How New is Brand-New? 2010 Camaro off the dealer lot Restored by AutoLavish

[MarcHarris]

"We [AutoLavish] can make your car look better than new". A bold statement. So is it true? Can we do it? Read on and you be the judge.



This client calls Jacob to inform him of their soon-to-purchase car of their dreams, a 2010 Camaro. RS package, no sunroof, no audio - light and nimble, but with the proper looks. They are about to pull the trigger on a floor model. He tell them they should bring it over ASAP to add protection to the exterior and the interior, that it would not be much time and this is the best time to detail a vehicle and add long lasting paint protection.



A few days later, Jacob gets a call: the car is on its way from the dealer and will be dropped off at his house for the weekend. With merely 112 miles on the odometer, the Red Camaro arrives.

The owner requested the dealer not touch it anymore, no cleaning, nothing. "Why would you want to drive off in a dirty car?" Dealers just don't get it. The car originally had stripes. the owner requested they take them off. No stickers, no lines. But a big a$$ dealer logo sticker stuck right on the rear bumper shouldn't be a problem, they look cool. Yup, dealers don't get it.



Logos:

During the drive from the dealer to my place, the owner gets harassed by every tuner car and adolescent driver on the road, wanting to "race". Of course, a beautiful female driving a bright red camaro with "TEST ME" written on the windshield is taunting for trouble

So we inspect the NEW car. Dirty. OK, so it may have sat outside a little, and test driven a little. Wheels look soiled. Jambs are filthy and with extra free grease. Engine is dusty. But the worst part, the paint was jacked! Check it out.



Etching:

Dirty:

The door jambs needed some care as well. I mean this is supposed to be a new car. New means no dirt IMO. Door jambs before:

The process used was a spray with FK1 #1119 to break down the grease and any coatings used during the assembly process, agitated with a soft brush (as to not induce swirls):

 

[MarcHarris]

... then followed by a wipe to get most the suspended grease off with the solvent, then rinsed with ONR solution to neutralize any remaining solvent and rinse away any residue, and a wipe to dry and clean the surface completely:

... and a mist with spray wax for protection:

... results in jambs that look proper, and truly new:

Engine before:

Staring off with vacuuming out the leaves and loose stuff first:

... then spraying jambs with FK1 #1119 following by wiping:

... similar done on the engine covers:

... and rinsed off with high pressure water:

... now clean and dry before any dressings:

(water adheres differently to the denser plastic in the vanes from the plastic molding process)

 

[MarcHarris]

... and after final dressing (which adds protection to all under-hood surfaces):

Lets get the logos off:

We start cleaning the wheels with wheel cleaner and a few brushes:

Cleaning the body started off with a rinse and a foam bath.

Then it was foamed again for the wash:

... and proceeded with clay, followed by another wash:

Like I mentioned, the paint was hammered for a new car:

 

[MarcHarris]

We taped up the black trim to protect from the foam pad's spinning edge:

The hood was split up into sections to determine the best method. The goal was to keep it to a one-step polish.

I began using various polishes on a black pad in efforts to finish down perfectly:

In action:

First we tried the lest intrusive of polishing: 3M ultrafina on black pad:

M205 on black was getting rid of most defects, but was not finishing down properly:

Menzerna 203 on black finished down better, but cut less:

At this point, none were getting rid of all the defects. This is supposed to be a new car! How could it possible have RIDS deep enough to require a 2-step? We assume the dealers wiped down the vehicle with random rags causing swirls and DEEP RIDS. It seems this car was harassed by the worst people in the dealer: sales reps (or their assistants!). There is evidence of hard rubbing with soiled rags while they dusted the car or while drying after a rain.



There is no way we could let this NEW CAR go home with any defects. I called the owner and discussed options. I was determined to make the car "new again"!



We busted out a white pad, slightly more aggressive than a black pad, using Menzerna 203, which has a longer work time and less dusting than M205, while still introducing less buffer trails than a stronger polish like M105. We followed up with 3M Ultrafina on a black pad. Test section shows us the goods:

a glimpse from the past:

We have 2 sets of all tools and pads so we can both polish using the same combination at the same time. We set a max tool speed, max translation speed, and average pressure for both of us, and get to it:

Door coming along great:

50/50 of door:

50/50 of C-pilar with just 203 and the black pad: not enough (defects are hard to picture with such a bright color with or without direct sunlight, but they were there lingering):

Lets get rid of the obnoxious lettering on the windshield. Using glass cleaner and a razor blade:

After refining the finish we spray down the vehicle for its last foam bath:

Finally done right as the sun goes down

 

[MarcHarris]

Nice sky:

My S2000 makes a cameo appearance:

Thanks for reading!

 

[Apollo_Auto]

Damn guys, it looks like a new car now !! Nice work! Soft paint??

 

[Camaro5Ryan]

Nope camaro's have pretty hard paint - close to a vette.

 

[nushine31223]

what lsp's??

 

[Thomas Dekany]

Stunning work guys! :bow

 

[DaGonz]

It totally blow my mind ( or what is left of it) how a dealership can deliver a car in that shape and consider it to be "clean".... :grrr:think::nervous2:



You guys are a "dynamic duo of detailing!"

 

[Barry Theal]

Great work gentleman. Nice looking car. What does one have to do for a nice AutoLavish T-shirt? I loved them. Way to come yet again!

 

[ntwrkguy1]

It's amazing the damage that dealers do to new (and used) car paint. Hard to believe that they could do that amount of damage in that short period of time, but seeing is believing. Nice work on a really sharp car!



I laughed at the "Test Me" on the windshield -- I guess dealerships never change!

 

[imported_d00t]

Outstanding work, guys! Another tick on the board for "perfect from AutoLAVISH" :2thumbs:

 

[cptzippy]

That is some of the worst DISO (dealer installed swirl option) that I've seen. Nice work.





(The worst I've seen was regrettably a 100K BMW alpina coupe in black with swirls you could see from 10 feet away). Still waiting for a weekend to take the DISO out of my car

 

[Deep Gloss Auto Salon]

As always, great work boys....

 

[red4.8]

In a perfect Autopia world the new cars would come like that from the dealer, but they don't so Great Job guys. Thanks for the great thread..

 

[Nagz]

stunning work guys! looks great

 

[a_guerrajr]

dayuM that was nEw



Did you guys leave mints?

 

[PWORLDSTANG]

Nice work. That car was beat for a "New" car. I bet the owner was really happy with the end result.

 

[MI Mike]

I have to agree you did a great job !!



You did not happen to send Gordon Chev. a notice of what a vehicle should like when sold.



For a new car there was alot of etching (lack of care), and I'll bet that they wanted top dollar for the camaro with all the special features that you found.



:hifive: