Advice Needed (1st time vette detail)

[onawrxhigh]

Hi Everyone,

I will be detailing a dark green LT1 vette sometime in the next few weeks. What I am asking is there anything that i should specifically be looking for when detailing this car. to elaborate any known problem areas ,tricky spots, things to look for with the body being fiberglass.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Andrew

[Lt1Corvette]

C4 vettes have a few problem area. When you are finished washing and going for the final rinse, make sure to pull up the fuel cover in the back and rinse in there because soap likes to sit in there and not rinse out. Also some sort of a suction devise is helpful for the area where the rear window makes a right angle, water gets stored there and has to be manually removed. After you finish washing, I would recommend taking it for a quick drive, (few hundred feet) to shake the water out of the crevices. Inspect the weather stripping. If it looks old, place a towel across both the pass. and driver seats, they have a tendency to leak when washed.

If you are going to polish, do yourself a favor and tape off the weather stripping, emblems, wipers, doorhandles, and front spoiler. Be careful around the lights and the rear spoiler. The paint there is thin and can be easily burned through.

The only other thing to consider is that fiberglass gets warm very quickly. Just something to keep in mind.

Other that that, the general rules apply.
Good Luck.

[onawrxhigh]

hey LT1corvette,

I was planning on tapeing off everything you stated to.(a practice that I always do) Thanks for the info on the lights and spoiler. I will be really carefull in those areas.

Thanks again

Andrew

[Lt1Corvette]

Happy to help. If I think of anything else i'll add it.

[scrub]

The back bumper area seems to be a real bad spot on the few vettes I have detailed. Make sure to give that area special attention. Around the tail lights, license plate, and the letters. Another thing is road debris and other bonded contaiminants on the back bumper. Then of my last vette detail there were i guess soot stains around the bottom edge of the bumper around the tail pipes.

I'm not sure what products you have available for the detail, but try to get an areosol trim dressing like...
Exterior Trim Detailer Which I have't used yet but I have 2 cans OR

Accent Dressing I have used this product. Very good product. Anyway be sure to hit all the trim with this spray.

Take a peek at my last vette detail thread. "Best in Show" Red Vette detail. Take a look at the only before pic (5th post first pic) and compare to the first pic. The front trim I think really sets of the ride.

That's my .02. If you have any more questions please feel free to ask. I'm not an expert by any means but I can try to help.

Good luck.

[onawrxhigh]

hey scrub,

I also have the accent dressing, and yes it is a great product. Just for informations sake these are the products that I have available to use. 85,84,83,81,80,16,nxt tech wax, 7006 pads,8006 pads,9006 pads,wool pads,wheel brightener, safe degreaser, last touch, window cleaner, mild detailing clay,makita rotory, and a g100a.


andrew

[scrub]

You're all set!

[n1976jmk]

just worked on a black 96 last weekend, and they have very, very hard paint. also i was told that they were polished and wet sanded at the factory so u probally wont be able to get all scracthes out. cause they might have clear coated over some.. get ready for a work out

[Lt1Corvette]

Originally posted by scrub
The back bumper area seems to be a real bad spot on the few vettes I have detailed. Make sure to give that area special attention. Around the tail lights, license plate, and the letters. Another thing is road debris and other bonded contaiminants on the back bumper. Then of my last vette detail there were i guess soot stains around the bottom edge of the bumper around the tail pipes.

Back section is bad on all c4's. Dust gets sucked up and blased against the back while driving.
I don't know if you do this, but if you give the wheels a coat of nxt they really pop. I was shocked the first time I did it.

[onawrxhigh]

hey lt1corvette and scrub,

here are some before and after pics of the vette I did today. everyones advise came in handy today. The vette was in very goog condition so alot of time was not needed. It still took me over 4 hours to do.

andrew
























PS the first outside pictures are befores , the afters start with the first reflection shot in the garage.

[scrub]

Nice work. The full body and hood shots look great. What process and products did you decide to use?

Thanks for taking the time to update us and upload the pics too.

What was the owners thoughts and impression of the end results?

[onawrxhigh]

hey scrub,

the process i used was to clay with the detailer fine clay w/ last touch diluted 50/50 for lube, 80 speed glaze w/ pc set to 5.5, then nxt tech wax w/pc set to 3, nxt removed with an ultimate bonnet w/pc set to 5, and a final coat of 16 as a topper only becuase rain was coming that evening into today . for tires i used hot shine in the spray can. the owner stated to me that it has never looked this good before and he could not believe how the paint just simmered and reflected things in the garage. He said forget shaving in the mirror when hhis vette reflects as good or better than a mirror.


andrew

[Lt1Corvette]

Way to go. The finished results look good.

[WhiteCamaro88]

Hey scrub what kind of rims are those on that red z06 you detailed

[scrub]

Originally posted by WhiteCamaro88
Hey scrub what kind of rims are those on that red z06 you detailed

Not too sure but I can find out.