This is one tough mini van

[TKDDAD]

Yeah, I know, it's a mini van...but this 2000 Windstar has just over 65K on it...it had never been detailed (the Mequiars way! ) and this weekend I decided to tackle it...the only mistake I made was not taking "before" pictures...completely forgot

I don't have my PC yet so this was all done by hand:

1. Wash - NXT Car Wash
2. Quik Clay the entire van (you really realize how big a van is
when you clay the thing !)
3. ColorX
4. Top with NXT Paste Wax

The paint was in decent shape considering it has seen 5 tough Buffalo winters...

...the best thing I did to this vehicle was the claying...I had never done this before so was a bit skeptical about how well it would work...like I said, this van was washed regularly but the bonded contaminants were brutal, especially on the lower silver sections of the vehicle...spent better part of 2 hours claying...but it was an amazing difference...my wife could not believe how smooth the paint was...so this is my first full fledged detail job and I thank this forum for the help and guidance in picking the right products...next up, a neglected Chrylser Concorde...this will be done with my PC and should be interesting..

[rusty bumper]

You did that all by hand?.....(Surely there must be an award for this type of thing. )

It took about 5 minutes for my dialup connection to download all of the pictures, but it worth the wait.

That's as good a mini-van as I've seen here of late.

[RJ522]

Nice job TKDDAD!! Just curious, how much of the clay did you use for the entire van?

[TKDDAD]

Originally posted by RJ522
Nice job TKDDAD!! Just curious, how much of the clay did you use for the entire van?

I used one piece of clay and 1 1/2 bottles of Detailer....the clay held up really well...

[TKDDAD]

Originally posted by Rusty Bumper
You did that all by hand?.....(Surely there must be an award for this type of thing. )

It took about 5 minutes for my dialup connection to download all of the pictures, but it worth the wait.

That's as good a mini-van as I've seen here of late.

thanks Rusty...yep all by good old fashion elbow grease (can't wait for my PC, should be here Tuesday)....about 8 hours total...sorry about the pictures I thought I uploaded them correctly...maybe not...

[scrub]

Great work and super clean lines on that van. Very nice looking. Great pictures too.

[rusty bumper]

Originally posted by TKDDAD
...sorry about the pictures I thought I uploaded them correctly...maybe not...

The pictures looked great, but it works better to shrink them to about 700 pixels wide for uploading & posting, as this makes them load a bit faster.

Here's a nice piece of software that enables a person to shrink their photos before uploading them.

[atclew]

Awesome work! Whether by hand or by PC, that is an awesome finish!

[grover]

Great looking van! I love the color combination and the detail job really makes the colors pop. Good job!

[TKDDAD]

Originally posted by grover
Great looking van! I love the color combination and the detail job really makes the colors pop. Good job!

Thanks Grover !....all the work and sweat was definitely worth it since the van hasn't looked this good since we drove it off the lot 5 years ago...with all the trips to grocery store, endless kid trips etc, I'm really pleased with the results, and more importantly, so is my wife

[dcn]

That looks awesome! I love seeing non typically cleaned and pampered and otherwise Meguiared vehicles that you don't normally see since I have one myself, an 80's Toyota wagon.

Great job!

dcn

[TKDDAD]

Originally posted by dcn
That looks awesome! I love seeing non typically cleaned and pampered and otherwise Meguiared vehicles that you don't normally see since I have one myself, an 80's Toyota wagon.

Great job!

dcn

Thanks dcn...this van does look pretty good when she's cleaned up...it was my first attempt at Mequiarizing a vehicle...I believe ANY vehicle can benefit from a little TLC and elbow grease...I believe Mike calls is "passion"....