n00b detailing a 2000 Corvette

[Hot_Wheel]

I've been on the forums for a bit and I've done many 2 bucket washes.  I have acquired quite a bit of Adam's products, but I had yet to actually clay a car or use my Porter Cable.... Until today....

 

I gave my dad a detail for his 2000 Corvette for his birthday.  He bought it about a month ago, and it was looking pretty sad.  Today was the day I had scheduled.  

 

 

 

I started at about 7:30 this morning getting stuff out for the work.  I took just under an hour for lunch, and I took a 40 minute detour to wash/dry my wife's car, and I came in for dinner as it was getting dark around 6:40pm.  My process was:

--Got out all of my stuff.

--Set up the pop-up canopy.

--Pulled out the stuff from the interior including the dash-rug and a couple of items my dad left in the car.

--Vacuumed the interior, including the seats and the vents

--Washed the engine bay and hood liner. 

 

--Metro-dried the engine bay & hood liner.

--Deep cleaned the wheels (they were *nasty*)

 

--Deconned the paint with DWC (got some good reactions going there)

--Foamed the car with APC/Shampoo & rinsed

--Foamed the car again with straight shampoo

--2-bucket wash with APC/Shampoo

--Dried the car, with towels & the Metro-vac

--Clayed the paint & windows (first time!!)

--FMP the entire car using the Porter Cable (first time!!)

--Quick-sealed the car, including the wheels

 

--Carpet & Upholstery cleaned the removable floor mats

--Took down the pop-up tent

 

Still need to do:

--Clean the interior with Leather & Interior Cleaner

--Do the windows

--Apply Leather Conditioner

--Dress the engine bay

--Dress the plastics/rubber

--Dress the tires

--Apply Undercarriage Spray

--Apply Brilliant Glaze (Can't decide if I want to do it by and or with the PC)

--Apply Americana or Buttery Wax (will depend on time and my confidence level)

 

Next time I do his car, I'll seal the window glass.  I don't think I'll have time this go-around.

[Chris@Adams]

Dad should love that.........

[Redbeard]

Nice turnaround already, just wait til you glaze and wax it!

[Rich]

Makes me miss my C5.  With the leather.......after you clean it, rub the Leather Conditioner in by hand.  In other words, when you do your seats, put some on the palm of your hand and work it in. Then use a micro to buff it and take off any excess.  I use it on the dash, the doors, the boot, and especially the seats. My C5 was 11 years old when I traded it in last year and the seats still looked brand new. The only thing it ever saw was Adams Leather Conditioner. If you notice some spots look faded or dryer than others, it's because that leather soaks the stuff up at different rates. Where it soaks in the most will show up lighter. Just keep reapplying until you get an even result.

 

Nice job on the exterior!

[Hot_Wheel]

Spent another 3 hours on it yesterday before I drove it back to him.  It was already dark, so I didn't get any finished photos.  He sent these today.

 

 

I used the PC for the brilliant glaze.  That was great and saved a bunch of time.  The Americana went on and buffed off so smoothly, I almost thought I was doing it wrong.  I used the UFO pad for the leather, as I do for my Hot Wheel, and it worked great.  I also dressed much of the engine bay as well as the wiper well and the tires.

 

I didn't get to seal the glass, and wanted to do more meticulous work on the interior (vents, etc), but this is MUCH better than it was.

 

I also mocked up an invoice for my time and materials (over $75 in Adam's products) with a notation that it was a complimentary birthday service.... "Devils In The Detailing" was the name of the "company" on the invoice...

[thealien]

Nice job and nice that you did it for your dad. Mine could care less if his cars are clean (85yo). I recently purchased a 2001 Magnetic red convertible Vette. In the next week or two its getting a full wash, clay, seal and wax for the winter storage. I've done most of the interior and engine bay.

 

Again, nice job.

[EMMJAY]

great job, but what did you mean by using $75 worth of products? or you mean $75 worth of different products? This is part of the bday joke right? or am I thinking too hard? lol

[Hot_Wheel]

great job, but what did you mean by using $75 worth of products? or you mean $75 worth of different products? This is part of the bday joke right? or am I thinking too hard? lol

Nope, not just part of the joke.  I went through nearly 30 oz of Deep Wheel Cleaner and I went through 36 oz of APC including clean-up, and I estimated the rest based on gallon prices (not including shipping  ).  If you use 4 oz of shampoo in the foam gun along with a couple ounces of WW, and then use APC with shampoo in the 2 buckets wash, etc., etc., etc.... it adds up.