1968 Camaro Restored

[Richard@BlackWOW]

Since it seems my my last detail, the 1965 Red Mustang was so popular, I thought I`d bring over my 1968 Camaro that I restored previous to this Mustang.



We scheduled a full day for buffing. I estimated around 11 hours of work needed. In hindsight a second day really could have been utilized.



Day #2

Start Time: 8:30AM

Finish Time: 8:45PM

1 Hour Break for son`s Christmas party at daycare



Products: (All Meguiar`s)

STEP 1

Wheel Brightener

NXT Car Wash

Endurance High Gloss



STEP 2

Quik Clay System



STEP 3

Makita Rotary Buffer 9227c with Meguiar`s backing plate and foam pads

M80 Speed Glaze

G-100 PC

6" Yellow Foam Pad

6" Burgundy Foam Pad

6" Tan Foam Pad

Microfiber Bonnets

Supreme Shine Microfiber

High Tech Applicator Pad

ScratchX



STEP 4

M21



STEP 5

Tire & Trim Dressing Gel

M39 Heavy Duty Vinyl Cleaner

Vinyl & Rubber Cleaner/Conditioner

NXT Glass Cleaner

NXT All Metal Polysh











It`s a great looking car. My initial inspection showed a lot of potential issues. Sharp body lines and high points meant rotary work had to be taken with extreme care. Deterioriating rubber seals and a door that doesn`t close fully meant that consideration had to be made to prevent water from entering these cracks. Chrome was oxidized, so that would need to be treated. Wheels were delicate--painted areas were flaking. All top surfaces were hazed and cloudy. Side panels were in better condition, but swirled. Vinyl top would need cleaning and treating as well. Interior needed vacuuming. So I made a mental checklist and prioritized them putting painted surfaces as highest, chrome second, interior as last. However, sitting in a clean environment--clean glass, clean carpet, and clean seats really improves the overall experience, so I made notes to do that as a minimum.









The day was just about perfect for working. Cloudy and overcast.





I gently watered down the finish with my pressure washer on low. If you`ll note, I normally would tape off a car AFTER it`s been washed, but in this case, there were lots of areas I didn`t want water to be, so I used the tape to seal them off. In hindsight, a cloth bed sheet may have been a better solution. The tape worked well, but lost it`s tackiness, not to mention held some water.





I sprayed on the NXT Car Wash on low





The front wheels were dirty, so some Wheel Brightener from the Detail Line solved that pretty easily. Ignore the sprayer bottle (APC), it`s the correct product in the wrong sprayer bottle.

[Richard@BlackWOW]

A couple quick blasts of water and you can see the results





Now they are sparkling





Here I am with my Makita





Progress being made. It was a lot of delicate work.



Notice the right side (left in this pic) is gradually getting glossier.



More Glossy







Ok Break time. By this time--11:30, I`d been buffing for 2-1/2 hours.

[Richard@BlackWOW]

Started again at 12:30.





Arms were kinda tired, so I moved on to the side panels and saw these defects.







A little buffing later with the rotary. The green metallic flake is very visible here.







I went around the car, then back to the hood





From my mental checklist, I wanted to make the Chrome pop. The wheels were rusted, so I decided to claybar them, then use NXT Metal Polysh.



Sprayed some Quik Detailer for lubricant



Clay was effective at removing rust

[Richard@BlackWOW]

M39 Heavy Duty Vinyl Cleaner worked great on the vinyl top. A nylon brush helped remove splatter residue from the rotary. Just make sure to keep M39 away from any waxed surfaces!





Nice reflective shot





Around 5:30PM Gerry stopped by to look at his car, and he actually joined me in finishing it up until about 8:45pm. We used ScratchX on a foam applicator pad to get all the areas that were too risky to do by machine. This worked great to remove any haze that couldn`t be removed. This was topped off with M21 with a tan polishing pad and the PC.



And here are the Day Pix, shot this morning! The client left super pleased.

[Richard@BlackWOW]

In case you forgot, it began like this

[Mike-in-Orange]

You`ve got mad skills dude.......I am hugely impressed.

[admac]

holy cow. that is amazing work.

[SilverLexus]

Incredible. You got some mad skills.



Love how the hood and chrome wheels turned out.

[66#1]

Unbelievable!

[blue-sun]

wow!



nice job, nice write up!



I bet you just added a few grand to the value of that car for the owner!

[03BlackGTP]

That is f%$(**#*#@&&@*&#(($($%$@#&@!^&in Great Work.

[adept]

Great job! Your work is absolutely amazing.

[Pats300zx]

WOW....what an awesome job.

[DrSauekraut]

WOW That’s unbelievable!



Fantastic work :2thumbs:

[Smoked Tails]

Nice work, mate. When I saw this at MOL, I nudged the wife and said, "You aren`t going to believe this. Check this out." She was also flabbergasted. That`s pretty tough to do.