Lincoln Limo DONE!

[heatgain]

Word`s out among friends and co-workers that I`m detailing. So I get a phone call from a friend of a friend about detailing her car. "What kind of car is it?", I ask.

"Uh, it`s a Lincoln," she replies. "What color?" I cleverly come back with.

"Black," she answers. "How much would it cost?"

Well, if there`s one thing I`ve learned from these forums it`s not to price a job over the phone, so I agreed to go to her house the next morning and we`ll talk about it.

I drive up to her house the next morning and her husband is standing on the porch. I pull into the driveway and sitting there among 5 other cars is a black Lincoln limo, with a 72" center section. OK, now I`m starting to freak. Not only will this be my first black car, but the thing looked about 50 feet long to me. The customer and I talked and he pointed out all the white wax remnants left in the crevices from his last "detail," and how unsatisfied he was with people who do sloppy work.

I assure him how good I am (gulp) and try and sell him a full detail. He insists on just a "wash and wax," and talks about me getting to know this car this time, and "we`ll talk about other work" when this is finished. Well, the car is LOADED with swirls, scratches, sprinkler stains and tons of holograms on the finish. I try to upgrade him to a full detail, but he insists on just a wash and wax. I agree, making sure he understands that although some of the swirls might be gone when I`m done, the car will still have all the faults I`m pointing out. He sticks to a wash and wax. I agree.

He brings the car to my house the next morning, and here we go.

For wheels and tires

Meg`s APC

Autozone`s version of an EZ brush

Tire brush from Walmart to scrub the tires

DG 501 to coat the wheels

AA Tire Foam on the tires



For the paint:

Meg`s clay with Mother`s Showtime QD as a lube

Meg`s #66 via G110 at speed 5

Meg`s yellow polishing pad (2)

DG 521 (Marine QD for stubborn stuff)

Meg`s 105 by hand to get rid of the sprinkler stains

DWG on top of the #66

Opti-Seal (one quick coat on top of the DWG)



Now the pics. They`re not great pics....oh well.



The boat, er, car arrives:

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m468/Heatgain/IM001568.jpg

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m468/Heatgain/IM001569.jpg

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m468/Heatgain/IM001570.jpg



The size of the car makes my 10x10 canopy look like an umbrella in a drink:

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m468/Heatgain/IM001571.jpg

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m468/Heatgain/IM001573.jpg



A tire and wheel on arrival:

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m468/Heatgain/IM001575.jpg



After tires/wheels done and a wash:

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m468/Heatgain/IM001578.jpg



Left side after M66:

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m468/Heatgain/IM001579.jpg



Rear door M66`d, but not the center section. Hopefully you can see the clearer reflection of the trees from the door:

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m468/Heatgain/IM001581.jpg



After M66 and DWG:

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m468/Heatgain/IM001582.jpg



Holograms and scratches still there as promised, but SHINY!:

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m468/Heatgain/IM001583.jpg



See the scratches/swirls mid/bottom of the photo? Maybe next time I`ll get to handle those:

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m468/Heatgain/IM001585.jpg



An after of a tire/wheel. I even removed the all middle wheel pieces and scrubbed to make sure no residue remains in crevices because of his concern:

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m468/Heatgain/IM001587.jpg



All done: Looks good to me from 5 feet away:

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m468/Heatgain/IM001588.jpg



OK. Looks good from 2 feet away too:

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m468/Heatgain/IM001589.jpg



Finish shots. I should`ve taken better ones but oh well:

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m468/Heatgain/IM001590.jpg

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m468/Heatgain/IM001591.jpg



Thanks for looking.

[dmw2692004]

wow, quite the job, looks great!

[cjbigcog]

When detailing a limo, do you charge by the foot?

[snowskate]

Nice challenge. I`m sure you`ll be asked for the full detail.

At least the roof isn`t painted!!!

[heatgain]

Nice challenge. I`m sure you`ll be asked for the full detail.

At least the roof isn`t painted!!!



That padded roof was a blessing. No paint up there! I did, however, tell him the roof needs deep cleaning and protecting, and that`s a whole job by itself. He might go for that.

[zaxjax]

And I thought my Denali XL was long

[imported_sal329]

The first thing I did when the pic opened was laugh. Sorry man but looking at the lil tent with the car out of it was funny. It looks good, hope you can get the full detail out of it.

[imported_advs1]

LOL i had to laugh at the umbrella in a drink comment. looks good though, i wish people who drive limos understood how much better the cars would look with out the swirls. maybe next time, good job though

[heatgain]

The first thing I did when the pic opened was laugh. Sorry man but looking at the lil tent with the car out of it was funny. It looks good, hope you can get the full detail out of it.



Ha! Some luck I have. I`m dipping my toe in the detailing for dollars world, and what shows up for me? A normal daily driver? A nice simple Camry detail? Nooooo, not me. A car as long as a football field!

My thought when first setting eyes on this monster: What doesn`t kill ya makes ya stronger.

I dunno bout that. My lower back isn`t feeling very strong today :)