Lexus IS350 and Ford Lightning

[Scottwax]

2008 Lexus IS350. Lexus certified, obviously their appearance standards on certified cars are less than autopian standards. 2nd one I`ve done in the past year covered in buffer trails. Whoever polished the car somehow managed to not only leave rotary holograms but also not remove any of the spider swirls. Ugh. Only 1 before shot, kind of hard to pick up swirls on metallic paint in the full sun with my camera. Plus I wanted to get the car done in 1 day if at all possible.



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/files/8/7/8/2008_lexus_is350_before1_127777.jpg



You know how everyone says Lexus has soft paint? Ha! This one was like a freakin` Audi! Using my Dewalt rotary, an American Buffing orange waffle cutting pad and Meguiars #105 at 1400-1600 rpms. Notice how light the holograms are from that step!



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/files/8/7/8/2008_lexus_is350_after1_712832.jpg



I ended up going over the whole car with that combination, hood took several passes to get rid of everything, rest of the car took 1-2 passes. I was having a little trouble with #105 loading up in the pad and leaving globs of polish, so I then switched to Optimum Hyper Compound and a Meguiars yellow polishing pad at 1200 rpms. Cleaned up the minimal buffer trails from #105 very nicely. Probably could have gone to wax right then but I wanted to get as much depth and gloss as possible. I switched to Optimum Hyper Polish, again using a yellow Meguiars polishing pad at 1000-1200 rpms. Finished the car with 3M Ultrafina using a blue Ultrafina pad at 1000-1800-1000 rpms. The paint was then sealed with Clearkote`s Carnauba Moose. Ended up taking just about 8 hours with my son detailing the interior, washing it between compounding steps, waxing it, etc.



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/files/8/7/8/2008_lexus_is350_sun1_779055.jpg



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/files/8/7/8/2008_lexus_is350_sun2_661729.jpg



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/files/8/7/8/2008_lexus_is350_flake1_452148.jpg



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/files/8/7/8/2008_lexus_is350_sun3_748094.jpg



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/files/8/7/8/2008_lexus_is350_sun4_637601.jpg



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/files/8/7/8/2008_lexus_is350_sun5_499955.jpg



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/files/8/7/8/2008_lexus_is350_sun6_568542.jpg



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/files/8/7/8/2008_lexus_is350_front1_618275.jpg



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/files/8/7/8/2008_lexus_is350_frontend1_158407.jpg



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/files/8/7/8/2008_lexus_is350_side1_575589.jpg



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/files/8/7/8/2008_lexus_is350_rear1_337410.jpg



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/files/8/7/8/2008_lexus_is350_side2_637942.jpg



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/files/8/7/8/2008_lexus_is350_side3_634448.jpg



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/files/8/7/8/2008_lexus_is350_backend1_443365.jpg

[Scottwax]

2000 Ford Lightning. Overall in very good shape but really dusty inside and out due to the owner living way out in the country (by Dallas area standards anyway!) and not being driven often. Basically, the owner just wanted a really good deep cleaning, including the engine and all 4 wheels being pulled and deep cleaned along with the fenderwells.



Sprayed the engine down with Optimum Power Clean at 3:1 dilution, agitated a few areas as needed, then rinsed off. Let the engine run several minutes while I wiped down everything not near the cooling fans. Dressed with Armor all.



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/files/8/7/8/2000_ford_lightning_engine1_581957.jpg



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/files/8/7/8/2000_ford_lightning_engine2_299476.jpg



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/files/8/7/8/2000_ford_lightning_engine3_966245.jpg



The paint was in really good shape with little to no marring or swirls. The owner has obviously been careful over the 10 years he`s owned the truck when washing it. After an ONR wash and Opti-Clay, I polished it with Optimum Hyper Polish using my Meguiars G110 and an LC orange light cut Hydro Tech pad. Paint was sealed with Opti-Seal. Exhaust tips were polished with Optimum Metal Polish.



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/files/8/7/8/2000_ford_lightning_front1_418188.jpg



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/files/8/7/8/2000_ford_lightning_rear1_356813.jpg



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/files/8/7/8/2000_ford_lightning_side1_514183.jpg



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/files/8/7/8/2000_ford_lightning_frontend1_672429.jpg



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/files/8/7/8/2000_ford_lightning_front2_674354.jpg



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/files/8/7/8/2000_ford_lightning_side2_971892.jpg



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/files/8/7/8/2000_ford_lightning_sun1_211400.jpg



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/files/8/7/8/2000_ford_lightning_backend1_349129.jpg



The wheels/fenderwells were cleaned with OPC, again using the same dilution as on the engine. Wheels were then waxed with Wheel Wax, including the barrels of the wheels prior to remounting them. Fenderwells and tires dressed with Armor All.



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/files/8/7/8/2000_ford_lightning_wheel1_697766.jpg



http://www.autopia.org/gallery/files/8/7/8/2000_ford_lightning_wheel2_372163.jpg

[a_guerrajr]

nice work on them both!



i love the L` ( lighting )

[VroomVroom]

Outstanding, as always! Both vehicles came out incredible, Scott.



Quick side note - my wife has a Lexus ES, and it spent a month at the dealer last summer for a warranty engine replacement. As things were winding down, the service manager called me with a status update, during which he proudly mentioned that he had the car detailed for us. It took a little while for the twitch to subside, but I figured it wouldn`t be too-too bad, and I reminded myself that I was due to detail the car myself anyway. Much to my surprise, the car looked terrific. I complimented them, and found out that they contract with a local fellow who also does work for a few other premium dealers. To date, this was my first experience with a dealer detail done right.

[Thomas Dekany]

Just awesome work Scott. That Lexus = :bow

[N8Dogg98]

Awesome work Scott. I <3 lightnings... :2thumbs:

[Labster]

Great work as always Scott. Those Lightnings have always held a special place in my heart. If it wasn`t for living in the NE Ohio with it`s awful winters I would consider getting one.

[Scottwax]

:wavey Thanks y`all

[KC@detailien]

fantastic team work again



congrats scott

\

Happy father`s day

[ScottGJones]

Looks like you were out my way over in Rockwall for these jobs! Great job on the Lexus!

[Scottwax]

fantastic team work again



congrats scott

\

Happy father`s day



Thanks!



Scott-over in Rockwall for the IS350. The owner lives in Greenville, I`m in Arlington. My brother lives in Rockwall so it worked out well.