Detailing for an Autopian [MacAlert] '03 Maxima

S

stilez

New member
First off, nice meeting you Raveendra, and thanks for being such a trooper and waiting around for me to finish.



Raveendra came from over 90 mins away to have his car done and likewise didn't have someone to follow him to my place to pick him up. He waited all 6 hours while I completed it. This job took me a bit longer because I had a problem with the paint. The pad kept skipping no matter how much I primed it and cleaned it. I've never had this problem before and I tried everything (diff pads, polishes, shade/sun, etc). Anyways, the car was relatively clean with light to moderate swirls and lots of bonded contaminants being the main problem.





The interior was pretty simple and consisted of:



-Vacuum

-303 Spot Treater followed by Simple Green cut 10:1 to remove remaining stains

-Simple Green mixture used with an MF to degrease the door jams

-APC 10:1 to clean leather, vinyl, rubber, plastic

-Optimum Protectant on vinyl, rubber, plastic

-4* Leather Conditioner on seating

-NXT Glass cleaner on glass and clear plastic

-Mats cleaned with Simple Green and dressed with Meguiar's Hyper Dressing cut 2.5:1

-Door jams sealed with OCW





DSC05274.jpg








Next was the engine. It hadn't been cleaned since new and certainly needed it. When all was said and done, I was happy with the results. Final processes:



-Rinse warm engine

-Soak with Simple Green full strength for 3-5 mins

-With Meguiar's wheel brushes and a NXT car wash dilution, I scrubbed everything

-Rinse, idle for 5 mins, and let dry

-Soak with Meguiar's Hyper Dressing cut 2.5:1

-Wipe down excess after 2 hrs (exterior)

-Polish all painted/polished surfaces with Klasse AIO





Before

DSC05260.jpg




After

DSC05277.jpg






Before

DSC05262.jpg




After

DSC05278.jpg
 
And finally, the exterior. Like I said above, there were a lot of bonded contaminants. I played with a lot of polishes before deciding on Menzerna FPII. Final processes:





-NXT Wash

-PB Clay with NXT Wash as lube

-Menzerna FPII via rotary and LC Polishing Pad @ 1500 rpm

-UPP by hand spit shined with OCW



-Flitz and #0000 Steel Wool on exhaust

-Adam's VRT on plastic trim



-Rims/tires/wells cleaned with Eagle 1 Pro Wheel Cleaner

-Poorboy's Bold 'N Bright on tires

-Klasse AIO on rims

-UPP on rims spit shined with OCW

-Meguiar's Hyper Dressing cut 2.5:1 in wells





DSC05270.jpg




DSC05282.jpg




DSC05272.jpg


Flavorite





Enjoy peeps, I know I enjoy all of your posting :).
 
What was your phsyical process in prepping the engine bay for cleaning?



I think your next tutorial post should be one on cleaning engines. I don't offer the service as i have never been properly informed on what all to cover... "Be careful and cover the alternator with a plastic bag" is the extent of anyone explanation... What about aftermarket intakes? Electronics? I would LOVE a thorough explanation on how to SAFELY clean modern engines.



Thanks a bunch,

Rob
 
Rob: I didn't cover anything, just kept the water stream on low pressure and always moving. The owner called me and told the the mass air sensor had water in it, threw a check engine light, and stalled out. I feel bad, but its all good now (he says). If anything, cover the intake (if aftermarket), any aftermarket wiring, alternator, and spark plugs, if applicable. Follow the metality of rinse, soak with degreaser, agitate, rinse, and run for 5-10 mins. The running part afterwards is key. Next time, I will run it for 10 mins instead of 5 mins.
 
GSRstilez said:
Rob: I didn't cover anything, just kept the water stream on low pressure and always moving. The owner called me and told the the mass air sensor had water in it, threw a check engine light, and stalled out. I feel bad, but its all good now (he says). If anything, cover the intake (if aftermarket), any aftermarket wiring, alternator, and spark plugs, if applicable. Follow the metality of rinse, soak with degreaser, agitate, rinse, and run for 5-10 mins. The running part afterwards is key. Next time, I will run it for 10 mins instead of 5 mins.
Click to expand...



Thanks. Still sems too risky though. Especially for someone in my case sans insurance. I think i will stick to letting customers do it themselves. :cool:



Too much risk for not enough reward IMO. Especially considering all of the possible plug/MAF MAS/intake configurations of today's cars.
 
Great work Sean! I really like the engine detailing you did...but the water problem with the MAF sensor is why I rarely do engines other than a wipe-down. I recommend to my customers who actually care about how the engine looks (which is maybe 1% or so) that they have it steam cleaned at the dealer. That way, if anything is affected by the moisture the dealer will be able to fix it.



I still clean my own engine though. ;)



The paint looks super reflective and wet. Very interesting technique, I would have never thought of spit shining UPP with OCW. :cool:
 
nice detail, what system is the guy running sound wise see a nice blue wire going somewhere. lol.
 
JJ_ said:
nice detail, what system is the guy running sound wise see a nice blue wire going somewhere. lol.
Click to expand...

I am running Eclipse HU, Arc Audio amp, Rainbow speakers. The problem with the MAF sensor was just moisture in the connection (I hope). Pulled over by Seans house, blew out some left over water and just plugged everything back together. Car is running now but still have a CEL light. Great detail by Sean, he is very meticulous in his work. Kept going over the hood because he noticed something which I never found. Other then the long wait and me getting lost on the way to his place, I will DEFINATELY be going back to Sean but won't EVER get my engine bay cleaned again. Again, thank you Sean for a great detail!!!
 
go to a local Autozone they can pull the code and clear it.. otherwise you need to reset the ECU. by pulling of the battery cables and letting your car sit for 15-30 min some people press the brakes to make sure there is no juice in the systemm. BWT they say you shoudl reset after ev mod...
 
holland_patrick said:
go to a local Autozone they can pull the code and clear it.. otherwise you need to reset the ECU. by pulling of the battery cables and letting your car sit for 15-30 min some people press the brakes to make sure there is no juice in the systemm. BWT they say you shoudl reset after ev mod...
Click to expand...

A friend of mine is checking the code for me. I know it's just a stored code but just want to make sure. Thanks for your help though.
 
Sean, I find that if I blow the engine dry with my leaf blower, then dress it, then run the engine that CEL's are nill. Unless it is an early 90's mercedes in which case I will NOT TOUCH the motor. Everyone I have ever done threw a CEL. :rolleyes:



I am sure once everthing dries out and the ECU is reset that everything will be fine.
 
ebpcivicsi said:
Sean, I find that if I blow the engine dry with my leaf blower, then dress it, then run the engine that CEL's are nill. Unless it is an early 90's mercedes in which case I will NOT TOUCH the motor. Everyone I have ever done threw a CEL. :rolleyes:



I am sure once everthing dries out and the ECU is reset that everything will be fine.
Click to expand...

As Sean has told me, my car was the ONLY car he has had problems with. I do have a small crack where the MAF sensor plugs in, which might have let some water get in.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top