Mazda Protege Restored

**Greg Gellas** · 09-30-2009, 10:50 PM

This car was without a doubt a challenge. It sat for about 12 months and was brought to me for detailing. Needless to say it was NOT in good shape, it help some surprises for me also....Not good ones either.

I got the car and washed it with Chemical guys citrus wash and clear....As usual I pulled the wheels and de-greased the wheel wells with purple power, while the woman took care of the wheels.

Of course the battery was dead so I kept having to jump it until I got fed up and called the owner and asked if I could buy a new battery and install it...I got the ok...

On top of a really gross car my favorite sprayer broke...It was good cause it had a mist selection for engine bays so I didn`t need to soak them...

I knew this car wouldn`t be fun right then...

**Greg Gellas** · 09-30-2009, 10:51 PM

All washed I pulled the car inside to clay using dodo juice and I used some mothers clay. While the Laura started on the interior...Its really nice having her help. :thumbsup:

The hood...

It was a CF hood and it was a real Pain to work with...I would do a full three step and it still wouldn`t come out right, it still would have some what I could only explain as cloudyness...I called the owner explained that I had already spent over 5 hours on the hood alone and it wasn`t coming out PERFECT but it was without a doubt an 80% improvment is that ok....He agreed that anymore time spent on it would be a waste. He also asked me to replace the screws on the grills.

It turned out well. Considering how bad it was...

So Laura was working on the interior and found ALOT of mold all over...Needless to say she was less than happy to work on that stuff...I decided to heat up the steamer to kill the mold....I love the toys

**Greg Gellas** · 09-30-2009, 10:52 PM

She also had to deal with leftover adhesive from window tint....Luckily I had a great juice that just melted it away

And to think I get in trouble when I buy new products....

The entire interior had a musty smell even after the cabin was cleaned and steamed. She had to go do some stuff so she left me the trunk to do...OH BOY was I in for it. I pulled his sub and amp and the trunk carpet and well I found this.

Obviously the car has been leaking for the 12months its been sitting there and filling up with water into the trunk. Initally I sucked the majority of the water out with my wetdry vac. I then pulled the drain plugs and rinsed everything with HOT water. Not only did I steam the entire carpet outside I also steamed it while it was in the car. Did I mention I like TOYS

**Greg Gellas** · 09-30-2009, 10:53 PM

I had to do a full 3 step on this car...I did a purple wool pad with SIP, moved down the 203s with an orange pad, and finally finished out with 103 on a white. I proceeded to Ez-Creme glaze the car and finished it up with Blackfire Wet Diamond with Polycharger. I have been using that over opti-seal recently cause I usually have to wax to add slickness to the opti-seal and with the Blackfire it ends up slick.

Laura used Folex and 303 on the interior I don`t even check on the interior anymore she does her thing and it comes out great.

I only have afters in the garage as the owner picked it up tonight...But enjoy, I am going to bed so I can get going on another car that is getting dropped off tomorrow...

**longdx** · 09-30-2009, 11:24 PM

I am always mystified how people can just leave a car to sit and not expect problems. Nice turnaround on the Protege.

**NotZeroSix** · 10-01-2009, 02:07 AM

A huge turnaround on the vehicle. Great Job!

BTW, what kind of steamer do you have? I am thinking about picking one up.

**jeteast99** · 10-01-2009, 09:41 AM

I cant see the pictures

**Greg Gellas** · 10-01-2009, 10:56 AM

Originally Posted by jeteast99

I cant see the pictures

Ran out of bandwith, fixed now

Originally Posted by NotZeroSix

A huge turnaround on the vehicle. Great Job!

BTW, what kind of steamer do you have? I am thinking about picking one up.

The steamer is almost identical to the Polti Vaporetto 2085 Steam Cleaner....It basically the older version of the 1030. AllBrands.com - Polti 1030R Vaporetto Steam Vapor Cleaner, DVD, 4 Casters, 1500W, 13A, Safety Cap, 1.5L Boiler 370°F, Working 270°F, 0-50PSI, 0-70 Grams /Min - ITALY

**bigltc** · 10-02-2009, 01:04 AM

Moldy...rusty....yuk! Nice turn around. I hope your customer can keep the interior dry!

**Chicagoareanew** · 10-02-2009, 12:40 PM

Nice job on the mold - I would have given up on that.

**Xilleration** · 10-03-2009, 01:10 PM

Wow, well done there. Good turnaround.... you won`t win with every car but even if you didn`t win every battle with that one, you won the overall war on the cr@ppy condition it arrived in!

KaPow!

**Greg Gellas** · 10-03-2009, 02:25 PM

:wavey Thanks guys. Yeah that car still haunts me

I had to get it done in 2.5 days cause I had to get it out of my garage cause I had another car come in. The owner was estatic at the job which is always good

**Apollo_Auto** · 10-03-2009, 02:36 PM

Nice clean up guys! Looks like a couple of science projects were terminated with this one

.

**David Fermani** · 10-03-2009, 02:41 PM

This detail job rocks. One of the most hardcore projects to hit the screens of Autopia in a while.

**15951** · 10-03-2009, 04:11 PM

I`m amazed you can get enough $$ out of a detail this extensive to make it worthwhile. When I see the high-end cars here, I assume the owners have the cash to pay for the extraordinary work. However, when I see a rusty, moldy, peeling tint, dead battery, water leaking Mazda Protege, It`s surprising that the owner had (and was willing to spend) the money to allow you to do everything you did! I would expect everything you did to run at LEAST $500.

Congrats on great work - I think a lot of people would have walked away from that one!