"Focused on the details." 56K beware

[rascal]

Well guys, this project is the biggest I have done so far. It's my girlfriend's black 2003 Ford Focus SE, which is a daily driver for school and work. The car has some severe water etching and heavy paint gouging from the previous owner. The plastic and rubber trim was pretty bad too. It was faded and had wax residue on pretty much all of it. My plan of attack was going to take two days (Saturday and Sunday) and I was ready. I even tackled the heavy water spots on the windows. Here is what I used:

Deep Crystal Wash
#39 Heavy Duty Vinyl Cleaner
Castrol Super Clean (full strength) for tires
Painters tape...plenty
#4 Heavy Cut cleaner by hand for some areas on paint
#4 on windows w/ 3" SoftBuff wool cut on 3/8 drill
#83 w/ 2-W8006 pads on G100
NXT Tech wax w/ 1-W9006 pad on G100
Trim Detailer (liquid gel and spray)
Endurance High Gloss tire gel

Before:

















I used #4 with my finger to remove the water etching here. I then used #83 w/ the G100 to finish it off.










Test Spot I know I can't remove the "gouge" in the paint, but did remove a lot of swirls. Previous owner abused the paint on this car.





After
















Amazing results IMO






Meguiar's "Window Magic" kit




It took me about 16 hours from start to finish. I would have been finished a little earlier, but I had to stop and p/u my girlfriend from work, since I had her car. She was really happy about it and very proud. I was thinking of sending an "after" picture to the dealer I bought it from. I want to show them what the car should have looked like after we signed the papers on it. All they did was rinse off the dust.

[sneek]

Re: "Focused on the details." 56K beware

looks 1000000X better!

wow what did you use on the door handles, are they slippery?

[rascal]

Re: "Focused on the details." 56K beware

looks 1000000X better!

wow what did you use on the door handles, are they slippery?

Thanks Sneek! I used Trim Detailer (spray can) on the door handles and their not slippery. They dry a nice rich, shiney, dark color that doesn't collect dust like other non Meguiar's products we know.

[rascal]

Re: "Focused on the details." 56K beware

Oops..forgot to add the after pictures of the windows. Here they are:

[Michael Stoops]

Re: "Focused on the details." 56K beware

Beautiful work and a very dramatic difference! Your girlfriend must be thrilled with her "new" car after all that hard work.

[rascal]

Re: "Focused on the details." 56K beware

Beautiful work and a very dramatic difference! Your girlfriend must be thrilled with her "new" car after all that hard work.

Thanks Mike. Yeah, she is very happy with her "newly" cleaned car. I still need to tackle to interior, but she was happy with the exterior right now. I don't expect it to stay clean too long since she is a college student. LOL

[F-150]

Re: "Focused on the details." 56K beware

Good job on the glass

[Satin Finish]

Re: "Focused on the details." 56K beware

Awesome work!!!!
What did you use on the sideview mirrors, I really like the way they came out.
Great work again I"m still mastering the black paint myself.

[rascal]

Re: "Focused on the details." 56K beware

Awesome work!!!!
What did you use on the sideview mirrors, I really like the way they came out.
Great work again I"m still mastering the black paint myself.

Thanks for comments man. I used Trim Detailer (spray can) on the side mirrors. It was easier to spray it on the side mirrors than using the liquid gel. Really love the shine w/o the greasy feel that it gives.

[iScott]

Re: "Focused on the details." 56K beware

Great work, duder! Looks fantastic! I will defiantly be getting me one of those window kits!

[rascal]

Re: "Focused on the details." 56K beware

Great work, duder! Looks fantastic! I will defiantly be getting me one of those window kits!

Thanks. You have to buy each piece separately. It doesn't come as a complete kit. I was making a quotation on what it should be for people who need to remove water spots from windows. I used the 3" wool cut on a drill since I didn't have a rotary and your arm would fall off if you tried doing all the windows by hand.

[GSKTech]

Re: "Focused on the details." 56K beware

very nice.

Did you do the polishing in the stone driveway?

aren't you afraid of some dust getting under the pad ?
( a newbie question - I haven't used my polisher yet )

hope your GF gave you a great big hug for that job.

[rascal]

Re: "Focused on the details." 56K beware

very nice.

Did you do the polishing in the stone driveway?

aren't you afraid of some dust getting under the pad ?
( a newbie question - I haven't used my polisher yet )

hope your GF gave you a great big hug for that job.

I did all the work on concrete under a carport. The only time you have to worry about dust under the pad is if the wind is really blowing hard. If the wind is that bad, I will have to wait till the wind settles down. Yeah, my g/f was very happy and even bought me dinner for the night.

[rascal]

Re: "Focused on the details." 56K beware

BTW guys, here is what I used on plastic and rubber trim.

Trim Detailer in a spray can. It has an adjustable nozzle for small to big areas.




Here is the Trim Detailer in a liquid gel as well.

[35th Anniversary SS]

Re: "Focused on the details." 56K beware

Awesome work! Im gonna get that window "kit" next time I place a ADS order. I hate window water spots.. and it looks like I just found a solution.