Mercedes C300 and GMC 2500 Corrections

Discussion in 'Show and Shine' started by TWISTEDFRAME, Jun 3, 2012.

  1. TWISTEDFRAME

    TWISTEDFRAME Jedi Nuba

    So I had myself a bit of a detailing marathon yesterday. Originally I was scheduled to do a GT-R correction on Saturday, but the customer ended up needing to take the vehicle into the dealership to repair the HVAC system that had suddenly stopped working. I had planned on just taking the weekend off, but late Friday night I get a call from my GT-R customer saying that his neighbor would like to take his spot and get his black GMC 2500 detailed. I personally thought that was awesome, and couldn't thank the GT-R customer enough for going to the effort of getting someone to fill his spot. That is the type of customer that I love dealing with.

    So I got to the house and the GMC was actually in great shape. It had just been washed, so all I needed to do was a quick WW with UWW+ followed by a light claying with Riccardo yellow clay.

    It was scheduled for a one step correction. Being GM Black I knew I was in for a challenge. I ended up using Menzerna Powerfinish on Cyan HT pads via my new Meguiars G110v2 polisher. This gave amazing correction, and finished out perfectly. All but the deepest rids were removed. I would call this 85% fully corrected, and for a one step on black that is pretty good in my book.

    I wasn't able to take pictures of this job with my nice camera since the battery was charging for most of the job. I was able to capture a few pics with my iPhone, and I was very impressed with how nice the camera on the phone is. Here are a couple pictures.

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    The customer was so happy with the outcome he asked if I could stay a while longer and perform the same service on his wife's vehicle. I had already been working for 8 hours, but I figured what the hell. So I got the car set up and got ready to push through. This vehicle was not anywhere near as clean as the truck was. It required some heavy cleaning before any correction could take place. Here is what I was up against. Lots of bugs on the front end, and a thick layer of dirt and grime on most of the exterior.

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    The wheels were cleaned first, in my tired state I forgot to get pictures of the wheel specifically, but they were nothing crazy. Just Autoglym CWC and a few different brushes.

    After the wheels were sorted out I started with the paint work. As normal I foamed the vehicle and while it dwelled I agitated the body seams, emblems, and fuel filler area.

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    After that I did a normal wash with Blackfire Soap and a Griots Garage Wash Pad. This vehicle had some heavy iron deposits so first I used Wolfs decon gel. It was able to get most everything off, but the back bumper had some very heavy deposits. For this I broke out the iron X paste and let it dwell for about ten minutes before rinsing it off.

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    After the chemical decon I proceeded to clay the vehicle with the Ultima clay block. After that was completed we could see the true condition of the paint. By this point I was out of sun and running out of time so I didn't get a ton of pics, but here you can see what the finish looked like. There were tons of swirls, and the paint looked flat.

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    On this vehicle I ended up using a one step of Menzerna SIP on a Yellow BS pad. This gave amazing correction, and also finished very well on this rock hard paint. Here is what I was left with after about 6-8 section passes.

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    the exhaust tips were also cleaned up with Swissvax Metal Polish and 0000 steel wool.

    Before:

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    After:

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    After correction was completed I washed the vehicle again to remove the dust and the polishing oils. This vehicle sits outside 24/7 so I ended up using Swissvax Endurance as the LSP. I wanted to give it as much protection as I could. Here is how it turned out.

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    That about does it. This was a very long day, but I know I have gained a customer for life, and I also was able to talk to several people who just stopped by to chat after seeing my car out front. Hopefully this pays off in some future business. All in all I had about 14 hours of work in for the day, but it was well worth it. Thanks for looking, and i look forward to your feedback!
     
  2. Socal Brian

    Socal Brian DB Forum Supporter

    large full size truck plus a benz the same day? Damn! Both vehicles look great! Please tell me your tired.
     
  3. hamza7

    hamza7 Welcome to Detailing

    This man is a machine, he nothing needs nothing more to fill up then to clean more fuel filler areas. Great job Dave, your probably detailing right now but trust me. The grind is worth it.
     
  4. 911Fanatic

    911Fanatic DB Pro Supporter

    Damn nice jobs Dave. Both turned out great. I can't believe you got both of those done in 14 hours. Damn I'm getting old and slow. Off to the retirement home for me I guess!
     
  5. 604_Snooze

    604_Snooze Obsessive Detailer

    Wow, both cars turn out really good. You must be super tired afterwards.
    What car are you driving?
     
  6. React

    React Birth of a Detailer

    Id be BEAT after both of those jobs! Way to grind through!
     
  7. LukeF

    LukeF Any Rag Vehicle Washer

    I hope he fed you too!

    Nicely done, especially to have two more vehicles to detail and another customer.
     
  8. TWISTEDFRAME

    TWISTEDFRAME Jedi Nuba

    Thank Brian! I was beat on the drive home to say the least.
    LMFAO, thank Hamza!
    Thank you Ken. If you ever want a job cleaning windows you know who to come to! LOL
    Thanks you! I was beat. I'm in the black Cube that you can see in the background of some of the pics.

    I certainly was wiped afterwards. Thanks!
    Thank Luke! He offered to feed me, but honestly I wouldn't been able to finish if I had taken any real break. I take water and little snacks with me on mobile jobs so I would just stop for 5-10 minutes here and there for that.
     
  9. React

    React Birth of a Detailer

    Curious to know what kind of car you are using for mobile (scion?) and exactly what tools/equipment you carry in it. I'm assuming no water tank...
     
  10. TWISTEDFRAME

    TWISTEDFRAME Jedi Nuba

    It's a 2009 Nissan Cube. A lot of people have been asking for more info lately, so toingiht I'm going to take pics of it and how I load it. You are correct there is no water tank. I have never had the need. I don't do just quickie washes in office complexes, so I've never needed a water tank. I always make sure when I'm discussing a detail with a client that they are ok with me using their water and electricity. It has never been a problem.
     

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