Newb Detail of the Family Fleet

[SVTContour]

First off the 2004 Honda Odyssey. Purchased last Oct, it had obviously seen lots of swirl-o-matic car washes.



Process:

- ONR Wash

- spot clay with Mothers

- 3000 grit wet sand on some deep scratches and touchup spots

- 3M PII FCC with sonus cutting pad/PC on wetsanding spots and any other problem areas

- SFX-2 with polishing pad/PC whole car

- KAIO by hand with foam pad, paint, windows, trim

- KSG by spray bottle cut 4:1 about 2 weeks later, not by the book usage, but sure looks good.

- ZEP apc on tires and wells, both dressed with F21



BEFORES




You can see buffer trailers to the right of the light





Test spot





Swirls





No swirls







On the left you can still see a couple of deep scratches. I`ll be giving this car another going over with the OC and OP I just ordered.




AFTERS

[SVTContour]

Next up, 2000 SVT Contour. Owned since new, but only maintained to Autopian standards for about the last year.



Process:

- ONR Wash

- SFX-2 with polishing pad/PC whole car

- KAIO by hand with foam pad, paint, windows, trim

- KSG by hand with damp MF pad x 2

- Tires dressed with F21, nothing in wells. :doh

- Headlights wetsanded and polished with 3M FCC. Contours headlights are notorious for hazing.



You can see some water etching in the lights, or at least you can in the high res original. 3M PII FCC did not take it out when I compounded it about a year ago, so I`m reluctant to go any further with it.













This is at my office park a couple of weeks after the detail. A coat of KSG by spray bottle cut 4:1 has been added at this point.

[Scottwax]

Both look really good, love that red on the SVT.

[Bigpoppa3346]

Very wet shine on both of those cars. Nice work.

[05corolla]

Love that SVT, I always thought those were gorgeous; especially in red

[Accumulator]

SVTContour- Yeah, those both look great :xyxthumbs



I too just *love* how your Contour looks! And IMO you`re smart to live with the etching.



And thanks for posting the pics of the Odyssey, I like seeing well-detailed minivans.

[SVTContour]

Thanks for the replies. :thx



The paint on the SVT is easy to work with. With moderately careful washing techniques, almost no swirls have returned since I last deep polished it. The paint has alot of pearl in it actually, which is hard to tell in the pictures. After researching quite a bit on here, I decided that the Klasse look (someone called it candy-coated) would be a good fit.



The car has been a blast, coming up on 70k and 6 years of ownership. For basically what is a 1995 design, it still looks pretty current. Power levels for performance sedans have certainly left it behind, but hey, leather, 5sp, moonroof, v6, still a good package.



One the van, the depth isn`t that impressive with Klasse. I may have to go carnauba for that?

[David703]

I`ve owned 4 lightnings and 3 cobras and never looked twice at those Contours.. but let me say, that color on that car is absolutely AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW!!!! EXCELLENT WORK!!! I actually like the car now... sorry I was such an SVT snob before...LOL.....but NOT anymore!!! :grinno:

[dmxsoulja3]

I`m def not for any kind of american car, say what you want, my personal experiences with them have been less than stellar, so imports all the way, but no matter what the SVT Contour has always peaked my interests, alas it is a Ford, but unlike many others, I`ve heard nothing but good reviews on them. Is there any particular years to stay away from?



Both look great, and Klasse..ya I like that Candy coated - looks good on red`s and such, but you are right might want to go Nuba on the van.

[SVTContour]

David703: No offense taken. :chuckle: It`s funny, because I have done a few things with an SVTOA group and they are all Mustangs with a couple of Lightnings, and it`s hard to crack into the group.



dmxsoulja3: I tend to agree, this is the only American car I`ve owned between my wife and I. We`ve had an Acura, Mitsubishi, Nissan, and you can now see the Honda. My Ford has had more little things break than all those cars combined. That being said, for the price there was not another more fun to drive performance sedan.



I would avoid anything but a 2000, that seems to be the year they got alot of things really fixed right. Differential strength, water pump, dashboard coming unglued, just to name a few. Check out Ford Contour Enthusiasts Group for everything you could possibly want to know about Contours. There are some nice examples for sale from time to time.

[Shelpster66]

Very nice job on both.........SVT - FTW



I also have a Odyssey to do...(sister-in-law)....with 3 kids, I think the outside will be the easy part.

[Ktulu]

That contour is awsome! I always seem to see the svt`s in black and neglected. Great work!

[Accumulator]

One the van, the depth isn`t that impressive with Klasse. I may have to go carnauba for that?

Heh heh, just how involved do you want to get with the minivan I quit topping ours, but yeah, maybe adding some durable topper like Collinite would give you more depth.