Polishing a Rocket

[richy]

This customer first reached out to Corey with some questions about CQF. He had certainly done his homework and had asked some very intelligent questions and had very reasonable expectations for what the coating could do for him and his rocket. What was his rocket you ask? Not just any ole rocket, but a practical one at that...a 2013 CTS-V wagon!!

This was to be a wheels off, make it perfect detail...my favourite kind!


Here it is as it arrived. I got lucky on the Saturday morning when it was dropped off. The forecast was calling for temps in the 20's, but thankfully it was over freezing when he arrived and actually warmed up to about 40°F that day.




I was really looking forward to doing these wheels when I saw it!














Cadillac may have stolen this idea from the XC90, but I still like them:






First up was washing the wheels. I tried to do the best job I could on them while they were on the car to save time fine tuning them upon removal. My usual bullet proof combo of Tarminator and Zep cleaned the wheels and the wells were done with LATA and the tires with Zep 505.

Next up was a foam wash while I agitated every crevice and seam and emblem:





Following the foam wash was a hand wash which was then followed by a third wash step, namely IronX paste via grout sponge. The car was then brought inside wet and clayed with a CP foam block.

Now it was time to pull the wheels. I use a heavy duty plastic bin that I cover with a thick moving blanket to protect the face of the wheel as I'm working on it:



The face of the wheel, which is a matte finish, was done with CQF. It really doesn't change the appearance of the wheel although it never looked better. The face got 2 coats of CQF. The barrel was then done with OG to make sure I had enough CQF to do the whole car. The caliper was also done with OG. Both were flash cured with compressed air.

Here's a barrel all done:



The other thing I did to take advantage of having the wheel off was to coat the plastic wheel wells with the DG beta trim coating. Jerry sent me some new applicator pads to try and I was very happy with how even it looked. I blasted them with my air compressor afterward to make sure they dried quickly (which they do).
Here it is ready to have the wheel put back on:







And finally the wheel all done:






Next up was paint correction. I had every intention of doing a one step on it. I tried my Rupes with a few different mf pads and a few different polishes. Then I tried my favourite combo: TB black wool+ Flex 3401+ M105. I was amazed at the clarity and the jump it gave to the paint and the metal flake. That was followed by an orange B/S pad + HD Polish + Rupes. Headlights and tail lights were given the same treatment. Here's a tail light undergoing a transformation:





Here's a before shot showing some mild swirls:




And afterward:





In all honesty, this was an easy car to correct. I ended up coming in a few hours under what I thought I would have.

The windshield got a double coat of Fly-by-30. All glass, paint and lights got a double coat of CQF. The exhaust tips were polished by hand with a mf and M205 and then coated too. The tires were done the next day with DG Wet Shine via my air gun.

[richy]

Inside Shots-All done except no Tire dressing yet:







































Ummm. OK, so I went a bit crazy shooting this thing. A few more Outside shots if you can bear it...




















































Thanks for looking. This was a 13 hour job. I thought that was lightening fast actually for what I did. Comments as always are appreciated!

[WRAPT C5Z06]

Amazing, Richy, amazing !!!!

I bet the client was ecstatic !!!


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[richy]

Amazing, Richy, amazing !!!!

I bet the client was ecstatic !!!


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Thanks Mark! Yes, he was a laid-back kinda guy, but, yes, absolutely was he thrilled! I realized after he left I forgot to tell him about coating the wells for him.

[zmcgovern45]

Looks fantastic!! Nice photos too!

[kochdalton87]

Looks great! I'm usually not a fan of wagons but that styling along with the colors looks phenomenal! Great job and keep up the good work.

[Sicoupe]

Amazing work! And a bad a** car

[jpegs13]

WOW! Beautiful job. 13 hours?! I'm shocked, I figured a few of days minimum

[parttimer]

Hot car, off topic, what are the bulbs you have in the four corners of the garage.

[DetailedTaco]

Wow! Awesome job in a very quick amount of time!

This has to be one of my favorite cars on the market right now. Just love me some supercharged v8 wagon.