2009 Hyundai Elantra restoration project!

[Sizzle Chest]

2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring Edition
61,000 miles

During Hurricane Irma my mother’s husband lent Mrs. Sizzle their extra vehicle to use. (I could not get the garage doors open due to the power outage that we experienced as well as the numerous outdoor items that were placed inside the garage that were blocking our vehicles in. So as a ‘thank you’ I mentioned that I would detail his vehicle for him.

7 years old, a few miles, always kept outside and it has never, ever been waxed/polished/etc. It was in pretty bad condition.

It was covered in major swirls, scuffs, paint transfer from unknown objects hit/rubbed against, some serious scratching, water spots and it had clear failure on the mirrors and door handles along with the black trim being hammered and the roof rack hardware’s finish flaking off. It was also covered in canon fungus and the windows were filthy, both inside and out.

I had some new goodies from Blackfire to use (thanks again Meghan!) and knew I could make this thing look so much better as well as put some protection on the paintwork.

Process/chemicals/tools/etc:

Waterless wash with McKees N914.
Clayed with Optimum nano bar heavy.
Dodo Born Slippery as clay lube.
Rupes MkII 21.
Griot’s 6”.
Misc MF towels.
Defelsko paint gauge.
Surfbuf pads.
Red generic foam polishing pads.
Red hydrotech finishing pad for LSP application.
NEW Blackfire Compound.
Spot compounded some heavier scratches with Griot’s MF pad and M101.
NEW Blackfire Polish.
Final wipe-McKees N914.
LSP-Blackfire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection.
Tire dressing: Blackfire.
Glass cleaner: NEW Blackfire Glass Cleaner.
Dedicated MF glass towels.
Metro vacuum.
NEW Blackfire Interior Cleaner on interior plastics/vinyl surfaces.


Thanks for looking!



As delivered:












Defects:

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Work pics:







After the initial hit:





Getting some gloss back!

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After compounding:




Reduced the Grand Canyon of scratches:




Taillights after:

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Glass condition:




The newness!!!





Knocked this out:











After:

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Finished shots:

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The hero's of the operation!











LSP:

[VISITOR]

wow, it's not too often you see someone use surbuf pads anymore. these were the go to pads for serious defects on the DA before microfiber pads took over. paint looks much better, nice job...

[Sizzle Chest]

^^^^Exactly! I had a decent stock of them and burnt thru them quickly with the heat the MkII 21 made on higher settings; they did not take well to the heat!

Thanks for the response!!!

[VISITOR]

^^^^Exactly! I had a decent stock of them and burnt thru them quickly with the heat the MkII 21 made on higher settings; they did not take well to the heat!

Thanks for the response!!!

have you tried using the surbuf pads on the GG6 (or any PC-style DA)? i think that was what they were initially used with. never tried them on a long-throw, especially considering they aren't built as well as microfiber pads. if you haven't seen this article, it's a great read...

https://www.autopia.org/forums/epic-...ct-killer.html

[Sizzle Chest]

have you tried using the surbuf pads on the GG6 (or any PC-style DA)? i think that was what they were initially used with. never tried them on a long-throw, especially considering they aren't built as well as microfiber pads. if you haven't seen this article, it's a great read...

https://www.autopia.org/forums/epic-...ct-killer.html

Yep, that's what I originally had purchased them for. Worked great. I don't use them anymore, and said, what the heck, might as well use them and see how they work with the 21! They did not like the heat, lol, and I smoked quite a few pads, but that was OK.

And yes, a great article-by a great wealth of info and talent. Great results from 'back in the day', LOL