Have you ever had a detail that you just knew was going to be a pain in the arse from the get go? I have no idea why the little 320 are so popular around here but this was the 3rd one I've done this season so far. All of them silver all them trashed. This one had about 285,000 mile on the click. Some CC failure on the mirror. and the hatch had rock chips all over it...Still can't figure out how the back was worse than the front with rock chips. baffels me I tell ya. Any who... The interior needed some help. And with almost 300,000 miles on a DD I knew perfection wasn't in the cards for this ride. So Plan for it this morning the guy is supposed to drop it off at 9:30am... 10 comes and goes. I give him a call. He's running behind and will have the car to me in 2 hours. Ugg.. Starting a detail at noon is pushing it. Noon... comes and goes... 1:00pm comes and goes. Ok fine this guy is just a no show something came up whatever it's 80* and sunny. I can take the kids over to the pool at my cousins house down the road and chill out poolside for the day... Walk out to leave at 2:00 and he pulls in... ARGH!!!!!! Should've re-booked I know. But I felt I made a commitment and technically I had the day set for detailing. Time to bust A$$ and get this done. (time crunch is also the reason behind very few process pics so please forgive me) Dropped the kids off and got to work.
Start time 2:30pm
Befores:
How to approch this?? Man I had to figure out the game place quick. The issues that needed attention were all the rock chips on the back hatch One of the headlamps were oxidized over and yellowed and then the interior needed drastic measures.. So follow me on this one.
Process:
Wash hawaiian shine Auto Wash
Clay with purple clay (meguiars white clay wasn't touching the massive amounts of rail dust accomping a paint job with 285,000 on it. Not a spec of wax was on it either)
Touched up all the rock chips in the back and the couple on the front.
While that was drying I went and started the carpets on the interior
Once the carpets were done I wetsanded the entire hatch and wetsanded down the
headlight capsule filled again
Next up while the second round of touch up was drying Got to work on the leather and plasitcs
Steamed cleaned the leather and gave it the vodoo treatment
Finished off the interior and dressed with
Meg's HD diluted for interior new look
wetsanded the touch up again
Compounded with Synthetic cutting creame (still out of 105
)
Polished with 205 (getting really low on that now too)
dressed the engine bay with HD
Tires dressed
Windows done
Badda bing.
A good half and half of the carpets coming clean after years of neglect.
Once I got the interior done it was looking good again. Not perfect because it really looked like at one point in time someone tried repainting the interior in certian sections... odd really..
The engine bay all back to new looking specs..
And end!!!! Time was 7:00pm Talk about busting hump... And it's only monday. Guy loved it and is bringing another Benz for me on Friday... Hopefully in better shape or he gives me more time. I hate working at that pace... Drives me nuts. But as long as he was happy and he booked another car I guess it was all worth it. Like i said far from a perfect detail but looking just a ton better than what it came in looking like.
Thanks for looking guys.
Linear Mode
