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I originally spoke to this customer about polishing his Corvette, as he wants to sell it.  Since the weather started to get nicer he decided he wanted to get the Chevelle shined up first for some cruising!

 

So here is what we are starting with - a 1968 Chevelle SS 396 4 speed.  This is a matching numbers car, with a good frame and floor boards.  The motor rebuild was completed a few months ago and he is ready to drive this beast!

The paint is good shape - swirls and a few RIDS.  The body work on one of the rear quarters is a little rough, but rest is good.

 

 

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The owner had tried a few things to clean the tires, but I knew APC (http://www.adamspolishes.com/p-121-adams-all-purpose-cleaner.aspx) would do the trick.  I started with a 50/50 mixture of APC& water and it looked ok, but the full strength version cleaned them up beautifully.  For the wheels I just used pre-mixed Car Wash Shampoo with a foaming sprayer.  I used Revive on the trim rings and center caps to clean them up, and of course SVRT for the finish.

 

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I did a strip wash with 2 oz. of Adam's APC and 1 oz of Adam's Car Wash Shampoo in 2 gallons of water.  Since I was washing in the sun, after the stirip wash I mixed up another batch of just Car Wash and wiped the car down again to help neutralize the APC .  After a pool rinse I use the Sidekick to get the water out of the trim and finished with DS and a GWDT.  

  

 

 

The exhaust tips were in good shape, just needed a little cleaning.  

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Now on to the paint.   

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It did have some nasty over spray!  I tried the new Adam's Clay Bar for the first time (http://www.adamspolishes.com/p-1004-new-adams-made-in-the-usa-detailing-clay-bar.aspx).  I have to say I LOVE IT!  It is soft, but not sticky.  And as you can see, it works just fine.

 

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The combination that ended up the best was Adam's MF cutting pads (http://www.adamspolishes.com/p-954-new-adams-65-orange-microfiber-cutting-pad.aspx) and Adam's Paint Correcting Polish (http://www.adamspolishes.com/p-942-new-adams-paint-correcting-polish.aspx).  One section pass of 4-5 'movements' with heavy pressure, clean the pads, then add more polish.  I did another section pass of 3-4 'movements' with heavy pressure then 2 'movements' with no pressure to finish.  With this process I did not need to follow with a finishing pad & polish.

 

(Sorry, I only had one good 50/50 shot)

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This car took much longer than I expected.  I did not realize there was so much 'acreage' to cover, even with a vinyl top.  The trunk was 6 sections and the hood was 12!

 

The bumpers had a few scratches, but the MP1 and a metal polishing pad shined them up nicely.  The other trim is original, so I just hit it with Revive.  

 

When I washed the car I scrubbed the vinyl roof with the Adam's Carpet Cleaning Brush (http://www.adamspolishes.com/p-586-adams-carpet-cleaning-brush.aspx).  I applied SVRT and it really darkened it up.

 

After working a few shows for Adam's I found out how well In and Out Spray (http://www.adamspolishes.com/p-517-adams-in-and-out-spray.aspx) works on Chevy trim.  I hit the badges, center caps, and grill to really bring back the black.

 

To finish off this detail I used the 'face melter' combo - BG and Americiana.  This combo really brings out the depth of the paint.

 

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I only wiped down the engine compartment with a Utility Towel dampened with Waterless Car Wash.  

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And this is my favorite shot (this is the actual picture, no editing)

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Thanks everyone.  It was fun to work on and even more fun to ride in!

 

 

Nice results! Has the car ever been repainted?

 

Yes, It has had some body work done (the left rear quarter is not smooth) and it has a clearcoat on it.

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Holy cow nice work!

 

That last shot is a Detailer's Mic Drop!

 

Thanks Mook!  I took 2 shots of that with different settings then went into the garage to view it better.  My thought was "Holy sh*%, this is going to look great on a computer screen!" LOL  I wish the label was positioned better though.

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