G35 Sedan full Gloss-It Detail and a 2002 D2 S8 One Step

d00t · 09-11-09, 06:05

First up is a G35 sedan I did about a month ago.. I've been REALLY lagging on write-ups!!

Anyways, this was in for a two day full correction+interior. I knew ahead of time about sticky paint, and have read numerous posts about how well the gloss-it line works on sticky paint. And I also know the level of correction that can be done after reading Dave's (dsms), Bob's (AutoConceirge) and Clark's posts about correcting with a DA and GI polishes on sticky paint.

So I decided to make this an entire gloss-it detail (well from what I had..)

This car's owner is the brother of the nasty bmw I did about 5 weeks ago. So I knew I was in for a "treat"! At least it was a light blue metallic, so it was a little more forgiving..

When I first started the car Saturday morning:

Hard to tell.. but moderate swirling and some hologramming:

Wheels first. They weren't bad at all considering the rest of the car so I used CG StickyWheelGel cut 3:1. Tires and Wheel Wells get Megs APC 3:1.

Before:

During:

After:

I then turned to the engine bay. It was pressure rinsed at a safe distance, and degreased with P21S TAW and agitated with various brushes. It was later dressed with Megs HD cut 3:1 for a satin finish.

Before:

During:

After:

The front of the car was clear bra'd from the factory.. and was riddled with caked on bugs. I gave the front end a pre-soak in P21S TAW before rinsing at pressure and then moving on to foaming. I foamed the car with CWC and also 2 bucket washed it with CWC as well.

I brought the car in to the garage for claying which I used Riccardo Yellow. I then attempted some pictures at the paint's condition:

There was moderate swirling and slight RIDS. My plan of attack was a basic two step that would clear up 90%+ of the swirling. I ended up going with Gloss-It Extreme Cut+EVP on a DD Orange Pad on the Flex DA followed up with another pass with GI-EC without EVP to clear up minor hologramming. I then finished it off with Gloss-It Evo Polish on a LC Black pad and the flex DA to restore the gloss.

Attempt at a 50/50:

Paint finished under brinkman:

Before:

After:

The great thing about the polishing that saved me alot of time was not having to wash it again because of the minimal dusting provided by the Gloss-It polishes.

Once polishing was complete I turned to the odds'n'ends of the exterior such as black plastic trim which was polished with PB Trim Restorer, the glass which was polished with Werkstat Prime and Acrylic, the exhuast with Mothers, and the rubber seals with gummi pfledge. Tires and wheel wells were dressed with Megs HD.

Mirror before:

After trim restorer:

The interior was extremely clean. It needed only spot cleaning on the carpets (literally two spots) and the seats were in great condition minus the drivers seat. Even after trying to different cleaners on it, the dye transfer/staining wouldn't lift so I decided it was no fault of the GI Leather cleaner, but that of the leather being too far contaiminated.

So the leather was cleaned/conditioned with Gloss-It leather cleaner and leather conditioner. Carpets were vacuumed and cleaned with CG citrus microfiber wash (makes a great carpet cleaner--and smells great!) Dash was wiped down with 1Z Cockpit Premium

Afters:

LSP of choice for this car was Gloss-It Signature sealant.

d00t · 09-11-09, 06:06

Final Afters:

And....

d00t · 09-11-09, 06:07

Next is a 2002 Ming Blue S8 that I did last weekend. This car was brutal, but the owner only requested a one step that wasn't quite a one-step in the end.. I'll ellaborate more on this later but let's begin!

When I first got the car:

(as you can see--it's HAMMERED)

Engine bay just dusty:

Cleaned and left without dressing for a matte finish:

Wheels first. Cleaned with GI Wheel Gel, and Megs APC.

Before:

After they've been waxed and tires dressed with Megs HD as well as the wheel wells.

Wash was carried out with CWC in Foam Gun and CWC with 2 buckets.

I pulled the car inside and clayed with Riccardo Yellow.

Here's the condition under weak florescent lighting (to get an idea of just how bad it really was..)

Camera flash:

Camera flash+brinkman:

So like I said.. this "one step" didn't turn out being a one-step. I could go as aggressive as 3M UK Fast Cut Plus+ 3M UK Orange Cutting pad with NO hologramming--but only average cut. So I ended up going with 3M FCP on a 3M Orange Cutting pad followed up with Menzerna PowerFinish on a seperate 3M UK Orange cutting pad.

results:

Before:

After:

50/50 under Florescent:

Once the car was polished I moved on to the wheels which were sealed with Wersktat Prime and Acrylic. The polished trim was polished with PO85RD on a foam pad. The exhaust with mothers.

The interior, unlike exterior, was in AMAZING shape, just like the previous G35. Fortunately, it was easy enough to clean with 1z cockpit premium, a good vacuum, and the leather treated with Leather Masters Trio. Wood and door shuts were polished withs ZAIO

d00t · 09-11-09, 06:09

LSP of choice was Bilt Hamber Autobalm. I was quite impressed the results it gave on metallic!!

Now, this was no mirracle one-step where I got 95% correction. It was true to it's word, and I achieved about 75-80% correction. To get anything more, I would have needed heavy wool and compounding.

But a reminder of before:

Afters:

Thanks for looking!

As always, C/C welcome!