350Z Completed!

Jngrbrdman

Jngrbrdman

New member
Well, here it is. :) I've got a really crappy dial up connection at home and it took forever to upload the pictures. 28.8 kbps is no way to live. I'm rarely online at home so it doesn't bug me too much. Just on the weekends and when I need to do stuff like this. lol



Thanks for the warning about the drip area under the hatch. Since I was aware of that problem before I started I came up with a way to prevent it. I placed my Absorber in that area before I washed it. After I clayed and rinsed the car off again I took it out. It was properly soaked, but there was no water in that area at all. :) I dried off what wet there was under there and went back to work. It seemed to work perfectly because there was no water drips at all after that. You guys might want to try that. Thanks for the tip in advance. :bigups



I don't know how you guys see out of that rear view mirror. I uploaded a pic of the visibility area out of the rear view. If there was ever a car that could use one of those Broadway Mirrors then this car is it. I didn't think anything could have worse visibility and more blindspots than the Eclipse, but the 350Z has it beat hands down. Still, its a fun car to drive, thats for sure. :D



The rims were absolutely terrible!! They looked like gunmetal before I got to it. Those were just awful. The front ones were the worst. I didn't have time to take the wheels off to wash around the inside properly. I really wish I could have done that. They were terrible. There is a picture in there of the before. Compare that to any of the pictures after with clean wheels. A2Z is a wonder product. It did a great job all by itself. I only had a couple areas (like the lug nut holes) where I had to go in with a brush or towel.



The waterspots were a huge problem. He parks near a sprinkler I guess. They have been building up for several weeks. I let him know about the wonders of vinegar and that he should try that from time to time. A lot of the waterspots that didn't come out in the wash or by the clay were taken care of by using a MF pad and applying vinegar directly to the pad and then wiping them off. That worked extremely well. What was left was handled by DACP for the most part but I did have to break out the liquid paint correction creme from Autoint to get to some of them. I use that stuff carefully because I've seen it go through paint before. Its strong stuff.



The process that was used is the standard Autopian plan of attack.



-Wash

-Clay

-Wash the clay streaks off

-DACP followed by #9 in some areas

-Vinegar and LPCC for the waterspots that didn't come off in on the hood

-AIO

-UPP

A2Z on the wheels and Eagle One Wet on the tires

Invisible Glass on the windows



I was on a time crunch for this project so you'll notice that some things weren't entirely done when I took the pictures. There is some product around the badges a little and the infamous UPP greasy streaking in some places, but I cleared all that up with some QD and a MF in the parking lot when I brought it back to him. It was a 100 degree day and that car was smoking hot by the time I got it back to him. It sure was a fun car to do though. :) Thanks for all you suggestions and tips, guys. They were very helpful.



Link to album of the pictures.
 

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Great pix, Jngr. Sounds like you had a great time. And the results are gorgeous.



I gotta order myself an 8x10 glossy of your "stupidphotocops" shot. :lol
 
Looks Great Jngr. Yes, visibility in that car sucks a big one. I will have to try your hatch drying technique. What did you think of the inside of the doors? That's a lot of DACP on that pad and yours seems white, mine is a light brown. Anyway- looks great and I'm sure the owner was happy.
 
I have a hard time believing a guy could have that nice a car and let the waterspots build up like that, not to mention the wheels! :shocked I guess that's why they pay you the big bucks . :cool:



This guy had to be really pleased with the job you did. It looks like a different car. Well done! :up
 
Yeah, I scraped some of the DACP off. lol I usually just use a smiley face. I don't know why yours is brown. Hmmm... Maybe a different batch? All the DACP I've ever used has been white. I've got another bottle on the way so I'll have to check the color on that.



You know what I hate? That stupid honeycomb or waffle or whatever kind of patern that is. That makes it hard to clean the doors. The door jambs were tricky for me because he had waterspots all over those too. Other than that stupid textured pattern on the doors and the waterspots they seemed like they would be easy.
 
Awh, what a cute little baby blue apron! While you're up, bake some more Jngrbrdman cookies.



:lol :lol :rofl :rofl



Sorry, couldn't resist!



As always, nice work! :xyxthumbs



Thanks for the pics.
 
Its his 'Autopia' apron and he doesnt go anywhere without it ;)





Hes even got the matching underpants and bra .......





Wait .. did I say that ?







:argue
 
That's it...
sumo.gif
This means war!
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box2.gif










:D
 
But was the owner ecstatic or indifferent seeing as how he let his car get in such a condition in the first place?



Regarding the visibility, how did you enjoy the blind spot on the driver side? When I picked my car up from the dealership, it was nighttime and pouring rain. I was not used to so little glass and I almost had a panic attack trying to drive it home in such conditions. Felt like I was in a coffin and couldn't see anything to the sides or rearview mirror to make a safe lane change. Am quite used to it now though.



Thought that honeycomb pattern on the doors would irk you!:angry
 
I hear ya!! Driving it back to work I had to cross 5 lanes of traffic to get in the lane I needed to be. It was just that time of day when that section of freeway is getting busy and merging over those 5 lanes took me 4 miles to accomplish. I usually can just dart through them right as I get off the on-ramp. I was so paranoid because I couldn't see squat.



Have you seen the Broadway Mirror in use? David has one in his car and I saw how much better you can see out of your blind spot when its in place. My car is a sedan and pretty easy to see out of all areas of the car. On the Z I would totally get one though. The Autopia store sells them if you wanted to see what they look like. I'll bet that would help the blind spot.



I wonder what this kid's insurance is like. He is a single 21 year old male driving a red Z that has terrible blindspots and bad visibility overall. He has to be paying out the nose for that thing. I'll have to ask him.... All I know is that when I checked out the insurance on a Mustang GT back in '97 when I was shopping for one, the insurance for a single male under 25 with a clean driving record was nearly $350 per month!! I'm sure the Z is near the same class as the GT is. I hope my company is paying him well.... lol
 
Oh, by the way... The Z isn't a coffin car. This is a coffin car. :D
 

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I am 23 and my insurance is right at $400. That is without the wreckless driving ticket or the total loss on my old truck showing up. I just hope they use some sort of lubrication when it comes time for policy renewal.
 
Thanks, Jngrbrdman for going through 28.8 hell to post those pics for us! I hope that guy payed you well for an excellent job of resurrecting that bodacious car from a spiral down into mediocrity.



I hope he learned his lesson, and I mostly hope that he keeps paying you to keep that sweet car looking good for him!



I am most thankful for your inspired solution to the hatchback drip problem. With your permission (after I have tried it out) I will post that to the detailing section of my350z.com. I will make sure I post thanks to Jngrbrdman at autopia.org. :bow



It's amazing how quickly you get used to the limited visibility through the rear-view. I have two main strategies. First, I have my side-view mirrors carefully set to show me as much as possible of my blind spots. But most important:



I am very diligent to make sure that I am always moving faster than the rest of traffic, so the rear-view mirror becomes largely irrelevant!

:lol :cool:



I only have one question about the job: What, no Zaino?
 
I would definately like to hear how that method works for others. I've only tried it once and that is hardly enough testing to know if it works. I see that area as a big problem area for the car. After 5 or 6 years I'll bet there are Zs out there with major rust problems up there. You don't want standing water in places like that. Share that tip with as many people as you want. :bigups I definitely suggest using an Absorber (www.absorber.com) for that little project. Its a tough drying tool that can take the abuse of being closed in a hatch. I use mine for drying engines after I detail them. Its amazing. :bow
 
Jngr, I have a black 350Z, and I was wondering where are you talking about putting the absorber??? The hatch does hold a lot of water, and I always have to open the hatch in order to dry the car completely. Would really like to know the tip you are talking about.



As for the visibility, it is kinda bad, but I had bad visibility in my last vechile, so I am kinda used to it. Heck, I had someone beside me today, and never saw them, almost pulled right on top of them. Really, most of the time, I use the theory that bhobson uses, I just drive faster than everyone else, lol.
 
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