Sister-in-Law's Buick After pics inside (new after pic..rear floor)

[Don]

I’m cleaning my sister-in-law’s Buick Park Avenue for her. My wife brought it home for me today, and it was waiting for me after work. When I got home, she looked at me and asks: “It’s bad, isn’t it?” I just looked at her, and she knew. Let me put it to you this way…In the past three hours, I had to scrub the floor mats twice each and the tires/rims three times each. I had to go to the self-serve wash to use the high pressure on the tires/wheels and engine. Even so, I had to scrub the tires AGAIN with GREASED LIGHTNING, and go over the rims AGAIN with Meg’s Gold Class Instant Wheel Cleaner (strong stuff, let me tell you), and a terry cloth rag. Even after being sprayed with A to Z and hit with the pressure sprayer, the tires still turned brown almost instantly after I sprayed then with the Greased Lightning.

I hosed the engine with full strength Simple Green and hit it with the pressure washer at the self-serve bay. After the car wash, I brought the car back to the house where I finished washing the wheels/rims, the floor mats and the door jambs. I’m about ready for bed since I have to work early tomorrow, but I’ll leave you with a few before pics:


http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/14Cnv0247-med.jpg http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/14Cnv0246-med.jpg http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/14Cnv0245-med.jpg

[Don]

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/14Cnv0243-med.jpg http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/14Cnv0242-med.jpg http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/14Cnv0240-med.jpg

[Don]

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/14Cnv0239-med.jpg http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/14Cnv0238-med.jpg http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/14Cnv0237-med.jpg

[Mike Phillips]

It's looking pretty bad Don... :eek: :eek: :eek:

Mike

[Bri]

Holy Smokes!!! That's really bad! Good luck Don!

[travisdecpn]

Those are the types of vehicles i love to do.

[Teak]

Looks pretty bad, but I have feeling whe you are done it will look like new. By the I hear sand balster work well for cleaning rims.;)


Eric

[Chris Nemlich]

Cars that are that dirty usually result in having a very happy customer. I love challenges like that!

Good luck!

:xyxthumbs

Chris

[f1guy68]

Yep..it doesn't look to good!

But I agree with the others...BRING IT ON...I Love the challenge too.

It can get frustrating, but I know I can win!

Good Luck to you!

I'm patting you on the back..no actually...I'm pushing you back to the car.....hahahahaha

NOOOoooooooooooooo!

[Don]

I had to work over tonight, so I didn't get a hance to do too much except to scrub the floor mats for the third time. Even after scrubbing, then rinsing with a hard spray from the hose twice, I still pulled A TON of dirt out of the mats with the bissel.

I sprayed down the carpeting with a Woolite/oxy mix, and I'm letting it work overnight. Tomorrow morning, I'll start ont he interior (the leather is a mess too).

[Don]

The good news is that I'm finally done (except for the windows). By the time I finished the interior, I was too tired to do a full exterior, so it got a Color-X x2/UPP wax job (it's a freebie, & they NEVER wax their cars anyway) even so, it made a dramatic improvement.

The interior leather was horrible, & I had to get some Meguiars GC Aloe Leather Cleaner. http://www.meguiars.com/store_meguiars/images/product_g110.gif

This stuff worked really well. It seems to use a strong emulsifying (dissolving) action on the dirt & grime. I spilled a couple of drops on an uncleaned section, and when I wiped them off, there was a definate clean spot. Instead of the recommended terry cloth, I used a medium bristle brush to apply the cleaner. It added some scrubbing action and allowed me to leave a relatively thick layer on the leather so it could work on the embedded dirt. I only had to do this to the seating surfaces, which had more texture. The smooth surfaces came clean using a terry applicator. Once they were cleaned, I used the GC Aloe Cleaner & Conditioner to remove the light dirt still remaining and condition the leather.

The carpets and mats eventually came clean after being scrubbed with Simple Green, extracted, scrubbed again with Woolite (3 oz/29 oz water), then finally rinsed with a 4 oz fabric softener/3-1/2 gal water mix.

Oh yeah, the bad news?...The wife took the digicam with her to her sister's house, and I won't be able to get after pics until "after" the car's been driven through about 10 miles of construction :wall:

[Don]

Yes, that's my fat head in pic #3

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/14Cnv0253-med.jpg http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/14Cnv0252-med.jpg http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/14Cnv0251-med.jpg

[Don]

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/14Cnv0250-med.jpg http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/14Cnv0249-med.jpg http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/14Cnv0248-med.jpg

[Don]

And now, for the leather seats, a nice before & after combo:


http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/14trayce_buick_010-med.jpg http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/14trayce_buick_009-med.jpg

[f1guy68]

WHOOHOO...

Looks super Don!

Great Job! That was a lot of work and you pulled through like a pro!

hehehehe..the third picture i thought it was Homer from the Simpson's....Just Kidding.....hehehehehehe

http://www.thesimpsons.com/bios/images/bios_family_homer.gif


Again, An amazing transformation!



:xyxthumbs :xyxthumbs :xyxthumbs

[Chris Nemlich]

Looks amazing Don!

Great work!

:xyxthumbs

Chris

[Teak]

Excellent work. Makes me want to go and find a car with tan leather to clean. Anymore pictures of the interior?

Eric

[Bri]

Wow!!! Great work!!! Such a great improvement! The shine on the paint is just awesome!

[Don]

I happened to find an 'after' pic of the rear floor that I didn't realize I had. Here is a side-by-side:


http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/14Cnv0240-med.jpghttp://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/14Cnv0256-med.jpg

[Chris Nemlich]

Looks good Don!

Great job!

Chris

[Rick]

That thing's ready to front line!

BTW, she is paying you well for all that work right?

[Don]

Originally posted by Rick
That thing's ready to front line!

BTW, she is paying you well for all that work right?

Since she's a relative, I didn't ask for money, but she gave me $100

[Mark70Vette]

Hey Don!!

Amazing results!! I can tell you just about worked yourself to death cleaning that Buick. What did you use to detail the engine bay? What techniques did you use? Thanks!

Mark

[Don]

Originally posted by Mark70Vette
Hey Don!!

Amazing results!! I can tell you just about worked yourself to death cleaning that Buick. What did you use to detail the engine bay? What techniques did you use? Thanks!

Mark


Full strength Simple Green and the pressure hose at the self serve wash

[Roadkeeper]

Beautiful job on the car especially the
engine compartment. I have a G.P. with
the same motor. Afraid to wash with all the electronics. Are there things you covered up? Again great job.:xyxthumbs

[foris2]

Don -
You did an AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME job on that vehicle. That's what it all about WOW, great job! :xyxthumbs

[Mike Phillips]

Awesome work Don! A truly amazing transformation. You're Sister-in-law must be very happy!

:xyxthumbs :xyxthumbs :xyxthumbs

Mike

[Superior Shine]

SWEEEETT!! Well done! Looks Fab!

[Rockpick]

I think we're going to have to spin a new forum just for you Don... we'll call it "Bring It Back From the Dead".

All I can say is WOW!

RP :bow

[Don]

Originally posted by Rockpick
I think we're going to have to spin a new forum just for you Don... we'll call it "Bring It Back From the Dead".

All I can say is WOW!

RP :bow

I'd laugh...but it's so close to the truth.

Very few people around here have a clue about car car (the second-in-command at my job even had the person in charge of company vehicle maintenance come to me with a few problems :eek: )

I've only had one person not flinch at a $150 quote for a job (inside = light cleaning/vacuum, glass & dress, exterior = clean/polish/seal). She was/is a school teacher and was so impressed with the work, she was afraid to drive the car for nearly a month because she didn't want it to get dirty (it was the cadillac catara that I didn't get pics of last fall).

99% of the cars I get are close to being on their last legs - appearance-wise, and since they get that way by their owners being cheap and clueless....

[FlaresideLariat]

:LOLOL: @ Rock Pick.

All I can say, Don, is, whoa, mama!!! Looks awesome. :D

[Blue Thunder]

Use the $100 to buy a PC....hehehe

[Don]

Originally posted by Blue Thunder
Use the $100 to buy a PC....hehehe

I already have a PC ;) :D

[Blue Thunder]

New goodies .......I guess the new line of accessories would be nice.

Reinvest in the hobby :db:

[c368/2ss]

do you do this for a living ????? unbeliveable !!!!!thats what i like ....... just get in there on that engine and tear it up these engines they build today are water proof !!!!!!! you got big #$@$**&^% to get in there and JUST DO IT !!!!! :bow :xyxthumbs :iagree: :xyxthumbs :xyxthumbs :xyxthumbs :xyxthumbs :xyxthumbs :xyxthumbs :xyxthumbs :xyxthumbs

[Don]

Originally posted by c368/2ss
do you do this for a living ????? unbeliveable !!!!!thats what i like ....... just get in there on that engine and tear it up these engines they build today are water proof !!!!!!! you got big #$@$**&^% to get in there and JUST DO IT !!!!! :bow :xyxthumbs :iagree: :xyxthumbs :xyxthumbs :xyxthumbs :xyxthumbs :xyxthumbs :xyxthumbs :xyxthumbs :xyxthumbs

No, just as a side thing. It does help if you're a little crazy to just pop the hood and go at it w/Simple Green and a pressure washer ;)

[rpalena]

Don,

Thanks for the inspiration! My regal isn't quite as bad, but it ain't great either. Now, if I could just get the weather to cooperate.....