50th Anniversary Corvette by Unique Car Care

RickRack · 07-07-09, 08:52

This beautiful 50th Anniversary Edition Corvette was scheduled for a complete detail. Overall, the car was in fairly good shape, but it had a few issues that needed to be addressed. With only 12,000 miles on the odometer, the owner wanted to get the car looking as good as it did when it rolled out of the showroom. My goal was a bit different… I wanted to make the car look better than the day it rolled out of the showroom! The owner had a tight budget, so I assured him that we would do the best job possible for the amount he was looking to spend.

Below are a few examples of how the car looked upon arrival…

As you can see, it was a bit dirty and the finish had a very sterile look to it. My brother started by giving the exterior a basic hand wash, which made a noticeable difference in overall appearance.

While my brother was washing the exterior, I began cleaning all wheels, tires and wheel wells using a variety of brushes. Spray Nine was used on these areas, as well as the engine compartment and all hard to reach areas such as the tail lights, emblems, door jambs, etc…

The water was beading heavily on the surface, so Spray Nine was used to strip whatever was on the paint in order to make the polishing go smoother. The pictures below show how well Spray Nine works at removing whatever was on the paint…

Before: (notice the water beading)

After: (left side untouched, right side after Spray Nine)

After stripping the paint free of all previous products, the exterior received a claybar treatment to remove any bonded contaminants from the surface. This left the paint feeling silky smooth and ready for polishing. The exterior was rinsed thoroughly and hand dried, then all cracks & crevices were purged with compressed air. All door, hood and trunk jambs were wiped clean with a microfiber cloth.

RickRack · 07-07-09, 08:53

My brother started on the interior while Ryan and I began polishing the exterior. The paint was in pretty good shape overall, besides a few areas that had some deeper scratches. Luckily, the deeper scratches were confined to specific areas, so we decided to spot-buff these areas with the rotary using Meguiar’s 105 using an orange LC pad.

After the major scratches had been removed, we switched over to PC’s and did a one step polish by applying lots of pressure using Menzerna Power Finish and orange LC pads. This did a great job correcting the paint, despite how extremely hard Corvette paint is.

After all of the polishing was complete, Ryan and I buzzed over the exterior with the PC’s to apply a thin coat of Blackfire Wet Diamond using gold LC pads. While the sealant was curing, all tires & wheel wells were dressed with Super Blue dressing, then the exhaust tips were polished with Autosol metal polish. All windows were cleaned and received a coat of Opti-Seal.

Last but not least, Ryan and I wiped off the Blackfire using fresh microfiber towels while my brother did a final wipedown of all door, hood and trunk jambs using Optimum Gloss Enhancer to remove any remaining dust or polishing spatter.

And now for the final results!

The interior looked better than new after my brother worked his magic on it…

The engine compartment was so clean you could eat off it!

The exterior was no exception and turned out amazing for such a simple process!

It was a very cloudy and overcast day, so I wasn’t able to get many decent sun shots…

The sun came out briefly the following day, so I backed the car out for a few sun pictures…

DavidB · 07-07-09, 08:57

Nice work. I really like the post detail shots under the power lines. Great effect.

RickRack · 07-07-09, 09:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidB

Nice work. I really like the post detail shots under the power lines. Great effect.

Thanks a lot David!

Got More Wax · 07-07-09, 09:23

Nice work! Amazing how crappy the GM light gray interior can look when just a little neglected but, how awesome it looks when clean!

Nice turn around!!

Andy

RickRack · 07-07-09, 09:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Got More Wax

Nice work! Amazing how crappy the GM light gray interior can look when just a little neglected but, how awesome it looks when clean!

Nice turn around!!

Andy

Thank you Andy!

The interior color is actually light tan and is only available on the 50th Anniversary Edition models.

snowskate · 07-07-09, 09:48

Awesome Rick! That looked like it was a fun detail.

RickRack · 07-07-09, 09:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by snowskate

Awesome Rick! That looked like it was a fun detail.

Thanks Jack!

It actually was a fun detail. Sometimes full paint corrections get old after 20 hours of buffing! I wish all details were this straight forward...

How's everything?

dmw2692004 · 07-07-09, 10:01

wow, only 12k miles and it was that filthy! ouch! great turn around and detail, as always!

tom p. · 07-07-09, 11:28

More amazing work by the master! The interior is breathtaking. The custom plate frame is an excellent addition for the photos!

What's "Spray 9"? I think I need that...

Thx.

Shuskan3 · 07-07-09, 12:11

Nice work, anymore pics of the E31?

RaskyR1 · 07-07-09, 12:14

Nice work Rick!

That color is stunning in the late evening sun.