. This weekend (the weekend of the 27th) was one of the hottest weekends of the year. It was around 90*F in my garage at 10am, and by about noon or one, most likely above 100. What had happened on the top of the hood was the whole polish would haze over before it was breaking down, and I wouldn't be able to remove it unless I went more aggressive, and on the super soft berlina paint, it would just holo the paint, and I spent way too long chasing the holo's away. I ended up cursing a lot and called Ken. What it ended up coming down to after about 8 different combos was two things: the heat, and the polisher/polsih/pad combo I was using. What I needed was a pad/polish with a fair amount of mechanical cut, with a polisher that wouldn't be powerful enough to severely mar the paint. Unfortunately I didn't have a PC, but thanks to Denzil for coming through for me once again, I was able to use the PC to correct the car. The combo I landed on: LC Orange flat pad both 4" and 5" with PowerFinish for two passes, and then finish up with LC Black Flat Pad and PO85rd. After Orange/PF: After 85rd/Black: Before: After: Before: After: Before: After: Paint starting to shape up nicely: Stealership installed scratch before: And after: After a day and a half of polishing the car was pulled outside for final inspection/rinse down before LSP and final touches: The car was pulled back in and the interior was vacuumed. Poor Boys ISP was applied to the dash and top of door panels. The leather was treated with LM Vital and Protection Cream. The carpets were protected with 303 Fabric Guard. Exhaust was polished with Mothers. Glass was polished with Werkstatt Prime and Acrylic. The wheels were also polished with Werkstatt Prime and Acrylic. The tires were dressed with Megs HD 2:1 and the wheel wells dressed with Adams Undercarriage spray. LSP was BH Auto Balm! Final afters: Engine bay was treated with megs hd 3:1 That's all, thanks for looking! As always, C/C Welcome! eace: Aaron
Nice one Aaron, maybe his odometer has defect on it! its condition should be somewhere around 27000 miles.
Great job! That turned out right. I always loved the S2000's. I wish after a decade they drop a 6 cyl. or 4 turbo and let it scream. I must also commend you for seeking assistance when you ran into a road block. You got the help needed, the tools and extra tips to help perfect your work. I hope I can learn how to buff to such high quality. Again, good job. :applause:
looks great! im going to be tackling my MKV GTi this weekend, which is black metallic, with slanguage. its in similar condition to the S2K (never seen a full correction yet. god you should see all the hologramming on the hood, which are also dealer-direct options haha). i'll be using AutoBalm as my LSP as well. will be my first time with it. is your application process the "wet and wring out the applicator" or the "spritz the panel with DI or distilled water and then apply"? ken suggested the latter of the two which i will probably be going with, but im just curious for your input.
Great job, Aaron! Thanks for sharing the entire story on how you ended up with the Porter Cable. Very interesting, and clearly, it worked great. So...box cutters?!?!? Really? :yikes: I've heard of some dealer hack-ups, as we all have, but that's particularly awful. On a $36K car!! I've personally removed Honda shipping tape, and can tell you that box cutters weren't necessary. I'm floored.
Great job on a great car looking car (after you were done with it of course). I also love some Autoglym Custom Wheel Cleaner for the same reasons you pointed out. It cleans and clings!
Thanks Kei! Hahaha, that was a good one! :LOL: Thanks a lot! Thanks Ken, and thanks again for the support :worship2: Thanks! It's great stuff, really. Thanks a lot! People who are truly smart can admit when they are at an obstical, and seek help that best suits them. For me, it's bouncing ideas off people 'till a light bulb clicks. Thank you! Thanks a lot! I would not use the latter for filling swirls. Kens method is great for easy on/off application, but it won't fill that way with the two cars I've done it with. Thanks Ben! Thanks Dana! Thanks a lot! Well, that was my prognosis. I dunno what else would have caused the uniform scratches like that :shrug: Thanks JL! Ken has a 5L waiting for me, I just need the $$ now
Aaron, you did a phenomenal job on the car. May I ask why did you say it's from hell? Did satan himself sold it to you?
Thanks Rog! Thank you! Tell me about it! Thanks! Satan didn't sell it to me (wasn't my car) but Satan did decide to show up the day I was polishing. 100*F+, Insanely irritating paint (i'm thinking due to heat) so I had to walk away from at about 1:30pm on that Sunday because nothing was working and just hazing over the paint. But the next day everything was fine when the weather was cooler :shrug:
great work. i love the s2000 and you've done a great job. thanks for all the before and after pics they are great!
