Black 2005 Infiniti G35 - First detail for someone else!

[pklin]

Hello all,

Don't know if this is considered to be an Extreme Makeover by Meguiar's online standards, but it certain was an Extreme Makevoer for me and my friend/coworker who owns this less than a year old Inifini G35. Having been converted to a Meguiar's faithful just recently, I decided to offer my services (for free) to my friend after several successful details with the PC on my own car. Little did I realize, black cars are totally different animals when it comes to detailing. I didn't touch any of the interiors because I just did not have the time. Anyway, here are the products I used in order from start to finish:

1. NXT Tech Wash
2. Quick Clay - The G35 was actually very clean with minimal surface contamination.
3. NXT Tech Wash again
4. Hot Rims All Wheel Cleaner on wheels
5. NXT Tire Cleaner
6. Water Magnet to dry
7. Gold Class Endurance High Gloss on tires
8. PC w/8006 and #84 (more on this)
9. PC w/8006 and #80
10, #7 applied by hand
11. NXT Tech Spray Wax
12. PC w/7006 and Microfiber Bonnet to polish off wax
13. Gold Class Trim Detailer

I have read and understood that #84 is not to be used with the PC, but after an hour into the detail and finding that #83 is not "cutting" it, I grabbed my new bottle of #84 intended for use with my new Makita (shipped in route) and decided to give it a go with my PC. I did use it on a conspicuous place first to finalize my steps so I know it was working before I tried it. Here are some "Before" pics:

This is what I call a 20 feet fake... :-) My friend didn't like that very much... :-)


Another view of the G35 before detail.


Here is where it gets exciting to see what kind of work lays ahead... Also painful to see a nice car that is well taken care of, but well taken care of by the wrong detailers...







This G35 had every paint defect ever existed on a car, from deep scratches to holograms and typical cobwebs. I really had my work cut out for me but I was determined to make my first detail gig good. I started at 8:30 am and finished at 5:00 pm and felt I could've used another day on it but that was the time frame I was allowed. My friend came to pick up the car right when I was snapping these pics so please excuse me for the lack of "After" pics:

Caught the sun just in time.



Door panel detail.



I love this shot, and so did my friend. :-) His car used to look gray when driving down the street because of all the swirl marks, but no longer!



I've come to a few conclusions after this detail... 1) The PC can only do so much with removing scratches, and I can't wait to be proficient enough with the rotary so I can really "detail"! and, 2) I will never buy a black car in my life... :-) :-) :-)

Peter

[LiquidBlack]

You're right when it comes to black cars! Any and every defect will stick out like a sore thumb!

Hope your friend buys you a case of beer!

[atticdog]

awesome job!
I love that car!!
just one thing for a lsp you only used nxt tech spray wax?

[LiquidBlack]

But let me interject:

Dont let the difficulty of cleaning a black car dissuade you from ever getting one! I love my London (her name). Wouldnt have any color for her!

[pklin]

thanks guys for your comments...

atticdog: I had the NXT Tech wax also but I wanted to give the spray wax a try. The finish after the spray wax is just as stunning as using the Tech wax, and for me the spray wax is easier to spread evenly and I don't have to "reload" from the bottle like I do with the Tech wax. :-) I figure two applications of the spray wax should be good. :-)

LiquidBlack: I have always had silver or white cars so detailing this car was an interesting experience for me. It hasn't completely dissuaded me from getting a black car, though if I do get one in the future, it will be a small black car because I know I'm gonna be polishing that car every night and looking for flaws. :-) I have to say one thing about black cars though, when they are detailed there's nothing quite like it.

Peter

[LiquidBlack]

I am sooo looking forward to this spring. The cold weather and lack of sunshine has limited most of my swirl removing exploits to my hood and trunk. Expect pictures when I go about it.

[atticdog]

from what i understand the nxt spray wax isnt meant to be used alone its a booster for the paste or liguid it just might not give you much protection after all the nice prep work you did

[pklin]

atticdog: Thank you for the information on the spray wax... I didn't know that so I will definitely keep that in mind for the next victim... I mean car I detail. :-) I see the owner of this G35 every day anyway (work for the same company) so I can always take the car for a few hours and redo the wax work after cleaning it.

[atticdog]

your welcome
after all that hard work you just want to make sure its protected
It looks so deep and wet now its like its a different color from the before shots

[pklin]

atticdog: The car seriously looked gray coming down the road endowed with all its swirlly glory. :-)

[Monk]

Funny that people just accept swirl marks in dark colored cars. I guess most don't realize they are there, don't care or figure "that's life". Hopefully, when you go to this much trouble, the owner realizes and appreciates what you have accomplished.

Probably the answer to this question is "it depends", but I wonder how many times you can de-swirl before you are out of the clear coat and into the paint.

[pklin]

No sure about the clear coat question either...

So much for appreciation... The owner of this G35 took his car to an automated car wash a week after I detailed his car for free and got all the swirls and scratches back... He says he will never wash a car with his own hands... This is the last time I do him any favors; next time he'll have to pay.

[Ciscoford23]

Awesome work! Very wet and deep. Some people just don't get it. But at least you got some experience and satisfaction out of it.

[delta]

beautiful

[the3dwizard]

Took it to the car wash! If the before and after didn't change him nothing will, what a waste. See it is not that black cars are bad, it is just that black cars do no tolerate stupid owners!

Great job on the makeover while it lasted!