October Xtreme Detail: red/orange/pink Protege!

White95Max · 10-07-05, 07:24

This car belongs to a friend of mine. It's a 2000 Protege LX that had some very bad oxidation and some swirls/holograms. The previous owner appeared to have waxed the car before selling it, because there were wax stains all over the car. He waxed the plastic side mirrors and everything.
I was able to work on the car for one day at my apartment (he drove here) and the rest of the work I did at my parents' house in Manitowoc (where the Protege's owner lives). So
I washed the car twice, once with QEW (at my apartment) and then with Meg's DC wash the following weekend, when I had access to a hose (at my parents' house). It took more than one day of work to do the car, because I had to leave in the early evening on the first day for a weekend kayaking trip. I did Wash/SSRs/AIO/WG on it the first day, and the rest the next weekend.

Process:

Wash with QEW. (as mentioned above, washed a second time with Meg's Deep Crystal soap)
Polish with SSR2.5 and green Propel via PC on 6
Polish with SSR2 and green Propel via PC on 6
Klasse AIO and blue Propel via PC on 4
Klasse AIO and 4" blue mini-Propel via PC (that tiny backing plate is so cool!) on areas that were hard to reach with the PC and 7" pad. Speed 3.
Wolfgang Deep Gloss sealant by hand, applied with a Wolfgang Polishin Pal and gray LC 4" pad.
Nattys applied by hand, via WG Polishin Pal and gray LC 4" pad.

Clearkote Vanilla Moose by hand on glass
Poorboy's Trim Restorer on all plastic trim
Meguiars PlastX on headlights/taillights, applied with Excel round MF applicator.
Wolfgang Tire Gel on tires
Mothers mag/aluminum polish on exhaust tip, then 1Z Chrompflege, then WG sealant. Applied/removed with terry cloth towels. WG was applied via Meg's yellow applicator, and removed with a WalMart MF.
303 Wiper Treatment on wiper blades
303 Aerospace Protectant on wiper arms

Detailer's Pride Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner / Meg's APC 3:1 on floormats. I tried Autoglym shampoo first, but I thought the DP cleaner was working better so I continued with it.
The mats were scrubbed with an Autopia upholstery brush. Rinsed by misting water on the mats and wiping with WalMart MFs. Dried by wiping WalMart MFs over the mats, until just damp, and then I left them in the sunlight.

Engine:
303 Aerospace Cleaner and Walmart MF to clean.
WalMart MF to dry
Mothers Mag/Aluminum Polish on metal surfaces
Meg's NXT Tech Protectant on plastic/rubber.
VM on paint

Underside of hood:
Wash with QEW and WalMart MF.
WalMart MF to dry.
Clearkote Vanilla Moose by hand via Meg's foam applicator (4" yellow). Removed with an Excel Supreme MF.

On to the pics!

BEFORE

DURING POLISHING

ScubaStevo · 10-07-05, 07:25

Ugh, I hate working with cars like this.

You and I will be close on this one.

Mine was black.

White95Max · 10-07-05, 07:26

AFTER

Ah hah! You've been caught!

White95Max · 10-07-05, 07:28

Engine:

BEFORE:

The interior was not bad, other than the front floormats. The previous owner was obviously more concerned with the interior's condition than the exterior's.
The process on the interior was simple:
*Wash windows with Sonus Vision and Excel bella blue MF applicator, dry windows with a green WCD MF towel. If any streaks were noticed afterward, I washed the window(s) again, substituting water for the Sonus Vision.
*Clean plastics with 303 Aerospace Cleaner and a round Excel MF app. Protect with Sonus Total Eclipse.
*303 Aerospace Protectant on vinyl shift boot.
*Scrub floormats (process mentioned above)

Floormats Before

And just so nobody accuses me of replacing the mats with the ones from my Protege, here's a couple shots with my mats too.

White95Max · 10-07-05, 07:30

SUPPLIES USED

White95Max · 10-07-05, 07:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScubaStevo

Ugh, I hate working with cars like this.

You and I will be close on this one.

Mine was black.

Good luck to you, Steve.

Picus · 10-07-05, 07:50

I know this board filters swearing but holy ****.

I saw that picture of the pillar while eating a sammich and said, out loud, "EW". Amazing turnaround. The first after of the fender (with the sun right on it!) looks better than new. I had to recheck your process/products because that red is just glowing. Excellent work.

buzzb · 10-07-05, 07:56

Outstanding turnaround Paul! What is all over the side mirror (7th pic down I think) and what did you use to get it off? Looks like dried wax or damage of some sort- certainly didn't look good from the pic though!

Buzz

zippymbr · 10-07-05, 08:13

Amazing! How long did all that take you? I spent 6 hours once on a van in that condition, and that was only the paint! Excellent work.

White95Max · 10-07-05, 08:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by buzzb

Outstanding turnaround Paul! What is all over the side mirror (7th pic down I think) and what did you use to get it off? Looks like dried wax or damage of some sort- certainly didn't look good from the pic though!

Buzz

Yeah it was dried wax. PB's Trim Restorer takes dried wax off of plastic quite well from my experience. A little scrubbing with a MF applicator took it off.

That's what happens when people buy cheap waxes (and apply them to plastic!).
I prefer to buy the more expensive, non-staining waxes, but to each his own I guess...

White95Max · 10-07-05, 08:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by zippymbr

Amazing! How long did all that take you? I spent 6 hours once on a van in that condition, and that was only the paint! Excellent work.

It took me ~8hrs the first day, and then maybe 5-6 more hours to wash it again, clean the engine, and do the interior on the 2nd day.

Jake11375 · 10-07-05, 09:21

Excellent job on the Protege man. The floormats came out really good. Still a few slight stains but they look 110% better.