Tru_Shine

So I took a trip down to Murfreesboro Tn to clean up a couple of Honda S2000's before the big IA meet in Nashville. And when I got down there I found a couple of nice S2k's, but each had there own fair share of defects. The White one was Faded like no other, the previous owner had definitely mistreated the paint and the convertible top. So my client had requested the Tru_Shine treatment. I did the Paint correction and convertible top treatment, and here it is. So sit back and enjoy!


Wash Process:

I began by spraying down the wheels with some P21S Wheel gel. This stuff was incredible wheel cleaner, and it is way better then the Diablo wheel gel but it cost a little more. but it's worth every penny.



You can let this stuff dwell for 5 minutes to 2 hours. it wont harm any type of wheels or brakes. it is totally pH balanced and has incredible cleaning abilites.

here it is eating at the brake dust and tire grime.



Next while that is dwelling I used my Karcher Mini 1400psi pressure washer with a Foam cannon and I first sprayed Chemical guys Tar & Bug remover on it, Then I let it dwell for about 5 mins, and rinsed it off, and then I applied DAWN detergent via Foam canon to wash the car with to remove any waxes or anything.



Wash tools:
5gal bucket
Grit Guard
100% sheep skin Wash mitt



After that I got back to the wheels Scrubbing them with various brushes inclubing the EZ-Detail brush At this point it was getting dark out side and the pics were getting hard to take. So I finished up the washing stage by Scrubbing the convertible top very thoroughly with some APC(all purpose cleaner) and agitated very thoroughly to get a real deep cleaning. the top must be completely dry before applying the RaggTopp Vinyl top treatment. so This was the end of Day 1 and I let the Top dry over night.




Day 2

I woke up the next morning and inspected the vehicle post washing, and now that the top had thoroghly dried I could apply the RaggTop Vinyl top treatment.



And here was the Tru Surface.















It was VERY faded and had lots of buffer trails from the previous detailer.

I took measurements of the paint thickness to make sure it was healthy enough and to kind of get an idea of what this paint has been through? This thing had all kinds of readings all over the place, 5.4, 5.3, 4.3, 3.1 but there were a couple of 2.7's which I knew that I needed to be extra careful around those areas because that is VERY thin paint and I dont want to burn through it.













But either way this thing needed some serious lovin!

So next is the convertible top care. I used the Raggtopp Vinyl Protectant because the S2000's top is of course.....Vinyl. and the top was very faded and dry looking. this stuff was really nice to work with.





and here it is Good as new, You could really tell a big Difference in person but I think the camera captured a good enough image of how shimmery and clean it is. this stuff will repel water and last 5-8 weeks. to keep it looking like this you just have to re apply every couple of months.



Next I brought it back in and started the polishing process.

Tools and Products:

Flex 3401
Lake country Cyan Hyrdrotech pad
LC Tangerine Hydrotech pad
Surbuff R-Series pad
LC blue finishing pad
Meguiars M105 compound
Meguiars M205 polish
Black Fire Wet diamond


Here are a Few in progress and 50/50 shots.











Here is the Driver door.





Its a whole different Shade of white!!!





Here is a 50/50 of the front Fender













After all of the buffing and polishing I brought it back outside and sprayed off all of the dust and wiped all of the crevices and sealed it with Black Fire Wet Diamond



Once I wiped off all of the BFWD Sealant, I walked around wiping the car with some Black Fire Gloss Enhancing Spray to make sure nothing was missed.



I polished the tips with some 0000# steel wool and Bushes polish. but forgot to take after pics.




So now here are the Glossy After Shots. Enjoy!







The Owner standing in Awe! lol j/k







Thanks for looking and Have a blessed day!

mantra_sone

Eric, you pull very professional results! My favorite part of your details are the 50/50 shots.

RM DETAILING

how good does the chemical guys Tar & Bug remover work

harms_is_back

bump still waitng for you guys to come to cali lol

CB

insane results!

H22TurboNos

oh damn nice! this was very nicely posted

MSchu

Supremely impressed, AGAIN.

I need a GREAT between wash detailer... does anyone have any input?

builthatch

OP, great job! amazing that someone would take such poor care of a car like that. that's what keeps people like you in biz though ; )

MSchu, i'm still using the optimum instant detailer mixed at a 4:1 ratio with distilled water. i love it man. it really does make the car flash if you use it while drying post-wash. i don't use it in the manner you asked about, only for small affecteed spots IF between washes, but i'm sure it'd be ideal for that.

gianinline

White cars are dificult to notice a great amount of difference, but you showed how clean it is compared to before.

Tru_Shine

Thanks man, I love'em too, I love detailing and the fun part is watching the transformation in my write ups.

So far it is great, I am going to mess around with different dilution ratios and see what works best. thanks

thanks

I love the Meguiars Ultimate Quick detailer in the black bottle, walmart is the cheapest place to get it.

How do you like the OID? and what color is the car you use it on? I have had a couple of people tell me that it can leave streaks, but I have yet to try it out. Thanks

Thank you!

1.5Slowmatic

the surbuff looks like it did great! i really need to pick one of them up.

builthatch

right. it'll be more prone to streaking at a 3:1 ratio. i use a 4:1 ratio and use distilled water. i never noticed its tendency to streak at 3:1 until i used it standalone, meaning not while drying. when using it when drying, the water on the car dillutes it.

4:1 can be used either way, i'd venture to guess 5:1 or more could be used easily as a gloss enhancer because if i use the 4:1 when drying the car, diluted by the standing water on the car, it comes out super slick and very bright, just like when used standalone. i just don't know if 5:1 would have the strength and lube to lift bird do, etc. 4:1 seems to work fine. the value is incredible when using it at 4:1. and it sprays just like meguiars because i use a meguiars bottle ; )

i've used it on dark colors like FBP and lights like VSM. i dry indoors under overhead lights so anything left on the finish is very apparent.

Tru_Shine

They are ok, I'm not to big of a fan, or at least when using the FLEX, a PC might be a different story though. there isn't anything that my FLEX and some M105 using a purple foamed wool pad cant handle.

ah, i might have to tell one of my customers about diluting it. she was complaining about streaks.

builthatch

yeah def. and distilled water for the mix. my house has well water and it's VERY rich in iron and minerals. for the house, i have a very complex setup to soften the water, control acidity, and generally filter everything so it's GREAT water...and i still use distilled for mixed things like that. a lot of people have really shitty water and i think it taints products that have to be mixed.