BRZN

28 Hours, including time for lunch during the three days and time to clean everything up at the end of each day. http://www.adamsforums.com/forums/detailers-write-ups/20661.htm In the above link I explained what I did each day and how long I worked each day.

Rest in Peace God Bless...

Nice! I love a clean undercarriage

Explain: "every time I wash it I just hit it with quick detail spray" You're using the DS in lieu of a complete two bucket wash or just using the DS as a drying agent? No problem taking the car to a car wash and hitting it with the pressure wand. The problem is if you use the car washes brush to wipe against your cars finish. If my car's dirty enough, and it's cold enough out to have to be taken to the car wash for a hose off I don't use the brush or touch the paint afterwards with anything. Once it warms back up a bit I'll do a full two bucket wash. The solvent in the BG will remove the wax over time if you apply it regularly over top. I only apply over top of the Americana just before a show.

I, like Chris, use a wrap or two of duct tape on my lug nut sockets. On one set of wheels I own, more than one wrap binds!

A Man's gotta know his limitations...

Not under this one Ryan, I stopped at the inner fender wells!

And I'm not going to try and explain it to anyone. If you don't do it correctly I understand you'll mar the panel and be much worse off than if you'd never touched it. Its not worth trying if you're new to the art of detailing. I've been at this since the late 70's/early 80's.

A little back story here. My folks would give my wife and I one of their Time Share weeks the last several years for: 1.) My wife and I to be able to get away alone for a bit and 2.) So they could spend time with two of their granddaughters. Usually while they'd be here that week my Dad would wash and wax his 2005 Toyota Sienna Van when the girls were in school. Last year he said it was just too much work to get it all done and only got the front clip and hood waxed after the wash. I offered to take care of the van for him while I was off at Christmas time and drove "back home" to wash, clay and apply a coat of Machine Super Sealant to it in his overly large two car garage. Thing came out looking pretty nice. This past May they moved from the house he built in 1966 and that my brothers and I grew up in. Check out the garage on the right side of the house: They've relocated much closer to me in a real nice retirement community just south of the city of Lancaster. We had them over for Thanksgiving dinner last week and I traded Holly's Volvo for his van when it was time for them to leave. My original intent was to do what I'd done last year so it'd simply be protected for the winter months. However, after a good inspection I could see that now parking in a parking lot rather than having the benefit of the garage had left it in far worse condition than it was a year ago. Not overly bad, he still keeps it nice and clean, but there were several pretty deep scratches on the vans sides. Early Friday morning I began: Yea, that's frost on the thing. Temps throughout the day climbed steadily into the mid 50's, but it was pretty chilly to start. First was the engine bay Before - Not Bad: After - Much Better: I washed the front bumper and grille as well as the rocker panels and under the rear bumper first. I then took care of the inner fender wells, tires and wheels. I changed soap and water in the buckets and proceeded to wash the thing. Afterwards I thoroughly clayed it and then began to wet sand the six panels that had deep scratches requiring attention beyond polishing. I used a firm foam sanding block and proceeded from 1500 to 2000 followed with 2500 and lastly 3000 grit wet sanding specific paper. I also took care of two scratches on the right front fender, they're outside the above picture. I finished Friday by dressing the tires with SVRT and hitting the wheel wells with Invisible Undercarriage Dressing. Day one: nine hours. Day two was much colder and very windy. The GTO was moved out onto the driveway and the van was pulled into the heated garage. The van had sat outside all night so first was to wipe it all down with waterless wash and a few waffle weave waterless wash microfiber towels. I taped off a set of painted stripes along the sides as well as a few other areas I didn't want to get polish or wax onto. Adam's new orange tape is pretty awesome stuff. I was able to pull it off the passenger side and reapply it to the driver side to polish on that side: try that with painters tape! The A, B and C pillars were hand polished with SHR followed up with Revive Hand polish using an old Flip pad I've still got laying around. Anyone remember these polishing pads? They were used on very oxidized red single stage paint at Fall Carlisle back in early October. I'd cleaned them completely once I got them home and figured I'd give them a try on the van. I was told they may dust more after being used on the single stage paint. Nope, they were just fine. I polished the hood and all six panels I'd spot wet sanded with the three polish/pad combos. SSR and green pad, SHR and orange pad and finished with FMP and the white pad all with the Flex. Then everything except the center of the roof (didn't bother to polish that area) got polished with a technique Justin Ege taught me at Fall Carlisle he called one stepping. It worked for me on the 2010 Challenger's door: And it worked on the van too! I'd pulled the van front first into the garage and never bothered to turn it around. I figured I'd back it in first thing Sunday morning to finish the rear. My garage is too short to get the whole way around a vehicle. Before quitting for the day I applied a nice thin coat of Machine Super Sealant using a grey pad on the PC, 20 minutes later I wiped it off and called it a day. Pulled the van back out and brought the GTO back in, damn if a bird didn't leave a crap on the Goats rear deck lid! Day two: ten hours. Day three started just as cold as day two, but with no wind. GTO back out and the van back into the heat. Another Waterless Wash wipe down with the waterless wash towels. I one stepped the rear hatch and rear bumper then applied Quick Sealant to the rear. I couldn't wait another 12 hours for the MSS to fully cure; the QS will be just fine. QS was also used on all the door jambs, in the rear hatch area and under the hood. I also used the QS on the rocker panels, underneath the front bumper and on the A, B, and C pillars. The front of the roof and top of the doors down to the belt line got a coat of glaze and the entire van was finished off with a coat of Americana Paste Wax. All the exterior plastics were hit with SVRT or In & Out Spray. The glass was cleaned inside and out, the outside side glass was also hit with a coat of BG and the windshield got Adam's Glass Sealant applied. The front mats were vacuumed and cleaned and the front area was vacuumed. The dash, steering wheel, door panels and some of the other plastics and leathers up front were cleaned with Adam's Leather & Interior Cleaner. Day three: another nine hours. Perfection? No, but she sure looks a whole lot better than she did and the protection from the Sealants and Wax should last him well through the winter. Right before my Dad showed up Monday to take her back I was able to wipe the whole van down one last time with DS and a few single soft microfiber towels.

Nice car and a fantastic write up! Tint the tail lights? Be sooo nice...

Just a thought here and going to throw in my .02 since it not been addressed yet. The towels, how old are the microfiber towels? Are they always cleaned properly? Try boiling a couple of the towels you'll be using next time before you use them. Boil them in a large pot of water with a cap full or two of Distilled White Vinegar for 10 minutes. I get the "grabby feel" when it's time to boil my microfibers.

I agree with Chris, it's the SVRT.

I'm in Denver right off the PA tpk at exit 286. pm me your cell number, we can talk.

You guys have fun!

No, they're not the same headlights. I was just showing one in progrtess all taped off with the exposed engine bay, grille, etc and one I'd finished with all the textured plastic that would have taken more time to remove excess polish than the time it took to actually polish the headlight assembly. Here's the before and after if you're curious:

My daughters '94 Pontiac Grand Prix has the same type of "patina": lifting clear, missing clear along with faded or thinning paint. I lightly wet sanded it to help blend everything together and smooth out the lifting clear somewhat. Some areas came out really nice, others not so, but that's okay since I'm not having an 18 year old car with a 17 year old driver resprayed. Her car's a 30 footer for sure.

I have luck by using either of these two brushes. Short stiff bristles are a must. Brush before you hit the liner with the hose and the dirt is still dry. Most of the rest comes off with APC and the Fender Brush doing a regular cleaning to the wheel wells/inner fender liners.

Mook, Found it: http://www.adamsforums.com/forums/waxing-glazing-sealing/15854.htm

Kinda' depends on the car and what all you'll be doing. Most times I'm correcting headlights totaly separate from a paint correction. I tape off around the headlights since the rotary action of the drill tends to sling polish into and onto surfaces I don't want it; ie textured plastics, engine bay etc... Also, if the pad is hitting the outside edge of the light completely I don't have to worry about burning the paint adjacent to it or marring the plastic.

Nice Ed, good job! Oh and about those Eagles I feel bad for Vick and the beating he's takin' Go Steelers!!!

When the Saturday daytime temps are above freezing in the winter I'll do a regular two bucket wash of the cars out on the driveway. I try to finish with the hose in enough time for the water to evaporate off so as to not freeze to the surface and make a skating rink. I where a pair of polypro glove liners with a pair of thin playtex rubber gloves overtop to keep my hands toasty and dry. I also have a faucet in the garage with a mixing valve to be able to use warm water through the hose. My correction in the spring will usually consist of nothing more than one pass of FMP with the Flex to bring them back. There's five cars at my house and not enough time for full corrections on each one every year so it's important to maintain them through the winter as best as possible.

Nice, just in there sucking up all the air?

Nice touch!

Yes, those three products are very thin. Remember to shake them thoroughly before and often during use. If you plan to use all three; Sealant - Glaze - Wax would be the order. Sealant goes on bare paint. Glaze doesn't last long if not held on with wax overtop.

I purchased the TSW Laguna Wheels for my GTO in the spring of 2008, they've currently got 9,000 miles on them. This year I notice the little Red Flag in the W has begun to turn Orange and the entire Center Cap has Yellowed. Here's a comparison of one on the car and a brand new one. The upper one is the new one and still has a protective plastic film on it which is why it appears scratched. I have two of these new ones, but wanted to try something a bit different before tracking down two more of the TSW covers. I picked up a set of Liquidome "stickers" from GrafxWerks to cover the center caps. Liquidome is a clear silicone that's applied over the sticker giving it a 3-D appearance and a softer, rubbery feel. When I opened the envelope they arrived in I was thinking there was going to be way too much black. Changed my mind once I got them on. There's more than enough black on the car to blend it all together. Of course while I had the wheels off I completely (read front and rear) cleaned them with Waterless Wash, sealed them with Quick Sealant and waxed them with Americana. One wheel has a small spot with the clear gone, so that spot also got hit with Metal Polish #2. The rubber was cleaned and treated to a nice coat of VRT.