Acura TL Type S Full Detail and Clear Coat Correction from this weekend. (LOTS O' Pics) - Page 2

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Acura TL Type S Full Detail and Clear Coat Correction from this weekend. (LOTS O' Pics) (Page 2 of 3)

Posted: 6/29/2010 8:30:34 AM EDT

[#1]

is that a bottle of sex panther in the door?

Honestly I dont know how you do it I hate a standard wash and wax.

Looks great though!

Out of curiousity and idea how long it will look that good? I assume there are alot of factors that can play in but a standard garage kept daily driven car for instance?

Posted: 6/29/2010 8:45:43 AM EDT

[#2]

How much do you charge for something like that?

Posted: 6/29/2010 8:50:46 AM EDT

[#3]

in high school me and a friend got in with one of the local used car lots
we "detailed cars" for $75 a pop
we would do two after school most days sometimes just one
and on saturday we could do up to six.
do the math on that and considering we were just stupid kids
that was serious money back then.

we cut corners and did a bunch of turd polishing
it was the mechanics that did all the shady stuff lol.
made a bunch of money and got to drive all kinds of cool stuff
but for the most part it was just nasty dirty minivans

Posted: 6/29/2010 8:51:52 AM EDT

[#4]

How much would you charge just for the exterior on a Lexus IS? It's not as rough as the car pictured, but it is black.

Posted: 6/29/2010 8:54:51 AM EDT

[#5]

Quoted:

You fuckers dissin my hood?

This is a nice neighbirhood. Just because my yard sucks doesn't mean the neighborhood sucks.

It just means I'd rather polish the SS than spread fertilizer.

Not at all, man! I loves me some genuine suburbia! I was just pointing out that there's more to JoCo than Lenexa-beige cookie-cutters.

(Posting from my office in my beige house in Lenexa, btw.

)

Posted: 6/29/2010 9:07:12 AM EDT

[#6]

Quoted:

Quoted:
I charge $350 for SUV's.

It's all about where you live, and the price people are willing to pay

Quoted:

How much could someone expect to be charged for a top level detail on say... an explorer?

Thats inside and out? If so, thats not bad. I was thinking somewhere between 600-700....

In MD it may be $600-$700.

Posted: 6/29/2010 9:13:54 AM EDT

[#7]

Quoted:

Quoted:
I charge $350 for SUV's.

It's all about where you live, and the price people are willing to pay

Quoted:

How much could someone expect to be charged for a top level detail on say... an explorer?

Thats inside and out? If so, thats not bad. I was thinking somewhere between 600-700....

In MD it may be $600-$700.

In addition to what products the client wants used, zaino/Klasse/CG ect will be a cheaper job than someone who wants swissvax, and how severe the damage is

Posted: 6/29/2010 9:14:05 AM EDT

[#8]

Quoted:

Quoted:

You fuckers dissin my hood?

This is a nice neighbirhood. Just because my yard sucks doesn't mean the neighborhood sucks.

It just means I'd rather polish the SS than spread fertilizer.

Not at all, man! I loves me some genuine suburbia! I was just pointing out that there's more to JoCo than Lenexa-beige cookie-cutters.

(Posting from my office in my beige house in Lenexa, btw.

)

Is it true that Lenexa has a shooting range off K7?

Us hoodlites over in Olathe would like to know about it.

Posted: 6/29/2010 9:15:56 AM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:
I'd like to have this done to my wife's Explorer. Kids are hell on the interior of a car and we are finally getting past the gross phase of childhood.

Go to WalMart and in the cleaning section look for plain empty spray bottles. They will have dilution ratios on the side. Grab a bottle of regular Woolite and mix it 10:1 with water in one bottle and pure clean water in the other.

Spray liberally on the seat in a 2 X 2 section at a time, then a little spray of water. Let soak for a few minutes, extract with shop vac slowly. 1" per second slowly. Then repeat with only water this time. Wipe with clean damp microfiber towel.

Point fans in open doors and allow to air dry for a few hours, then apply THIS per instructions.

Enjoy.

ETA: This is assuming you have cloth seats.

Posted: 6/29/2010 9:16:10 AM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:
Next time I'm in town wanna do my Envoy?

Yes.

Posted: 6/29/2010 9:17:32 AM EDT

[#11]

Quoted:

Is it true that Lenexa has a shooting range off K7?

Us hoodlites over in Olathe would like to know about it.

Yup. Never been there, though.

Posted: 6/29/2010 9:25:46 AM EDT

[#12]

Quoted:
Jesus, nice work.

Black '09 BMW, and I'm trying all kinds of voodoo to keep it nice and glossy looking...

Zaino. Buy and love it.

Do a quick claybar with little to no pressure with a Mothers kit from any auto parts store, then wash with Dawn per Zaino instructions.

Then apply Z-AIO, 2 layers of Z-5, a quick spray down with Z-6, and then top it off with Z-8.

Teh SICKNESS on black. You will permanantly alter the mental notion of what clean black is supposed to look like to anyone blessed enough to be in the precense of your car.

BTW: Also Youtube "2 bucket wash" and learn it. It will keep your black looking considerably better for years to come.

Posted: 6/29/2010 9:27:21 AM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:
is that a bottle of sex panther in the door?

Honestly I dont know how you do it I hate a standard wash and wax.

Looks great though!

Out of curiousity and idea how long it will look that good? I assume there are alot of factors that can play in but a standard garage kept daily driven car for instance?

Depends. If the owner takes the time to learn how to properly wash and maintain the paint, years.

The more likely scenario is a few months.

But even with scratches and marring reintroduced, the polished finish will still look considerably better for a year or so.

Posted: 6/29/2010 9:27:31 AM EDT

[#14]

Nice job.

Megs 105 + Megs 205 + Autotopis=KBM?

Why did you go with Megs cleaner on the leather instead of the Woolite and water mixture? I did the Woolite route and was very pleased with how it turned out on my Tahoe's seats. But always looking for additional ways to keep the things clean.

And don't forget to skip the Dawn next time now that you put all that work in to the car!

Posted: 6/29/2010 9:28:35 AM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:
How much do you charge for something like that?

Not enough. I have piddled and done each thing incrementally, but this was the first time I had to do it all bak to back. Quoted WAYY too low.

The price went up about $50 half way through the first day.

Another $100 by the end of the second day.

Posted: 6/29/2010 9:33:06 AM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:
Nice job.

Megs 105 + Megs 205 + Autotopis=KBM?

Why did you go with Megs cleaner on the leather instead of the Woolite and water mixture? I did the Woolite route and was very pleased with how it turned out on my Tahoe's seats. But always looking for additional ways to keep the things clean.

And don't forget to skip the Dawn next time now that you put all that work in to the car!

I haven't figured out (I. E. taken the time to read) the KBM. Although I did pick up just in passing the importance of priming the pad.

Also which Dawn wash are you referring to? I touched on my reasoning on the first page.

And the MEgs over Woolite was due to the extreme condition of the seats and the amount of cigarette smoke and tar on the seats.

I didnt wanna fuck with it all day.

Posted: 6/29/2010 9:33:20 AM EDT

[#17]

Posted: 6/29/2010 9:36:49 AM EDT

[#18]

Quoted:
So, are you a man whore? Just wondering with all that cologne.

what do you use to cover up the weed and beer smell, O, and the dead hooker smell too

Posted: 6/29/2010 9:51:57 AM EDT

[#19]

Looks very good now...only thing I can add is doing something to the inner wheel wells to make them black again...that makes a car look brand new. When the rest of the car is perfect and you can see the light gray/dirty wheel wells it makes it look crappy in my opinion. A good scrub and WD-40 brings em back to black in most cases Ive seen.

Im not a pro, but have had black vehicles in the past.....always thought it looked better after doign the wells too...phenominal job on what you had to work with. A+

Posted: 6/29/2010 10:20:23 AM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:
Looks very good now...only thing I can add is doing something to the inner wheel wells to make them black again...that makes a car look brand new. When the rest of the car is perfect and you can see the light gray/dirty wheel wells it makes it look crappy in my opinion. A good scrub and WD-40 brings em back to black in most cases Ive seen.

Im not a pro, but have had black vehicles in the past.....always thought it looked better after doign the wells too...phenominal job on what you had to work with. A+

My SS and my truck have vinyl inserts in the wells and I wash them out with water treated with Optimum No Rinse. Leaves a nice matte finish. This car had steel well and once they dried I was kinda scratching my head for a solution. Something to address before next time.

Posted: 6/29/2010 10:35:53 AM EDT

[#21]

Quoted:
My SS and my truck have vinyl inserts in the wells and I wash them out with water treated with Optimum No Rinse. Leaves a nice matte finish. This car had steel well and once they dried I was kinda scratching my head for a solution. Something to address before next time.

For vinyl inserts I'm fond of using 303. It makes it look like brand new without being overly greasy like some of the other dressing products. A good scrub with a fender well brush (after a good soak from a foam gun) then scrub, then rinse, then allow to dry. Then wipe down with 303 protectant.

Posted: 6/29/2010 10:37:44 AM EDT

[#22]

Quoted:

Quoted:
My SS and my truck have vinyl inserts in the wells and I wash them out with water treated with Optimum No Rinse. Leaves a nice matte finish. This car had steel well and once they dried I was kinda scratching my head for a solution. Something to address before next time.

For vinyl inserts I'm fond of using 303. It makes it look like brand new without being overly greasy like some of the other dressing products. A good scrub with a fender well brush (after a good soak from a foam gun) then scrub, then rinse, then allow to dry. Then wipe down with 303 protectant.

Jesus, John is there anything you don't know?

Posted: 6/29/2010 10:39:07 AM EDT

[#23]

God, I love truly informative ARFcom threads! My '98 F-150 will never feel the love of this sort of detailing, but I will certainly use some of the interior cleaning tip on MrsDzlBenz-v3.0's Camry!

Good stuff!

Posted: 6/29/2010 10:44:34 AM EDT

[#24]

Quoted:
TL Type S with an Automatic.

People.

Manual only came on the CL (2 door).

Excellent detail job!! I have a silver TL-S, wish I would have got black.

Posted: 6/29/2010 10:46:22 AM EDT

[#25]

Quoted:
Jesus, John is there anything you don't know?

Ever noticed that I don't participate in any threads that involve calculus?

It's like my Kryptonite.

The last resurrection I completed:
From:

To:

Posted: 6/29/2010 10:49:55 AM EDT

[#26]

usually the fronts have the liners and rear is metal with undercoating...the wd40 works for both. I actually use it on the frame and axles of my Jeep when I polish it up for parades and such.

Older pic of it...but shows the frame pretty well

and in its natural habitat...

Dirty...the way it normally is ;)

Posted: 6/29/2010 10:50:11 AM EDT

[#27]

That's amazing. If you were local, you would have two more cars to work on.

Posted: 6/29/2010 10:51:28 AM EDT

[#28]

Great job. I have an Acura CL thats in dire need of a detail job.

Posted: 6/29/2010 10:53:22 AM EDT

[#29]

Quoted:

Quoted:
My SS and my truck have vinyl inserts in the wells and I wash them out with water treated with Optimum No Rinse. Leaves a nice matte finish. This car had steel well and once they dried I was kinda scratching my head for a solution. Something to address before next time.

For vinyl inserts I'm fond of using 303. It makes it look like brand new without being overly greasy like some of the other dressing products. A good scrub with a fender well brush (after a good soak from a foam gun) then scrub, then rinse, then allow to dry. Then wipe down with 303 protectant.

Whoops. I forgot to mention I used 303 on the interior.

I want to buy a gallon but AutoGeek didn't have it and that's where I ordered from yesterday. I don't wanna pay double shipping so I'll wait and see if Chemical Guys has it when I get my new microfibers.

Maybe if I buy a gallon, spraying it on wheel wells won't sound so expensive.

ETA; I also want to grab a gallon of the Opti-Bond tire gel when I get low and I wondered about diluting it 50/50 with water and using it as fender well treatment. Its a water based tire/trim dressing.

Posted: 6/29/2010 10:55:38 AM EDT

[#30]

I just spray it on an old rag and then wipe down the wheel wells. Works like a charm. I also use it on the exterior vinyl/plastic trim.

Posted: 6/29/2010 10:56:39 AM EDT

[#31]

Sorry for the noob question. On the scratches, were they only clear coat scratches so you just polish them down/the wax fills it in? What do you do on nicks and scratches that go down to the metal? Looks great btw, thanks for the post.

Posted: 6/29/2010 11:09:51 AM EDT

[#32]

So how much money would I have to invest into getting some good quality materials to begin maintaining my car properly?

Posted: 6/29/2010 11:24:15 AM EDT

[#33]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Next time I'm in town wanna do my Envoy?

Yes.

How much?

Posted: 6/29/2010 12:26:29 PM EDT

[#34]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Nice Job, but dude this is Ar15.com not Autopia.org

That's where I learned everything. Place is awesome.

Me too, I love to restore a car to like new! I have made some good money at times.

Posted: 6/29/2010 12:45:01 PM EDT

[#35]

Great job!

I can tell you've been hanging out on the detail forums once I saw the "dual halogen light reflection shot".

Posted: 6/29/2010 1:11:20 PM EDT

[#36]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Jesus, nice work.

Black '09 BMW, and I'm trying all kinds of voodoo to keep it nice and glossy looking...

Zaino. Buy and love it.

Do a quick claybar with little to no pressure with a Mothers kit from any auto parts store, then wash with Dawn per Zaino instructions.

Then apply Z-AIO, 2 layers of Z-5, a quick spray down with Z-6, and then top it off with Z-8.

Teh SICKNESS on black. You will permanantly alter the mental notion of what clean black is supposed to look like to anyone blessed enough to be in the precense of your car.

BTW: Also Youtube "2 bucket wash" and learn it. It will keep your black looking considerably better for years to come.

This is my SS with Zaino. Mind you, I was too tired to do the Z-8 which is called Grand Finale, and it lives up to it's name. So imagine this, with a little extra *POP*.

Posted: 6/29/2010 1:12:35 PM EDT

[#37]

Quoted:

http://andrewcollins.us/imagepicturething/arfcom/wtf/Acura-PA762-prettyboy.jpg

In his defense, that was some good smelling stuff.

Posted: 6/29/2010 1:13:28 PM EDT

[#38]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Jesus, John is there anything you don't know?

Ever noticed that I don't participate in any threads that involve calculus?

It's like my Kryptonite.

The last resurrection I completed:

What did you use on teh leather?

Posted: 6/29/2010 1:17:46 PM EDT

[#39]

Quoted:

Sorry for the noob question. On the scratches, were they only clear coat scratches so you just polish them down/the wax fills it in? What do you do on nicks and scratches that go down to the metal? Looks great btw, thanks for the post.

If you're gonna polish afterwords, your ability to make it look satisfactory go up exponentially.

If you just wanna do touch up, well you're gonna have a spot of touch up paint.

If you're gonna polish, then you can use the fill/sand/polish method. (mind you, you CAN polish that spot by hand, but if your car is heavily oxidized or scratched there will be a polished spot in the middle of an oxidized panel and it will probably be more noticeable than the original spot.)

http://www.autopia.org/forum/blogs/todd-bsaw/4-advanced-scratch-repair.html

Posted: 6/29/2010 1:20:33 PM EDT

[#40]

Quoted:

So how much money would I have to invest into getting some good quality materials to begin maintaining my car properly?

Depends on what you have in mind. Polishing equipment, including halogens, polisher pads, plus the right tools and chemicals to properly take care of paint ect, I'm out about $700.

If you just want to maintain the current level of your cars finish, you could probably do well with about $125.

Let me know what you have in mind and I'm sure between J-Dub777 and I we can shoot you in the right direction.

After all, him and ArmoredSaint got me started.

Posted: 6/29/2010 1:20:50 PM EDT

[#41]

I'd say upgrade from the RO to a rotary and save five hours of time polishing hehe

Posted: 6/29/2010 1:32:29 PM EDT

[#42]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Sorry for the noob question. On the scratches, were they only clear coat scratches so you just polish them down/the wax fills it in? What do you do on nicks and scratches that go down to the metal? Looks great btw, thanks for the post.

If you're gonna polish afterwords, your ability to make it look satisfactory go up exponentially.

If you just wanna do touch up, well you're gonna have a spot of touch up paint.

If you're gonna polish, then you can use the fill/sand/polish method. (mind you, you CAN polish that spot by hand, but if your car is heavily oxidized or scratched there will be a polished spot in the middle of an oxidized panel and it will probably be more noticeable than the original spot.)

http://www.autopia.org/forum/blogs/todd-bsaw/4-advanced-scratch-repair.html

Cool, thank you. I was washing my wifes car this morning and trying to figure out 1. how the heck she got so many nicks and dings on the paint and 2. what to do about it.