Heavily Neglected and Scraped Black Lexus RX300 14 Hour Detail! Many Pictures Included.

[TroyM]

I had the pleasure of detailing a dear and beloved friend's black Lexus RX300 this weekend! Turns out the Lexus was my worst nightmare since it's looks were quite deceiving! :laughing: All in all, the project took about 6 hours more than I expected, coming out to a total of 14 hours.

The paint contained endless swirl marks, many scratches, and numerous chips. I decided to go ahead and also remove major paint scratches/scrapes from several different spots during the detail. I used the latest Griot's Garage Orbital, Cobra Microfibers, and Super Plush microfiber towels, Meguiar's Cutting and Polishing Pads, Griot's Pads. The process I used was:

1- Pre-Soak and Full Pressure Wash
2- Another Complete Wash using Meguiar's Gold Class Wash Shampoo, Meguiar's microfiber wash mitt, and 2 bucket method.
3- Final pressure wash and cleaning of engine bay, tires, wheels, wheel wells, gas cap area, emblems with detailing brush, etc. No detail was skipped.
4- Gold Class Clay Bar with lubricant
5- Masked off gaps and ridges with masking tape
6- Meguiar's Ultimate Compound
7- Meguiar's M09 Swirl Remover
8- Meguiar's Ultimate Polish
9- Pure Carnuba Wax Paste
10- Two coats of Collinite 845
11- Chemical Guys dressing on various components
12- Dressing various vinyl and rubber trim with Silk Shine
13- Platinum Tire Shine (applied 2x due to extent of tire dryness!)
14- Recommended a basic bottle of Chemical Guys Quick Detailer and Cobra Microfiber towels to be used for maintaining it in the future (weekend cleaning, etc.)

Interior was blasted with compressed air, cleaned, vacuumed, dusted, odor bombed (loved this part :)), treated with leather cleaner and Pinnacle leather conditioner, and console was dressed.

Scratches were removed using the orbital, 3M wet 2000 grit sandpaper, compound, and polish.


Stocked and ready to go :laughing:

http://s15.postimg.org/3p0l3vv97/image.jpg

http://s15.postimg.org/6yf0acjcr/image.jpg

http://s15.postimg.org/5uuvydypn/image.jpg

..

First off, Scratch/Scuff Removal!

Rear Driver Side Door/Quarter Panel

http://s15.postimg.org/ceohd8xyz/208918_10152700647420422_2122744958_n.jpg

Driver Side Mirror
http://s15.postimg.org/se74wsu0r/phpovs_DLf_PM.jpg

..

Before

Water Spots and Paint Chips
http://s15.postimg.org/ic1jljtvf/image.jpg

Swirls and Scratches
http://s15.postimg.org/i1u127f97/image.jpg

Dirt
http://s15.postimg.org/j2u9rbw8r/image.jpg

Swirls and RID's
http://s15.postimg.org/7y9wjsnwb/100_0358.jpg

More Scratches
http://s15.postimg.org/wstedv8qj/100_0359.jpg

Clay Bar picked up this much after essentially 3 washes
http://s15.postimg.org/pkhrokvzv/image.jpg

One of the pads failed on me unfortunately...
http://s15.postimg.org/jzibh8e7v/100_0403.jpg

..

After (I was in a hurry to return the car before sunlight due to time constraint, so I used a lighting bay for the best picture quality/clarity)

http://s15.postimg.org/mji35pa7v/image.jpg

http://s15.postimg.org/f4srdbocb/image.jpg

http://s15.postimg.org/oduxnfx8b/image.jpg

http://s15.postimg.org/n03as4xyz/image.jpg

http://s15.postimg.org/5o2y6p4hn/image.jpg

The paint came out more than I even hoped to expect, very smooth and water-like. The Collinite 845 should protect it for a good 4-6 months. Thanks for looking :)

[Marc08EX]

Great job!!! You took out those scuff marks with ease.

[Durrani_45]

Awesome job mate :) I had a similar ride few years back but at that time I didn't knew about detailing :P

[OhTwoGT]

Great results! I just got that same bag and I gotta say its the best detailing bag ive had. Every single thing i need fits right in there.

[vet]

Looks great!

[TroyM]

Thanks for the great comments :) black is definitely a hard color to work with!

OhTwoGt, I def. agree! It's got pockets to fit everything. Best part about it is the compartment in the back which fits the microfiber towels and pads. Everything is organized and ready lol.

[Sicoupe]

You did one heck of a job TROY! Nice work:)

[TroyM]

You did one heck of a job TROY! Nice work:)

Thanks! How do u like your Si coupe? I actually considered getting one but ended up getting my SR. Would love to hear your thoughts on it.

[nissenc1337]

I imagine the clay helped remove the scuffs from the paint but what about the plastics? What approach did you take there?

[CM8 6MT]

Great turn around. Im really digging that Griots Bag. Really great use of a variety of products!

[cartman57]

Nice job on the RX300, looks great now.
Can't in the photos where the scuff marks were.

[TroyM]

Thanks for the comments!


I imagine the clay helped remove the scuffs from the paint but what about the plastics? What approach did you take there?

The clay really didn't help that much with the scuffs... On the paint and plastic, I used 2000 grit sandpaper very lightly, followed by compound, polish, and finally wax. Came out amazing...


Great turn around. Im really digging that Griots Bag. Really great use of a variety of products!

You should definitely get the Griot's bag. Even though there are other bag's which are essentially the same, only the Griot's has the bent handle design whereas the others are straight. That really makes it to get stuff in and out. Great way to keep everything organized and clean :laughing:

[Johny B]

Great job.

[TroyM]

Great job.

Thanks :xyxthumbs:

[TroyM]

Nice job on the RX300, looks great now.
Can't [see] in the photos where the scuff marks were.

It's right under the first pics, before and after side by side.