New details, v.57 Chevy and removal of dealer installed swirls

S

Scottwax

New member
Haters stay out! :p



I'll try to post only one shot of each vehicle and link the rest. The swirl removal ones though, I'll post most so you can see the improvement.



1957 Chevy. It was already in excellent condition, pretty much just a weekend car. Paint had extremely minimal cobwebbing and obviously hadn't been waxed in a while since my towels really dragged over the paint. It was still beading though. Anyway, he just wanted a quick wax in preparation for the Good Guy's Car Show this weekend at the Texas Motor Speedway. I decided to go with NXT using my PC and a polishing pad since it would fill/remove the light cobwebbing. I just did a quick interior and engine compartment wipedown.



10991957_Chevy2.jpg




A few other pics:



Similar shot but a bit more light: http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/10991957_Chevy4.jpg

http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/10991957_Chevy_front.jpg

http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/10991957_Chevy_interior.jpg



Lots of black cars this week.



2002 BMW X5. Last waxed with the Wolfgang twins on April 3rd. I wash it weekly and use the WG QD every 2nd or 3rd time. Paint was still beading with QEW wash, even the roof which had not been QDed the entire time. Slickness was okay under a towel, less so with bare skin and in the sun, there was some cobwebbing.



I polished it out with #80 and a polishing pad and topped with #16. Since this X5 sits out more than in (their garage is very cramped with 2 vehicles so the S500 is usually the one they put inside), it should be a very good test for #16 since they only seem interested in getting it waxed about 3 times a year.



10992002_BMW_X5.jpg




1996 Acura RL. I've detailed this car about once a year for the last 4-5 years, yet the owner has not paid me personally one time. Either his Dad or wife get him a gift certificate for his birthday. I don't think he does much in between other than wash and vacuum it. The interior is always in great shape, takes me maybe 30-45 minutes to vacuum and clean it. The exterior takes more of a beating, so I used #80 with a polishing pad and NXT with a polishing pad. Pic is a bit dark, it was nearly 7 PM when I finished (sundown was about 7:25 or so)



10991996_Acura_RL_80_NXT.jpg




2004 350Z convertible. Pretty new vehicle, I've washed it a couple times in the past 6 months I've been cleaning cars at their office. She wanted a wash and interior detail, but really only the seats needed cleaning. On the other hand, even with QEW, the paint wasn't beading on any of the horizontal services. I recommended just cleaning her leather seats and doing a polish and wax on the exterior. I told her I'd do it for the same price since the lack of a roof would make the job go quicker than a regular similar sized car.



I went with Poorboy's PwC and a polishing pad and EX-P by hand. The work was done in the afternoon sun, since the shadows didn't begin to reach the car until I was nearly finished. Only crepe myrtles for shade and they drop sap like crazy.



10992004_350Zv2.jpg




1997 Mercedes SL500. Regularly detailed (about 3 times a year) and the interior is always in excellent shape. Went with #80 and a polishing pad and #16. Probably could have gone with Souveran since the car isn't driven much, it has only about 40,000 miles on it.



10991997_Mercedes_SL500.jpg




Swirl pics coming up!
 
2004 BMW 330. Beautiful car! Love the 18's too! Too bad it had light rotary swirling, courtesy of the dealer.



This is what I started with:



1099bmw_swirls_hood.jpg




http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/1099bmw_swirls_fender.jpg



As you can see, not too bad but definitely noticable. I first went over the car with DACP and a polishing pad. I backed the car out to see if that was enough or if I needed to use the cutting pad. I couldn't see any more holograms but still some light cobwebbing. I tried to get as close to the same shot as possible but I didn't get the sun in the same spot. :(



1099bmw_swirls_afterDACP.jpg




I then went over the horizontal surfaces again with DACP and a polishing pad, then #80 with a polishing pad. At that point, the paint looked really good and noticably darker and wetter. I topped it off with #16. The passage of time (probably a couple of hours, I even had to QD before waxing because of the DACP dusting) resulted in a not truly comparible picture because of the angle of the sun but I still wanted to get a last shot.



1099bmw_swirls_after.jpg




Whole car:



10992004_BMW_330v1.jpg




Last shot, I just thought this looked really cool. :)



10992004_BMW_330_hood.jpg
 
Nice!!!11



Looks like it was a week with the blue crayon :) . I still have not gotten around to it since I have plenty of others to play with now.



That Chevy is definatley hot. It's a sad thing that NXT...The look IMO is GREAT and it's swirl eliminating abilities I love for a quick 1 step, but I only wish it lasted a tad longer for me.



I really like the 3-series. Is that the M package on a 4-door?



Has #16 been outlasting any sealants for you?
 
Sean-yeah, been using a lot of the blue crayon. It beads like nothing else I've ever used, although Natty's is no slouch either. I like it because it is easy on, easy off, very durable and customers are very impressed with the beading. Most older customers (35 and up) like to see a lot of beading and #16 really delivers.



The 330 is the sport package which includes the M wheels. Not sure what else you get though.



I don't know why NXT seems to last long for some and not for others. I expect decent durability here because we don't get any acid rain or fallout, but Jesstzn gets good durability too and she is in Vancouver, I think. :nixweiss
 
Man!! I love that Chevy:bow



I wish I had more clients with older classics like that. It gets kinda old doing all these new "plastic" cars............give me some CHROME!:cool:



Great work Scott.



Anthony
 
Scott: Looks like the grille, and whole lower fascia, side skirts on the 330.



I got a little over 2 months from NXT which isn't bad, but I was hoping longer. I'll have to test again :)



:lol at Anthony's plastic vs. chrome comment.
 
I live in Vancouver and about the only decent wax I could find locally (before I discovered autopia and mail order!!) was #16. It's durability is really impressive. During our busy season at work, I can't do anyting with my vehicle other than a quick wash occassionally. It's the only time I neglect my vehicle. Anyways, after 3 months, #16 was still holding up very well. I'm spoliled though, I wax my car year round with the exception of two or three months when work doesn't permit it. We may get a lot of rain but little snow or no long cold spells. Don't really think we have "acid" rain though as the weather fronts tend to move in from or down the coast. Certainly have never had a problem with spotting and etching anyway and I only became a detail freak about a year ago.



Don't know if #16 is enough for winterizing though.
 
Anthony-I have to agree with you! Exotics and high end cars are nice, but give me something classic any day. Recently, I have detailed a 1969 Dart Swinger, 1936 Studebaker street rod, 1962 Buick Special and the '57 Chevy. Just something about the style and lines of an older car!
 
Your pictures always look perfect. I love your posts!!! BTW, what sizes are the originals?



One day I'll ask for that camera for Xmas. Is it mucho peso?
 
You really don't need to get too carried away with elaborate camera and lenses. It's just a light box. Kinda like detailing, 90% technique, 10% equipment. Okay, maybe 80/20. The lens, IMO, is way more important than the camera.
 
I have a digital canon 5 megapixel camera. PS50. What lens do I buy for that camera to improve it?



I am not getting carried away though. I just like the way his pictures look.
 
Inspirational, Scott. You always have something on your pic posts that makes me really glad I looked.



I enjoy your write-ups too but I always end up wanting to ask a million questions. If you could answer just two, please, I would really appreciate it. Either way, thanks for the posts!



(1) Why a polish pad with #16 instead of a finish pad and how do you apply that hard stuff to the pad?



(2) What do you like about #80 compared to say FP or SSR1 for eliminating very fine swirls? Are there significant differences?
 
tdekany-the original pics on the picture CD I get from Wolf Camera are 1800 x 1200 and between 650k and 1.2MB in file size. I think my camera was around $350 (including shipping) or so including a Tamron 28-80 and a Tamron 75-300 zoom lens. I use the new Kodak High Definition film and it is noticably better than their Royal Gold.



Glad you like that cloud shot off the hood. I noticed the reflection and I couldn't resist getting the shot.



Marty-my bad. I used NXT on the Acura, not #16. NXT is the only LSP I apply by PC.



I can't really compare #80 to the others because I just haven't used them enough, although I am pretty confident #80 is more aggressive.
 
Great work Scott, I love that '57 Chevy. My father had 2....his first one was purchased for 75 bucks back in the day...he sure does regret selling them, along with his '59 Olds convertible :o



I'm not even going to get started on his 12 second '68 Z28 that he sold so my parents could afford to get a bedroom set when they got married.....:p
 
Nice work as always, I love your pictures. One question.

What do you ise on the headlights? The plastic looks really good.

ok ok one more, what did you use on the chrome of the 57? It looks great!
 
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