Should of been a 2 step Yukon XL

[ShaneB]

Had a customer contact me asking about my services and specifically asked about removing some swirls he had noticed he had on his hood. Said he had the car detailed before and didn`t notice any of it until after the fact. He asked about my polishing and if it will remove the swirls. He doesn`t just want to have it polished if it wouldn`t remove them. After some discussion about my standard exterior detail with a quick polish and the difference of moving up to an actual paint correction, he settled on a single step correction. Didn`t spring for a 2-step unfortunately as this car NEEDED it so badly! Now I don`t know the full story, and he didn`t even know if the other detailer did the damage to the car, but needless to say this puppy had been abused more than once. The paint was absolutely TRASHED! My pictures don`t do it justice but you`ll get the idea. The chrome trim and wheels also were in pretty rough shape and took me a few hours to clean up.

This was my first time reaching for the 3D AAT polishes. I had read a lot of the hype and wanted to see it for myself. I figured since I knew a single step wouldn`t be enough, that this would be a hell of a test for the finishing polish. I am nothing less than completely impressed by the ability of this polish. The results were achieved with 3 slow passes on speed 5 with my Rupes, and one quicker pass at 4 with lighter pressure. I couldn`t believe the amount of correction this combo was able to achieve. I started with a buff n shine green polishing pad and was blown away by the results, no need to go any more aggressive (although I did try in one spot with the compound for the hell of it, haze :unsure:)

Please forgive my camera work as this was the first time I got to take out my new DSLR (Nikon D3200). Having never used one before I have a lot to learn! Major upgrade from the cell phone pictures though :P

Tools/Products Used
Wheels - Griot`s HD Wheel Cleaner, Daytona speed master brush, Mothers wheel brush and 1" detail brush
Wheel polish - 3D HD Metal and #0000 Steel wool
Wheels sealed - Hydro2
Tires - Tuff Shine Tire Cleaner and low profile tire brush
Chrome polish - 3D HD Metal and microfiber towels
Foam Pre soak - CG Citrus Wash Red and bug squash in foam lance
Wash - Megs Hyper Wash w/ micro chenille wash mitt
Decon - Bug squash for bugs/tar, Nanoskin medium grade mitt w/ wash soap for lubricant
Dried using WW MF towels and DP turbo car dryer

Correction
Polishers - Rupes 21 and Flex PE-8
Pads - Buff n Shine Green polishing pads and Flex 3" green polishing pads
Polish - 3D AAT Finishing Polish

LSP
Paint - Ultima Paint Guard Plus
Tires - Optimum Opti-Bond Tire Gel
Trim - Carpro Perl

Upon arriving at the customers house here is the car. Obviously not in the greatest shape.

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/B1.jpg
http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/B2.jpg
http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/B3.jpg
http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/B4.jpg


Started with the wheels and tires. The tires took 3-4 rounds with tuff shine to get them clean. After cleaning the wheels with the Griot`s HD wheel cleaner, they still looked FILTHY! Nasty staining in the chrome. Nothing some 3D HD Metal and some #0000 steel wool couldn`t handle though. Unfortunately the barrels of the wheels were beyond saving as the chrome was peeling uncontrollably (I actually pulled out a loose piece about 5x5").


Before
http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/Wbefore.jpg

Stained chrome before
http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/W2before.jpg

After
http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/W2after.jpg

Another stained area (the wheels all looked like this)
http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/W1before.jpg

After polishing
http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/W1after.jpg

All clean ready to move on!
http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/Wafter.jpg

Clean rubber, ready for dressing.
http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/cleantire.jpg


The wheels and tires alone took me over 2 hours to clean up. After they were done, since I was in a chrome polishing mood, I decided to hit the chrome trim around the vehicle with the HD Metal and a microfiber.

Emblem before

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/chromebefore.jpg

Emblem after (forgive the streak :unsure:)
http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/chromeafter.jpg


After this, the SUV was foamed with a mixture of CG Citrus Wash Red and some Bug Squash

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/presoak.jpg


After a wash and decon, it was time to pull it into the garage and start the correction process. You`ll notice that I didn`t do the entire job in the garage. I did this over 2 days and had a cool cloudy day the 2nd day and was able to work outside in the driveway (with more room to move). Prepare yourselves. This gets nasty.

Correction done with a Rupes 21, Flex PE-8 and Green buff n shine polishing pads (green Flex polishing pads on the PE-8) and 3D AAT Finishing Polish

Hood section before

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/Hbefore.jpg

After

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/Hafter.jpg

Right front fender before

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/RFFbefore.jpg

50/50

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/RFF5050.jpg

After

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/RFFafter.jpg

Front passenger door before

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/RFDRbefore.jpg

50/50

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/RFDR5050.jpg

After

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/RFDRafter.jpg

Left fender before

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/LFFbefore.jpg

After

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/LFFafter.jpg


The WORST spot on the car, no idea what happened here but it is TRASHED! Right side quarter panel

Before

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/RRQPbefore.jpg

50/50

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/RRQP5050.jpg

After

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/RRQPafter.jpg

Tailgate before

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/TGbefore.jpg

After

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/TGafter.jpg

Even the taillights were wrecked

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/TLbefore.jpg

After

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/TLafter.jpg

Rear passenger door before

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/RRDRbefore.jpg

50/50

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/RRDR5050.jpg

After

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/RRDRafter.jpg

By the time I was wrapping up I was losing daylight fast. I applied a coat of Ultima Paint Guard Plus, dressed the trim and tires and got my pictures before it was too late. Sadly, no sun shots. I will be going back to give it a wash in a week or two and hopefully it will be a sunny day and I can get some glamour shots. For now, this was all I was able to get

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/A1.jpg
http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/A2.jpg
http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/A3.jpg
http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/A4.jpg
http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/A5.jpg
http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff486/shaneb785/A6.jpg

Total time spent 14+ hours. This was a real endurance test for me. Its bad enough it was a Yukon, what`s worse is the fact that its the XL. Doesn`t seem like much but the added area really makes the grind that much longer. I really wish the owner would of gone with a 2-step so I could of had the chance to get a lot more of the defects out, but it is what it is. It turned out great for how bad it was. Back to looking respectable!

Thanks for looking! Comments/criticism are welcome and I encourage those who are more experienced to let me know what I can do better next time

[RDKC]

That was very thoroughly trashed.

For one step you did a d*^n fine job if I may say so.

[LEDetailng]

I can`t believe how well the 3D AAT finishing polish worked. That is impressive. I can`t wait to receive mine next week. Ordered from AG when 20% off. Along with the AAT compound. I`m really like looking forward to trying it after seeing your results.

I would have liked to see a reaction from your customer when you were done. BTW your photos look great too. I love my DSLR`s. The iPhone 6`s is just so convenient

[Pats300zx]

Fantastic work !!!

[trashmanssd]

Great work, you brought that paint back from the dead. That looks like classic Swirl-o-matic washing on a regular basis. My brother Tahoe looks the same he goes through tunnel of death once a week on half price tuesday with the rest the idiots. I can not imagine how many swirls that thing puts on cars when the line is out to the street on half price day in middle of winter and car are all covered in salt and heavy gritty sand, its not even just the sand on your car its the sand stuck all over those felt finger scrubby things that slam off your car. Might as well be using sand paper to wash it. I did one step on my brother Tahoe a year and half ago (1 step with d151 got 60-80 percent the scratches out) and with in 6 months you couldn`t tell I touched it.

[Ronkh]

Great job !!!!


Advil time

[ViperGuy21]

Awesome job!! That`s super impressive for 1 step

[Oldfordisbetter]

Looks great cor a finishing polish with a green B&S pad.

[parttimer]

Nice job, I have the same camera, it sure takes nice pictures. I still have issues with some of the settings. FYI, if you flash comes up and you don`t want it, just hold it down! Nice work for a one step, should not have any complaints. Did you polish the chrome by hand then?

[donbeezy]

nice work! about the same 1 step combo i use but i go with HD Polish/Orange pad. its amazing how much correction it can do

[Marc08EX]

Spectacular work!!! Great documentation too.

Wow 14 hours is pretty fast for a massive car like that. I normally take 20 hours for a normal car hahaha!

Finishing polish was able to achieve that result?! That`s seriously amazing.

Thanks for sharing your process.

[Migue]

Looks great for a one step, I know you wanted to do two, but it`s a daily driver and it may have been overkill and a bigger pain to maintain something that size with that color. I bet the customer was very happy .

I`m guessing all the wheel polishing you did was an upsell/additional charge? I hope if it took a lot of your time. Also, were you able to store the truck in the customer`s garage overnight to resume the next day or how was that handled?

[ShaneB]

I can`t believe how well the 3D AAT finishing polish worked. That is impressive. I can`t wait to receive mine next week. Ordered from AG when 20% off. Along with the AAT compound. I`m really like looking forward to trying it after seeing your results.

I would have liked to see a reaction from your customer when you were done. BTW your photos look great too. I love my DSLR`s. The iPhone 6`s is just so convenient

They were thrilled. You can see them in a reflection on one of the afters just checking it out. "Like new" was mentioned a few times. Which I guess to them it was. Me... not so much lol. But much better!


Nice job, I have the same camera, it sure takes nice pictures. I still have issues with some of the settings. FYI, if you flash comes up and you don`t want it, just hold it down! Nice work for a one step, should not have any complaints. Did you polish the chrome by hand then?

There is a setting to turn the flash off. Yes I polished all the chrome by hand.


Spectacular work!!! Great documentation too.

Wow 14 hours is pretty fast for a massive car like that. I normally take 20 hours for a normal car hahaha!

Finishing polish was able to achieve that result?! That`s seriously amazing.

Thanks for sharing your process.

I was equally impressed with the results! The reason it went so fast is that the majority of the cutting happened on the first 2 passes. Had I needed to do 5-6 passes it would of taken MUCH longer.


Looks great for a one step, I know you wanted to do two, but it`s a daily driver and it may have been overkill and a bigger pain to maintain something that size with that color. I bet the customer was very happy .

I`m guessing all the wheel polishing you did was an upsell/additional charge? I hope if it took a lot of your time. Also, were you able to store the truck in the customer`s garage overnight to resume the next day or how was that handled?

They were thrilled. I probably should have charged extra for the wheels. It didn`t take too much extra time though. the steel wool and HD Metal made quick work of it. It sat outside actually after day 1 in a very light rain. When I came back I wiped down each panel with PB spray and wipe before continuing.

Thanks everyone!

[RaysWay]

Wow great job! I know you can`t hide any defects from the camera under those high intensity LED bulbs on your light stand. I bet the customer was ecstatic to get his YUKON back looking better than it did when he purchased it.

[Brewins]

That`s a 1 step??????????

A finishing polish and polishing pad??

FANTASTIC RESULTS!! WOW!!