C5 Corvette Detail Write-up Premier Shine

[premiershine9]

I was contacted 2 months ago by a man I had met the previous year at a car show to have his 50th anni C5 vette detailed and his swirls corrected. The owner is 91 years old and drives this torch red C5 almost everyday....yes he still gets on it and age hasn't affected his right foot at all. We went for a drive the next day to his daughters house who also has a C6 vette that is interested in my work and the old man got on it here and there! :thumbup:

Here we go-
2003 C5 50th anni in Torch red
40,000 miles on the clock, NEVER been detailed and last time any kind of protection was applied was 2 years ago
The car sits in storage in the winter and sits outside in a parking lot for 5 months out of the year.
I was rushing to get this done as fast as possible and didn't have anyone along to take pics- sorry guys
Time to complete- 9 hours (9 am to 6 pm)
Package- Full interior, Full exterior with 2-step correction, Paint sealant application

Befores:












Leatherique applied so it can start working its magic on the leather

Ridgid Shopvac and Porter Cable Air compressor used to blow out every inch

Carpets weren't bad at all, normal wear and tear on the mats and a coffee stain here or there
Pre-treating with Folex here:


Using my extractor I then filled the solution tank with HOT water only- no need to put another chemical cleaner in unless needed:
Agitating the mixture of hot water and Folox with my designated carpet brush

And extracted:

Tank after extracting just the mats:



Now onto the leather buckets:
Leatherique had been sitting for around a little over an hour, the rejuvenator oil gets deep into the pores of the leather and with heat it "sweats" out the soil, stains, and other contamination in the leather...the longer you let it sit the better. If you have cracked or neglected leather LEATHERIQUE REJUVENATOR OIL will do wonders on your damaged leather.




After stripping the oil:

Deep cleaning time with Lexol pH- nothing special here, Lexol is a pH balanced cleaner that I find works well. Optimal results are reached with the prep-work (Leatherique)
Two MF towels, one damp with hot water and another to wipe down the seat after agitation, the clean towel should be replaced after every seat.


Afters:








After el leather treatment, movin on to the dash, panels, and trim.
Simple green diluted 3:1 and Zep citrus degreaser diluted 2:1 for the heavier spots
Swissvax boars hair brush, air compressor to blow out excess degreaser, all vents etc.
Some befores:




SV brush doing its thing:







Movin on to the exterior.....This is going to be a 2-step full correction process. (around 7 hours went into it)
Process:
2 bucket method safe wash system
Chemical guys maxi suds
Pre-spray down with citrus degreaser
Wheel wells pre-treated with simple green
Sonax Full Effect on the wheels
Various boars hair brushes
Westleys BW on the sidewalls
*Client wished not to have the convertible top cleaned
Car was blown dry
Clay decontamination with Uber Clay using Chemical guys Luber
2 bucket method wash performed again
Dried with plush MF's and blown dry
All cracks and crevices blown out with air compressor

Notice how the water just flows off, no beading- no LSP on this vette, UGH







Sum of all the pre-treat process:

Emblems and other areas hit with boars hair brush:

Sonax agitated:

And rinsed:

Door jams sprayed down with citrus degreaser and agitated- dirty door jams piss me off

The reason as to why I clean my wheels and tires first is because I do not like to fully clay and wash the clients car and then have any break dust or sidewall grime sling onto the paint during agitation, which would remain on the paint while you begin to dry the car off...you get the point.

Here's the 2 bucket method: (sorry for the lack of pics, my Nikon D40 isn't water proof)
This method, when used correctly is the safest way to prevent from adding swirls or other damage to your cars clear.
2 buckets- One with rinse water, the other with your suds

2 wash mitts- One for the top down to around halfway down your door, cut the car into two parts- top/ the dirty dirty bottom
Think of a hamburger bun- top and bottom bun

Chenille mitts, MF mitts or lambs wool are IMO the best way to go, Just make sure you keep each mitt separate for each section and keep them clean at all times.
Try not wash your car in the direct sun unless you have no choice, such as what I was stuck with on this detail. If you do, just remember to keep applying water every minute to keep the water from drying on your paint which can cause water spotting and damage to your cars clear. Especially if your water in your area is hard or contains a lot of minerals or chlorine- NY water cough cough.
1) Begin by first inspecting each was mitt for any debris trapped in the fibers etc. If you do clean it or cut the damaged piece out- easy to do with a MF mitt or Chenille mitt, not so easy on a lambs wool mitt.
2) Dip your wash mitt into the clean water and then into your suds
3) Take your clean mitt full of the sudsy goodness onto your first panel- (roof, or hood)
4) Using straight motions- NOT CIRCLES, gently go back and forth following the lines of the car, think about how wind would travel across your car when driving (THE SAME GOES FOR APPLYING WAX/ SEALANT)- sorry Mr. Miagi
5) I usually split the hood in half, then do the drivers side fender, thend a door, then half the roof,
6) Heres the key- after Each panel, inspect your wash mitt for any large size debris etc. Dip the mitt into the clear water bucket, inspect, put into suds
7) Do your next panel and then repeat.
8) If your car is very dirty or you are washing an SUV- Midsize and up, then have another bucket of clear water on the ready so that you can switch the old one out halfway.
9) Once you have done the first half (Top bun if you wanna think of it that way) then move on to the lower half (bottom bun)
10) repeat the same process and rinse
11) Key to drying- TOUCH THE FINISH AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE. Even dragging a MF towels across your finish will micro marr your finish, using a plastic blade or a shammy also will give you swirls and cobweb scratching. Yes, a shammy will eventually scratch your finish- once you trap even the smallest debris or particles in the shammy, you are essentially dragging it across the surface over and over.
So.....what the hell do I dry my car with Dan?
.............An electric blower....yes, a leaf blower. No i'm not an idiot.
If you have a coating of an LSP (last standing product) such as a layer of wax/ sealant or anything that will cause water to bead on your finish, then using a leaf blower will blow the water right off.
I use an electric leaf blower with a MF towel wrapped around the end of the tube just in case I come in contact with a panel its MF towel on paint and not plastic against paint....you get the picture.
After blowing off as much stadning water as possible, BLOT the remaining water with a MF towel, DO NOT DRAG.
Following these measures will prevent you from causing any damage to your cars finish and minimize your chance of putting fine swirls into your cars clear.

Back to the write-up

After fully washing the vette. the car was dried and then sprayed back down with water and sprayed with Chemicals Guys Luber in preparation for the clay treatment using Ubers blue clay
Following a full clay treatment, the car was then rinsed and re-washed again, dried safely as well.
The car was then pulled into the "dungeon"- the loading bay of the assisted living facility the client lived in :mrgreen:
Gettin ready for paint correction:



Sun shots:




Notice marring and scratches around the light reflection

It was difficult to get good pics of the swirling and deep scratches on this color red....tried my to get what I could


After taping off a foot by foot test panel and trying my least aggressive polish and pad combo I found that the paint was actually quite hard and would require a combo one step higher to correct successfully:
SO- Using my Flex DA I chose to go with:
LC Orange pad and Menzerna SIP


Menz SIP (medium cut polish) has to be followed up by something to finish it off
Second stage polish- Menzerna 106FA on a White LC pad

Some correction pics- again, i was having trouble getting correction pics on this shade of red


After the first cut:





Gloss and depth coming back


SO- 6 hours later and every panel corrected 85- 100%, and 3 Dunkin Donuts iced coffees
The car was wiped down again with an IPA solution to remove all the polishing oils left behind and prep the paint for LSP application

To finish it off- Blackfire Wet Diamond Paint Sealant- My favorite
Wheels/ all brightwork- polished with Eagle One Nevr Dull Wadding and 0000 steel wool where needed

Afters-











Forgot to mention- motor also was degreased and cleaned:























Hope you enjoyed! Sorry for the downsized photos, you can enlarge them if you look for the magnifiying glass in each pic!
-Dan K.
Premier Shine Auto Detailing
Owner/Operator
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Note- website won't be up for another 24 hours or so

[Goodspeed]

Crazy good work :thumbup: Thanks for the info as well

[ScottyB]

insanity. i hope you didn't give the old guy a heart attack when he came out to see it.

[premiershine9]

insanity. i hope you didn't give the old guy a heart attack when he came out to see it.

Hahah no but he did have to sit down and told me to give him a second to take it all in. I went inside and packed up my things and when I came out he was still staring at it with a huge smile.
I just can't believe the guy still drives the snot out of it at 91 :thumbup:

[.RJ]

Are you in NJ or HBG right now?

[premiershine9]

NJ-Bergen County (northern) I have clients in NY and the tri-state- I will travel no more than an hour

[V1GiLaNtE]

Wow... Your sir truly have a gift and a great eye for detail. Top notch work!

PM Sent regarding paint question

[premiershine9]

Thanks guys!
MM forum has now become my new addiction!