White Toyota - Before and After Ultima

cdodkin · 10-08-07, 06:19

Interesting one this - not my usual 'bag' for detailing - but it belongs to a family member who shall remain nameless to protect the shamed!

5 year old Toyota, only ever been handwashed once in 5 years - never been waxed

Needless to say, the paint was matt - completely flat, no shine what so ever.

Very heavy oxidation, lots of scratching (from the one attempted hand wash)

It was so bad that stains would not wash off from the paint surface!

Before shots:

I agreed to instruct the offender, sorry owner, on how to bring his car back..

Started with a good Ultima Shampoo wash and dry - noted the the MF towels actually caught on the rough surface of the paint like sandpaper!

Then onto some serious remedial polishing with Sonus SFX 1 and an orange pad - lots and lots of time spent here.

Then followed up with Sonus Swirlbuster polish and Swirlbuster pad.

Things were looking a lot better!

Then on to the Ultima - used PPP on a swirlbuster pad

The shine came back the more we polished

Wipe down with MF - no more catching on the paint.

Then coated with PGP using the MF applicator pad. (Single coat so far)

Now remembering that this was a white car, I wasn't sure how the difference would look on camera - however it did feel fantastically slick

After shots:

Another score for Ultima - happy family member - probably the single worst car I've ever had to restore, and it worked!!!!

Next week we'll tackle his black trim and then the interior....

Brandon1 · 10-08-07, 06:38

I just dont get how people let cars get that bad.

Great job, you can definatly tell you spent time on it!

cdodkin · 10-08-07, 07:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brandon1

I just dont get how people let cars get that bad.

Great job, you can definatly tell you spent time on it!

I don't know how people leave cars that long either! - I guess all the detailing genes were used up by the time they came to him!

Glad the work showed on the photo's, white is not a great 'exhibition' color for any polish or product, but I wanted to share the positive results

johny · 10-08-07, 07:09

Incredible transformation. Even in the shadows you can still see how glossy and reflective the white paint is.

SHICKS · 10-08-07, 07:10

Just curious if you clayed? Great turnaround!

Steve

cdodkin · 10-08-07, 07:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by SHICKS

Just curious if you clayed? Great turnaround!

Steve

In most cases I clay, but I could see that I was going to have to do so much 'heavy duty' polishing in this case, that the claying would be unlikely to provide any benefit.

There was just so much surface oxidation, I think the clay would have stuck to the paint and been unable to glide effectively, even when lubed.

The finish before polishing was a lot like a chalk board - only rougher!

DavidB · 10-09-07, 08:32

Chris, Nice job bringing that Yota back to life.

cdodkin · 10-09-07, 08:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidB

Chris, Nice job bringing that Yota back to life.

Thx - I'm hoping the Ultima interior products are up to the challenge as well - it's going to be hell in there!

DavidB · 10-09-07, 08:36

My boys and I did two nasty Toyota jobs over the weekend... a white RAV4 and a blue Avalon. The fabric in the RAV4 was easy. It cleaned up nice. The Avalon leather was a bear.

bigfoot · 10-09-07, 08:56

Great job, and the difference is noticably clear and shinier!

skiz · 10-11-07, 04:47

very nice... you can see the difference in your after shot. I hope that family member really appreciates the work you put into that car.

cdodkin · 10-11-07, 08:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by skiz

very nice... you can see the difference in your after shot. I hope that family member really appreciates the work you put into that car.

As part of the 'training', I actually got him to do most of the physical stuff, under instruction of course!