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2002 Land Rover Freelander SE Major Detail Work (LOTS OF PICS AND VERY DESCRIPTIVE)
It was just only a couple days ago, that my 18 year old sister bought herself this bright silver 2002 Land Rover Freelander SE w/ just over 95K on the clock for about $5K. Being her first car, she was kinda picky about what she wanted in a car, and I knew she was going to want it super clean. When we arrived on site to buy it, I decided to give a look over, from a detailer's perspective. From 10 feet away, the paint sort of had a shine to it, but you had to look hard. On the face of it, it looked like it simply needed a wash, a quick wax, and a slight trim restoration to be as good as new. Aside from a large key scratch, running almost the length of the driver's side, it was pretty solid to most eyes.
So there I was, giving it a once over outside, while my sister and mom went to sign the papers for it. The man that I assume was the "detailer", was busy with the shop vac in the back of it at the time, and he seemed to be in a hurry, rather than taking his time. Nevertheless, I was happy with the Rover's condition so far.
That soon was about to change, as I watched in horror as the man whipped out a bottle of clear liquid that looked and smelled rather like diluted used motor oil (which I wouldn't be surprised if it actually was) and began soaking the dash, steering wheel, and the whole rest of the interior with it, and using a rather dirty rag to "massage" it all in. It made my skin crawl all over, and I knew as soon as I got my hands on that car, that liquid was coming off, PERIOD! So we got it home, and this weekend, I spent both Saturday and Sunday busting my you-know-what off to get this thing cleaned!
Of course, you have to have the before pics right?
Some sort of ripple marks in the plastic trim
Dirty water spots on the hood
The 17" alloy wheels were spattered with brake dust after a couple days on the road
Tape residue from a FOR SALE sign on the rear driver's window
More tape residue around the license plate frame
Dirt spattered wheel wells and trim
You can really see that shimmer of that gross liquid on the dash
The carpets were disgusting and needed a definite vacuum ASAP!
The key scratch was really visible on the driver's rear door
The rear hatch door was covered in scuffs, scratches, etc.
As well as the inside of the rear cargo area
The carpet in the cargo area was nasty and needed a good go over
More tape residue from another FOR SALE sign on the passenger window
The passenger side carpets weren't in too bad of shape, just a small stain
The engine wasn't too dusty, maybe some QD could shine it up pretty quick
Saturday morning rolled around, and so I began at 8:00 in the morning, with the outside temp being around 67 degrees or so. So there I was in my driveway, Rover keys in my pocket, an icy cold Coke in one hand and my supplies in a bucket in the other.
Day 1 began by blasting the whole car down with a pressure washer to see if any of the defects could be easily removed. Most of the brake dust on the wheels came loose, but a little remained. The dirty water spots came off just as easily. Once I was done with the pressure washer, I exchanged it for a regular hose head w/ and adjustable nozzle, to be kind to the car. I mixed up a bucket of NXT Car Wash solution, and another with clean water, along with my trusty wash mitt. I washed down the whole car with the NXT and that took care of a lot of the defects. I rinsed out the bucket of NXT and refilled it with Deep Crystal Car Wash for the wheel wells.
Once I had finished giving the car a final rinse, I dried it off with some new waffle weave towels I had just bought, a much bigger improvement than beach towels or microfibers. With that done, I moved the car into the garage, under the lights, and then my eyes met an unwelcome sight: OXIDATION! It seemed to be protruding out from the edges of the where the hood meets the front fenders.
However, before I could tackle that, and remembering Mike Pennington's tips from various videos, I felt the surface of the paint with my now-dry hand to check for bonded surface contaminents, and at first, it felt a little smooth. Maybe a bump or two here and there, but nothing bad. I decided to break out the clay anyway, and see if it was really as smooth as can be. Turns out, I was WAY wrong.
This is the fresh clay after just half of the hood
This is after the whole hood
I ending up using all the rest of one bottle of QD and opening another just to finish claying the entire car.
After wiping off all of the QD, I moved on to the oxidation and scratches that I had found all over the car while claying. I grabbed my MF applicator and a bottle of UC and went to work. To my surprise, the paint seemed rather soft, as the oxidation and scratches just seemed to wipe away with UC after a couple of passes. Some of the scratches (RIDS) were too deep for UC and M105 would be needed, but I don't have any at the moment. My guess is that the previous owner of this Rover either just didn't care about their vehicle, or just waxed it once and hoped that it would be enough.
Once I finished with the UC, I gave it a prep with just a damp cloth w/ QD on it. Once prepped, I got my box of NXT Tech Wax 2.0 and applied 2 thin coats (allowing 30 mins. between waxings to assure a good cure). The silver definitely had a nice pop to it once I was done waxing it. Moving on to the faded black plastic trim (mirrors as well), I dressed it in a couple coats of Ultimate Protectant and what a difference that made!
After the trim was dark and wet as it could be, the windows each got a spray of Eagle One 20/ 20 Glass Cleaner to get off that tape residue from those For Sale signs.
I then pulled the car out of the garage, applied Hot Rims All Wheel Cleaner to each rim and rinsed. Having some of my Deep Crystal left over certainly helped once the cleaner was rinsed off, to help neutralize the finish. After drying each of the rims, I sealed them with Cleaner Wax, and the shine speaks for itself. I dressed the tires with GC Endurance Tire Gel to set off the outside.
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Day 2 started by moving on to the interior. First thing I grabbed was a bottle of Supreme Shine: Hi Gloss Protectant for after wiping down the dash. The motor oil-like liquid wiped off pretty easily to my amazement, although it dirtied a couple of my rags in the process. I then went back over the dash and console with Supreme Shine and wiped off any residue. Although it looked the same in terms of shine, it had a couple consolations. One thing is that Supreme Shine has a coconut like smell to it, so it gave the interior a nice scent, and on the other hand, it wasn't greasy, unlike the previous solution.
Moving on to the seats, I vacuumed them out and then went over them using GC Rich Leather Cleaner/ Conditoner (spray). I would have steam cleaned them, but I don't have anything of a professional grade that could take care of them that well.
The carpets were kind of a hassle, being that they were full of some kind of hair, which I assume was pet hair (due to the amount of sneezing I was doing). After a dry brushing, my sneezing stopped which told me I was done with that. The small white stain the passenger carpet seemed to not want to come out, so with a little Tuff Stuff and an interior brush, most of it came free. I just couldn't imagine what my shop vac was full of after all the carpets were done.
I removed almost all of the scuffs and scratches out of the back door and surrounding interior using a damp rag and a brush.
So after finishing off the interior, I knew I was well satisfied. I opened the hood and gave the engine a quick wipe down with QD, then it was time for the after pics. So take a look at what two days and a lot of work turned out like:
**Sorry for the glare, the sunlight played havoc with my camera's lens**
This was totally worth the effort and my sister was more than thrilled. On more than one occasion now, she's had friends and other compliment her on her clean car. She's happy, and I'm happy and I have to say it was time well spent. Hope you all enjoyed my "story" of the 2002 Land Rover Freelander.
So there I was, giving it a once over outside, while my sister and mom went to sign the papers for it. The man that I assume was the "detailer", was busy with the shop vac in the back of it at the time, and he seemed to be in a hurry, rather than taking his time. Nevertheless, I was happy with the Rover's condition so far.
That soon was about to change, as I watched in horror as the man whipped out a bottle of clear liquid that looked and smelled rather like diluted used motor oil (which I wouldn't be surprised if it actually was) and began soaking the dash, steering wheel, and the whole rest of the interior with it, and using a rather dirty rag to "massage" it all in. It made my skin crawl all over, and I knew as soon as I got my hands on that car, that liquid was coming off, PERIOD! So we got it home, and this weekend, I spent both Saturday and Sunday busting my you-know-what off to get this thing cleaned!
Of course, you have to have the before pics right?
Some sort of ripple marks in the plastic trim
Dirty water spots on the hood
The 17" alloy wheels were spattered with brake dust after a couple days on the road
Tape residue from a FOR SALE sign on the rear driver's window
More tape residue around the license plate frame
Dirt spattered wheel wells and trim
You can really see that shimmer of that gross liquid on the dash
The carpets were disgusting and needed a definite vacuum ASAP!
The key scratch was really visible on the driver's rear door
The rear hatch door was covered in scuffs, scratches, etc.
As well as the inside of the rear cargo area
The carpet in the cargo area was nasty and needed a good go over
More tape residue from another FOR SALE sign on the passenger window
The passenger side carpets weren't in too bad of shape, just a small stain
The engine wasn't too dusty, maybe some QD could shine it up pretty quick
Saturday morning rolled around, and so I began at 8:00 in the morning, with the outside temp being around 67 degrees or so. So there I was in my driveway, Rover keys in my pocket, an icy cold Coke in one hand and my supplies in a bucket in the other.
Day 1 began by blasting the whole car down with a pressure washer to see if any of the defects could be easily removed. Most of the brake dust on the wheels came loose, but a little remained. The dirty water spots came off just as easily. Once I was done with the pressure washer, I exchanged it for a regular hose head w/ and adjustable nozzle, to be kind to the car. I mixed up a bucket of NXT Car Wash solution, and another with clean water, along with my trusty wash mitt. I washed down the whole car with the NXT and that took care of a lot of the defects. I rinsed out the bucket of NXT and refilled it with Deep Crystal Car Wash for the wheel wells.
Once I had finished giving the car a final rinse, I dried it off with some new waffle weave towels I had just bought, a much bigger improvement than beach towels or microfibers. With that done, I moved the car into the garage, under the lights, and then my eyes met an unwelcome sight: OXIDATION! It seemed to be protruding out from the edges of the where the hood meets the front fenders.
However, before I could tackle that, and remembering Mike Pennington's tips from various videos, I felt the surface of the paint with my now-dry hand to check for bonded surface contaminents, and at first, it felt a little smooth. Maybe a bump or two here and there, but nothing bad. I decided to break out the clay anyway, and see if it was really as smooth as can be. Turns out, I was WAY wrong.
This is the fresh clay after just half of the hood
This is after the whole hood
I ending up using all the rest of one bottle of QD and opening another just to finish claying the entire car.
After wiping off all of the QD, I moved on to the oxidation and scratches that I had found all over the car while claying. I grabbed my MF applicator and a bottle of UC and went to work. To my surprise, the paint seemed rather soft, as the oxidation and scratches just seemed to wipe away with UC after a couple of passes. Some of the scratches (RIDS) were too deep for UC and M105 would be needed, but I don't have any at the moment. My guess is that the previous owner of this Rover either just didn't care about their vehicle, or just waxed it once and hoped that it would be enough.
Once I finished with the UC, I gave it a prep with just a damp cloth w/ QD on it. Once prepped, I got my box of NXT Tech Wax 2.0 and applied 2 thin coats (allowing 30 mins. between waxings to assure a good cure). The silver definitely had a nice pop to it once I was done waxing it. Moving on to the faded black plastic trim (mirrors as well), I dressed it in a couple coats of Ultimate Protectant and what a difference that made!
After the trim was dark and wet as it could be, the windows each got a spray of Eagle One 20/ 20 Glass Cleaner to get off that tape residue from those For Sale signs.
I then pulled the car out of the garage, applied Hot Rims All Wheel Cleaner to each rim and rinsed. Having some of my Deep Crystal left over certainly helped once the cleaner was rinsed off, to help neutralize the finish. After drying each of the rims, I sealed them with Cleaner Wax, and the shine speaks for itself. I dressed the tires with GC Endurance Tire Gel to set off the outside.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 2 started by moving on to the interior. First thing I grabbed was a bottle of Supreme Shine: Hi Gloss Protectant for after wiping down the dash. The motor oil-like liquid wiped off pretty easily to my amazement, although it dirtied a couple of my rags in the process. I then went back over the dash and console with Supreme Shine and wiped off any residue. Although it looked the same in terms of shine, it had a couple consolations. One thing is that Supreme Shine has a coconut like smell to it, so it gave the interior a nice scent, and on the other hand, it wasn't greasy, unlike the previous solution.
Moving on to the seats, I vacuumed them out and then went over them using GC Rich Leather Cleaner/ Conditoner (spray). I would have steam cleaned them, but I don't have anything of a professional grade that could take care of them that well.
The carpets were kind of a hassle, being that they were full of some kind of hair, which I assume was pet hair (due to the amount of sneezing I was doing). After a dry brushing, my sneezing stopped which told me I was done with that. The small white stain the passenger carpet seemed to not want to come out, so with a little Tuff Stuff and an interior brush, most of it came free. I just couldn't imagine what my shop vac was full of after all the carpets were done.
I removed almost all of the scuffs and scratches out of the back door and surrounding interior using a damp rag and a brush.So after finishing off the interior, I knew I was well satisfied. I opened the hood and gave the engine a quick wipe down with QD, then it was time for the after pics. So take a look at what two days and a lot of work turned out like:
**Sorry for the glare, the sunlight played havoc with my camera's lens**
This was totally worth the effort and my sister was more than thrilled. On more than one occasion now, she's had friends and other compliment her on her clean car. She's happy, and I'm happy and I have to say it was time well spent. Hope you all enjoyed my "story" of the 2002 Land Rover Freelander.
Looks way better now.
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