2006 Lexus ES 330

[Reddwarf]

My Sister in Law (“SIL”) has heard about my new hobby/ obsession with detailing cars. She has a new Lexus ES 330 and the Lexus dealer provides free car washes. She got some tar like gunk on the side and took it to the dealer. They did not remove the gunk so she called me. She said “can I just wipe it off with some windex or 409 or should I use some dish soap?” “NO!” I replied. Bring it over in the morning and I’ll wash it for you. From what I could see, it looks like the dealer just sprays water and maybe soap on the car and dries it. Terrible job washing, but no swirls, so that is good.

Here’s what I did:

Tar/ Gunk:
Tried some PB S+W, then DP Wheel Cleaner, then had to resort to Gunk Tar & Bug remover. That did the trick.

Wheels:
DP Gel Wheel Cleaner, Megs tire brush, and the short handled wheel brush that came with the DP Wheel kit. Finished wheels with DP Gloss Tire Gel.

Wash:
Meg’s Gold Shampoo with the Foam Gun (thanks AG! The Foam gun is so awesome)
Meg’s Wash Sponge and an MF Wash mitt.

I dried the car using the tip I learned from this board – leaf blower followed by a WW.
Clay bar – I started out using the Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay. Now I understand why there are two types of clay. The Ultra Poly Clay was not removing some of the bits of dirt I could see on the paint so I switched to a bar of Clay Magic. I used the Ultra Clay on my car and loved it. But I had previously used the Clay Magic on it. So now I see there is a need to have both types. I think I’ll order the Pinnacle Clay, DP Clay or the Meg’s Clay.

I used DP Krystal Vision Glass Cleaner. I love that stuff!

Interior:
Vacuum
PB Natural Look Dressing. She had some dirty bits on the side of her car seat and the door panels. The PB NL took care of that!

Wax:
Since the car is fairly new and there were no swirls or scratches, I refrained from breaking out the PC. I applied DP Max Wax by hand and removed it with a Cobra MF. This is the second time I’ve used the DP Max Wax. It is extremely easy to apply and remove.

My SIL came out when I was waxing her car and she was surprised. She was so happy at how clean the car was and could not believe I was waxing it. After the wax was done she was amazed at how shiny her car was. I even cleaned up her engine a bit – she was shocked at that! She saw my products and my wife quipped “yeah, he has like 500 bucks of stuff” - I didn’t correct her.

I should have taken a before picture of the smutz on the car. But here are the after pictures.

Note the reflection of the hose, bucket and Foam Gun. The picture came out a bit blurry (darn it!). The actual reflection was very clear.

[abrcrombe]

Nice job! She looks happy about you work! I would advise you to tell her not to let the dealer wash the car. Have her put up signs and TELL them as well. Let her come to you, and if you want to charge her, then you make a few bucks, and if not, you make a happy SIL and you get to practice your techniques. Good work man!

[joe.p]

"Wow" this was an extensive detail, your sis in law looks to be having fun in the pic. I would say she was pleased with your work. The engine bay came out nice too. Great job

[Reddwarf]

I sent my sister-in-law a link to this thread so she could see what I wrote about her car. She showed it to a couple of people at her office. Apparently, they sent it around to other folks in the office. She calls me today to say that several people are so impressed with the forum and the work I did on her car that they want to know how much I would charge to detail their car!

Ordinarily, I would just laugh it off. However, I recently was laid-off my job so a few extra bucks would not be a bad thing. I know a lot of the members here detail either full or part time. The big obstacle I see would be taking the equipment with me and the HEAT! It is in the 100’s here in Dallas.

Anyway, it is nice to know that people are impressed with the job I did.