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I'm washing the M3 in my driveway the afternoon before a drift event, and one of my neighbors walks up. She asks me what can I do to restore a black Envoy that has never been waxed... ever... in 7 years. I finish drying the M3 and walk over to her driveway with the Brinkmann, PTG, some Z6 and a Eurow Shag (Thanks Muttgrunt!). The Envoy had 100,000+ miles and had never been detailed. I explained that the significant swirling would have to be removed with machine polishing, no amount of wax would bring it back. I gave her an estimate for a one step polish, exterior only (the interior was very clean), and set the date for Monday morning.
It was good to be able to work at home after so many details at client's garages. I was looking forward to a slow nice day. I had worked with muttgrunt on a car the previous week, and I definitely wanted to work with him again, so I called him up to come by and help out. In all I expected a decent 6 hour detail, taking our time. This was going to be a really nice day!
Marc and I got started around 11 am. I drove the client's car from 2 houses over to my driveway. We set up the canopy and proceeded to wash the SUV. We did the engine bay (as a bonus) and wheels first. The engine was very dusty, but in good condition overall. No oil leaks, no other leaks, I was impressed with how good it looked after 100k+ miles other than the torn hood liner. We dosed it off with Meg's Super Degreaser at 4:1 and pressure washed it. We did this twice, brushing during the second application (once I could see the stubborn parts!).
engine before:
engine during:
The wheels were sprayed with Meg's Wheel Brightener at 4:1 (high strength), and the fenders with Super Degreaser 4:1. At the same time we sprayed the tires with APC+ 4:1. This is the 3rd car that is "regularly washed at Jax" (a local car-wash) that I've worked on, and as soon as the APC hits the tires: some nasty yellow/orange film comes floating off the rubber. I do not know what they use to dress them, but it needed to come off! The wheels were scrubbed with the Daytona brush, and the swissvax-imitation small brush for the lugs and weights. APC at 10:1 was also sprayed on the lower body panels and the fuel door opening (rubber boot was also removed for cleaning off 7 years of deposits).
wheels before:
wheels during:
fuel door
Next it was time to wash and clay. We used Megs NXT wash via foam gun and the two bucket method to wash.
washing:
For the claying there was only one option: Megs Aggressive Clay. This SUV had spray paint over-spray, fossils in the fascias, water spots, you name it. Aggressive clay is the only thing that can deal with this stuff, and boy how it does! I wish I had bought this stuff before. Marc recommended we use Aggressive since the vehicle was going to be polished. Because this was turning into a 2-step, we decided to get it as good as possible. Break out the M105 and the Reverse Osmosis Water Spray. Using the same pad, this combo provided a fierce bite that took care of
all but the nastiest of scratches. There were quite a few of these, but the result is still outstanding.
50/50 M105:
After the M105 we tried out the new Flex DA with M205 on a black pad. Here, the fender is corrected with M105/M205 while the door is untouched yet.
50/50 M205:
We did this around the entire vehicle. The amount of cut with the M105 + water was clogging up my pad halfway between a panel. Clear-coat was gumming up and sticking onto the finish requiring more M105 or IPA wipes to clean off. Further, the hazing I was putting into the paint was significant. After finishing a whole side of the vehicle and getting some direct sunlight as the sun set Marc noticed the M205 on the Flex was not enough to clean up the hazing. We went back over the side and the rest of the car with the Vector rotary and M205, which finished down perfectly.
After polishing it was time to wash and get all the gunk out from the crevices. We mixed up some Zaino Z7 (the only non-wax wash I have right now as all my others ran out) and let it work its magic. The pressure washer helped convince the gunk to be removed.
final wash:
For LSP we wanted something durable, and my experience with the Klasse Twins when used together is very positive. Other than the sealant being a little hard to remove, the Klasse twins combo is a winner and looks great! I applied Klasse AIO via PC7424 and a blue finessing pad. Applying with the PC helps get it on as thin as possible. I use less than a quarter by PC than I would by hand. Set the PC on speed 3, put on a MF bonnet over a foam cutting pad, and add a few drops to prime the bonnet. Then apply to the paint slowly and evenly. This way, wipe off is a breeze.
LSP:
We did the same with the Klasse Glaze. By the time we finished, the dew point had dropped to ambient temperature, and the glaze was streaking off. We delivered the vehicle that night and scheduled a final wipe-down in the morning.
afters:
The next morning all it took was a quick wipe with Zaino Z6 QD and a shag MF towel and all was well again.
Here are the daytime afters:
After washing (final wash) the fenders were dressed with Meg's Hyper Dressing 1:1, as was the engine. The tires received Megs Endurance Tire Gel (after final wash).
In the end we spent twice the amount of time we expected, but also achieved much more. The owner was very pleased, and decided not to part with her Envoy just yet
I'm washing the M3 in my driveway the afternoon before a drift event, and one of my neighbors walks up. She asks me what can I do to restore a black Envoy that has never been waxed... ever... in 7 years. I finish drying the M3 and walk over to her driveway with the Brinkmann, PTG, some Z6 and a Eurow Shag (Thanks Muttgrunt!). The Envoy had 100,000+ miles and had never been detailed. I explained that the significant swirling would have to be removed with machine polishing, no amount of wax would bring it back. I gave her an estimate for a one step polish, exterior only (the interior was very clean), and set the date for Monday morning.
It was good to be able to work at home after so many details at client's garages. I was looking forward to a slow nice day. I had worked with muttgrunt on a car the previous week, and I definitely wanted to work with him again, so I called him up to come by and help out. In all I expected a decent 6 hour detail, taking our time. This was going to be a really nice day!
Marc and I got started around 11 am. I drove the client's car from 2 houses over to my driveway. We set up the canopy and proceeded to wash the SUV. We did the engine bay (as a bonus) and wheels first. The engine was very dusty, but in good condition overall. No oil leaks, no other leaks, I was impressed with how good it looked after 100k+ miles other than the torn hood liner. We dosed it off with Meg's Super Degreaser at 4:1 and pressure washed it. We did this twice, brushing during the second application (once I could see the stubborn parts!).
engine before:
engine during:
The wheels were sprayed with Meg's Wheel Brightener at 4:1 (high strength), and the fenders with Super Degreaser 4:1. At the same time we sprayed the tires with APC+ 4:1. This is the 3rd car that is "regularly washed at Jax" (a local car-wash) that I've worked on, and as soon as the APC hits the tires: some nasty yellow/orange film comes floating off the rubber. I do not know what they use to dress them, but it needed to come off! The wheels were scrubbed with the Daytona brush, and the swissvax-imitation small brush for the lugs and weights. APC at 10:1 was also sprayed on the lower body panels and the fuel door opening (rubber boot was also removed for cleaning off 7 years of deposits).
wheels before:
wheels during:
fuel door
Next it was time to wash and clay. We used Megs NXT wash via foam gun and the two bucket method to wash.
washing:
For the claying there was only one option: Megs Aggressive Clay. This SUV had spray paint over-spray, fossils in the fascias, water spots, you name it. Aggressive clay is the only thing that can deal with this stuff, and boy how it does! I wish I had bought this stuff before. Marc recommended we use Aggressive since the vehicle was going to be polished. Because this was turning into a 2-step, we decided to get it as good as possible. Break out the M105 and the Reverse Osmosis Water Spray. Using the same pad, this combo provided a fierce bite that took care of
all but the nastiest of scratches. There were quite a few of these, but the result is still outstanding.
50/50 M105:
After the M105 we tried out the new Flex DA with M205 on a black pad. Here, the fender is corrected with M105/M205 while the door is untouched yet.
50/50 M205:
We did this around the entire vehicle. The amount of cut with the M105 + water was clogging up my pad halfway between a panel. Clear-coat was gumming up and sticking onto the finish requiring more M105 or IPA wipes to clean off. Further, the hazing I was putting into the paint was significant. After finishing a whole side of the vehicle and getting some direct sunlight as the sun set Marc noticed the M205 on the Flex was not enough to clean up the hazing. We went back over the side and the rest of the car with the Vector rotary and M205, which finished down perfectly.
After polishing it was time to wash and get all the gunk out from the crevices. We mixed up some Zaino Z7 (the only non-wax wash I have right now as all my others ran out) and let it work its magic. The pressure washer helped convince the gunk to be removed.
final wash:
For LSP we wanted something durable, and my experience with the Klasse Twins when used together is very positive. Other than the sealant being a little hard to remove, the Klasse twins combo is a winner and looks great! I applied Klasse AIO via PC7424 and a blue finessing pad. Applying with the PC helps get it on as thin as possible. I use less than a quarter by PC than I would by hand. Set the PC on speed 3, put on a MF bonnet over a foam cutting pad, and add a few drops to prime the bonnet. Then apply to the paint slowly and evenly. This way, wipe off is a breeze.
LSP:
We did the same with the Klasse Glaze. By the time we finished, the dew point had dropped to ambient temperature, and the glaze was streaking off. We delivered the vehicle that night and scheduled a final wipe-down in the morning.
afters:
The next morning all it took was a quick wipe with Zaino Z6 QD and a shag MF towel and all was well again.
Here are the daytime afters:
After washing (final wash) the fenders were dressed with Meg's Hyper Dressing 1:1, as was the engine. The tires received Megs Endurance Tire Gel (after final wash).
In the end we spent twice the amount of time we expected, but also achieved much more. The owner was very pleased, and decided not to part with her Envoy just yet
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