Cleaned up my Santa Fe

OCDinPDX · 06-18-09, 05:04

After a 10,000 mile tour of the country earlier this year my silver 2004 Santa Fe was in DIRE need of a good detail. She'd spent two and a half months parked outside while I was in Kansas City for school and exposed to the elements (she's been garaged since we bought her). I was shocked and amazed to find that the paint had suffered from some slight oxidation. Nothing terrible but enough to take the shine off the surface and you could tell the difference between a panel that had been polished and one that had not. Please keep in mind that this car does have 122,500 miles on her so I did what I could.

I do not have any before photos as she'd already been washed and it's silver so it's damn near impossible to see the defects anyway. Sorry I'm usually a bit more snap-happy but this car is like her owner, not photogenic in the slightest way.

I mostly use Griot's Garage products so that will be indicated by the acronym GG.

Exterior Process:
Wash using GG Car Wash and MF Mitt
Dry with MF Waffle Weave drying towel
Clay using GG Clay and Speed Shine as lubricant
Machine polished using GG Random Orbital, orange pad, and GG stage 2 machine polish
Re-wash car following polishing to prep surface for LSP and remove any remaining speed shine and polishing oils
Applied one coat of 4-star UPP by hand and allowed to cure for 2 hours

Wheels, Undercarriage, and Engine
Pre-soak wheel arches with APC 4:1 and agitate with brush
Pre-soak engine compartment with APC 4:1 and rinse with hose on 'Shower' setting
Dress arches with GG Undercarriage Spray and engine compartment with Stoner's Trim Shine
Remove all four wheels, remove tar spots and clean wheel barrels (reverse sides) and lips.
Dress tire faces with GG Long-Lasting Tire Dressing

Interior
Vacuum seats and carpets
Scrub cargo area rubber mat with APC 4:1 and brush
Fit new carpeted floor mats
Dust and clean plastic surfaces with GG Interior Cleaner
Clean windows inside and out with Sprayaway Glass Cleaner and paper towels

Total Time Spent: 12 hours (silver is an easy color and Hyundai paint is REALLY soft and easy to work with)

This door had to have some PDR work done on it a few years ago which is why it's not perfectly straight...

Nothing like clean arches. Please note that what looks like dirt at the top of the mud guard is actually the reflection of the alloy wheel on the plastic dressing.

Notice I go for the lines in the cloth seats and carpets. It's those little touches that make the difference, if you ask me.

Shiny....

Yours truly with the machine....

Thanks for looking.

SpoiledMan · 06-18-09, 07:22

Very clean! You're taking good care of that ride.

Phillyz · 06-18-09, 10:00

You are indeed keeping that car looking fresh. Good work. Btw, are your front windows tinted?

TSC17 · 06-18-09, 10:12

Looking good buddy! I was surprised how clean the car was when you dropped by my house when you were almost halfway through your trip!

OCDinPDX · 06-18-09, 11:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpoiledMan

Very clean! You're taking good care of that ride.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phillyz

You are indeed keeping that car looking fresh. Good work. Btw, are your front windows tinted?

Thanks, gents. Yes indeed the front windows are tinted. The darkness is a match but in the right light you can tell the color of the tint is off. The factory tint (aft of the B pillar) is a bronze tint impregnated in the glass itself. The film the tint shop applied to the front windows is more of a blue. The difference is so minor that almost nobody notices so I'm not seriously concerned.

They are illegally dark, however. You aren't affiliated with any sort of law enforcement agencies are you?

Quote:

Originally Posted by TSC17

Looking good buddy! I was surprised how clean the car was when you dropped by my house when you were almost halfway through your trip!

Thanks, Todd...the great thing about silver is that it was seriously filthy when I was in Columbus. Had I known you have a paint depth gauge I would have asked you to check just how thin the infamous 2004 Santa Fe paint really is. Those gauges are freakin' expensive.

Phillyz · 06-29-09, 12:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by OCDinPDX

Thanks, gents. Yes indeed the front windows are tinted. The darkness is a match but in the right light you can tell the color of the tint is off. The factory tint (aft of the B pillar) is a bronze tint impregnated in the glass itself. The film the tint shop applied to the front windows is more of a blue. The difference is so minor that almost nobody notices so I'm not seriously concerned.

They are illegally dark, however. You aren't affiliated with any sort of law enforcement agencies are you?

Thanks, Todd...the great thing about silver is that it was seriously filthy when I was in Columbus. Had I known you have a paint depth gauge I would have asked you to check just how thin the infamous 2004 Santa Fe paint really is. Those gauges are freakin' expensive.

I'm not from a law agency! I was just wondering, I have 15% on all of my windows and yours looked similar. The match looks great though

OCDinPDX · 06-29-09, 02:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phillyz

I'm not from a law agency! I was just wondering, I have 15% on all of my windows and yours looked similar. The match looks great though

Thanks! It keeps the interior so much cooler I wish I had done it earlier. It's matched front and rear right around 25%. Darkest you can legally go on the front windows in Oregon is 35%. I actually had to sign a release form saying I acknowledge that it is beyond legal limits and don't hold the tint shop responsible.

15% in PA? Don't they nick you for that at inspection time?

Phillyz · 06-29-09, 03:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by OCDinPDX

Thanks! It keeps the interior so much cooler I wish I had done it earlier. It's matched front and rear right around 25%. Darkest you can legally go on the front windows in Oregon is 35%. I actually had to sign a release form saying I acknowledge that it is beyond legal limits and don't hold the tint shop responsible.

15% in PA? Don't they nick you for that at inspection time?

The 25% looks great. 10% off the legal limit isn't too bad. That's weird that you had to sign a consent form.

Yeah all tint in PA is illegal, but they don't nab you during inspection. I also have my tail lights tinted and I've never gotten pulled over or anything (knocks on wood).