2000 Neon that was in ROUGH shape. Worst car I've seen so far.

[FinalTouchDetail]

Detailed a 2000 Plymouth Neon yesterday.

This 2000 neon has NEVER been under cover out of the elements, has NEVER seen a coat of wax and hadn't been washed in at least 3 years.



The car was dropped off to me at 10 and I took about 30 minutes worth of pictures before getting into this mess.

I first let the car soak in a low dilution Chemical Guys Wash and Gloss (applied with a foam gun) while I cleaned the tires with Chemical Guys Grime Reaper and an adjustable wheel brush. I dressed the wheels and wheel-wells with Meguiars Hot Shine Gel.

When I was done with the wheels I refoamed the car and began a SERIOUS washing. I scrubbed all over the car (not caring if I made any small scratches because it COULDN'T get worse, so I just tried to clean it the best I could).

I then Clayed the car with Claymagic Blue Clay

Now was the moment of truth to begin polishing. I alternated different spots with Menzerna SIP and Meguiar's 105 depending on the severity of the area. He was only paying for a single-stage polish so I tried to get it to finish off the best I could. When I was done with polishing (1 complete pass over the car took me just over 3 hours) I did an initial wipe-down with Chemical Guys Acrylic Detailer.

I then applied Chemical Guys EZ-Creme Glaze/Acrylic Sealant by PC on a black pad and let it sit for about 45 minutes before removing it.

After it was completely removed I did a final wipedown with Meguiars Ultimate Quick Wax and called it a day, 6 hours later.

No question about it, this car needed wet-sanding and multiple stages of polishing, but the customer got what he wanted to pay for and it came out much better than he was expecting. I was pleased with the results for the work put in.




This is the trunk area...keep this in mind when you see how it finished out



The roof had some severe oxidation that I wasn't able to remove here.

















Now on to the detail...




Clean Clay...



After doing 1/2 of the hood...




Done washing and claying...drying for polishing now.




Hood section before:




Hood Section After (Keep in mind he was only paying for a single stage polish, so I couldn't spend all the time needed to completely refine it...it got the majority of the major issues though):

The hood LITERALLY changed colors in front of me it was so oxidized...it was great.




Rear Quarter Panel Before:



After 1 stage polish:




Trunk with direct lighting before:



Trunk after 1 stage polish:




In this next picture both the top and bottom of the door looked the same after washing....guess which portion has been polished at this point (this is my favorite picture I have taken to date, ha ha...my wife loved how drastic it is)




Passenger side 50/50:




Wheels/tires after cleaning and dressing:




I use TW ICE liquid polish to dress plastic trim...I like how easily it applies and how black it makes plastic pieces.



Headlight after wash, clay and PlastX applied via PC and 4" orange pad:




All done







It was IMPOSSIBLE to finish the roof down at all. It desperately needed wet sanding, but I did what I could. It regained a lot of clarity and removed a lot of major swirls, but you can only do so much with a single pass.






Hood finished up nicely.




Hood again with overhead halogens (each one 300w). This is before I polished the headlight up though.





Thanks for looking. This car was a LOT of work and could still use another 6 hours of labor into it, but the customer was ecstatic with the transformation when he came back after work to pick it up and I was happy to do what I could while staying in the parameters of what I was being paid to do (which is sometimes very difficult when you know it would finish off better with another 2 hours of finishing polish).

[gto_don]

Re: 2000 Neon that was in ROUGH shape. Worst car I've seen so far.

..I was happy to do what I could while staying in the parameters of what I was being paid to do (which is sometimes very difficult when you know it would finish off better with another 2 hours of finishing polish).

WOW Shawn...what a great turn around on that Neon. I would not have thought it would have turned out that well without seeing the pictures. Great Job!

Since I have started my detailing business, the above quote is probably by far my biggest challenge. For example, if a customer is paying/requesting just a quickie wash and wax, it drives me NUTS to see the vehicle looking nice and then see dirty wheel wells, faded headlights or know that the engine is filthy. I really struggle with that mainly because I always feel that my job is incomplete without those issues being addressed (altho the engine cleaning is stretching it a bit)....almost as if I missed those items in my detail. For me, it's a very tough thing to let the vehicle leave looking that way.

[FinalTouchDetail]

Re: 2000 Neon that was in ROUGH shape. Worst car I've seen so far.

Thanks

I understand and agree completely, and that is exactly why I included that line in my post. It is one of the hardest things to do when you want to keep going to do what is a complete job in your mind. When I was waiting for him to show up I was actually worried thinking "wow, I left so many imperfections" but then I looked at the before/after shots and thought.... "yeah, he'll be happy"

It's important to always do the best job you can do, but don't rob yourself of your time for no compensation. Explain what CAN be done with further refinement, but only do the work you are commissioned for.

This car is a daily driver and sees no protection from the elements (garage, car port, etc...) so the owner didn't want to spend the money for a 12+ hour detail on it, which is totally understandable.

[xantonin]

Re: 2000 Neon that was in ROUGH shape. Worst car I've seen so far.

Very impressive!

I love seeing these sort of details. The car looks amazing by the way, I'm sure the owner was thrilled.

[FinalTouchDetail]

Re: 2000 Neon that was in ROUGH shape. Worst car I've seen so far.

Thanks.

I love doing these kinds of details. Detailing a well-kept high-end car is fun, but being able to really bring some life back into a car for an owner is a great experience and very satisfying.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: 2000 Neon that was in ROUGH shape. Worst car I've seen so far.

Fantastic turnaround on the Neon!

We would be curious to see it in a few weeks, however, as it appears to have clear coat failure on both the trunk and roof. While that can be made to look better for a brief period, it can't ever be truly fixed unless you strip it and repaint. The clear is actually delaminating from the color coat, and simple polishing/cleaning/waxing/buffing etc won't cure it long term.

But some of those half & half shots are just fantastic!! Nicely done.

[FinalTouchDetail]

Re: 2000 Neon that was in ROUGH shape. Worst car I've seen so far.

Yeah I was hoping that cleaning the surface as well as I did and sealing it would help to slow or halt the spread of the problem. I see the guy occasionally though and he plans on coming back on a monthly basis for a "maintenance" detail/wax, so I'll be sure to post some follow-up pictures.

[xantonin]

Re: 2000 Neon that was in ROUGH shape. Worst car I've seen so far.

Yeah I was hoping that cleaning the surface as well as I did and sealing it would help to slow or halt the spread of the problem. I see the guy occasionally though and he plans on coming back on a monthly basis for a "maintenance" detail/wax, so I'll be sure to post some follow-up pictures.

Sounds good! I look forward to reading them.

If you can, update this thread when you make the follow up post. I tend to go on phases where I don't visit MOL often, but I do check threads I posted in.

[FinalTouchDetail]

Re: 2000 Neon that was in ROUGH shape. Worst car I've seen so far.

Will do.

[Bill Davidson]

Re: 2000 Neon that was in ROUGH shape. Worst car I've seen so far.

We would be curious to see it in a few weeks, however, as it appears to have clear coat failure on both the trunk and roof.

Very nice work Shawn,

The photos were definitely worth the effort. What great before/after shots.

I can understand that it's frustrating to half way finish a car, but every detail job would have to be a 2 day $1000 job. Not really worth it for a car like that. As you mentioned the customer is 100% happy and would have never imagined you could have brought it to that level.

As Michael mentioned above, with the clearcoat failing on this car, likely the level you brought it to is likely "perfect" given the condition of the clearcoat.

I'd love to see a follow up on this car, if it's possible as well. Hopefully it remains in this kind of shape.

Man those headlights were brutal your customer is going to be in shock the fist time they drive that car at night.

Great job!!!

[FinalTouchDetail]

Re: 2000 Neon that was in ROUGH shape. Worst car I've seen so far.

I'll definitely keep an update going of this car in the future when I can.

I don't know how he was driving at night with that headlight! It must've been the equivalent of really only having the passenger side light working. There's no way that faded lense was casting much viewable light.

I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I didn't take extensive before/after shots of this vehicle. I have quite a few more, but only posted the main ones on this forum. Before and 50/50 shots are invaluable and I don't understand how people neglect them so often.

[Bill Davidson]

Re: 2000 Neon that was in ROUGH shape. Worst car I've seen so far.

Before and 50/50 shots are invaluable and I don't understand how people neglect them so often.

Before/after shots are something you have to build into your routine. They seem like a pain at first, but after a while it just becomes second nature. I bet Nick (Tuck91) has it down to a science.

I personally use the before/after shots as a selling feature for the detailing job. I tell the customer that I will take the photos and that they can use them, if they ever need to make an insurance claim, or sell their vehicle.

Normally most people will share the photos through email and it's free advertising for your detailing company.

Photo's also cover your butt as a detailer and they help sell your service. Photos seems like a no brainer to me.

I'd love to hear any reasons for not taking them. I've never thought of any.

[bmrfan]

Re: 2000 Neon that was in ROUGH shape. Worst car I've seen so far.

Awesome how you documented your work! I always learn something from well documented postings.

You mentioned the owner of the Neon wanted a "single-pass" polish detail.

What's involved in a "multi-pass" polish detail job?

[Bill Davidson]

Re: 2000 Neon that was in ROUGH shape. Worst car I've seen so far.

Awesome how you documented your work! I always learn something from well documented postings.

You mentioned the owner of the Neon wanted a "single-pass" polish detail.

What's involved in a "multi-pass" polish detail job?

That's a good question.

A "multi-pass" polish detail job typically means that you will perform multiple stages of scratch/swirl reduction. You would starting from the most aggressive (as needed) followed by less aggressive passes.

ie. Start with M-105 and a polishing pad, follow up with M-205 and a polishing pad, perhaps once again followed up with M-205 and a finishing pad.

Rather than changing pads and products, you might change the amount of speed and pressure you are working at.

Like I say, it's a good question, because, I think you may get different interpretations to the meaning.

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: 2000 Neon that was in ROUGH shape. Worst car I've seen so far.

Great turnaround on the Neon. Looks great. I also would like to see updates on this car. Keep up the great work.