This vehicle came to us to repair the damage that had accumulated over many poor car washes at a local full service establishment. The goal for this service was to perform a one-step paint correction in which we would maximize our defect removal without sacrificing gloss or clarity, and then apply a nano coating for long-term protection and easier maintenance. General interior and engine cleaning would also be included to make this car look as good as new.
As always, we began with the wheels and tires. The wheels had a fair amount of build up on them, and the tires were quite dirty.
Sonax wheel cleaner plus was sprayed onto the wheels and left to dwell. This product transforms from a clear liquid to a purple liquid as it reacts with brake dust and starts to dissolve it.
The wheels were cleaned inside and out with various brushes, and the tires were scrubbed, revealing a clean and bright finish.
I then turned my attention to the rest of the exterior where I thoroughly washed and decontaminated the paint to ensure it was completely clean, and as smooth as glass.
Once clean, we were able to better inspect the condition of the paint. It is more difficult to spot defects on white paint, but the swirl marks are still visible in the right conditions. As I mentioned before, this damage is the result of improper washing and drying and really reduces the overall gloss of the finish.
After performing various test spots, I was able to determine the best process for correcting this paint with our one-step approach. Griot’s Correcting Cream paired with a Microfiber Finishing Disc revealed a dramatically brighter finish while also removing all of the swirl marks, leaving only deeper defects behind.
This 50/50 shot shows how much brighter the paint was after the correction process. Notice how white the polished area on the left is compared to the unpolished area on the right.
Here are a couple before/after shots that were taken throughout the correction process which removed all swirls and haziness, leaving only deeper defects behind.
Once the paint was corrected, it was wiped down with CarPro Eraser to remove any residual polishing oils, and then coated with 22ple High Performance Coating (HPC) for years of durable protection and gloss. The hydrophobic properties of 22ple HPC were being shown off in this photo.
The exhaust tips were not in bad shape, so the outer surfaces were hand polished with a light metal polish on a microfiber towel, while the inner surfaces were cleaned up with some ultra fine steel wool.
The leather was deep cleaned to remove the embedded dirt and oils (top portion dirty, bottom portion cleaned).
The engine bay was cleaned and dressed.
This interior is gorgeous
We were finally ready to pull the car outside to see the results of our hard work, and the car was stunning. The white paint just glowed in the daylight!
Reflections were crisp and clear. This is one clean looking vehicle.
Product Overview
- Tire Cleaning: Tuf Shine Tire Cleaner, Tuf Shine Tire Brush
- Wheel Cleaning: Sonax Wheel Cleaner Plus, Hyper Wash, Bucket & Grit Guard, EZ Detail Brush, Wheel Woolies, Wheel Brush
- Washing: Meguiar’s Hyper Wash, DI Foam Lance, Buckets & Grit Guards, Microfiber Mitt, 1″ Boars Hair Brush
- Drying: DI Waffle Weave Towel, Metro Master Blaster
- Paint Decontamination: CarPro IronX, Nanoskin Fine Grade Mitt, Nanoskin Glide
- Paint Correction: Griot’s Correcting Cream, Meguiar’s Microfiber Finishing Pad, Black & Yellow Microfiber Towels
- Machines Used: Rupes LHR21ES Mark II, Rupes LHR15ES Mark II, Rupes 75e
- Paint Cleansing: CarPro Eraser, Double Thick Edgeless Towel
- Paint Protection: 22ple HPC
- Wheel Protection: Sonax Wheel Rim Shield
- Tire Dressing: CarPro PERL, Tuf Shine Applicator
- Exhaust Tip: Chemical Guys Metal Polish, #0000 Ultra Fine Steel Wool, Black All Purpose Microfiber Towel
- Leather Cleaning: CarPro Inside, Leather Brush, Yellow All Purpose Towel
- Glass: Meguiar’s D120, Blue All Purpose Towel, Glass Towel
- Vacuum: Metro Vac N Blo Professional Series
- Carpet and Mat Cleaning: Tornador Black with ONR Solution
- General Plastic and Vinyl Cleaning: Meguiar’s Quik Interior Detailer, Yellow All Purpose Towel
- Interior UV Protectant: 303 Aerospace Protectant
- Engine Cleaning: Meguiar’s D101, Meguiar’s D108, All Purpose Brush, EZ Detail Brush, Master Blaster
- Engine Dressing: 303 Aerospace Protectant