Town & Country Gets Some Love...

[richy]

Some guys get all the fun. While Mike massages McLarens, I meliorate minivans! Enough of the pity party, time to move on...

This van belongs to a good friend of mine's father. He just bought it and wanted it protected as well as it could be. Solution? Opti Guard. The job was to clean, decontaminate and coat the paint, wheels and glass.


Here it is as it arrived:



http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1812.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/user/rhowitt/media/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1812.jpg.html)


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1813.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/user/rhowitt/media/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1813.jpg.html)


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1814.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/user/rhowitt/media/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1814.jpg.html)


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1815.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/user/rhowitt/media/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1815.jpg.html)


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1816.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/user/rhowitt/media/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1816.jpg.html)



First up was the wheels which got cleaned with Zep Citrus. The tires were cleaned with Zep 505 and the well wells with LA Totally Awesome.

Next the van was foamed with DG 901:



http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1818.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/user/rhowitt/media/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1818.jpg.html)




Next it was hand washed with DG 901 and then brought inside where the wheels, tires and wells were blown dry with my Master Blaster.

The paint was then clayed to remove surface contamination with a CarPro Elastofoam block.


The hood had some light scuffs that were dealt with via TB black wool + Flex 3401 + Megs 100. That was followed with Sonax PF on an orange B/S pad + Flex. I used DG Squeaky Clean to finish off and to ensure a clean, true finish.

I then thought I would do the rest of the van with the PF and the orange pad. For kicks, I tried an adjacent panel with the orange panel and the DG Squeaky Clean. It gave as much pop to the paint as the PF did, plus saved a step. Therefore the remaining panels got SQ + orange B/S + Flex. Eraser was used to ensure no residual product was left on the surface.

The paint, grille, glass excluding the w/shield, wheels and front and rear lights all got coated with Opti Guard. The windshield was treated with Optimum glass coating beta product that I had left. I had a bit more than I thought I did and ended up putting 3 layers on to use it up.

Tires were shot with DG Wet Shine via an air gun. The paint was subsequently wiped down with UWW.


AFTER SHOTS:


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1844.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/user/rhowitt/media/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1844.jpg.html)




http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1845.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/user/rhowitt/media/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1845.jpg.html)




http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1846.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/user/rhowitt/media/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1846.jpg.html)




http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1847.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/user/rhowitt/media/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1847.jpg.html)




http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1848.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/user/rhowitt/media/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1848.jpg.html)




http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1849.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/user/rhowitt/media/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1849.jpg.html)




http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1850.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/user/rhowitt/media/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1850.jpg.html)




http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1852.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/user/rhowitt/media/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1852.jpg.html)




http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1853.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/user/rhowitt/media/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1853.jpg.html)




http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1854.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/user/rhowitt/media/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1854.jpg.html)




http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1855.jpg (http://s156.photobucket.com/user/rhowitt/media/Detailing%20shots/Detailing%20shots001/DSC_1855.jpg.html)




Thanks for looking. Comments always appreciated.

[Pureshine]

Great job looks great :)

[grego33]

Would you mind going into some detail on how you got the tires so clean? I have a set that look to be in very similar condition and can't seem to get them clean. I'm also using 505. I've tried it 1:1 and did a quarter of one tire at full strength but can't tell any difference between it and the rest of the tire. The initial application of 1:1 did a good job knocking off the surface dirt but that's it.

[HateSwirls]

Not all of us are lucky as Mike but I think he'll approve of your great work. :dblthumb2:

Looks very nice.:dblthumb2:

[dad07]

Mclarens,mini-vans,lawn mowers they are all the same,paint is paint and they all need polishing! LOL

Another great job Richy!

[NickZ28]

Looks excellent Richy...nice work, as always!

[ShaunD]

Great work as always! The paint on these vans really cleans up and has some nice metallic in it. My neighbor has one the same color and I just did a client/friend's gf's van that was the definition of single mom's van. Must be the time of year for these vans.lol They are a lot of real estate when doing int/ext.
Think all these vans should get this treatment on delivery. Looks great!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using AG Online

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Top notch job Richy. Looks incredible for a minivan. Lol

[richy]

Great job looks great :)
Thank you sir!


Would you mind going into some detail on how you got the tires so clean? I have a set that look to be in very similar condition and can't seem to get them clean. I'm also using 505. I've tried it 1:1 and did a quarter of one tire at full strength but can't tell any difference between it and the rest of the tire. The initial application of 1:1 did a good job knocking off the surface dirt but that's it.
Absolutely! I use 505 straight most of the time for starters. I spray on and then agitate with a tire brush I got from Target of all places, but I like it a lot. Not too stiff, nice amount of bend to it, it's perfect for most tires. I power wash to rinse. When I'm done washing the car, I pull it inside and dry off the tires, wheels and wells with the Master Blaster. I find that you don't really know how clean you've got them until you've dried them off. A leaf blower would do fine for that job too.
I also use a method of applying the tire dressing that I swear by. I got the idea from Chris Thomas of Optimum. I use a spray gun to apply the dressing. That is the most even way I have ever seen a tire dressing go on. I have been using up my supply of DG wet shine and it looks amazing done that way.


Not all of us are lucky as Mike but I think he'll approve of your great work. :dblthumb2:

Looks very nice.:dblthumb2:
True. And for clarification, I was referring to Mike Lambert who had just done this gorgeous orange McLaren. And thank you very much.


Mclarens,mini-vans,lawn mowers they are all the same,paint is paint and they all need polishing! LOL

Another great job Richy!
Tim, thank you very much. They all pay the bills, regardless of what they are. So true.


Looks excellent Richy...nice work, as always!
Thank you very much Nick!


Great work as always! The paint on these vans really cleans up and has some nice metallic in it. My neighbor has one the same color and I just did a client/friend's gf's van that was the definition of single mom's van. Must be the time of year for these vans.lol They are a lot of real estate when doing int/ext.
Think all these vans should get this treatment on delivery. Looks great!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using AG Online
Thanks! Luckily, it was brand new and only needed surface prep.


Top notch job Richy. Looks incredible for a minivan. Lol
Thanks very much and I appreciate you always taking the time to comment...it means a lot to me.

[sproketser]

Great job again Richy ! How long it took , unless I missed it .

[Superman0440]

What type of spray gun do you use

[vet]

Great job, as usual, Richy! After all, vans need lovin' too.

[richy]

Great job again Richy ! How long it took , unless I missed it .
Nope, you didn't miss it..I didn't say, LOL. I spent 10 hours which also included stuff that didn't make it into the writeup such as interior vacuum and treating the carpet floor mats to a few coats of 303 FG.


What type of spray gun do you use
If you don't mind looking at the post I'm including, I explain it in great detail here as well as provide a (albeit Canadian) link to where I got mine. I'm thinking Harbor Freight might have something similar. I shoot it at 60 psi.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/49879-2006-bmw-530-og-permanon.html



Great job, as usual, Richy! After all, vans need lovin' too.
Thanks! And, yes they do, just like their soccer mom owners, hehehhehehehe.

[Chris@AutoCleanse]

Excellent work as usually. That is not a minivan anymore that is one fine looking swagger wagon. The paint really pops. The customer did not want Cquatz finest?

[richy]

Excellent work as usually. That is not a minivan anymore that is one fine looking swagger wagon. The paint really pops. The customer did not want Cquatz finest?

Thank you Chris! I charge $150 premium for the CQF, so in the case of a daily driver like that, to me it is not worth it. He will get great protection from the OG.