Detailed: 475WHP Supercharged 2004 Cadillac CTS-V

Discussion in 'Show and Shine' started by Marc08EX, Nov 12, 2012.

  1. Marc08EX

    Marc08EX Jedi Nuba

    Wheels/Tires:
    Meguiar's Ultimate Wash and Wax
    Microfiber Towels

    Wash:
    Meguiar's Ultimate Wash and Wax via 2BM
    Meguiar's Microfiber Wash Mitt

    Clay:
    Meguiar's OTC Clay
    Meguiar's Last Touch

    Paint Correction:
    Meguiar's G110v2 / W68DA Backing Plate
    Meguiar's Ultimate Compound / W8207 Foam Polishing Pads
    Craftsman 500W Halogen Lights

    LSP:
    Meguiar's Ultimate Wax / W9207 Foam Finishing Pad

    Exhaust Tips:
    Meguiar's NXT Metal Polish

    The owner of this beast is a friend of mine and has been asking me to detail his ride for a long time already. Life just got in the way and it has been delayed for so long. We finally found a weekend I'm free so we took advantage. In addition, the weather here in Phoenix was starting to cool off so it made it even better.

    The owner has been complaining that the reflection, clarity and gloss of his paint was just not there. Upon arrival, the paint wasn't as bad as described but maybe it's because of the silver color. Also, he keeps his car clean. He just wanted his car to look his best and he wanted me to work my magic as he said LOL!

    I wasn't able to take before pictures because the car look clean to begin with. I forgot to take pictures of the claying process as well. It's been a while since I last detailed. Let's just say that I had to throw away a new clay after doing the entire car. The following pictures are taken throughout the entire polishing process. We were only able to do a 1 step polishing because my G110v2 decided to **** out on me. This happened maybe 85% of the way through my ultimate compound. We had to finish this step by bending the cord in awkward positions. Gladly, we were still able to get it done. But we were hoping to do a quick pass of M205 after the Ultimate Compound. I guess my G110v2 had other plans.

    Driver Side Rear Quarter 50/50:
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    Driver Side Rear Quarter Lower Portion Before:
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    Driver Side Rear Quarter Lower Portion After:
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    Driver Side Rear Door 50/50:
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    Driver Side Rear Door After:
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    Driver Side Front Door Handle Before:
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    Driver Side Front Door Handle After:
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    Driver Side Front/Rear Door 50/50:
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    Driver Side Front Door 50/50:
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    Driver Side Front Fender 50/50:
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    Passenger Side Front Fender 50/50:
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    Passenger Side Before:
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    Passenger Side 50/50:
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    Passenger Side After:
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    You can now see why the owner was complaining of low clarity and gloss. The paint was just full of oxidation, water spots and swirls galore. This adversely affects the paint's potential to be glossy, vibrant and reflective. The side of the car looked like it was driven through a forest and parked beside a water sprinkler for months without being fixed. As a result, there were a lot of deep RIDS that I didn't feel safe chasing after. Thankfully the horizontal surfaces weren't that bad.
     
  2. Marc08EX

    Marc08EX Jedi Nuba

    Here are some after shots.

    Please excuse the quality of my photos. I finished detailing the car late in the day and the sun was setting early. I also forgot to bring my SLR camera for my after shots. A lot of the photos may also look a little blurry because we just finished polishing so it's hard to keep the hands steady after using a dual action polisher for 8 hours straight. The reflections also aren't the best because it's so hard to capture the depth and gloss of silver. But trust me, it looked wet after.

    No I didn't forget to clean and apply tire shine to the tires. The owner specifically requested not to touch them because he doesn't want any sling on the paint. He has so much torque. Also, his rear tires are drag radials so he didn't want the tire shine to get soaked into the rubber.

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    Reflection shot of a bright lamp post light that shows how clear and swirl free the paint is:
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    What do you guys think? Comments and criticisms are welcome.

    Location: Phoenix, AZ
    Time: 11 Hours
     
  3. JBlack151

    JBlack151 Birth of a Detailer

    I just love CTS-V's so for that I thank you for saving this one! Nice job!
     
  4. P1et

    P1et Official DB Moderator

    Very nice work, not an easy color to get looking this good.
     

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