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A good friend of mine is selling his Cobalt SS, so, it needed to be cleaned up. It gets run through a touchless carwash on occasion (i.e.- the wheels have never actually been scrubbed, let alone the insides; the exhaust tip never polished [it was "carbon black" inside and out] and so on), and the interior has been cleaned once I think. I put about 8 hours into it. The interior was the main focus as it was so bad, but the engine bay and exterior needed work too. I will preface this write-up by saying I didn't have time to take before pictures of the engine and exterior (weather; you'll see in the exterior pictures), but the interior pictures will give you a rough idea of that situation as well.
The Interior/Trunk
The Process:
The Exterior/Engine
The Process:
The Pictures
The Interior/Trunk:
Before
After
The Exterior/Engine/"Final" Interior:
Thanks for looking!!!
The Interior/Trunk
The Process:
- Remove seats and any interior trim panels that can be removed. Remove the trunk carpet.
- Vacuum the floor mats, interior and the trunk area.
- Wipe interior down with APC+ where necessary and Quik Interior Detailer. Wipe the trunk trim and subwoofer with APC+.
- Use Meguiar's Slide Lock Brush and Triple Duty Detail Brush to brush out dust and dirt from the cracks and crevices of the seats (behind all levers as well), stereo, trim, etc...
- The rear seats were cleaned and protected with Meguiar's Gold Class Leather spray. The leather on the front seats was cleaned and protected with Meguiar's Gold Class Leather spray and the cloth/net inserts were wiped down with Meguiar's APC+.
- During the first night, all trim was dressed with Meguiar's NXT Tech Protect, then with Meguiar's Hyper Dressing 4:1 the next day as a follow up to ensure complete and even coverage and appearance.
- The floor mats were liberally soaked with Meguiar's Quik Out and Meguiar's APC+, then scrubbed with the G100 and the short and long bristle Hi-Tech DA Shampoo brushes. The mats were rinsed in the tub due to the amount of cleaner, and even more so, the amount of dirt. From there, the mats were re-rinsed with hot water and then the water extracted using a Bissel Little Green Machine Pro-Heat.
- The removable interior trim pieces were cleaned with the Meguiar's Triple Duty Detail Brush and APC+, then dressed.
- The glove box and any the small storage cubby were cleaned with Meguiar's APC+ and dressed with Meguiar's NXT Tech Protect.
The Exterior/Engine
The Process:
- Car was sprayed down at the coin-op car wash to get rid of major dirt on the exterior.
- The warm engine was soaked liberally with Meguiar's APC+, then scrubbed using wash brushes and Meguiar's NXT Car Wash Soap and finally rinsed. The underside of the hood was wiped down with a damp cloth. Everything was dressed with Meguiar's Hyper Dressing 4:1.
- The wheels, wheel wells and tires were cleaned using Meguiar's NXT Car Wash Soap, Meguiar's APC+, Meguiar's Super Degreaser, Meguiar's Wheel Spoke Brush and various wash and tire brushes. The wheel wells were dressed with Meguiar's Hyper Dressing 4:1. The tires were dressed with Meguiar's M38 Tire and Trim Dressing Gel.
- The exterior was washed with Meguiar's NXT Car Wash Soap and two Meguiar's Chenille Wash Mitts.
- The exhaust tip was polished using a Meguiar's Hi-Tech applicator pad and Meguiar's Mag and Aluminum Polish.
- All trim was dressing with Meguiar's M38 Tire and Trim Dressing Gel, including the piece of the windshield cowl that resides under the hood and the weatherstripping.
- All plastic was polished using Plexus.
- Door jambs, trunk and engine bay water channels were all wiped down.
- Door jamb plastic-sills were dressed with Meguiar's Exterior Trim Detailer Aerosol.
- The paint was then wiped down with Meguiar's Last Touch 1:1 to ensure a streak-free, glossy shine.
- All residual dirt and wax was cleaned out using the Meguiar's Triple Duty Detail Brush and Meguiar's Last Touch 1:1.
The Pictures
The Interior/Trunk:
Before
After
The Exterior/Engine/"Final" Interior:
Thanks for looking!!!
Polishing Paint removes the stress in my life, and the swirls on my car. 
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