Black CTX 'Not washed since last October' vs. a great weather weekend in the NE!

mgm2003

mgm2003

New member

I helped GBT TL detail his Mother-In-Laws CTX, it’s about a year old.

This car stays outside 24 x 7, and has not been washed since last October –no I’m not kidding. The flats were covered with IFO –some of the worst that I’ve seen in a while. We washed/polished it last night, and Greg sealed it this afternoon.


Process Used:


Pre-Rinse / Wheels:

Meg’s Wheel Brightener / Cut 50/50.
Optimum APC 6:1 on the wells.

Here are a few shots as we got started:
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Pre-Wash: Bug Squash/SS&S via Foam gun. We let it dwell for about 5 minutes. It barely dented the grime.

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Wash:
SS&S mixed with a cup of white distilled vinegar in the foam gun. I foamed and greg washed the paint with a few mitts. The paint was already swirled/marred, so we went quick.

Optimum Clay on all of the flats. TONS of rail dust & other contaminates were in the paint. The flats felt like sandpaper.

Interior:
Steam on carpet spots, interior glass, and stains on the hard plastic.
Everything (except the glass) wiped down with Meg’s Quick Interior Detailer.

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Polish:

Here are a few pre-polish shots:
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A shot of Greg taping up the beast:

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Metabo 700-1400 RPM using IP (Green LC 7.5 light cutting pad)
PC @ 3-5.5 using ZPC (White LC 7.5 polishing pad)

This took 2 of us about 90 minutes. We polished out a side at a time before stopping to wipe down. The hood and a few areas needed 2-3 passes. We both noticed that as you start to break down ZPC, back down the PC from 5.5 to 3 and it ‘sets’ up and lays down a very nice looking gloss.


Seal:
Z6 wipe down.
Z5 (zfx’d) x 2
Final Wipe Down using Z8


A few side shots:
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Hood Shot:

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Nice Reflections:

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WOW!!! :bow :bow


Looked like a hellish job to overcome. Wish I could have been there to help + keep you all company.

Whats on the tires/wells?

Did you dress/condition the interior?

How do you like Wheel Brightener?
 
That's one hell of a turn around. Great job. Hopefully she will learn to take care of it and put it in the garage every once in a while now.
 
Sean: The wells got NL. Tires NL x 2 (but it didn't stick), so I topped the tires with Turbo Wax Tire Gel.

The interior was done all steam (an EXCELLENT cleaner) + meg's quick interior detailer. Greg applied Z10 to the leather this afternoon, but that's after the shot on the post.


I've used the Meg's wheel brightener 3 times, and I have to say it's a pretty effective cleaner. We hardly touched the wheels & inner rims -the chemicals did 90% of the work.

Audiboy: She lives in a condo -no garage. I don't think I'd pick black paint for a car that has to sit outside 24 x 7.

nyc_medic: Steam is a VERY effective cleaner on glass, carpet, and interior plastic. I use a steam buggy (el cheapo), but it does a decent job and it leaves the interior smelling fresh.
 
I keep reading more and more about the Metabo rotary. Is the Metabo your only rotary? Need to get a job to own something like that.

Did you each run the machines? One on a Metabo and the other a PC? Or tag team each machine?

When using the IP with Metabo rotary did you follow up with ZPC before wiping down?
When slowing down, after ZPC set up, to speed three did you experience less dusting?

I know that I am going to sound obtuse, but...are the flats the flat panels of the vehicle? i.e. hood, roof, and trunk or any flat surface of the vehicle including the sides panels.

Thanks for the thread and pictures. It really gave me some food for thought.
 
cwcad said:
I keep reading more and more about the Metabo rotary. Is the Metabo your only rotary? Need to get a job to own something like that.

Did you each run the machines? One on a Metabo and the other a PC? Or tag team each machine?

I know that I am going to sound obtuse, but...are the flats the flat panels of the vehicle? i.e. hood, roof, and trunk or any flat surface of the vehicle including the sides panels.


When using the IP with Metabo rotary did you follow up with ZPC before wiping down?
When slowing down, after ZPC set up, to speed three did you experience less dusting?

Thanks for the thread and pictures. It really gave me some food for thought.
Click to expand...


I own a Dewalt rotary too, which is a beast compared to the Metabo. The Metabo set up, size/shape is very similar to a PC. It's very well balanced, and feels much lighter than the Dewalt. I'm not trying to run a commercial, but I think the Metabo is a fine choice.

For this detail, I ran the Metabo and we both ran a PC (because we had 2 of them). Tag team polishing -I love it! We didn't get the paint 100% perfect -so don't let the pictures fool you. I'd say we cleaned up 75-80% of the defects. There are still a few areas with acid rain build up, and a few scratches that were leveled, but not removed. We considered starting out with PG, but at the end of the day the owner is more concerned about a thorough cleaning and protection.

Yes, we wiped down IP, before polishing with ZPC.

We still had some dusting with ZPC, but not that bad. Reducing the speed from 5.5 to 3 may have helped -it really helped gloss the paint IMO.

The flats are just as you posted -hood, roof, trunk.
 
Shiny Lil Detlr said:
Excellent work, but I have a question: What the devil is a CTX? That looks like a Buick LaCrosse to me....
Click to expand...

You are correct, sorry about that (LOL).

DocHoliday: I've found vinegar a very effective cleaner, especially on light water spots. I've been trying various mixes for a few months, and think it has made a difference. This time of year, I wear latex gloves when I wash, so the vinegar doesn't bother my hands.
 
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