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mad_machine
mad_machine GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
5/10/10 6:29 p.m.

I only use the touchless carwashes... but right now the green pollen is doing a good job of hiding all the imperfections in the paint of my Ti... actually, it is hiding my ti

ignorant
ignorant SuperDork
5/10/10 6:32 p.m.
Toyman01 wrote:
ignorant wrote:
gamby wrote: Seriously-- I used a Griot's Garage orbital polisher, Clay Magic claybar, 2 passes of Menzerna Super Intensive Polish (with a Lake Country Yellow pad), 1 pass of Meguiar's #9 Swirl Remover 2.0 (with a Griot's orange pad), Nu Finish (applied with a Lake Country green pad), and a coat of Eagle One quick detailer
ha.. Yeah.. I barely wash my cars. I mean why should I do something the sky does for free. That is some serious dedication.
Pull in to car wash. Spray entire van with tire cleaner. Blast off. Done in 3 minutes for $2.00. Needless to say I don't treat the RX-7 or the Abomination that way. Though it is tempting some times.

yeah that's about what i do, except with my wifes car. It's new.

If I'm selling a vehicle, It goes to get a full detail before it goes on the market. The $150 I spend at the detail place will come back to me nearly 5 times over in the sale.

Woody
Woody GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
5/10/10 6:43 p.m.
ignorant wrote: If I'm selling a vehicle, It goes to get a full detail before it goes on the market. The $150 I spend at the detail place will come back to me nearly 5 times over in the sale.

It certainly helps the car find a buyer faster.

gamby
gamby SuperDork
5/10/10 7:33 p.m.
Woody wrote:
ignorant wrote: If I'm selling a vehicle, It goes to get a full detail before it goes on the market. The $150 I spend at the detail place will come back to me nearly 5 times over in the sale.
It certainly helps the car find a buyer faster.

...and yet I was glad mine was in rougher shape--to me, that means nothing is getting masked. That, and I'd rather do it myself.

speedblind
speedblind Reader
5/10/10 8:47 p.m.

Awesome.

PeterAK
PeterAK Dork
5/11/10 9:07 a.m.
gamby wrote: however, after treating them to some 1500 grit paper followed by a mop and some t-cut, they looked like this: Cracking!

I need to do this to my '95 Legacy headlights! Not having seen the show, other than the sandpaper part, I'm not sure what you did! So, uh, what did you do to the headlights???

Woody
Woody GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
5/11/10 9:49 a.m.
gamby wrote:
Woody wrote:
ignorant wrote: If I'm selling a vehicle, It goes to get a full detail before it goes on the market. The $150 I spend at the detail place will come back to me nearly 5 times over in the sale.
It certainly helps the car find a buyer faster.
...and yet I was glad mine was in rougher shape--to me, that means nothing is getting masked. That, and I'd rather do it myself.

Clean doesn't mask anything, but filthy keeps the price down.

Ian F
Ian F Dork
5/11/10 2:39 p.m.

Well done! I'll have to show this to my g/f tonight. We both watch Wheeler Dealers and she'll get a kick out of it. You should see what she did to the 325is I bought from Sonic... I thought it looked good before, but she really went nuts on it.

I'm also curious about the headlight treatment. If a similar treatment can clean up the BMW's lenses, it would save me around $200 (and keep them OE glass rather than aftermarket acrylic).

pinchvalve
pinchvalve GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
5/11/10 2:52 p.m.

Not sure of your process, but I did the lenses on my Intrepid once. Based on internet advice, I started with 1500 grit sandpaper to remove the really nasty yellow and fog, then moved to Mother's Chrome Wheel Polish for shine, then some basic glass cleaner. Came out amazing!

Nitroracer
Nitroracer Dork
5/11/10 3:38 p.m.

I took care of the headlights on my camaro a few days ago and the results were awesome, well worth the two hours I spent sanding and polishing.

  1. 600 grit wet sand
  2. 1500 grit wet sand
  3. Polishing compound
  4. Meguiars Plast-X
  5. See again at night

I hit the paint with the GRM clay bar method (modeling clay) the next day and found a whole bunch of new scratches and some crappy paint on the passenger door.

3Door4G
3Door4G Reader
5/11/10 9:33 p.m.

That looks awesome. Totally enjoyed reading it as well, although I've never seen the show that your post seems to be alluding to. Maybe I should fix that?

Can I do so on the internets?

Lugnut
Lugnut HalfDork
5/11/10 10:59 p.m.

Looks like a cracking motor! But aside from maybe throwing a bucket of polish over it, it looks like you've hardly done anything to it at all!

gamby
gamby SuperDork
5/12/10 7:36 a.m.
PeterAK wrote:
gamby wrote: however, after treating them to some 1500 grit paper followed by a mop and some t-cut, they looked like this: Cracking!
I need to do this to my '95 Legacy headlights! Not having seen the show, other than the sandpaper part, I'm not sure what you did! So, uh, what did you do to the headlights???

wet-sanded w/ 1500 grit paper, Ryobi 6" buffer w/ wool bonnet, Meguiar's Ultimate Compound

A few minutes of buffing and they looked like that. Super easy.

The rest of the car was done w/ a Griot's Garage orbital polisher and a combination of Lake Country and Griot's foam pads. I used the Ryobi in the headlights because it's a bit more maneuverable (and I didn't want to potentially wreck a foam pad)

gamby
gamby SuperDork
5/12/10 7:37 a.m.
Ian F wrote: Well done! I'll have to show this to my g/f tonight. We both watch Wheeler Dealers and she'll get a kick out of it. You should see what she did to the 325is I bought from Sonic... I thought it looked good before, but she really went nuts on it.

Post some pics...

John Brown
John Brown GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
5/12/10 7:45 a.m.

I will be doing the "shades of grey" trio soon (white Caravan, silver Stratus, black Jetta)... I will have to do a pic/video log of how that weekend goes.

Sonic
Sonic Dork
5/12/10 11:17 a.m.
gamby wrote:
Ian F wrote: Well done! I'll have to show this to my g/f tonight. We both watch Wheeler Dealers and she'll get a kick out of it. You should see what she did to the 325is I bought from Sonic... I thought it looked good before, but she really went nuts on it.
Post some pics...

Yes, I'd like to see what she did, as it looked pretty nice already when it left here. Gamby has actually worked his magic on that car in the past, that original paint really cleans up well

Ian F
Ian F Dork
5/12/10 1:16 p.m.
Sonic wrote: Yes, I'd like to see what she did, as it looked pretty nice already when it left here. Gamby has actually worked his magic on that car in the past, that original paint really cleans up well

When it's done, I'll post some pics. The car is still up on stands while I replace the shifter bushings.

I thought the car looked good as well, but she can't leave something alone... it just MUST be Zaino'd... especially if it's black...

gamby
gamby SuperDork
5/12/10 6:02 p.m.
Sonic wrote:
gamby wrote:
Ian F wrote: Well done! I'll have to show this to my g/f tonight. We both watch Wheeler Dealers and she'll get a kick out of it. You should see what she did to the 325is I bought from Sonic... I thought it looked good before, but she really went nuts on it.
Post some pics...
Yes, I'd like to see what she did, as it looked pretty nice already when it left here. Gamby has actually worked his magic on that car in the past, that original paint really cleans up well

I thought of that after the fact--yes, my hands have indeed touched that car. File under: "small world"

Killer paint on that car.

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