Black Range Rover Supercharged in for a mini restoration detail. Previous owner really neglected the car and the new owner wanted it back to new inside and out.
Some shots outside before I got to wash the car
Began with wheels and tires, I raised the suspension setting to its highest and got started on the wheel wells.
Tires before...
After..
Wheel well before..
Cleaned with various brushes...
Car was foamed with a mild degreaser and washed with citrus soap before being pulled inside.
After claying part of the hood
I re-dried the car and gave it 3 alcohol wipedowns before starting correction... after washing off some prior glaze I had to make sure everything was clean and stripped. Underneath the finish was worse than I initially though.
Measured the finish with the PTG and saw very consistent readings.
I assessed about 10 single or cluster scratches that would need wetsanding, first of which was on the passenger door.
Onto correction...
The "J" hook scratch and surrounding area was sanded with 1500, 2000 and 3000 grit
After correcting, 95% of the J hook was removed, the last part of the tail seen just above the door handle still remained.
Before rear door
After passenger door
Some 50/50s... Correction included 3-4 passes with a wool pad, followed by foam compounding than polishing... finishing was done later
Little closer with just the infratech this time and a camera flash
Close up
Video 50/50
Wool and foam compounding, 2100+rpm as needed
Lower rocker 50/50
I usually start with the hood for correction but since it needed some more wetsanding and would get messy with soap and water I left it until later in the process
Took a few extra readings to ensure I could sand safely
Had my paper soaking for about 40minutes, various grits
Got the wetsanding done and started correcting the raised sides of the hood
The plastic hood vent cover needed polishing as well. Some hard water etching could not be removed with hand polishing so I used the DA and a 2 step process to correct it
Before, a bit dull
During
After 2 passes of compoudning
You'd be suprised what you can pull out of plastic when you "think" its already clean
Came back again with a softer pad and lighter cleaner polish
50/50
Same deal on the side vents only waterspots were the issue as much as runs in the plstic
Before
After
After
Hand polished behind the handles, unfortunately anything short of wool compounding wouldnt do much help
Before I went into the final finishing stage I began on the interior first
The owner pointed out the leather didnt feel or smell like leather anymore and I suggested the leatherique treatment.
I have only done this once before and the second time around I tried some new methods to help the process.
Goal was simply to get rid of the mild shine on the seats, bring back some suppleness and give it a natural look.
Began with a through vacuum of the seats and crevices,
Before applying the oil I heated up the seats with the heat gun to soften up the pores and allow for the RO to spread a little easier
Massaged in the rejuvenator oil by hand
Ive been told the leatherique kit works best with time and heat... time wasnt and issue but heat was as my garage was about 68degrees with the heat on full blast so again the heat gun came in handy.
So after applying the rejuvenator oil I used the heat gun on low setting and worked over the leather.
I did this about 4 times in a 24hr. period
Also applied the RO to the steering wheel in hopes to get rid of the grime and oily look... this stuff is thick!
Same process was repeated for the passenger seat
Passenger seat before
All covered
After sitting overnight the seats absorbed a good bit of the oil, once again I hit them with the heat gun
Fast forward a few more hours to make a full day of sitting and it was time to remove the rejuv. oil and proceed with the 2nd step of the process
Spray on the pristine clean and work it in with a brush
Use a hot damp towel to wipe away the excess product and see what you left with
Nice matte finish on the leather, no more greesy steering wheel
All finished
Definitely helped with mattifying (own word) the leather and restoring the supple feel, these seats werent really jacked up so I'd like to see how well this kit does on other cars
I finished the rest of the interior work. Made sure all the door jambs and small compartments were sorted out as needed
Gave the spare tire compartment a vacuum, sealed the wheel with a quick coat of JS109 and dressed the tire, just wanted everything to look uniform same on on the exterior
Worlds longest exhaust tip cleaned and polished
Before LSP I pulled the car outside to inspect my work, sun wasnt strong enough to show a whole lot
Back inside to finish everything, the car seemed to have an endless need of work, I will be so happy to work on a 2door coupe next week.
Started on the trimwork, 50/50 on side mirror
Engine got a mild cleaning
Before
After
The front window cowl was shot... faded gray with scrapes in it, after extensive cleaning and several coats of dressing it got only marginally better
Before
After
I usually wait to do the pedal section last, moving the car forward and back in the garage just gets it dirty again anyways
Did some finishing touches cleaning up all the vents and door jambs
Before the final DI water wipedown I dusted the car down... this thing has really earned its keep in the garage
Finished pictures
Quick halogen shot with all the other lights off...
Video:
Spent just over 50hrs. from start to finish. Big writeup and I thank you for taking the time to read it.
Outstanding work David! :notworthy: Thanks for the photo's and write up! If this vehicle isn't a prime candidate for the "once a month club", I don't know what would be.
Wow, very impressed as always!!:clap: That thing was a wreck, it looks perfect now. Looks like it has never been washed outside of the automatics with the brushes. Is the white Mercedes next?
David, your work is nothing short of amazing. You deliver incredible results every time out and your attention to detail is truly impressive :notworthy::notworthy:
Work is outstanding .Let me ask you two questions one is if you had turned the heat on in the car of coarse the car would have to be outside.Do you think you would get the same results as using the heat gun on the seats.The other one is the wool pad you used the black one was it a TufBuf ??Again awesome work
I hate detailing any SUV, but the Range Rover is especially a PITA. That interior is awful to clean, so many nooks/crannies/buttons that need q-tipping.
Wow, Dave looks good! Those seats turned out pretty nice. After you heat up the seats with the heat gun cover them with a large garbage bag, I have found that it will hold the heat in alittle longer. Sometimes I'll even put some moving blankets over the garbage bags. Keeps them warm for quite awhile. You sorted through those 400 pictures pretty fast!!! LOL Nice work again!!