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Okay, so this doesn't look as extreme as other Extreme Makeovers, but if you saw this SUV in person, you'd really notice the difference. Here's my cousin's 1995 Nissan Pathfinder. He often washes it whenever he has time. Other than that, I don't think there ever was a wax job on it.
The first order of business was to remove the roof racks so I'd have easier access to the roof. Then, I proceeded with the wheels.
This picture alone doesn't give justice to exactly how dirty the wheel was. A few sprays of Hot Rims All Wheel Cleaner and some scrubbing did a good job at cleaning the wheel face. If I have more time, I'll work on the rest of the rims.
Then, I washed the SUV with Meguiar's NXT Car Wash and The Original California MicroMitt. I managed to clean off most of the dirt that accumulated on the areas where the roof racks were placed.
After washing all sections, I dried it off with The Absorber.
Obviously, a roof with its racks removed after over 10 years is not gonna look pretty. It's like having tan lines after sunbathing for several hours. So, I used Clay Magic Clay Lube and a Mothers clay bar. Unfortunately, the Mothers clay bar wasn't doing its job. Instead, it was spreading its own debris all over the roof. That's when I tossed it and used the Clay Magic bar (not pictured) to finish the job.
Here's another angle of the roof after being clayed.
To finish the job, I brought in the tag team of ColorX and Deep Crystal System #2 Polish. Afterwards, I used NXT Generation Tech Wax for the painted surfaces, NXT Tech Protect for the black plastic and rubber trim, and NXT Glass Cleaner for the windows.
Here's the roof after a combination of ColorX, DC2 and NXT. You can barely see the "tan lines" from this angle, not to mention that NXT has brought out a wet look to the color.
For the tires, I used Hot Shine Foam. It gave the tires a nice, matte finish. But, I wasn't going for that look...
...so I brought in Gold Class Endurance High Gloss Tire Gel and used an Eagle One Swipe to spread it evenly on the tires.
Here's the result of five hours of work. If it weren't for the bull bars, I would've attacked the headlights with PlastX. Still, the Pathfinder looks better now than ever before.
The first order of business was to remove the roof racks so I'd have easier access to the roof. Then, I proceeded with the wheels.
This picture alone doesn't give justice to exactly how dirty the wheel was. A few sprays of Hot Rims All Wheel Cleaner and some scrubbing did a good job at cleaning the wheel face. If I have more time, I'll work on the rest of the rims.
Then, I washed the SUV with Meguiar's NXT Car Wash and The Original California MicroMitt. I managed to clean off most of the dirt that accumulated on the areas where the roof racks were placed.
After washing all sections, I dried it off with The Absorber.
Obviously, a roof with its racks removed after over 10 years is not gonna look pretty. It's like having tan lines after sunbathing for several hours. So, I used Clay Magic Clay Lube and a Mothers clay bar. Unfortunately, the Mothers clay bar wasn't doing its job. Instead, it was spreading its own debris all over the roof. That's when I tossed it and used the Clay Magic bar (not pictured) to finish the job.
Here's another angle of the roof after being clayed.
To finish the job, I brought in the tag team of ColorX and Deep Crystal System #2 Polish. Afterwards, I used NXT Generation Tech Wax for the painted surfaces, NXT Tech Protect for the black plastic and rubber trim, and NXT Glass Cleaner for the windows.
Here's the roof after a combination of ColorX, DC2 and NXT. You can barely see the "tan lines" from this angle, not to mention that NXT has brought out a wet look to the color.
For the tires, I used Hot Shine Foam. It gave the tires a nice, matte finish. But, I wasn't going for that look...
...so I brought in Gold Class Endurance High Gloss Tire Gel and used an Eagle One Swipe to spread it evenly on the tires.
Here's the result of five hours of work. If it weren't for the bull bars, I would've attacked the headlights with PlastX. Still, the Pathfinder looks better now than ever before.
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