Mirror Shine: 1998 Aurora

**stiffdogg06** · 11-08-2008, 08:23 PM

Hey Fellas,

The car is owned by a current autopia member who was looking to bring his car to the next level. The car currently has around 80-90k on the clock. The paint was harder than I thought it would be. The car had the normal wash swirls and RIDS. Due to only having a certain amount of time to work on it due to the owner needing to head back home today; I did my best I could with the time allowed. I used SIP which took care of mainly everything but I was left with some holograms. I tried Ultrafina because I was excited to use it but unfortunately it just didn`t have enough cut I was looking for. So I went to PO85RD which did exactly what I needed it to do. Sorry for not many detailed photos - Like I said before, the owner needed the car back ASAP and I didn`t want to slow down the process down too much with "during" photos.

Exterior Cleaning:

Washed with Duragloss 902 with TOL`s Prep Wash to remove any old wax/silicone.

Clayed with Clay Magic`s Red and Blue with Clay Magic`s Lube.

Rims washed with P21S Wheel Gel

Tires cleaned with Hi-Temps Tire Cleaner.

Engine degreased with Purple Power APC diluted down for safety and then dressed with 303 aerospace and z16.

Door shuts cleaned with Purple Power APC, Sprayed down and then Opti-Sealed

Tires dressed with Z16

Polishing:

Top Panels: Menzerna SIP 6.5" LC Orange Pad & Menzerna PO85RD 6.5" LC White Pad

Bottom Panels: Menzerna SIP 4" LC Orange Pad & Menzerna P085rd 4" LC White Pad

Washed with a mixed ratio of Duragloss 902, TOL`s Prep Wash, and diluted APC to remove any possible silicone left from polishing.

I would`ve loved to run Ultrafina or PO106FF over the paint one last time, but with the time allowed I just physically wouldn`t have enough time.

Paint & Windows Sealed with Optimum Opti-Seal; waited 30mins and then applied z8. And then a final wipe down of Z6. I then went around to every crack I could find with Q-Tips and remove any possible sign of polishing residue.

Interior Cleaning:

Vacuumed interior with Mini Shop Vac.

Clean all leather with Woolite/water

Dressed leather and dash with 303 Aerospace

Tools:

Makita 9227c rotary polisher w/Megs W66 BP and LC 4" BP

Olympus FE-340 8.0MP Camera

Dual Stand 500W Halogens

Befores:

Just wet her down; as you can tell not much gloss/shine to it at all.

Afters:

Sorry for no "Artistic" pictures. As you can tell, it was cold (40-50F) and it was rainy all day so I had no chance to even pull her out to get some distance shots...

Enjoy. Constructive criticism always welcomed.

- Andy

**Thomas Dekany** · 11-08-2008, 08:39 PM

What a tease!!!!!!:grinno::grinno::grinno::grinno:

**stiffdogg06** · 11-09-2008, 03:14 PM

Updated with write up and more before and afters.:woot2:

**Bigpoppa3346** · 11-09-2008, 03:48 PM

Nice correction.

I would have loved to see some full shots, although I probably wouldn`t have risked getting it wet for better pics, either.

I think those are great looking cars even after 10+ years, I wouldn`t mind having one.

**stiffdogg06** · 11-09-2008, 04:22 PM

Originally Posted by Bigpoppa3346

Nice correction.

I would have loved to see some full shots, although I probably wouldn`t have risked getting it wet for better pics, either.

I think those are great looking cars even after 10+ years, I wouldn`t mind having one.

I agree! It had power reclined seats. Heated seats. Heated side mirrors. Had more options than my brothers fully loaded TL.:p

**somebody** · 11-09-2008, 06:38 PM

Nice correction for such a limited time period.

Brandon

**MStarmer** · 11-09-2008, 07:29 PM

Looks great but what is that thing on the windshield? Looks like a back up camera..?

**Scottwax** · 11-09-2008, 07:38 PM

Looks sharp! Nice correction and wet shine. :up

**gdal** · 11-09-2008, 07:42 PM

Originally Posted by MStarmer

Looks great but what is that thing on the windshield? Looks like a back up camera..?

LOL ... that`s a mounting plate for a Garmin Nav 350

**gdal** · 11-09-2008, 07:51 PM

Andy ... thanks for the outstanding job on the detail. Too bad I drove all the way home under some heavy rain and sleet. It still looks great though.

This Aurora has been my pride and joy (and some pain) for a year and a few months. This car still turns heads after 10 years of being driven and the style is timeless (at least for me)

I literally contacted almost every Autopian detailer around where I live to get it to the next level. Jakerooni worked on this vehicle and Deep Gloss (Jason) was also scheduled to work on it, until I found a mysterious water leak that almost destroyed my main harness. I cleaned all the water (wasn`t fun) and found a guy that specializes in water leak repairs in Columbus. The water leak was coming from a weld seam on the cowl area that had been opened since the car was new, but it wasn`t big enough to damage the inside. I had it fixed and took the opportunity to have it detailed. TSC17 was busy with another correction and stiffdogg16 came to the rescue.

Thanks to everyone in this forum for all the knowledge and great work!!

**Robb** · 11-09-2008, 08:20 PM

Looks great

**stiffdogg06** · 11-09-2008, 08:20 PM

Originally Posted by Gianni D

Andy ... thanks for the outstanding job on the detail. Too bad I drove all the way home under some heavy rain and sleet. It still looks great though.

This Aurora has been my pride and joy (and some pain) for a year and a few months. This car still turns heads after 10 years of being driven and the style is timeless (at least for me)

I literally contacted almost every Autopian detailer around where I live to get it to the next level. Jakerooni worked on this vehicle and Deep Gloss (Jason) was also scheduled to work on it, until I found a mysterious water leak that almost destroyed my main harness. I cleaned all the water (wasn`t fun) and found a guy that specializes in water leak repairs in Columbus. The water leak was coming from a weld seam on the cowl area that had been opened since the car was new, but it wasn`t big enough to damage the inside. I had it fixed by a Columbus water leak tech and took the opportunity to have it detailed in Columbus. TSC17 was busy with another correction and stiffdogg16 came to the rescue.

Thanks to everyone in this forum for all the knowledge and great work!!

Glad you liked it! Wish we had some better weather to enjoy the work... Sucks it was rainy and 45F. Thanks to you, the detail went a lot easier with it being maintained to a tee interior/engine wise. Should come down for the summer and get a fresh nuba on that black. I have about 10 jars of waxes to use up. But it looks like my great grandchildren will get them :lol

Originally Posted by Scottwax

Looks sharp! Nice correction and wet shine. :up

Thank you sir. :xyxthumbs

**gdal** · 11-09-2008, 08:22 PM

I`ll try to come down there during the summer ... hopefully this opti-seal endures the rough Michigan winters.

**stiffdogg06** · 11-09-2008, 08:29 PM

Originally Posted by Gianni D

I`ll try to come down there during the summer ... hopefully this opti-seal endures the rough Michigan winters.

If it doesn`t, let me know and I can send you some more to cover it up again. It is too easy to apply. Spray it, rub it around with a foam app, let it dry. Streaks can easily be removed with another MF towel or some QDer.:bounce

I was pretty happy seeing the car drive away. It had a nice "candy coating" (which I love) under the cloudy skies.

How was the drive home btw? Besides the crappy weather?:down

**gdal** · 11-09-2008, 08:43 PM

The drive was too long and I`m still tired. It doesn`t help that I have to wake up at 4am tomorrow for work ...

I also love the shine that it has (or had ..lol) when it was at your place. It got plenty of looks while I was driving on the freeway. Hopefully I don`t scratch the paint too much during these winter months.