Show & Shine: 2011 Black Jeep Grand Cherokee wrapped, CQ DLux, CQ Forte, CQ Finest - Picture HEAVY!

[campngolf]

Wow. That's a heapin' helpin' of awesomeness.

[Sicoupe]

Outstanding work my friend!! Looks beautiful

[cardaddy]

Very NICE Claude!

Don't know that I'd have wanted all the chrome blacked out, but you sure did a great job on it.

Good catch on the repair as well!

[Dr_Pain]

LOL, I could definitely understand your feeling that way. The detail itself is a lot of hard work. And then the extra work it takes to do the story and post the pictures. Whew.

Believe me, your work is not in vain in my eyes.

Thanks Bud! It is definitely a lot of work but definitely rewarding and worth every minute when you read the approval of your fellow car detailers. Without those positive comments the work does seem pointless. I won't say that my self worth is based on the approval of others, but the worth of the effort to put it for the viewing pleasure of other is. I'll be honest, it is frustrating at times when you see the view counter go up and the comments remain at 0. Now at times it is my own undoing. I know I've posted some in depth posts before that just went too deep, therefore way outside the realm of what people are willing to get involved in (advanced knowledge and related research), but I have always felt safe that the pretty picture and a nice story would appeal. In any case, I woke up this morning with a LOT of nice comments which did warm my heart. I wish you and yours a happy New Year and we shall cross path again then my friend!

Awesome job, especially on the wrapping bits. That paint was a mess. Looks flawless now.

Thanks! It is not flawless by any means. If you look closely at the pictures you will see a couple of battle "scars". I will be glad to point them out if you want. I think the point I would like those pictures to make is the fact that even a well used vehicle can look "showroom" (at first glance), which makes you forget all those battle scars (which would cost $1000s to fix). With a relatively decent budget, this owner will get to enjoy his Jeep for YEARS to come. Normally those scars become daily reminders that our cars are not new anymore, which allows us validation to fall out of love and reason the fact that we need a new car. As detailers we are here to restore that love. There is nothing more rewarding in my book than to hear a customer say "I was going to trade it in but decided to keep it".

Thanks taking the time to view this picture heavy thread and reply. I will you and yours a happy New Year!

Holy Claude, when I saw you just placed a new thread I knew to expect something but in fact it's unbelievable what you just did!

Congratulations on your professionalism and talent, the before pics are horrendously beautiful, the after pictures express the beauty of sunshine - on black. You're great my friend,

Thanks a lot for sharing many other details and processes as well,

Happy new year!

Rafael, I can always count on you to post uplifting comments in my threads. Truly a blessing to count you as my friend. As I've expressed before the Jeep is not perfect but considering the limitations, it is as perfect as it could be made without a respray, and the subtle modifications were enough to make the owner fall in love again.

I wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year, my friend. I can't wait to hear how God continues to bless you.

Great work Claude! What vinyl did you use on the lights?

Thanks for the comment Fly. I will bend the rules a little in posting an outside link (since AG does not carry vinyl wrap). Hopefully you can link up before it gets removed (if it does)

LINK HERE!!(I used the dark smoke and did not cut out the reverse lights (so far no complaints). It is a little hard to manipulate so take your time.

BTW Happy New Year!

I always love your threads and how informative they are. Claude you are a detailing maestro! Love the work on this one.

Happy New Year to you and yours!

Come on Jake..... I see the work you put out. Your work and my work are the same. The only difference between you and I is that I have a little more spare time to put those Show and Shine together. I do want to wish you a Happy New Year as well! Keep inspiring my friend.

Excellent work as always and very informative...thanks for sharing

You are welcomed Frank. Thanks for commenting. Let me take this opportunity to say Happy New Year to you and yours!

Very nice work on that one! What was your process and products for restoring the black plastic trim around the vehicle (other than CQDlux)...looks better than factory new!

The process is pretty simple. On this particular car I used D101 APC diluted 4:1 and gave it a good scrub. I inspected the plastic and actually decided to use some paint cleaner compound on a fluffy MF to abrase/clean into the texture (I know it sounds weird). I did not want anything too aggressive to "flatten" the texture but wanted a little abrasion to prep the substrate. Guess what I had to do next?? Yep, APC clean the oils and such, then Erased and IPA cleaned for good measure. Used my MetroBlaster to dry it completely. Inspected and was satisfied that I could DLux the whole thing. Came out great!

Well I hope this was a thorough enough answer for you. Prep is the key, and cookie cutter prep does not always make sense so feel free to experiment. I wish you and yours a Happy New Year!

Wow. That's a heapin' helpin' of awesomeness.

Now I will give this comment top rank in the comments on this thread. It actually made me laugh out loud, and giggled about it for a few minutes afterwards. My patients thought I was losing my mind. Thanks for the laugh, for the comment and I wish you a Happy New Year!

Outstanding work my friend!! Looks beautiful

Thanks bud! It is always great to see your comments on my threads. Looking forward to the New Year! Let me take this opportunity to wish you and yours a Happy New Year and great health and prosperity in 2015.

Very NICE Claude!

Don't know that I'd have wanted all the chrome blacked out, but you sure did a great job on it.

Good catch on the repair as well!

Thanks Tony! The chrome was pretty beat up, and nothing that could have been easily salvaged. I was back and forth on wrapping it, mainly because the gloss metallic vinyl is not the same (you can only see the difference in certain light and at dusk/dawn (if you look for it)), but in all I was very happy with the results. To be honest at first glance you would not know that it was not factory.

Many times I want to cut corners because "I know what I am doing" but every time I convince myself that it is Ok, something like this reminds me of my flawed nature. Thanks for the comment!

To all, have a great New Year!! and don't forget to leave the world around you a little better than you found it!

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Wow incredible work on that one Claude! Truly a flawless finish. You left me speechless over here bud!

[Dr_Pain]

Wow incredible work on that one Claude! Truly a flawless finish. You left me speechless over here bud!

The year end would not have been the same without hearing from you Mike. I seriously doubt you were speechless though! (but thanks for the superlatives)

Thanks for the comment, and Happy New Year! (or maybe I should say glückliches neues jahr)

See you in the new year my friend!

[DARK HORSE]

Brilliant work as always Claude, just stunning! Also a very enjoyable read! Great catch on the prior repair job, however I wouldn't expect anything less from you!












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[Dr_Pain]

Brilliant work as always Claude, just stunning! Also a very enjoyable read! Great catch on the prior repair job, however I wouldn't expect anything less from you!

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Thanks Bud! .... and Tad have yourself a great New Years

[fly07sti]

Happy New Year to you as well Claude.

[Eric@CherryOnTop]

Wow, best looking Jeep in Ler-zee-Anna!!! Have you ever played around with Nite Shades for tail lights? Pros and cons versus the smoke vinyl wrap?


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