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Chronicles of a G8 Detail

Chewy

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Chewy

Chewy

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Ok all,

 

So I set off on Saturday to get this thing cleaned and ready for the summer. My wife thought I was nuts last year for spending 12 hours on it. My goal this year was to make her think I need committed. So on Saturday I grabbed three buckets all with grit guards in them and set out to clean her. (the car... Not the wife)

 

I only have two Adams buckets so I found a an old wide bottomed bucket where the grit guard went nearly to the bottom. 2 were filled with straight water and one with Dawn and water. They were also dumped out mid wash and refilled.

 

I also used my foam applicator filled with Dawn and water.

 

This car was VERY dirty. It hadn't been hand washed since 11/06/09. I did however take it through touchless washes that blow dry so NO hands had touched the paint other than a rogue accidental brush against it here and there. Remember... This is my DD so it's not perfect.

 

So I washed it (took about 2 hours) using a new jumbo wash pad, wheel well brush, bores hair wheel brush, and A LOT of water. Then I dried it using a great white drying towel and some DS. The results were amazing... From afar... Up close it's a disaster. :willy:

 

The paint is actually pretty decent but there are some very slight scratches in the top surfaces with some longer scratches which I assume came from rogue rocks and salt. :confused:

 

So I set out with my 3M adhesive remover and a cheap MF towel to remove ALL the tar and oil from behind the wheels and sides of the car. This is MUCH better than making the clay do it all for you.

 

After removing the tar I set off with a hunk of Adams clay and a bottle of DS. It took a whole bottle of DS to get it done but it came out VERY nice IMO. The pics you'll see below have the DS dried on the car. No big deal... I PC through it. :)

 

So now for the "fun" stuff...

 

I grabbed the PC a white pad and tried out some FMP on the hood... Nope... Going to need the orange pad. I stuffed the white pad into a ziplock to keep it fresh and went to work. After a couple hours on the hood I think I have it.

 

Went to the top of the car... DANG! It was BAD up there... 3 hours and bam! Done...

 

Trunk and C pillars... 3 hours... Bam... Done.

 

Now ALL I have is the sides, back and nose of the car. The nose has a clear bra so I intend to just use clear polish and an MF applicator on it.

 

The sides of the car are pretty bad so it will take me at least the rest of this week to complete it.

 

So I am driving the truck this week... :2thumbs: The car is parked in the middle of the garage.

 

Cheers all and sorry for the LONG post.

 

Chris

 

Photos are in order... All pre-clean and the last one are the buckets set and ready...

 

More to come in a second

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Chewy

Chewy

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Got home tonight and pulled it out, washed, and put a coat of Americana on it.

 

Super VRT'd everything vinyl and rubber.

 

Came out great IMO.

 

Chris

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Chewy

Chewy

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THANKS! I am... Now it'll never look this good again! :( Just too much work to get it fully corrected. :willy: With a baby on the way, I don't see it happening.

 

 

Wow!! Nice work! I hope that I can get mine looking that nice once the Junkman Kit comes and we get some nice weather.

 

FOR SURE! The only thing I recommend is a set of the focus pads. They make correcting the A and C pillars as well as a lot of the car much easier... :thumbsup:

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Chewy

Chewy

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That thing Looks Sexy Chris... I wish i had the Patients to correct mine to that level. What % is your tint?

 

THANKS guys!

 

My tint is only 30%, but with the black interior it comes across darker...

 

So far only one ticket... :( 85 bucks... :(

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Chewy

Chewy

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OK all, Well I've gotten the car corrected and just yesterday I got the first coat of MSW put on. I'm going for 2 total for long term protection and then will add Americana as I go along this summer.:patriot:

 

I also got the interior all vacuumed out as well so now the interior matches the exterior.

 

I tackled the exhaust tips which doesn't sound like a big deal but it in fact sucks! First I grabbed some 3M adhesive remover to strip them of any tar and other stuff, then I grabbed 800 and 2000 grit wet/dry and my Adams Metal Polish and set off to get them looking close to new. As you'll see, they take a beating in the winter back there...:( All in all it took me a little over an hour as I removed the back diffuser to make the job easier.

 

So what you'll see is a pic of the car after having its post correction wash down (NO WAX), then a BEA-utiful shot of my motorcycle as well as the snow thrower and other items and then a flash picture with what looks like a small piece of crud on the paint. (not sure what it is but it's NOT a scratch) and then the exhaust tips before and after.

 

So in total I've used the following items to detail my car from beginning to end.

 

#1 Dawn (remove wax)

#2 (2) Adams wash buckets with grit guards and 1 generic bucket with grit guard

#3 Adams Jumbo Wash pads (new)

#4 Gilmour Foamer (HD version)

#5 Green wheel cleaner

#6 Bores hair brush

#7 Great White Drying Towel

#8 Adams Detail Spray (A CRAP TON)

#9 Swirl and Haze Remover

#10 Fine Machine Polish

#11 Machine Super Wax

#12 Adams 7" machine pads

#13 Porter Cable D/A

#14 Adams 4" Focus/Spot pads (LOVE THESE)

#15 Adams Waterless Wash

#16 CRAP TON of polishing towels.

#17 several meters of blue masking tape

#18 Clear Polish for the bra using 4" white spot pad to apply.

#19 Adams Glass cleaner

#20 Adams Clay

#21 Adams Glass Sealant (UNREAL!!!!)

#22 Adams Car wash

Things to still complete... Under Carriage Spray application, VRT under hood and on tires, Leather conditioner on interior.

 

It's supposed to rain all week so that should give me time to do the rest including the 2nd coat of MSW.

 

All I can say is if I can do this, anyone can. I'm not saying I didn't have a few issues here and there but I was able to bounce them off other forum members and Adams employees and solve them pretty quickly. Adam really HAS made a product that's easy to use for us hobbyists.

 

Be aware however that to do an ACTUAL correction it will take you a large amount of time. I did this at my convenience and took my time so it took me a total of 4 weeks, working mostly on the weekends. :willy:

 

Cheers all!

 

Chris

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Captain Slow

Captain Slow

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Yeah walked out in my socks to take those for AJ... The bumper is better than that now but not great...

 

I've stopped detailing for the last couple of days. Been chilly out and well just a bit bored with it... lol I'll be back at it tonight after I cut the grass I think. We'll see.

 

The top of my bumper is covered with a clear bra JUST for that reason... People dragging crap into the car tend to be stupid. Therefore I usually insist on doing it.

Chris

 

HMMMMM, clear bra? I've been thinking about that for the trunk area and also for the trim piece below the drivers door. I swear I drag my shoe on that thing at least once a week.....GGGGRRR. Look like rain this weekend so I guess I'll be getting my wish for quiet time in the garage. :pc:

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sixt9stang

sixt9stang

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Nice work! Can't wait to start on mine. Should be interesting since it almost has 80k on it. Just got it a few weeks ago. The dealership said they repainted the front and rear bumpers and also the lower portion on the passenger side doors. I guess there were some rock chips and scuffs that they wanted to look better. After I get it all cleaned I am going to have a clear bra put on also.

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Chewy

Chewy

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Yeah walked out in my socks to take those for AJ... The bumper is better than that now but not great...

 

I've stopped detailing for the last couple of days. Been chilly out and well just a bit bored with it... lol I'll be back at it tonight after I cut the grass I think. We'll see.

 

The top of my bumper is covered with a clear bra JUST for that reason... People dragging crap into the car tend to be stupid. Therefore I usually insist on doing it.

 

Chris

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Captain Slow

Captain Slow

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UMMM, in the 3rd pic, were you outside in your sox??? :D

My G8 has scratches like that, but on the top of that plastic piece. I instilled the scratches myself loading a new spare tire and dragging it....DOH! I've got it down to about where you were, but because it's on top it's readily visible. If I can get some alone time this weekend I'm going to give it one more try.

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Chewy

Chewy

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Yep, there's still some scratches there. However, sometimes you have to use more aggressive measures. I've had to wet sand those type of bumpers before but a warning to to the wise, they cut fast when sanding. You can easily remove the paint off them in a few careless strokes.

 

Well like I said.... They're 50% better than that now AND it's the rear bumper which I am CONSTANTLY telling the wife not to let her pants hit. She's really good about it now so I think I'll leave alone. wet sanding on this car cost me 475 bucks the last time so I'm not doing it again on this thing. Done quite a bit of it but nothing on something with so little clear.

 

Chris

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