LX470, Escalade, Denali, Harley Road King, SRX

S

Scottwax

New member
1998 Lexus LX470. I detailed their '02 Suburban the week prior so I was hoping the LX being smaller and mostly driven by the husband (less kid carrying) would be a bit easier. It was but still took a good 6 hours to detail.



Half/half shot of the middle mat. Should be obvious which side I cleaned with BioKleen's Traffic Lane Cleaner...



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Before and after of the front passenger seat. Cleaned with Woolite/water mix. The before shot really doesn't show how grimey the leather was.



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Their garage is filled with outdoor's equipment and the door openings aren't high enough anyway, so their vehicles sit outside 24/7. Needed just a bit of claying...this is the Meguiars Clay Bar after half the hood:



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The owner opted not to pop for full (as possible) paint correction since it sits outside all the time. I got a majority of the defects (honestly, it really wasn't even all that swirled as the age would suggest) out via UDM using a Meguiars polishing pad and Optimum Polish. I then sealed it with Opti-Seal.



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2005 Cadillac Escalade. I detail this one every 6-9 months or so. I've been detailing for this customer since 1995 and am sure glad his kids are a bit older now-the interiors are getting easier to clean!



The paint was in overall excellent condition. The owner typically washes his vehicles himself and is pretty good about using quality car wash soaps, pads and towels. Just needed a light polishing so I tried Ultima's Paint Prep via green Edge Cyclo polishing pads. UPP seems to have a little more cut that most AIO products, reminded me of Vanilla Moose in correction and paint transfer removal. I then followed with a coat of Ultima Paint Guard Plus. The interior got the usual, BioKleen and Woolite/water to clean and Optimum Protectant Plus (new formula-light yellow color, noticably thicker and a nice clean new car scent) to dress. It had rained on and off all day and it was near sunset (like it has been all week!) when I took the pictures.



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2004 GMC Denali. Lives down the street from the owner of the LX470. Saw me out there the week before when I was detailing the Suburban and scheduled an appointment for this week. He takes this out to his deer lease so it had some west Texas racing stripes down the sides, courtesy of the plethora of mesquite trees found out there. He said to polish it up as best I could, bearing in mind the use it gets, so he wasn't expecting (nor willing to pay for) perfection. The paint responded very well to Optimum Compound and an orange Swirlbuster pad via UDM. Well enough that it removed or reduced all the scratches and most of the halo swirls...and finished down with a clear, wet LSP ready finish. I sealed it with my 80/20 blend of Meguiars #16 and FK's Pink Wax and took these pics...about 7:20 PM, less than 30 minutes prior to sunset-shutter speed was 1/20th of a second due to low light levels. After taking the pics, I still had to dress the exterior trim (used Ultima's Tire and Trim Gel), clean the glass in and out and dress the interior. I didn't finish until it was pretty dark, around 8:35 PM. Made for a long day, especially since in the morning, I washed a Silverado, Denali and vacuumed and wiped down the interior of an Escalade (no wash on the Caddy, someone had backed into it the night before at Sonic--wifey drives it and the customer was embarrassed to drop it off at the body shop with such a dirty interior!).



Anyway, I digress. Only 3 shots, just not enough light to bother with more.



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Harley-Davidson Road King. I detail this bike once or twice a year. Not too bad this time but the white walls were filthy and the front of the bike was covered in bugs.



I got a wheel/tire cleaner to try from David at Optimum and you can see the results in these before and after shots.



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As usual, I strip the bike down to clean. I remove the windshield, saddle bags and seat.



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A few shots during the cleaning/polishing process:



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I used Clearkote's Pink Moose on the chrome, windshield, hard plastic, etc. The paint got the Ultima twins by hand. The seat and saddle bags dressed with Meguiars Gold Class Leather Cleaner and Conditioner. First shot sans saddle bags and windshield.



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...yes, I did go back over the rubber on that rear shock before I put the bags on. :doh



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A couple shots using only the available lighting in the parking garage...



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2006 Cadillac SRX. Another late finish, it was near sundown when I took the pictures. Probably going to be that way for a few weeks as I continue to try and catch up after all the rain this summer (nearly 30 inches since early May!) as the days grow continually shorter.



The exterior was in excellent condition, polished it and sealed it with the Ultima twins as described in the write-up of the '05 Escalade. BioKleen and Woolite/water to clean the interior, leather dressed with Meguiars Gold Class and vinyl with Meguiars Interior QD (he wants absolutely no shine on the vinyl).



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Love the 90% glass roof-so much less to polish! Note too, the sunset as reflected in the side windows...still had the glass and interior dressing to do after I took these pics, didn't finish until after 8 PM.



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Looking great Scott!!



The Ultima twins really look good on white I see



Ultima Tire and trim shine makes the tires look good too--how many coats on the tires to get that shine?
 
Nice work Scott. I hate doing SUVs so you have my commedations. I am not a huge fan of Harely's, but that one came out great!!!



Todd
 
Booyah said:
Looking great Scott!!



The Ultima twins really look good on white I see



Ultima Tire and trim shine makes the tires look good too--how many coats on the tires to get that shine?
Click to expand...



I only use Ultima on the trim, it is way too expensive to use on tires. I've been using Nascar Ultra Shine Tire Finish lately instead of the usual Armor All since it has been on sale at Big Lots for $3 per 23 oz bottle. Decent product, durable and a touch more shine than AA.



=======



SUVs are more work but also more $$$. :)



Only 2 of them today, and X5 and an ML500...both washes, along with an S550 and 650i...plus an Altima detail. I'd better get moving! :wavey
 
Great detailing and pics as always Scott :goodjob How was the paint on the SRX? I am thinking of getting one because my Volvo V50 is too small sometimes.
 
Great work as usual. Would you be interested in testing and review a new product I'm working on? I can't seem to get a PM to you. I'll try calling today. Thanks!



Bradley
 
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