Wills.WindowsAndWheels
03-18-2015, 04:27 AM
An Audi R8 - this is a car Dani and I*have been wanting to detail for quite some time. Having recently received an email from an owner in Fountain Hills, Az requesting for us to perform full paint correction and apply CQuartz Finest to his 2009 R8 - got us a bit excited to say the least!
After driving out for a consult with the owner and inspection of the car, we determined it definitely needed multiple polishing steps to achieve full correction...and a thorough cleaning through and through to really bring it back to life.
The day of the detail came - and the owner decided to upgrade from our "Jump Start (http://windowsandwheels.com/services-packages/)" CQuartz Finest package...all the way up to our "OCD Detail (http://windowsandwheels.com/services-packages/)" CQuartz Finest package. This would mean we would be pulling the wheels, cleaning and polishing them, thoroughly cleaning fender wells and calipers, coating calipers, polishing and coating door jambs, applying Flyby Fortè to the glass and coating any exterior plastic. Quite an upgrade, but we were happy to oblige!
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150306_114748.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150306_114748.jpg)
First things first...as always...it was time to clean this baby up. The wheels and tires would be skipped since they would be pulled later...so it was time to rinse it down, spray it with Iron X to help break down any bonded iron contaminates and then foam it with Iron X Snow Foam to break down all the dirt, grime, bugs and other goodies on the paint.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150306_115422.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150306_115422.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150306_115444.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150306_115444.jpg)
After that, we used a clay bar to further decontaminate the surface...leaving the paint nice and smooth. Then, it was time to further inspect the paint....what we found was pretty frightening.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150306_114606.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150306_114606.jpg)
(http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150306_114614.jpg) http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150306_114632.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150306_114632.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IMG_2344.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IMG_2344.jpg)
Yes, the paint was very, very swirled up. The owner had explained that the person who had the car prior to him was fond of taking it to the car wash...that combined with dealership "detailing" left a pretty sad surface. Time to get it in the garage and get to work.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150306_123705.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150306_123705.jpg)
Being that every car...and i mean every car, has different paint that requires a specific process all of its it - Figuring out the proper pad, product, machine and technique...as always, is the first step in perfecting the paint. Time for a test spot.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-12-57-56-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-12-57-56-PM.jpg)
This spot should work great...clusters of scratches and swirls...it was time to figure out what combo would get rid of this. Meguiars microfiber finishing disc along with 205 polish and Rupes 21 polisher...was a deadly combo. While it removed the deep swirls - it did leave a slightly marred surface, which required further refining. Carpro's Reflect polish on a finishing pad left the surface...rather breath taking.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-12-58-08-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-12-58-08-PM.jpg)
Yes...thats what we wanted to see! Now while this was not as simple as polish with combo A then combo B...it was the correct process for this car. So, it was time to spend a few hours going after all the deep scratches first.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-2-06-21-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-2-06-21-PM.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-4-43-47-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-4-43-47-PM.jpg)
As you can see, prep is a must. With all the vents and small - tight areas of this car..it was very important to cover them to make sure they didn't get loaded up with polishing dust (or any other dust for that matter!) while we worked. Dani spent a good amount of time taping, papering *and so fourth to make sure things that were hard to reach...stayed clean.
(http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IMG_2344.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-4-36-08-PM.jpg
(http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-4-36-08-PM.jpg)
The light marring from the first polishing step can be seen in the photo below:
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-4-36-12-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-4-36-12-PM.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IMG_2346.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-4-36-12-PM.jpg)
The first day was basically spent strictly doing all the more aggressive polishing..removing the deep stuff...getting it prepped for a final polish. The large areas were completed on day one - leaving the front and rear clips and small areas left to cut...and then doing our final polish on every last inch.
That of course, was just what was left for prepping the paint...the wheels however...were another story.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-2-04-49-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-2-04-49-PM.jpg)
Holy inches of brake dust batman! Yes, these super cars...with their super brakes...generally create some super brake dust. After studying the jack points...finding out the correct torque setting and making sure i had all my ducks in a row before lifting this baby...i finally got started on pulling these babies off while Dani did the intricate detailing left on the paint.
First step for these things...was to dissolve all this grime. Ferrousity Wheel cleaner to the rescue.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-2-04-55-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-2-04-55-PM.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-2-07-04-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-2-07-04-PM.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-2-07-24-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-2-07-24-PM.jpg)
The "bleeding" effect is the wheel cleaner safely dissolving the pounds of brake dust. I let them soak for several minutes (in the shade) before beginning to agitate and pressure wash the filth away.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-3-49-49-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-3-49-49-PM.jpg)
A soft bristled wheel brush was enough to loosen much of the grime, but there was still a thick ring left towards the rear of each barrel that required extra time and work to loosen...and even after that...the biggest pain that remained was in the most inconspicuous of areas...
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-2-16-07-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-2-16-07-PM.jpg)
You guessed it...there was a think ring of heavily set in grime in each of the lug holes. A lot of time and finger numbing work was required to get these to come out clean again...but the end result really left it looking...finished.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-2-20-26-PM-1.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-2-20-26-PM-1.jpg)
Next, the tires were cleaned on both sides, the wheel faces and barrels were nit picked for any small speck of dust or tar left over - they were then polished and finally coated with Carpro's Dlux wheel coating. Both sides of the tire were protected with Carpro's PERL....and then..then finished result was photographed for all of our viewing pleasure!
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-3-02-48-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-3-02-48-PM.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-3-02-37-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-3-02-37-PM.jpg)
Not bad...not bad at all! Now it was time to do this 3 more times, right? Well...not quite yet.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-3-04-08-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-3-04-08-PM.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-3-04-05-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-3-04-05-PM.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-3-04-01-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-3-04-01-PM.jpg)
As you can see, the filth was not just confined to the wheels themselves. The entire fender well was pretty bad. Lets face it, its not like you can really just reach your arm up in there to clean them any time you like!
Solution was a lot of time, patience....and a steam cleaner.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-3-10-04-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-3-10-04-PM.jpg)
Blasting away the grime...one vent at a time. Next, the plastic and paint were cleaned further where needed and then conditioned. The wheel calipers were steamed and then hand polished and coated with CQuartz UK paint coating for added shine and protection.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-3-34-28-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-3-34-28-PM.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-3-34-38-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-3-34-38-PM.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-3-34-17-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-3-34-17-PM.jpg)
The end result? We took this...
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-6-15-04-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-6-15-04-PM.jpg)
And made it this. While it was a LOT of work to get this to come out right, i was so glad the owner opted to have the added work done. It really made the job look compete.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-8-15-57-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-8-15-57-PM.jpg)
Dani in the mean time...was exercising some serious patience and dedication to detail.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-4-14-48-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-4-14-48-PM.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-4-14-51-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-4-14-51-PM.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-12-57-31-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-12-57-31-PM.jpg)
And some areas were meant to be done by hand...
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-5-19-22-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-5-19-22-PM.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-5-19-20-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-5-19-20-PM.jpg)
Once the paint was completed with the cutting step, i was able to jump in and help with the final polishing while Dani hand polished the tight areas between then vents and polished and prepped the door jambs.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150307_113042.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150307_113042.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150307_182823.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150307_182823.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150307_182845.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150307_182845.jpg)
The carbon fiber side pieces required a more aggressive cut than the rest of the paint, oddly enough. But once it was dialed in, it really glowed as well.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-4-07-21-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-4-07-21-PM.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-4-09-16-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-4-09-16-PM.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-12-08-10-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-12-08-10-PM.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150307_164236.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150307_164236.jpg)
I then continued on my wheel cleaning duties:
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-4-45-34-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-4-45-34-PM.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-5-18-03-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-5-18-03-PM.jpg)
While Dani continued to put the final prep steps on the paint before we applied CQuartz Finest to it.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-8-21-33-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-8-21-33-PM.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-8-23-30-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-8-23-30-PM.jpg)
The small things make all the difference...thats for sure.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-6-02-49-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-6-02-49-PM.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-6-06-21-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-6-06-21-PM.jpg)
Finally, it was time to do an Eraser wipe down on the entire exterior, making sure all polishing oils were removed and the paint was completely clean and ready to receive 2 coats of CQuartz Finest 2-year paint coating.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-10-50-08-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-10-50-08-PM.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-11-35-21-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-11-35-21-PM.jpg)
(http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150307_235348.jpg) http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150307_235321.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150307_235321.jpg)
We burned the midnight oil on this one. Putting in over 15 hours on day 2, working till past 1 a.m...we were in this thing for the long haul...but it was worth it. We finished applying Finest, cleaned the windows, polished the exhaust tips and called it a night. Time to tuck her in for the night.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150308_003446.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150308_003446.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150308_005651.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150308_005651.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150308_005542.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150308_005542.jpg)
After driving out for a consult with the owner and inspection of the car, we determined it definitely needed multiple polishing steps to achieve full correction...and a thorough cleaning through and through to really bring it back to life.
The day of the detail came - and the owner decided to upgrade from our "Jump Start (http://windowsandwheels.com/services-packages/)" CQuartz Finest package...all the way up to our "OCD Detail (http://windowsandwheels.com/services-packages/)" CQuartz Finest package. This would mean we would be pulling the wheels, cleaning and polishing them, thoroughly cleaning fender wells and calipers, coating calipers, polishing and coating door jambs, applying Flyby Fortè to the glass and coating any exterior plastic. Quite an upgrade, but we were happy to oblige!
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150306_114748.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150306_114748.jpg)
First things first...as always...it was time to clean this baby up. The wheels and tires would be skipped since they would be pulled later...so it was time to rinse it down, spray it with Iron X to help break down any bonded iron contaminates and then foam it with Iron X Snow Foam to break down all the dirt, grime, bugs and other goodies on the paint.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150306_115422.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150306_115422.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150306_115444.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150306_115444.jpg)
After that, we used a clay bar to further decontaminate the surface...leaving the paint nice and smooth. Then, it was time to further inspect the paint....what we found was pretty frightening.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150306_114606.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150306_114606.jpg)
(http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150306_114614.jpg) http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150306_114632.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150306_114632.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IMG_2344.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IMG_2344.jpg)
Yes, the paint was very, very swirled up. The owner had explained that the person who had the car prior to him was fond of taking it to the car wash...that combined with dealership "detailing" left a pretty sad surface. Time to get it in the garage and get to work.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150306_123705.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150306_123705.jpg)
Being that every car...and i mean every car, has different paint that requires a specific process all of its it - Figuring out the proper pad, product, machine and technique...as always, is the first step in perfecting the paint. Time for a test spot.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-12-57-56-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-12-57-56-PM.jpg)
This spot should work great...clusters of scratches and swirls...it was time to figure out what combo would get rid of this. Meguiars microfiber finishing disc along with 205 polish and Rupes 21 polisher...was a deadly combo. While it removed the deep swirls - it did leave a slightly marred surface, which required further refining. Carpro's Reflect polish on a finishing pad left the surface...rather breath taking.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-12-58-08-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-12-58-08-PM.jpg)
Yes...thats what we wanted to see! Now while this was not as simple as polish with combo A then combo B...it was the correct process for this car. So, it was time to spend a few hours going after all the deep scratches first.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-2-06-21-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-2-06-21-PM.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-4-43-47-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-4-43-47-PM.jpg)
As you can see, prep is a must. With all the vents and small - tight areas of this car..it was very important to cover them to make sure they didn't get loaded up with polishing dust (or any other dust for that matter!) while we worked. Dani spent a good amount of time taping, papering *and so fourth to make sure things that were hard to reach...stayed clean.
(http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IMG_2344.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-4-36-08-PM.jpg
(http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-4-36-08-PM.jpg)
The light marring from the first polishing step can be seen in the photo below:
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-4-36-12-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-4-36-12-PM.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IMG_2346.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-4-36-12-PM.jpg)
The first day was basically spent strictly doing all the more aggressive polishing..removing the deep stuff...getting it prepped for a final polish. The large areas were completed on day one - leaving the front and rear clips and small areas left to cut...and then doing our final polish on every last inch.
That of course, was just what was left for prepping the paint...the wheels however...were another story.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-2-04-49-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-2-04-49-PM.jpg)
Holy inches of brake dust batman! Yes, these super cars...with their super brakes...generally create some super brake dust. After studying the jack points...finding out the correct torque setting and making sure i had all my ducks in a row before lifting this baby...i finally got started on pulling these babies off while Dani did the intricate detailing left on the paint.
First step for these things...was to dissolve all this grime. Ferrousity Wheel cleaner to the rescue.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-2-04-55-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-2-04-55-PM.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-2-07-04-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-2-07-04-PM.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-2-07-24-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-2-07-24-PM.jpg)
The "bleeding" effect is the wheel cleaner safely dissolving the pounds of brake dust. I let them soak for several minutes (in the shade) before beginning to agitate and pressure wash the filth away.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-3-49-49-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-3-49-49-PM.jpg)
A soft bristled wheel brush was enough to loosen much of the grime, but there was still a thick ring left towards the rear of each barrel that required extra time and work to loosen...and even after that...the biggest pain that remained was in the most inconspicuous of areas...
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-2-16-07-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-2-16-07-PM.jpg)
You guessed it...there was a think ring of heavily set in grime in each of the lug holes. A lot of time and finger numbing work was required to get these to come out clean again...but the end result really left it looking...finished.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-2-20-26-PM-1.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-2-20-26-PM-1.jpg)
Next, the tires were cleaned on both sides, the wheel faces and barrels were nit picked for any small speck of dust or tar left over - they were then polished and finally coated with Carpro's Dlux wheel coating. Both sides of the tire were protected with Carpro's PERL....and then..then finished result was photographed for all of our viewing pleasure!
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-3-02-48-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-3-02-48-PM.jpg)
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Not bad...not bad at all! Now it was time to do this 3 more times, right? Well...not quite yet.
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As you can see, the filth was not just confined to the wheels themselves. The entire fender well was pretty bad. Lets face it, its not like you can really just reach your arm up in there to clean them any time you like!
Solution was a lot of time, patience....and a steam cleaner.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-3-10-04-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-3-10-04-PM.jpg)
Blasting away the grime...one vent at a time. Next, the plastic and paint were cleaned further where needed and then conditioned. The wheel calipers were steamed and then hand polished and coated with CQuartz UK paint coating for added shine and protection.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-3-34-28-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-3-34-28-PM.jpg)
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-3-34-38-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-3-34-38-PM.jpg)
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The end result? We took this...
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-6-15-04-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-6-15-04-PM.jpg)
And made it this. While it was a LOT of work to get this to come out right, i was so glad the owner opted to have the added work done. It really made the job look compete.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-8-15-57-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-8-15-57-PM.jpg)
Dani in the mean time...was exercising some serious patience and dedication to detail.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-4-14-48-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-4-14-48-PM.jpg)
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And some areas were meant to be done by hand...
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-5-19-22-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-5-19-22-PM.jpg)
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Once the paint was completed with the cutting step, i was able to jump in and help with the final polishing while Dani hand polished the tight areas between then vents and polished and prepped the door jambs.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150307_113042.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150307_113042.jpg)
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The carbon fiber side pieces required a more aggressive cut than the rest of the paint, oddly enough. But once it was dialed in, it really glowed as well.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-4-07-21-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-4-07-21-PM.jpg)
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http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150307_164236.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150307_164236.jpg)
I then continued on my wheel cleaning duties:
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-4-45-34-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-4-45-34-PM.jpg)
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While Dani continued to put the final prep steps on the paint before we applied CQuartz Finest to it.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-8-21-33-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-8-21-33-PM.jpg)
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The small things make all the difference...thats for sure.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-6-02-49-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-06-6-02-49-PM.jpg)
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Finally, it was time to do an Eraser wipe down on the entire exterior, making sure all polishing oils were removed and the paint was completely clean and ready to receive 2 coats of CQuartz Finest 2-year paint coating.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-10-50-08-PM.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Photo-Mar-07-10-50-08-PM.jpg)
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(http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150307_235348.jpg) http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150307_235321.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150307_235321.jpg)
We burned the midnight oil on this one. Putting in over 15 hours on day 2, working till past 1 a.m...we were in this thing for the long haul...but it was worth it. We finished applying Finest, cleaned the windows, polished the exhaust tips and called it a night. Time to tuck her in for the night.
http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150308_003446.jpg (http://windowsandwheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150308_003446.jpg)
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