A detailer might love to own this vehicle but that’s not what I’m saying. This is a vehicle a detailer would love to detail. Trust me I did get a lot of satisfaction and gratification perfecting every inch of this vehicles exterior.
In this industry we see it all too often. A person neglects their vehicle for way to long. Or they think they have taken care of the vehicle by taking it through a tunnel wash every week. Then they start to notice the surface is looking cloudy, swirled, or scratched. They call us and hope we can revive it to a like new condition. Unfortunately more often than not it’s just too far gone, and the person waited too long to get it professionally detailed. All to often we are unable to bring it back. Or their budget just does not allow us to give it everything we have to offer, to try and achieve that new look. Stains were never cleaned up and have actually died the fabric. Or they never applied any form of protectant on the surface such as a wax, sealant, or ceramic coating. If a vehicle is not protected the outside elements will eventually start to breakdown its surfaces such as trim, paint, clear coat, moldings, headlights, and fabrics.
But every once in a while the stars align and the owners budget matches their expectations. The car still has life under all the imperfections, and we are able to perform all the necessary procedures to restore back to its former glory.
When this vehicle was brought to us the first thing we did was put it under the lights. As you can see it had some serious marring, oxidation, swirls, and surface scratches. 
This was not from years of neglect. Being a 2003 model this car had a lot of natural aging. Also more than likely it was washed and dried improperly. Maybe it went through some tunnel washes, or someone used a pole brush, or too rough of a towel was used to dry it, or the customer just wiped it too much.
The customer decided on a full paint correction, 3 Year guaranteed IGL Ceramic Coating, and a paintless dent repair (it was door dinged at a show) We knew we had our work cut out for us so we got down to business.
We started with a nice foam bath and a professional delicate hand wash.
We then gave it an iron removal treatment. This pulls out all of the iron particles trapped in the surface, and allows the ceramic coating to properly bond to the surface ensuring it will last for years. One more final rinse and we pulled it into the shop. Then we performed a clay bar decontamination treatment. This pulls out any remaining particles stuck in the pores of the clear coat. This is what gives the surface that super slick feel and it also ensures proper bonding for the ceramic coating.
We then broke out the machines, compounds, and polishes, and started the many hours of paint correction. We rarely have to use the rotary high speed polisher due to the high risk of damaging the surface. However in this case it had to be done to remove the deeper imperfections.
After all the heavy cutting was completed we then started to polish the vehicle with a dual action polisher. As you can see in the 50/50 shots above the paint was being restored to a mirror finish. But we still had one spot that we were really worried about not being able to restore. It was the section of the doors above the windows.
I thought for sure the clear coat was too far gone. This was also a section the customer thought was ruined. For this area I performed a light wet sand with a cut and polish. The results were amazing!!
I feel results like this is what separates true automotive detailers from automotive cleaners. This is from years of experience, thousands of dollars in training, having the right tools, equipment, products, procedures, and the know how to make it all work.
Once the paint was perfected we then used an alcohol based product to remove any oils and waxes from the surface. Again this is key to ensure a proper bond of the ceramic coating to the vehicles surface. We then started to apply what we call “The Gloss Sauce” the IGL Ceramic Coating. This is not a consumer grade product. I actually had to fly all the way out to California and attend a training, and validate my skills to become a certified IGL Ceramic Coating Installer. This product will add protection and a deep rich gloss to the vehicle for multiple years. This product is applied in two layers with three to four hours of cure time in between coatings.
After about thirty hours of work the vehicle was finally completed. For a sixteen year old car I felt it looked better than new. Now it was time for my favorite part – the customer pick up. “WOW” “Oh my gosh” “it looks amazing” these are some of the comments from the customer. This is what makes it all worth it. The best part was a few days later I received a text from the customer he was still in shock about how great it turned out. This was not a beater car. This was the customers baby, it had sentimental value. This is a detailers dream car because we live for outstanding results and this vehicle delivered!
Check out the walk around video