66 Vette, 42 Pontiac, RX-8, 74 Doge D100 - Pinnacle Auto Detail - CT

PinnacleAutoCT

New member
Hey guys, I haven’t posted in a while and figured I’d share a few of the more interesting cars I’ve detailed this summer. First up is the 66 Vette, this one is owned by an older gentleman who used to operate a custom cars and antiques business. He had just picked up this 66, 427 Vette and wanted the paint polished before showing it to anyone as it had quite a few swirls, towel marks, etc. Given that the paint was 27 years old we decided to feed it with multiple applications of Meguiar’s #7, restoring the oils that are vital to the health of single stage lacquer such as this. After this, polishing was performed with the Rupes 21 & 75E on speed 2-2.5 (the paint was soft!), with Lake Country black pads & HD Speed. Optimum’s Optiseal was then used for protection and the tires were cleaned but left undressed for a natural look. Overall an approximately 80%+ correction rate was achieved.
Before:
DSC09522 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC09524 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC09526 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
Here we can see the heavy swirling, even under just the overhead lights:
DSC09527 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
LED illumination shows the true extent of the swirling:
DSC09528 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC09530 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC09531 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC09532 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC09533 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC09535 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
Some edges were thinned from previous detailers aggressively polishing the paint:
DSC09544 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
During:
Here one of multiple thick coats of Meguiar’s #7 was being applied to the paint, replenishing oils to keep the paint healthy for years to come:
DSC09549 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC09551 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC09554 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC09558 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

After:
The paint wasn’t perfect, but given the age (27 years) and lack of thickness, the owner and I were very happy to see an 80%+ correction rate with one polishing step. Under any sort of lighting the paint really popped as compared to the swirled mess that was evident in the before shots above.

DSC09567 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

DSC09572 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

DSC09573 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC09574 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC09578 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC09579 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC09583 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC09586 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC09587 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC09589 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC09591 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC09601 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr


These next two cars are owned by the same gentleman mentioned above. The 380SL was in good shape and received an ONR wash and Sonax PNS, the 42 Pontiac received a QD wipedown and multiple coats of Meguiar’s #7 followed by Optiseal. The primer was showing through on the fenders and other areas of the Pontiac, so polishing was pretty much out of the question.
DSC09716 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC09719 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC09688 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC09692 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC09703 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
 
Next up is a 2004 Mazda RX-8 owned by a new client who wanted this done as a surprise for his wife (the car’s owner) while she was away on vacation. This particular color is apparently pretty rare, unfortunately it was heavily swirled and etched with water spots. The car received a wash, decon and one-step polish with the Rupes 21 & 75E, LC polishing pads and Meguiar’s D300. The paint was then wiped down with IPA, CarPro Reload was applied and the wheels and tires were just lightly cleaned since they would be getting refinished soon.
Before:
DSC09492 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

DSC09487 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

DSC09483 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

DSC09481 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

DSC09477 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC09493 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

After:
With just one polishing step I was able to remove about 80% of the swirling and water marks, which really brought out the metallic in the paint:
DSC09496 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC09497 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC09499 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC09501 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC09503 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

This Dodge D100 was a real surprise; the paint was all original. A friend of mine moved out west for some time and happened to stumble upon this truck locked away in a garage somewhere, so he brought it home with him and decided to get it cleaned up before swapping in a Cummins 4BT. The truck received an ONR wash, two thick application of Meguiar’s #7 and a light polishing with HD Speed, LC black pads & the Rupes 21. Special attention was paid to edges on the hood and some other panels, as the paint showed signs of thinning (excessive gold coloring near the edges) and had to be delicately polished.
Before:
DSC08608 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC08609 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC08610 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC08617 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC08619 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC08620 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC08626 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
Staining in the white SS of the roof:
DSC08632 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
Moderate swirling abound:
DSC08635 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC08639 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC08643 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC08649 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
During:
Here Meguiars #7 glaze is being allowed to soak into the single stage paint, replenishing oils lost over years of storage:
DSC08652 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC08653 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

After:
DSC08663 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC08664 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC08671 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
The tires and wheel wells hadn’t been done in these pics:
DSC08696 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC08707 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC08734 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC08742 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC08747 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC08769 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr
DSC08770 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

Thanks for looking, comments and questions are welcome!
 
Nice work!
I'd been using M07 as a prewax glaze since the 70's, but never realized its true potential until I tried Mike Phillips' "overnight soak" method. His process was the salvation for my tired El Camino. It's amazing what results you can achieve with lesser aggressive compounds and pads once you've soaked the finish with M07. I wish I learned about it 20 years ago. Then I wouldn't have all the thin, over polished spots on my Camino from rotaries, wool pads and aggressive compounds.

Bill
 
Very nice, how long did you let the Megs #7 sit on the corvette and the D100 (if not overnight) ?
 
Back
Top