Accord, Mopar Challenger, GT3, Karmann Ghia, more

[Scottwax]

2004 Honda Accord. Set an appointment up for a week ago this past Sunday to detail it, just in time for a cold front to drop us from the 80s into the 50s. As I am finishing up the interior, it starts to drizzle and then it just doesn't stop. Due to the owner's work schedule, I wasn't able to finish the car until yesterday, weather was much warmer but the winds were blowing 25-35 mph all day. But at least it wasn't drizzling!



As is typical of white Accords, there was no clear coat and as you can see in the before and after shots, there was some surface oxidation and discoloration.

What has amazed me is how well Optimum Hyper Polish works on single stage paints. So much better then even Meguiars 80 series polishes which were developed when single stage paint was still common. OHP just flat eats oxidation and leaves a very glossy surface. Opti-Seal also works great on single stage paint. No streaking like waxes with petroleum/sovent based ingredients can.



ONR wash, Meguiars white clay

Optimum Hyper Polish with an orange Optimum cutting pad and my Porter Cable 7424XP

Optimum Opti-Seal

Armor All on the tires, fenderwells and exterior trim

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2010 Mopar Challenger, #395 of 500. Pretty much just a weekend toy, he's had it 4-5 months or so and only put 900 miles on it so far.



ONR wash

Wolfgang Fuzion to protect

Armor All on tires and fenderwells

 

[Scottwax]

1963 Kharmann Ghia. Just an interior detail on this one. The car has been sitting for a couple years and really needed a good cleaning. The paint has some areas there are chipping and a couple rust issues but once the car is running again, he says he may have me polish it out regardless of the problems with the paint since 95% of it is still pretty good, albeit faded.



The interior is not the original one, the owner says it is called an "80's interior". Looked to be in pretty good shape overall to me.



Woolite/water at 20:1 dilution to clean the vinyl

BioKleen Traffic Lane Cleaner to clean the carpets and floor mats

Optimum Protectant Plus to dress the vinyl

Even though I didn't do anything to the exterior, still took a picture of it. Really like these cars.

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2009 Porsche GT3. Detailed it a few months back. Overall the paint was still really good other than some light marring on the hood. Since the car is tracked regularly, any correction is best saved for the off season so this was a protect and maintain detail.



ONR wash

Clearkote's Carnauba Moose to protect

Armor All on the tires and fenderwells

ONR interior wipe down

Leather Master's Leather Vital to condition the leather.

 

[Scottwax]

2009 BMW 335. Last protected late 2010, owner would normally not wait this long to get it detailed again but he was waiting on his new wheels. He takes really good care of it between details so I've yet to have to polish it hard other than the time he got some water spots on the front end.



ONR wash, Meguiars white clay

Optimum Hyper Polish with an orange Optimum cutting pad and my Porter Cable 7424XP

Optimum Opti-Seal

Optimum Car Wax

Armor All on the tires, fenderwells

ONR wipedown of the interior

Leather Master's Leather Vital on the leather

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2008 Lexus ES350. Picked up this client through the wife of another client who brought the car over to her husband's office to have me detail there while I washed her husband's Escalade and some of his co-workers cars. When I saw the check in the Lexus left for me, I realized the owner was already a customer. Found out later she had lost my contact information when her last receptionist left and since she never actually set the appointments up herself, wasn't even sure of my business name.



Anyway, the car was set up for just a basic detail but really needs some paint correction. Problem is the car is parked outside at her office and there are a lot of trees and flying poop machines in those trees and there are several areas of etched bird bomb damage that makes a full correction pretty much pointless. Her main concern was the interior anyway.



ONR wash, Meguiars white clay

Optimum Hyper Polish with an orange Optimum cutting pad and my Porter Cable 7424XP

Optimum Opti-Seal

Armor All on the tires, fenderwells and exterior trim

Woolite/water at 20:1 dilution to clean the vinyl

BioKleen Traffic Lane Cleaner to clean the carpets and floor mats

Optimum Protectant Plus to dress the vinyl

Leather Master's Leather Vital to condition the leather.

 

[Scottwax]

The work on my car continues....now getting the little stuff I haven't had time for until recently.



The exhaust tips were a perfect candidate for the new version of Optimum Metal Polish. Seems every bit as effective but works faster.



Right tip gone over once:

Both gone over twice. Took maybe 30-40 seconds per tip each time, so maybe a little over 2 minutes to go over both twice. Probably going to take some steel wool to get the carbon build up around the edges of the tips.

Combination of Optimum Power Clean at 3:1 dilution followed by rinsing with ONR at QD strength (1.5 oz for 32 oz water) for the door jambs and gas cap area (should have taken befores but I was hurrying to finish before it got dark). Both were pretty dirty in the hard to access areas, although I had been wiping them down when washing the car, just hadn't had time to really get deep into them.

Even though I have the Optimum Coating on the car and mostly just wash it, thought I'd try a few waxes on it to see how I like the look and knowing I have a lot of protection underneath. First up, Migliore Frutta. I like both Fine and Frutta on pearls and light colors, really gives those colors a wet glow. Not the easiest product to work with, grabby going on and grabby coming off. I have found that moderately warm days (70-85) and low humidity make the removal process much easier and less likely to smear as you remove it. Not sure I'd use it on a jet black BMW though, given the amount of pressure it takes to buff the excess off. However, if you do have the time and don't mind doing a little work, the look on silvers and pearls is really good.

 

[Driven Auto Detail]

Looks great, as usual Scott. It amazes me that Honda doesn't use clear on the white. Although, having done a couple of them it's nice to get such a great before and after. The customers are usually blown away at the difference.



What kind of applicators are you using for OPP and LM Vital (foam, MF, etc.)?

 

[Scottwax]

I use MF covered foam hand pads to apply OPP and Vital.

 

[maxepr1]

Scott, hate to say this but I think I like this Maxima better than your old one! Sick wet!! Nice work!