2.5 hour full detail on an Escalade, rough to immaculate Tahoe

S

Scottwax

New member
2005 Cadillac Escalade. Last detailed in April, using Prime and Acylic Jett....and here it is February, nearly 10 months later and the paint still beaded, had some slickness left and looked really good. Nothing but twice monthly (according to the owner) tunnel washes. Very impressive!



I had originally planned on using Prime and AJ again...but when my son and I got there to do the detail, we were informed we had approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes to completely detail it. When her husband made the appointment, he didn't know his wife had to take their kids to gymnastics and leave their house by 3:45 PM...and it was 1:00 PM when we got there! She said the interior was the primary focus if we didn't think we could completely detail it in that timeframe. I looked over her Escalade and other than the leather seats being somewhat grimey, the rest of it looked pretty good. The outside also still looked good, but the time constraints meant I didn't have time to wait 30 minutes for Prime to cure after application. While my son got busy on the interior, I cleaned and dressed the tires and fenderwells, then did an ONR wash. I also had to clay the right rear quarter panel, the bumper was resprayed last fall and there was some light overspray that needed to be removed. I followed with Optimum Poli-Seal using a white LC polishing pad, then buffed it off with Optimum Car Wax. By that time, my son had completely cleaned the interior and we still had 30 minutes of time left. I cleaned the glass inside and out while he dressed the interior and when I checked the time, it was just after 3:30 PM! I even had time to take a few pics. No interior shots, it wasn't bad to begin with, plus with it being in the sun, too hard to get good shots with the shadows the sunlight leaves.



BTW, notice the beautiful blue sky we had on Tuesday! That is now long gone, and it is now 20 degrees colder. :(



2005_Cadillac_Escalade_front11.jpg




2005_Cadillac_Escalade_frontend11.jpg




2005_Cadillac_Escalade_frontend2.jpg




2005_Cadillac_Escalade_rear11.jpg




2005_Cadillac_Escalade_side11.jpg
 
2004 Chevy Tahoe. We were warned in advance it was rough and it was...although far from the worst I have seen. 3 years old, never detailed, never waxed, plus unlike the sunny 65 degree day we had two days earlier when we detailed the above Escalade, it was cloudy, humid and much cooler-in fact, it was 39 degrees by the time we finished 20 minutes before sunset.



The interior was cleaned using Woolite/water on the vinyl, cloth and carpets and Meguiars new Quick Out Carpet Cleaner. Really nice product, spray, allow 3-5 minutes dwell time and either wipe up, or slightly aggitate and then wipe. Revacuuming is recommended.



Here are direct before and afters-not sure why the first pic looks so light, doesn't adequately show how dirty it really was:



2004_Chevy_Tahoe_interior_before1.jpg




2004_Chevy_Tahoe_interior_after1.jpg




2004_Chevy_Tahoe_interior_before2.jpg




2004_Chevy_Tahoe_interior_after2.jpg




2004_Chevy_Tahoe_mat_before1.jpg




2004_Chevy_Tahoe_mat_after1.jpg




Exterior Befores:



2004_Chevy_Tahoe_exterior_before2.jpg




2004_Chevy_Tahoe_exterior_before1.jpg




After for the above shot:



2004_Chevy_Tahoe_exterior_after1.jpg
 
We did a two step on the paint, it looked pretty good after washing, plus it was the owner's boss who was paying for the detail and gave me an upper limit to what she would pay. ;)



I polished it with Poli-Seal and a white LC polishing pad and topped with my 80/20 blend of Meguiars #16 and FK's Pink Wax. Tires and fenderwells got Armor All and the plastic trim was dressed with Meguiars Hot Shine Tire Gel-which reminds me very much of their #38 Trim and Tire Gel-at least look-wise. Hot Shine is a clear gel, while #38 is sort of purplish.



2004_Chevy_Tahoe_front12.jpg




2004_Chevy_Tahoe_frontend12.jpg




2004_Chevy_Tahoe_rear11.jpg




2004_Chevy_Tahoe_side1.jpg




2004_Chevy_Tahoe_side2.jpg




The interior was cleaned as described above then dressed with Optimum Protectant Plus. The first picture is without flash, second is with flash.



2004_Chevy_Tahoe_interior1.jpg




2004_Chevy_Tahoe_interior2.jpg
 
Very nice work as usual! I also love the look and smell of the OPP.



I didn't know about the Quick Out. I'll have to pick some up for spot cleaning.
 
How many years did it take you to become that quick Scott? Man you are fast! Great details at light speed. :xyxthumbs



Do you use two different shop vacs? 1 to extract and 1 to vac?
 
E36 328is said:
The work looks amazing! Did you apply the opti seal with a rotary or a PC?
Click to expand...



PC. I start off on 5, bump it to 6 and work it a few passes until it pretty much disappears into the paint.
 
Great work as usual!



On the Tahoe, what would you have recommended (in the way of paint correction) had they opted to go for it?
 
Awesome Scott! You were telling me about that light-speed detail that you did and man, looks good!



We had the same weather here but is now replaced with sleet and 22* temps. At least it's Saturday.
 
BigHonu said:
Great work as usual!



On the Tahoe, what would you have recommended (in the way of paint correction) had they opted to go for it?
Click to expand...



Probably would have started with Optimum Polish and green Cyclo or Propel 4" pads and my Cyclo and adjusted the aggressiveness up or down as needed.



Bigpoppa3346-just for comparison, the Tahoe took my son and I nearly 4 hours. The main thing on the interior that helped us on the Escalade was that the carpets were in excellent condition and the exterior wasn't trashed with sand and grit from the recent snow and ice we've had; plus, OPS/OCW is about as fast a two step as you can do on the paint. :)



Different exterior combo, needed heavy polishing, or heavily stained carpets and the detail would have taken us a lot longer.



Unfortunately for me, my son will be enlisting in the Air Force in the next month or so and until my other son comes out in late May, I'll be back by myself again unless I can find some competent help.
 
Scottwax said:
Probably would have started with Optimum Polish and green Cyclo or Propel 4" pads and my Cyclo and adjusted the aggressiveness up or down as needed.



Bigpoppa3346-just for comparison, the Tahoe took my son and I nearly 4 hours. The main thing on the interior that helped us on the Escalade was that the carpets were in excellent condition and the exterior wasn't trashed with sand and grit from the recent snow and ice we've had; plus, OPS/OCW is about as fast a two step as you can do on the paint. :)



Different exterior combo, needed heavy polishing, or heavily stained carpets and the detail would have taken us a lot longer.



Unfortunately for me, my son will be enlisting in the Air Force in the next month or so and until my other son comes out in late May, I'll be back by myself again unless I can find some competent help.
Click to expand...



Nice work, Scott! Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?



I haven't tried the Poli-Seal yet; do you always apply it by PC, or also use the Cyclo? Which pad(s) do you use?



Which Propel pads do you use for the Cyclo (Propel II or Erasure Turbo Pads), and where do you buy them?



Thanks for any advice.



Todd
 
percynjpn said:
Nice work, Scott! Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?



I haven't tried the Poli-Seal yet; do you always apply it by PC, or also use the Cyclo? Which pad(s) do you use?



Which Propel pads do you use for the Cyclo (Propel II or Erasure Turbo Pads), and where do you buy them?



Thanks for any advice.



Todd
Click to expand...



I have used Poli-Seal via Cyclo but the white Cyclo finishing pads load up too quickly with product and sometimes lay down a really thick patch of OPS that can be a little tough to remove until it dries completely. I am thinking the more open cell structure of the Propel pads would eliminate that problem though.



I have the Propel Turbo pads, if I remember right. I bought them from exceldetail last year. I prefer them over the Cyclo brand pads because they are thicker and follow body contours better.



Aaron-yeah, that would be great, let me know what you want for it. :)
 
mcnab said:
Very nice work as usual! I also love the look and smell of the OPP.



I didn't know about the Quick Out. I'll have to pick some up for spot cleaning.
Click to expand...





you like the smell of OPP? i cant stand it! but i love the look of it.. haha
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top