Detroit's Finest: CTS-V with AutoLavish and Steven Pham Photography

[MarcHarris]

The Cadillac CTS-V has grown in popularity and gained quite a following since it came out featuring an LS-series engine and 400hp in an entry luxury sedan. I'm personally a fan of not only the engine, but the comfortable interior and subtle exterior changes - the front grill is the hallmark of the "V-series" look and transforms the CTS from an ordinary ho-hum look to a force to be reckoned with: luxury mixed with Motor-City Muscle.



This owner purchased his V used last fall, and with the Spring quickly approaching, was looking to bring it back to its former glory. In addition to the work performed, the owner will be bringing it back within the next two months for a touch-up and a clear-bra application to the front end.



The owner brought it over and before we wanted to begin the clean-up, we wanted to ensure the wheels and brake components were cool enough to work on.

Mid 60's - so everything is ok. Next we walked around to check out the work we had in store for us.

Headlamp housings weren't too bad, but could certainly use some love

Jacob continued the inspection process with the dual-LED Brinkmann while I got the wheels prepped with some CG Sticky Gel: no acidic wheel cleaners being used on these.

The Xenon and LED Brinkmann's are both great... but excel in different areas. The exact reason we use both.

Nothing too bad, but in need of a little love

Getting the party started

After using a combo of the Zymol Wheel Brush, EZ Detail Brush, and a general purpose brush on the wheels, Jacob hit the wells with APC and a black Shmitt before I hit everything with the pressure washer

Bring on the foam!

...and then I washed

Following the rinse, Dodo Juice born Slippery was used with Meg's clay to take care of surface contamination.

Finally prepped, we could take a look at what we truly had to work with. No more hidding. The results weren't good with some mystery nasty spots and a swirled-up car in general.

 

[MarcHarris]

Our goal was a quality two-step process to bring back the finish to a like-new state. Jacob started with the heavy polishing step using the limited edition Makita and Meguiar's 105

I followed with the PC using Meguiar's 205. Yup... that works:

Xenon Brinkmann

Indirect light:

I was able to get the chance to tape of the headlamp assemblies and show them a little love. To see how much of a difference there is - look at the difference in the reflection of me taking the picture:

Polishing finished, we started to see the result of the work we put in

I used the break from the action to catch up on my scholarly duties as shown in this reflection shot:

Even the formerly dull tail-lamp housings had a big turn-around

As did the exhaust tips

The true final results were captured almost two weeks later when we paired up with up-and-coming local photographer Steven Pham to truly capture the timeless beauty of this Cadillac. While I think our photo's are fine, when you bring in an artist with the proper equipment, you can often get much more dramatic results.

 

[MarcHarris]

Once everything was set to go, we headed out to a coin-op Do-it-Yourself car wash. I prepped all the detailing supplies I would need both at the wash and at various locations to keep the car in proper order. Two 5-gallon buckets with Grit guards and sealable lids filled with hot water were brought to the car wash bay, as were mitts to wash, drying towels, quick detailer, wheel cleaner, wheel cleaning brushes, plush microfiber towels, diluted ONR in a chemical sprayer, gloves, tire dressing, etc.

Once arrived, I got busy and Steven got to take a few shots to show the transformation.

At this point I am beginning to see the changes. At first the car had salt all around car which made it look dull and very much dirty.

Now generally when my parents or friends would take their car to a self wash, they would never wash it by hand nor do such a thorough job. The whole car was already sprayed down but Marc hand washed the the car starting at the top showing how much it can make a difference. He saved the lower portions, which were dirtiest, for last.

At this point I was really amazed and could see the difference in how the detailig work affected the look of the CTS. The car was beginning to literally look like a mirror. It was glossy enough to see yourself clearly in.

Here are some of my favorite shots Steven took at the car wash - such tight and zoomed-in images capture how clean the surface really was.

Marc proceeded to finish the car off with some type of spray product. With the final touches, it left the car smoother than glass. The tip of my fingers would glide along the car with no friction at all. The entire car had an elegant shine and sparkle.

Dodo Juice Red Mist Tropical

The following photo's were all taken in Detroit, Mi. Below shows the beastly CTS-V at the Packard Plant. Established in 1907, this plant produced some of the most early luxury vehicles at the time. During its peak, close the 40,000 workers would come in on one day. The company ended around the late 1950's and the entire nearly 40 acre building was left abandoned.

This is my favorite shot of the day. It was simple and provided an excellent view of the Renaissance Center: a building owned by GM that also serves as General Motors Headquarters as well.

This last shot was also at Belle Isle, which is a little island which is mostly a park in Detroit. I used a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 wide angle lens for the shot as I wanted to get the structure in the background while showing the entire car.



The other shots were all taken with a Nikon D90 with a 50mm f/1.8 lens. No filters were used as I wanted to show the reflections that the car can produce. The last three shots were edited in Lightroom and Photoshop. I enhanced the colors, edited poles and wires that were sticking out,and added a watermark.

Some of Steven's personal favorite shots can be seen at Photography by Steven Pham



You can check out his other random photos at Flickr: Steven ?????? Pham's Photostream



For additional questions or comments, please contact Steven directly: [email protected]





Thanks for looking!!!

 

[TSC17]

Great work Marc, and love the photography. Nice to see that you're keeping your studies up as well.

 

[Apollo_Auto]

Holy schnitzel that's a damn nice-looking car! Well, now that you guys have given it your ALL (Auto Lavish Luv... feel free to use that !)Those pics look fantastic... What are you studying BTW?

 

[dtailmycar]

Ohh Boy!!! Those pics are..... (speechless)

 

[imported_Shaun Carollo]

Very nice pictures. Way to rep the D!

 

[Barry Theal]

Very nice work guys!! Car looks awesome!

 

[imported_motoo344]

One of my favorite cars, great work!

 

[imported_d00t]

Great work all three of you guys!

 

[MarcHarris]

Great work Marc, and love the photography. Nice to see that you're keeping your studies up as well.

much appreciated Todd!

Holy schnitzel that's a damn nice-looking car! Well, now that you guys have given it your ALL (Auto Lavish Luv... feel free to use that !)Those pics look fantastic... What are you studying BTW?

LOL... Jesse you're the man. Only dude on autopia that makes me actually laugh out loud. Thanks for the kind words buddy

Ohh Boy!!! Those pics are..... (speechless)

ty

Very nice pictures. Way to rep the D!

Much appreciated Shaun! We gotta link up some time this year man

Very nice work guys!! Car looks awesome!

Thanks a lot Barry

One of my favorite cars, great work!

Thank you - she was a pleasure to work on

Great work all three of you guys!

Thanks a lot Aaron!

 

[white gecko]

Great writeup! I enjoyed looking through it. The photography was good too.



Excellent work!

 

[DetailnByDustn]

Excellent Work! Awesome Pics

 

[imported_rydawg1]

Great work and nice pics!

 

[D Tailor]

I love the pic of you skimming...I mean reading the book. Ha! Nice job with the vehicle and cool photos to document it all. Also loving the Nintendo jacket.

 

[MarcHarris]

thanks a lot for taking a look fellas!

 

[VroomVroom]

I've gawked at this thread three times now. Didn't want to comment until I had more than a few seconds to offer the typical, "Wow - great job!" stuff. That said...



Wow - great job! Seriously, your threads are always terrific, but this one is particularly enjoyable. Wonderful detail work, great sense of humor (the reflection shot with the book and furrowed brow is priceless), and the mesh of art forms...automotive detailing and photography...makes for a hall-of-fame read.



I've really become a fan of photography over the past three years, and a couple of the Steven Pham shots in this thread are amazing. I think my favorite is the Packard Plant one, but it's definitely a close call.



Thanks for this!

 

[MSOsr]

Beautiful photos of a beautiful car.



Mike (owns one :woohoo: )

 

[imported_fishbonezken]

Awesome work!

If only every detailer could photograph like that....

 

[Rickrack]

WOW!!!



Truly great work guys!!!



The car looks better than new and the pictures are awesome!



Glad to see you're staying busy... :waxing: