Black Toyota Prius Hybrid

R

Rickrack

New member
This car belongs to one of my cutomers who is a member here on Autopia. I have done a couple vehicles for him in the past and was contacted recently to clean up his new company vehicle. This Prius had been on order for quite a while and finally arrived at the dealer a few weeks back. He had told the dealer not to wash or touch the car when it came in, but of course, they did anyway. :mad:



The main purpose of this detail was for winter protection. I was planning on only having to buff a few scratches that may have been present, followed by a paint sealant, but after washing it, I realized that It was in need of polishing. The car has less than 500 miles on it and already had it's fair share of defects from the dealer washing it.



I chose to do a single stage buffing treatment to remove as many defects as possible without having to get into compounding. Some of the deeper scratches remained, but it made a huge difference overall.



My process:



Washed, cleaned wheels and tires



Clayed bottom half of car to remove bonded contaminants (top surfaces were alright) using a green Kar Kraft clay bar



Zaino Z6 wipedown



Polished complete exterior with 106ff/Ultrafina mixture using a black foam polishing pad X 2



Z6 Wipedown



FK1 1000P by hand



Collinite Marque D’Elegance No. 915 by hand



FK 425 wipedown



Zaino Clear-Seal on wheels and exterior windows



Super Blue dressing on tires and wheel wells



Interior wipedown



Shampooed drivers and passenger floor mats



Applied plastic protection to driver and passenger side carpets for winter protection





Befores:



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After the wash....



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Brian,

I used about 75% 106ff and 25% Ultrafina. It polished out surprisingly well. It minimized the dusting significantly and allowed longer working time as well. It worked out to be an awesome combo. Enough cut to remove light to medium scratches and finish off swirl free.
 
I've come to expect it, but I'm still sometimes amazed at what one bad washing can do. Brand new. Dealer washed. Scratched horribly. :wall



Sort of off topic...my GF and I decided to visit the Aston Martin dealership in Dallas just for fun recently. After being buzzed in, the first thing we saw and in the middle of the showroom was a brand new Black DB9 with spotlights aimed right on the hood. It was as badly swirled as your first few pictures of that Prius. How could they sell a car like that?



Very nice job on the recovery.
 
Being a detailer, I notice stuff like that all the time. I went to a "World of Wheels" car show and couldn't believe all of the nice cars that were severely swirled. It just makes me cringe.:scared:
 
Thanks Thomas!



There were some deeper scratches still present which I will address in the spring once the winter is over, but all in all it came out pretty nice.
 
Thanks everyone!



The plastic floor mats are available a few different places online. If you do a search for "dealer must remove plastic floor mats" you will find places that carry them.



This place carries them: Car Care Products, Inc.



I have been using them for years. They are great for the winter. I usually cover all of my rugs and leave it on over the entire winter and pull it off in the spring. When you remove it, the rugs look brand new underneath. It's a great finishing touch on a detail too. My customers love it. I have people come to me before every winter to install it in their vehicles for protection.
 
OUTSTANDING work!



I fear that this color and paint combo will always need this kind of work. Looks like you will have a long time client.



GREG
 
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