2003 Pontiac Grand Prix Ameriseal + Ameriwax

My brother left me with his car while he went on vacation for a week. I took the opportunity to correct it. I kept putting it off until my Meguiar`s MT300 showed up so that I can try it with the new Meguiar`s thin foam discs.

Some time last year he had this aftermarket hood painted and I have no idea what the body shop did to it. Other than scratching it and swirling up the paint very bad. After working on the car I am starting to suspect that maybe they took a rotary to the car. There is still some deep sanding marks that I was not able to get out of the hood. These would need to be wet sanded with a higher grit and polished out. The goal of this was to remove as much of the defects as possible. Not 100% since this is his daily driver. We just wanted the red color to pop.

This is how he got it back last year. Ouch.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...um/Swirls1.jpg


I took this sun shot after I got home from taking him to the airport.

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/fo.../IMG_2955a.jpg


First thing I did was decon the paint with ironx. I followed this write up by Mike Phillips which indicates to apply ironx to the paint prior to washing. Saves a little time this way instead of washing, decon and rinsing. I gave it a go and it worked out great.

The Aggressive Approach to Washing a Car - Auto Geek Online Auto Detailing Forum

I ended up using Meguiar`s D110 Hyper Wash in an MTM foam cannon. I used a little over 2 oz`s. I also used 1 oz in a bucket and did a 2 bucket wash as well while the foam was still on the paint.

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/fo.../IMG_2968a.jpg

I then clayed the car using a clay magic clay bar and Meguiar`s M34 as clay lube. Ironx removed a lot of the surface contaminants so claying was effortless and it did not take too long.

This one was going to need a good compounding with these deep defects. Prepped a new burgundy foam cutting disc with some Meguiar`s D300 compound and proceeded onto a test spot on the hood. Here`s the 50/50.

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/fo.../IMG_2972a.jpg

50/50 on the trunk with D300 + foam cutting disc.

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/fo.../IMG_2975a.jpg

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/fo.../IMG_2976a.jpg


The worst parts of the car were the front fenders and the rear bumper. The driver side fender needed Meguiar`s M101 on a microfiber cutting disc. There are still some very slight RIDS but it looks much better. The fenders were eye sores.

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/fo.../IMG_2984a.jpg

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/fo.../IMG_2985a.jpg


I used M101 on a foam cutting disc on the passenger side fender. Here`s the 50/50

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/fo.../IMG_2992a.jpg

Here`s the passenger side rear quarter. Used D300 on a foam cutting disc. This gives a good view of how bad the rear bumper was. I had to use M101 on a MF cutting disc. This little Snap On LED light came in handy. Picked it up at costco for cheap.

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/fo.../IMG_2995a.jpg

He had some water spots from his sprinklers. D300 + foam cutting disc took care of them with no problem.

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/fo.../IMG_2996a.jpg

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/fo.../IMG_2997a.jpg

I took it outside and D300 on a foam cutting disc finished LSP ready. There was still some deeper defects but I went ahead to polishing to refine the finish more and gloss up the car even more. Looks so much better.

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/fo...1/IMG_2998.JPG

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/fo.../IMG_2999a.jpg

I typically use M205 but the polish of choice was Americana Car Care`s Ameridepth. Used it on a Lake Country flat finishing pad. I then used Americana Car Care Ameriseal as the sealant of choice. This is how the car looked after I pulled it out. Very good sealant. Easy to apply and easy to remove. Gives a great look.

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/fo.../IMG_3002a.jpg

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/fo.../IMG_3004a.jpg

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/fo.../IMG_3006a.jpg

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/fo.../IMG_3008a.jpg

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http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/fo.../IMG_3007a.jpg

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/fo.../IMG_3011a.jpg


A week later I topped it off with a carnauba. This time with Americana Car Care Ameriwax 33. It just added that warm glow to his red paint. There is no metal flake in the paint but his car is deep red. I took these photos prior to picking him up from the airport. One thing to note is that I applied 2 coats of Ameriseal on the trunk and did not top it. I am curious to see how it holds up by itself.

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/fo.../IMG_3040a.jpg

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/fo.../IMG_3043a.jpg

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/fo.../IMG_3041a.jpg

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/fo.../IMG_3044a.jpg

I had a set of these letters custom made for our Grand Prix`s by a place called Emblem pros. They are black mirrored stainless. These were the finishing touch.

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/fo.../IMG_3027b.jpg

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/fo.../IMG_3029b.jpg

His car came out great. I just like how his red paint looks. It looked dripping wet. A nice deep red color. I did smaller things during the week since I had to go back to work. Worked out pretty well spreading it out over a few days without me rushing. It was a lot of work but the end result was worth it. He had that wowed look in his eyes when I picked him up from the airport.

The MT300 with the new foam discs are awesome. It offered plenty of power and made short work compared to me using a PC.

Here`s a product break down.

Friday: Interior work

Vaccum
Meguiar`s D102 Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner on the carpets
Meguiar`s Quik Interior wipe down on all rubber and plastics.
Meguiar`s New Car Scent Protectant on all rubber and plastics.
Meguiar`s Leather & Vinyl Cleaner on the leather seats and door panels
Wolfgang Leather Conditioner on the leather seats and door panels (courtesy of an Autopia giveaway)
Meguiar`s D120 on all glass

Saturday: Wash, decon & compound

Ironx
Meguiar`s D110 Hyper Wash
Clay with a clay magic clay bar and Meguiar`s M34 as clay lube (paint and glass)
Compounds - Meguiar`s D300 on 95% of the car, M101 on the rest
Pads - Meguiar`s burgundy cutting disc, Meguiar`s microfiber cutting disc
Tires - Cleaned with Meguiar`s D143 Non-Acid Wheel & Tire Cleaner at 2:1, dressed with Meguiar`s Ultimate Black Tire Coating
Wheels - DUB wheel cleaner
Wheel Wells - Cleaned with Meguiar`s D103 APC+, dressed with Meguiar`s D4510 Plastic & Vinyl Coating
Meguiar`s MT300 with 5" pads
Porter Cable PC7424XP with 4" pads

Sunday: Polish & Seal
Polish - Ameridepth
Pads - Lake Country Flat Black Finishing pad
Sealant - Ameriseal
Meguiar`s MT300 with 5" pads
Porter Cable PC7424XP with 4" pads

Wednesday: Wheel Coating
Detailer`s Pro Coating Prep Polish
Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Wheel Coating

Thursday: Glass Coating & Trim
Glass :
Detailer`s Pro High Performance Glass Restorer. Windshield only.
Detailer`s Pro Coating Prep Polish to prep the glass for the coating. Used on all glass and side mirrors
Detailer`s Pro Glass Coating on all glass and side mirrors.

Trim - Meguiar`s D103 APC+, Wolfgang Exterior Trim Sealant

Friday: Wax & Exhaust tips

Wax - Ameriwax 33
Exhaust tips - Meguiar`s Medium Cut Metal Polish, Meguiar`s Final Cut Metal Polish, Wolfgang Metal Sealant

Saturday: Meguiar`s New Car Scent Air-Refresher Odor Eliminator

Sunday: Meguiar`s M34 Wipe down prior to delivery

Awesome jpb !!!! I have heard nothing but good things about Americana. Have to give some of their products a try.

Uff da..... That thing was in rough shape. The red on his car looks beautiful now. I always loved those Grand Prix`s when I was growing up. Nice job

Love this ! Makes me miss my old GTP :( great car

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pats300zx

Awesome jpb !!!! I have heard nothing but good things about Americana. Have to give some of their products a try.

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Thanks. Yeah they were easy to work with. You would like them.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by House of Wax

Uff da..... That thing was in rough shape. The red on his car looks beautiful now. I always loved those Grand Prix`s when I was growing up. Nice job

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Thanks. I have no idea what those guys did to it. I always like polishing out his red car. The paint just looks so good.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by silver2kws6

Love this ! Makes me miss my old GTP :( great car

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Yeah he has had this car for awhile. It has about 116k miles. Maybe you should get another :)

Here is the last update. I originally did all the work back on March 28th of this year.

I am polishing and coating his car this weekend. It`s been 8 months with this combo. I took a video of how slow the sheeting has become. There is still something there.

8 Month Old Ameriseal paint sealant on Vimeo

http://vimeo.com/146464508

What a great turnaround! That red really pops now. Love it!

i really wanted a Grand Prix when I was a teen. Good looking car