2008 GS350: Using 2 Forgotten Interior Tools

richy

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This car belongs to my mom. I detailed it and coated it last year. It has been put through the wringer since then. The rear 1/4 panel, which I forgot to photograph b/c I originally wasn't going to touch it, was scratched very badly against a brick wall. It needs to be painted. Today I decided to get some touch up paint and at least make it a lot less noticeable until that time. I was rushing against quickly fading light and neglected to shoot it first. Oh well.

However, her desire was for the interior to be done, not the exterior. There are some stains in the carpeting next to the driver's foot as well as the driver's carpet mat. So, those 2 forgotten interior tools? Folex and the DA interior brush. I think the last time I used them was a year ago on her car:

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/57198-2008-gs350-bit-pressure-lol.html


It needed the help again. Folex is one of those products that is easily overlooked by the excess hype generated by so many others in this crowded market. But I keep coming back to it. Why? #1: It works. It is a powerful stain remover. It really is. #2 It is cheap. Buy it by the gallon at Home Depot for a lot less than other interior shampoos and stain removers. I had been using OPC at 4:1 and it was OK, but the Folex does not keep sudsing up afterward like most APC's will do. I had great success using it with the DA brush and then wiping it with a white terry towel (great to see the dirt that is removed using a white towel). Then follow that with steam and another tt wipe down for very, very effective stain removal.

The carpeting next to the driver's foot was the biggest challenge:







I used the above method and then followed that with 2 coats of 303 FG. Here is how it looked afterward before completely drying:








The door panels were cleaned with OPC and the knock-off AG pad followed by a steam wipe down. Those surfaces were then treated to Ultima Interior Guard. Here's a door all done:




The wood inside was also treated to UIGP:






The seats were cleaned in the same fashion: OPC + AG pad + steam. Instead of UIGP, they got coated with Optimum Leather coating (2 coats). Here's how a seat looked:






As far as the exterior goes, I washed, decontaminated with IX, clayed and then did touch up repairs. Once dried, the paint was treated to Permanon applied via spray gun. The glass was coated with DP glass coating (2 coats). The tires were shot via air gun with DG wet shine. Here's how the exterior looked:











Repair area (not lit well for shots-looks better than it is-but still pretty good I think):









This was a quick 8 hour job in total. Thanks for looking!! And by the way, I shot these pics in RAW mode for the first time and converted them to JPEG with zero alterations. I just wanted to see if they looked any better that way vs the extra storage space they take up.
 
Great work as always Richy. What's the knock off AG pad?
AutoGlym used to make an Interior cleaning pad that was just amazing. You spray the cleaner on it and agitate the surface with it. It would really help get the cleaner to penetrate both leather and plastic. I very quickly became a staunch advocate of using it. Then they stopped making the bloody thing!! Luckily there is a knock-off version that is also very good. A member on DB sells them. PM me if interested.
 
This was a quick 8 hour job in total. Thanks for looking!! And by the way, I shot these pics in RAW mode for the first time and converted them to JPEG with zero alterations. I just wanted to see if they looked any better that way vs the extra storage space they take up.

The power of RAW is in the ability to recover and/or make adjustments to the original file (for example, when the camera may have exposed improperly, assuming you are using an automatic mode); e.g. white balance, exposure, etc. If you just shoot RAW and convert to JPEG, there will be little or no difference... and actually the JPEGs from the camera may actually look better (because of the optimized processing that is done in the camera). By shooting RAW you are telling the camera that you don't want it to apply any contrast, sharpening, etc. and that you will control all of those settings yourself in the 'digital darkroom'.

Here is a good thread (albeit on another forum) showing the power of RAW files; most of which you can't do with JPEGS:
Show Us Your RAW Conversions, BEFORE And AFTER - Canon Digital Photography Forums

MODS: Hopefully linking is OK in this case, as it's not to a competitors site... if not, feel free to remove the link.
 
AutoGlym used to make an Interior cleaning pad that was just amazing. You spray the cleaner on it and agitate the surface with it. It would really help get the cleaner to penetrate both leather and plastic. I very quickly became a staunch advocate of using it. Then they stopped making the bloody thing!! Luckily there is a knock-off version that is also very good. A member on DB sells them. PM me if interested.

Is this similar to the Sonax Dirt Eraser?
 
nice work. Do you use a carpet brush on your DA most of the time, or do you find yourself doing it by hand most of the time?
 
Nice job man!
Thanks very much!

The power of RAW is in the ability to recover and/or make adjustments to the original file (for example, when the camera may have exposed improperly, assuming you are using an automatic mode); e.g. white balance, exposure, etc. If you just shoot RAW and convert to JPEG, there will be little or no difference... and actually the JPEGs from the camera may actually look better (because of the optimized processing that is done in the camera). By shooting RAW you are telling the camera that you don't want it to apply any contrast, sharpening, etc. and that you will control all of those settings yourself in the 'digital darkroom'.

Here is a good thread (albeit on another forum) showing the power of RAW files; most of which you can't do with JPEGS:
Show Us Your RAW Conversions, BEFORE And AFTER - Canon Digital Photography Forums

MODS: Hopefully linking is OK in this case, as it's not to a competitors site... if not, feel free to remove the link.
Thanks so much for that information!! I just don't want to go down the slippery slope of editing shots so I can honestly say it is a true reflection (no pun intended) of the work. I do understand however, the camera has limitations in how it "sees" what you see with your eye and how it captures it. I will probably just stick to shooting JPEG for detailing shots and shoot RAW for family photos, etc.

Nice job! Definitely interested in this AG pad..
Thank you. PM me for info on it.

Is this similar to the Sonax Dirt Eraser?
No, not at all. I just watched a video of it on YT. It looks like a magic eraser. The AG pad is a bit more aggressive mf material that helps to deep clean. Here is what it does:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjuitieBgFQ]Autoglym hi tech cleaning hand pad - YouTube[/video]

Very nice work Richy. Im sure your mom was thrilled.
I'll know later today when she picks it up, but I'm hoping she will be. It looked great in person.

Yes....Very nice.
Thanks very much!

nice work. Do you use a carpet brush on your DA most of the time, or do you find yourself doing it by hand most of the time?
I don't do a whole lot of interiors but when I do, I will use the AG pad every time, but I don't break out the DA brush unless the mats are terrible. Steam will often do it alone, albeit it can take longer. I would be doing myself a favour to use it more often.
 
Thanks so much for that information!! I just don't want to go down the slippery slope of editing shots so I can honestly say it is a true reflection (no pun intended) of the work. I do understand however, the camera has limitations in how it "sees" what you see with your eye and how it captures it. I will probably just stick to shooting JPEG for detailing shots and shoot RAW for family photos, etc.

Yes. We [humans] have a much greater dynamic range (ability to see both very bright and very dark at the same time) than cameras do. This can make it difficult to capture paint work at times, particularly sunlight, surface scratches, reflections, etc.
 
Very nice work!
Thanks very much.

Yes. We [humans] have a much greater dynamic range (ability to see both very bright and very dark at the same time) than cameras do. This can make it difficult to capture paint work at times, particularly sunlight, surface scratches, reflections, etc.

You and Zach (great minds) think alike in how you describe that (he sent me a very informative PM). I think I need to look into Adobe Lightroom and learn what it is capable of. Sounds like a great winter project when I'm away from detailing!
 
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