2008 SEMA Best in Show

[Nick Chapman]

2008 SEMA Best in Show......detailed with Meguiar's by Meguiar's

Video interview with the builder Dan Webb http://www.hubgarage.com/hubtv/channels/10/videos/209

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: 2008 SEMA Best in Show

That is a great looking ride. Very cool looking.

[jmakado]

Re: 2008 SEMA Best in Show

What products/process did you use?

[yalerd]

Re: 2008 SEMA Best in Show

That's sexy!

[Michael Stoops]

Re: 2008 SEMA Best in Show

That little bullet of a car was in the Ford booth and it's even cooler in person. Awfully tiny and narrow though!!



Hey Nick, what did you think about your first experience at SEMA, working to prep and maintain all those vehicles?

[asim_296]

Re: 2008 SEMA Best in Show

woooooooooooow...What color is that??

[Nick Chapman]

Re: 2008 SEMA Best in Show

Hey Nick, what did you think about your first experience at SEMA, working to prep and maintain all those vehicles?

Piece of cake

Seriously, I have never had so many blisters, or been so sore in my life! I think I'm just now getting feeling back in my feet again

[Michael Stoops]

Re: 2008 SEMA Best in Show

woooooooooooow...What color is that??

Polished metal. There is no paint on that baby.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: 2008 SEMA Best in Show

Piece of cake

Seriously, I have never had so many blisters, or been so sore in my life! I think I'm just now getting feeling back in my feet again

LOL!! Yeah, I know what you mean. When I pulled that gig last year I was ragged at the end of the week. After finishing up on Friday afternoon I had dinner with Bob and then headed up to my room for a little nap before hitting the casino. At least that was my plan. I ended up sleeping for 12 hours straight then just checked out and drove home!

But what a blast!!!

[Markus Kleis]

Re: 2008 SEMA Best in Show

Piece of cake

Seriously, I have never had so many blisters, or been so sore in my life! I think I'm just now getting feeling back in my feet again

You have no idea how jealous I am of your blisters and soreness, err, well, at least how you got them! I love FORD and detailing, add in SEMA and you have some of the 3 best things around. LUCKY....

[Kevin Brown]

Re: 2008 SEMA Best in Show

What products/process did you use?

Products used:

• G13324 NXT Generation Glass Cleaner
• G13508 Hot Rims Mag & Aluminum Polish
• G13415 Exterior Trim Coating
• M40 Vinyl & Rubber Cleaner/Conditioner
• X20 Supreme Shine Microfiber Towels
• X3080 Even Coat Microfiber Applicator Pads

We do not have a lot of time to spend on each car, as we typically are responsible for 45-65 cars (depending upon the year). We always try to do Dan's car last, so we can spend extra time on it. Even then, we are hard pressed for time. This year, I think we spent approximately 3 man-hours prepping it (2 by me and 1 by Derek Bemiss). That's all. The rest of the crew were busy prepping other cars, and besides- Four or five guys working on a car this size? Forget it! Luckily, Dan's cars don't need a lot of detail work, as he comes to SEMA very well prepared.

Since the car is not painted, we didn't polish or wax it...
We could have applied wax, but if Dan ever wanted to paint the body, it would require a thorough stripping... In short, it was not necessary or appropriate to use a wax or polymer on this car.

First, the tires.
They needed dressing, but Dan Webb doesn't like a tire to look 'dressed'. Since the tires were new, they needed a bit of cleaning to remove the 'bloomed' wax and powdery residue (often found on new tires).

The first thing we did was cover the rotors with Supreme Shine Towels (to avoid misting them with dressing). Actually, the entire backsides of the wheels were covered. It took about 60-70 towels to cover all four rotors (we just stuffed the in and around the rotors/spokes). The leather hood straps were wrapped with the towels, too. Any part of the body that might catch a mist of dressing was also covered.

The Exterior Trim Coating is nice to use because it goes on thin and has a satin look. However, since it has no real cleaner in it (unless you douse the tire with a close-up blast, at which point the solvents used to carry and dispense the dressing are concentrated- not good for the tire!), we used M40. It was directly misted onto the tread, and hand applied to the sidewalls (using an Even Coat Applicator Pad), set to the 'RUB HARD' setting. To set the pad, find the hidden switch that not many people know about (okay, I'm lying about the switch... Sue me!).

Then, we used a natural hair paintbrush to agitate the M40 and loosen the wax/powder residue from the tread blocks. Another douse of M40, and then a very thorough wiping of the tread blocks, grooves, and sidewalls to remove all the excess dressing. Finally, all the edges were swiped with Q-Tips (it only took a few minutes per tire for this portion of the tire prep).
Total time per tire: 20-25 minutes.

The wheels were wiped with the Supreme Shines and the plated knockoffs were polished with Hot Rims Mag & Aluminum Polish. All other parts of the car were wiped using NXT Generation Glass Cleaner and Supreme Shines.

The aluminum body needed a protective coating. Wax was not necessary (nor desired), it and we certainly didn't want polish the aluminum. It was left as-sanded on purpose, and any attempt to add a sheen via metal polish would not add to the beauty of the metal. In fact, it would make it look worse, as the body was not finished out in successive sanding steps. So, we applied Hot Rims Mag & Aluminum Polish LIBERALLY and with virtually no downward pressure. Think in terms of the first time you waxed a car and used WAY too much wax... That's how much we used.

Then, we immediately wiped the area clean, turning the towel often (so we wouldn't install any scratches, or inadvertently polish the aluminum). The surface was left smooth and slippery, as a thin coating of protection was left behind.

I think we ended up applying the metal polish three or four times through the week. To maintain, the car was wiped down every hour (as were all the cars in the booth). For this car, we used fresh Supreme Shine towels (lightly moistened with a spray of glass cleaner) to maintain.

Other than that, the brass intake rings and fuel blocks were polished with Hot Rims. That's about it!

Over the five years we've been dong cars for Ford, Dan Webb has been a pleasure to work with. He is, without a doubt, one of the most talented car-builders of our era. He really appreciates our crew, and we always look forward to seeing him (and his wonderful car creations).

[jmakado]

Re: 2008 SEMA Best in Show

Thanks! That was a good read.