2007 Mercedes S550, F-250, Harley Sportster, Chevy Tahoe

Scottwax · 03-26-06, 06:58

1999 Ford F-250. Owner has seen me at his small strip business complex cleaning another business owner's truck for a while now and asked me to wax his F-250. Considering it is 7 years old and he had no idea when he last waxed it, the paint was in pretty decent shape, only very light halo swirls. The main problem was it just looked dingy.

Once I clayed the truck, it looked a lot whiter. I polished with Clearkote's Vanilla Moose and a Lake Country polishing pad and sealed with Meguiars #16 paste by hand. The owner seemed very happy that his truck looked so white and bright and asked me to add him to my schedule for regular washes (every other week though).

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Harley-Davidson Sportster. The smallest Harley but the stripped down style makes it the easiest to clean by far. The tank and rear fender had some scratches, otherwise the bike was tip-top.

The lack of stuff attached to the bike made it possible for me to polish all painted surfaces with my PC once I removed the seat. I used my 50/50 mix of Optimum Polish and Compound and a Meguiars polishing pad. I followed with Jeff Werkstatt's Prime and Carnauba Jett by hand (Prime on all the chrome too).

Scottwax · 03-26-06, 07:10

2005 Chevy Tahoe. Last sealed in early August with AIO/Acrylic Jett. Other than some light to medium halo swirls and some scuffing (mostly around the door handles) the paint still looked really good and still beaded. The owner also said it beaded nicely when it rained last week and asked that I use the same sealant as last time. He also commented on how well the NXT Glass Cleaner made water bead off his windshield for a really long time after I waxed his Tahoe last August. He liked it so much in fact, he showed me his bottle of NXT GC!

Anyway, this is what I started with. This section was the worst I found, not bad for a year old truck that hadn't seen any surface care other than washing in 7 months. His lights btw.

After polishing with Optimum Polish/Compound mixed 50/50 and a Meguiars polishing pad:

I actually messed up on the after shot, so the after pics is blown up about 25% compared to the before pic. As you can see with the original after pic (reduced in size at the same rate as the before pic), I was farther away.

Final process was polishing with Optimum Polish/Compound mixed 50/50 and a Meguiars polishing pad, followed by Prime with a blue Propel finishing pad and Acrylic Jett by hand.

Tires and fenderwells dressed with Armor All.

Scottwax · 03-26-06, 07:16

2007 Mercedes S550. This is a big car! Definitely taller and appears longer than the previous generation. A little too "Bangled" 7 series for my taste. Maybe it will grow on me. The interior is first rate though.

Paint appeared absolutely flawless as it typical of the new PPG CeramiClear paints if the dealer doesn't mess it up with their makeready department. Only prep I did was to remove the Park Place dealer emblem.

Jeff Werkstatt's Prime and Acrylic Jett by hand.

Note the sun points-no swirls!

truzoom · 03-26-06, 07:20

Nice work, Scott.

Do you use a portable source of power when doing on-site polishing?

tdekany · 03-26-06, 07:23

Scott, they are all awesome! I love the new MB. Any interior pictures? How is the stereo sound - if you had a chance to hear it.

Scottwax · 03-26-06, 07:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by truzoom

Nice work, Scott.

Do you use a portable source of power when doing on-site polishing?

I just use their plugs. Most people don't want to hear a generator running for a few hours. Even the office complexes I go to usually have outlets on the outside of the buildings.

3Dog · 03-26-06, 07:29

Great work Scott.

Nice job on the Sportster heads....how are you knuckles! Although on the Sportster heads there is a bit more room than a Road King

BigAl3 · 03-26-06, 07:29

great job as always scott

Scottwax · 03-26-06, 07:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdekany

Scott, they are all awesome! I love the new MB. Any interior pictures? How is the stereo sound - if you had a chance to hear it.

I posted a few in the other thread (coming attraction) I took with my camera phone. The stereo was on but I didn't turn it up. Sounded pretty clean though.

Ric-that Sportster was by far the easiest Hog I've ever detailed. Not only does the owner take good care of it (he also owns the Tahoe in this thread) but no saddle bags, windshield, etc to remove-plus it is a very light bike so it is a breeze to move back and forth while cleaning the wheels. Honestly, I really enjoyed detailing it.

gtbaka · 03-26-06, 10:43

Wow. I can't get enough of your work Scott.

That F-250 is kleeen!

dneedsmuscles · 03-26-06, 10:55

When's the next SCOTTWAX seminar?

Awesome work Scott! P.s. Do you 'mask off' when you polish?

thecarguy · 03-27-06, 04:44

scott - great job!. 3 quick questions:

1- On the Tahoe - did you tape any trim?

2- How do you sell the routine washes? (How do you bring it up, sell the benefits,...)

3- Do you work outside of covered by a garage or tarp? If outside, how do you correctly wash and apply products?