Former Rental 2014 Impala LTZ - Restored to its former glory

KMG

New member
I was contacted by the owner of this vehicle through facebook. He started following my posts on Autopia after noticing that I was local to him, and after purchasing this vehicle contacted me in regards to getting the exterior back into shape. Being a prior rental vehicle the exterior of the vehicle has seen quite a bit of abuse both in use and in cleaning. The vehicle had heavy swirling along with lots of RIDS (random intermittent deep scratches), along with rotary burns (holograms) from poor detailing previously done on the vehicle. We decided on a multi-step paint correction to remove a majority of the surface defects prior to coating the vehicle with Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light which will keep this vehicle protected and looking good for 3-5 years.

Before Photos

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The front of the car was heavily covered in bugs and other road debris which is common this time of year.

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Another before photo from the driver side of the vehicle.

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The rotary burns (holograms) are visible in this picture along with the noticeable swirling on the hood.

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This photo shows more of the holograms along with lots of swirling and RIDS. This area of the vehicle was in quite poor condition.

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Before photo of the exhaust port with lots of carbon built up around the opening.

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Another photo of bugs and other debris on the passenger side mirror.

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Another before photo from the rear of the vehicle.

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Before photo of the passenger front wheel.


Wash Process

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After cleaning the wheels and tires the exterior of the vehicle was treated to a strong foam pre-soak prior to a 2 bucket method wash, which was then followed by a final wash with a nanoskin mit.


Correction Process

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I started the correction process with a test spot on the hood. This was after the compounding step which is the first step of the correction process.

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Before photo of the passenger side of the hood. You can see the rotary burns (holograms) along with heavy swirling and random scratches on the surface.

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Final Product

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Once the entire car was compounded and polished it was wiped down prior to applying Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light. This picture is just after the coating was applied and pulled out in the sunlight.


A quick video showing the gloss and reflective qualities of the coating.

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The paint is now nice, deep and free of swirls and holograms.

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Finished product

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Finished product

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Finished product

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Finished product

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Finished product

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Finished product

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Finished product


Thanks for looking!
 
Former glory? I dont think it was that nice when it was new. Great job, it looks outstanding
Lol, Thanks! I was pretty happy with how it turned out.

Some stellar work there! Great pics too, thanks for sharing. Was the customer happy?
Thanks! He was very happy with how it turned out. I know he comes on this site, so maybe he will comment on the post at some point?
 
Looks great and likely better than new as said earlier! You do not see many dark gray Impalas around these parts. I always felt Impalas looked dull due to GM color options.
 
Great job! I love those new Impalas. What`d you use to remove the holograms? Removing holograms from new GM paint is no walk in the park! What was your pad/polisher setup?
 
Great work!!! The lyrics "shine bright like a diamond" come to mind.
Thanks!

Great work !!

Trashed before, now beautiful.
Thanks!

Looks fantastic. I really look forward to trying out CSL.
I really like using CSL, it is quite simple to use.

Looks great and likely better than new as said earlier! You do not see many dark gray Impalas around these parts. I always felt Impalas looked dull due to GM color options.
I like this color on most cars.

Great job! I love those new Impalas. What`d you use to remove the holograms? Removing holograms from new GM paint is no walk in the park! What was your pad/polisher setup?
Thanks Vega! My process was Rupes mkii 15 on MF using Griots Fast Correcting Cream followed up with Essence on white foam polishing pad. I used this combo on a lot of vehicles.
 
Beautiful job on a beautiful color in the sun..
Lucky it was not all banged up since it was a Rental car..
Came out just perfect !
Thanks again for all the hard work..
Dan F
 
I`m a little late to the party. This was my car that Kevin worked on. This is part of the reviews that I`ll do on the car as I find time (sorry Kevin!). I`m normally picky anyway, but all of the learning on Autopia has made me even more so. That being said...

I couldn`t be more thrilled with the work or the coating. It was my first and I doubt I`ll not coat future cars from here on out. The compliments I`ve gotten have all been fantastic. The best is usually, "That`s a Chevy?!?". The pics - both before and after - don`t do it justice. The car was a rental (it`s actually a 2015, which makes the condition even worse...) in Florida for about six months before getting sent up on the auction block. It has just 20k miles on it. It was *trashed*. Kevin was able to get to 95% or better correction. The few things he couldn`t get need a repaint to fix.

As long as Kevin is detailing, I`ll be taking cars to him. Except my DD (05 Tahoe)- I need something to get my detailing itch out on. :)

I liked the color on the Impala. Now? I love it. As Bunky said, you don`t see the color very often.

Gordon
 
Gordon,
It is neat that we actually have the detailer and customer both commenting on the finished product. Kevin did an incredible job making this Impala look as close to new, if not better than new.

I`m with Ray (Vega), I like the new Impala`s. I wish they would offer this in an SS trim or with at a minimum an LS based V8. I`m also digging the new Malibu`s. GM has really stepped up their sedan styling in the last couple years.

Kevin,
If Essence is getting these results, I am stoked about using my (unopened) bottle for the first time.

Thanks for sharing and Gordon it is great to know that you will keep this Impala looking good for years to come. When you are ready to sell it, give us fair warning. You might have a couple buyers on Autopia:)

Bob
 
Nice work! You leveled that out nice!
Thanks!

Beautiful job on a beautiful color in the sun..
Lucky it was not all banged up since it was a Rental car..
Came out just perfect !
Thanks again for all the hard work..
Dan F
Dan, thanks I was pretty happy with how it turned out.

I`m a little late to the party. This was my car that Kevin worked on. This is part of the reviews that I`ll do on the car as I find time (sorry Kevin!). I`m normally picky anyway, but all of the learning on Autopia has made me even more so. That being said...

I couldn`t be more thrilled with the work or the coating. It was my first and I doubt I`ll not coat future cars from here on out. The compliments I`ve gotten have all been fantastic. The best is usually, "That`s a Chevy?!?". The pics - both before and after - don`t do it justice. The car was a rental (it`s actually a 2015, which makes the condition even worse...) in Florida for about six months before getting sent up on the auction block. It has just 20k miles on it. It was *trashed*. Kevin was able to get to 95% or better correction. The few things he couldn`t get need a repaint to fix.

As long as Kevin is detailing, I`ll be taking cars to him. Except my DD (05 Tahoe)- I need something to get my detailing itch out on. :)

I liked the color on the Impala. Now? I love it. As Bunky said, you don`t see the color very often.

Gordon
Gordon, thanks for the nice remarks and I am very glad your happy with the work you received. It is certainly a sharp looking car, enjoy it!

Gordon,
It is neat that we actually have the detailer and customer both commenting on the finished product. Kevin did an incredible job making this Impala look as close to new, if not better than new.

I`m with Ray (Vega), I like the new Impala`s. I wish they would offer this in an SS trim or with at a minimum an LS based V8. I`m also digging the new Malibu`s. GM has really stepped up their sedan styling in the last couple years.

Kevin,
If Essence is getting these results, I am stoked about using my (unopened) bottle for the first time.

Thanks for sharing and Gordon it is great to know that you will keep this Impala looking good for years to come. When you are ready to sell it, give us fair warning. You might have a couple buyers on Autopia:)

Bob

Bob, Essence is a great finishing polishing producing amazing gloss. I finish almost every car I work on with it, do yourself a favor and open that bottle up and start using it.
 
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