Detail - 2006 Black CTS-V Heavy Swirl Correction

FinalTouchAuto said:
Trunk



Roof Reflection








Hood Swirls with swirlfinder. You Couldn't even see these when the sun was hitting it.

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I'm assuming this photo was taken outside? I'm surprised the brinkmann could reveal swirls when not being used indoors.
 
Yes, it was outside. It took about 5 minutes to get that picture. You literally couldn't even see the swirls in that area under the sun for the most part...you had to be in JUST the right area. For some reason the Brinkman was bringing it out better than the sun...which was about the first time that ever happened to me.

The only reason I did it was to show him a picture of it under that type of lighting so that if he got into a parking garage or a parking lot with that type of overhead lighting he wouldn't be scared seeing a couple light swirls in the paint. I don't like to hide anything or use camera tricks to show more improvement than was actually made to the customer. I'm always pretty forward with the amount of correction I get and try to get the WORST picture possible after a detail so that they're never shocked :P

For a 4.5 y/o daily driven black CTS-V on Houston Freeways I was happy with the level of correction it gave me. If he had been willing to pay for another few hours of work I could've brought it down a bit better, but we were both pleased with the results after the agreed upon work.
 
Looks great, I am a big Sur-buff fan after using it on a Vette last month
 
FinalTouchAuto said:
Yes, it was outside. It took about 5 minutes to get that picture. You literally couldn't even see the swirls in that area under the sun for the most part...you had to be in JUST the right area. For some reason the Brinkman was bringing it out better than the sun...which was about the first time that ever happened to me.

The only reason I did it was to show him a picture of it under that type of lighting so that if he got into a parking garage or a parking lot with that type of overhead lighting he wouldn't be scared seeing a couple light swirls in the paint. I don't like to hide anything or use camera tricks to show more improvement than was actually made to the customer. I'm always pretty forward with the amount of correction I get and try to get the WORST picture possible after a detail so that they're never shocked :P

For a 4.5 y/o daily driven black CTS-V on Houston Freeways I was happy with the level of correction it gave me. If he had been willing to pay for another few hours of work I could've brought it down a bit better, but we were both pleased with the results after the agreed upon work.
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Car looks great, Shawn, and that's very cool about being up front with the customer.
 
FinalTouchAuto said:
This car was easily the most frustrating car I have worked on. I brought 5 different polishes and 6 different pads and tried countless combinations attempting to get the best results.

The car is a 4.5 year old daily driver and had the swirls to show it, but the owner was ready to get it cleaned up and start as fresh as possible. After 8 hours it looked like a different car and the owner was certainly happy.

The process involved:

Full wash with CG Citrus Wash n Gloss with Autogeek Foamgun
Wheels were cleaned with CG Wheel Cleaner
Claymagic Claybar on all exterior surfaces
Polished entire car with M105 Compound on Flex DA with Yellow and Orange pads at speed 6
Finishing polish included D151, M205 and CG P40 Pro Polish on white and black pads at speed 5-6
CG Buttery Wet Wax was used to seal the finish and was applied via Flex on a blue pad at speed 3
Full wipedown with CG Acryllic Detail Spray
All exterior trim and wheel wells were dressed with CG Bare Bones
Tires were dressed with CG VRP Dressing

Interior was vacuumed and received a full wipedown


Hood after M105, M205, P40 Pro Polish and Buttery Wet Wax

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The clarity of these shots are nothing less than amazing!

You must really have your technique down, because I seriously doubt that I would get all that work done in 8 hours. I would estimate 11-12 hours for me. Am I slow?

Superb work all around.

Did you use the D151 and the M205 on the entire car, or just for certain parts of the car? Which did you use first, the D151 or the M205?
 
FinalTouchAuto said:
Yes, it was outside. It took about 5 minutes to get that picture. You literally couldn't even see the swirls in that area under the sun for the most part...you had to be in JUST the right area. For some reason the Brinkman was bringing it out better than the sun...which was about the first time that ever happened to me.

The only reason I did it was to show him a picture of it under that type of lighting so that if he got into a parking garage or a parking lot with that type of overhead lighting he wouldn't be scared seeing a couple light swirls in the paint. I don't like to hide anything or use camera tricks to show more improvement than was actually made to the customer. I'm always pretty forward with the amount of correction I get and try to get the WORST picture possible after a detail so that they're never shocked :P

For a 4.5 y/o daily driven black CTS-V on Houston Freeways I was happy with the level of correction it gave me. If he had been willing to pay for another few hours of work I could've brought it down a bit better, but we were both pleased with the results after the agreed upon work.
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Was this picture on the hood? Just curious. Again, great job! :props:
 
Rob T said:
Good, because to be honest, in looking closer at what he did, I don't think 12 hours would be enough time for me.
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It takes me 2 days for a 2 or 3 step polish. I don't think that's an abnormal time frame, it's just some people can work really fast and still get great results.
 
07 z-oh-6 said:
It takes me 2 days for a 2 or 3 step polish. I don't think that's an abnormal time frame, it's just some people can work really fast and still get great results.
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Thanks Mark, that's more like it. I feel better now. :D
 
Ha, I'll try to answer several of the questions here.

First of all, I work RELENTLESSLY when I'm detailing. I mean...I get out of breath at the pace I work. I could have easily made this a 10 hour detail...EASILY. I don't stop at all for food or anything. I eat a big breakfast and then hit it until I'm done maybe snacking on an energy bar or something. I also want to point out that I just do a VERY VERY basic interior cleaning...basic vacuum and wipedown just to clean it up...most all of my time is focused on exterior work because that's what my clients are looking for. I just don't like leaving an interior dirty; you need to feel good about your car when you get in it.

I did not use D151 on the entire car. D151 was used on the trunk because afer M105 the M205 was not cleaning it up enough and the SLIGHT extra bite of D151 was taking it to a better level and then I finished it off with M205. That was the only section that I used D151.

Like I said in a previous post up there, the only spots that got P40 Pro Polish were the hood and two front doors. It's somewhat hard to tell, but on that side shot that you quoted you can tell that the front door has a bit more clarity than the back door. He didn't pay for three-step polish, but I did a quick P40 application on these areas because they are seen the most when entering/exiting the car and approaching it...and he's a relative of a customer I had a great experience with.

Overall, even though I used several polishes, the car got basically a two-step polish. I just used different polishes in different areas to try and maximize the results of only a two-step polish process.

Finally, yes, that last picture is on the hood in a section that wouldn't quite correct all the way. About 3/4 of the hood was as flawless as you could hope a 4.5 year old daily driver to get without going at it with wet sanding steps, but the upper right hand corner was more of a trouble spot. The really good hood reflection shots are of the lower left area, which turned out the best.
 
Thanks for the follow up Shawn. And...

:bowdown:
 
Super impressive...I need some better work lights and practice with the before photos. It's like a mirror when you're done with it!
 
Its guys like you that motivate us and want to do the kind of work you did. Great job..I know it was alot of work..but there is no substitute for a happy car owner when they get their baby back. Keep up the good work!!
 
Great Job! I love working on Black cars and it helps it's a cool car on top of that. I like they are "Sooner" fans... ;P
 
Superdutytd said:
Wow 8 hours is impressive. You must have been flying.
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Apparently I need to start quoting longer work times and charge a few more bucks, ha ha :)

gidiup01 said:
Super impressive...I need some better work lights and practice with the before photos. It's like a mirror when you're done with it!
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My entire lighting setup was only ~55 bucks. 30 dollars for the 1000w halogens from Home Depot and 23 bucks for the Brinkman Dual Xenon "swirlfinder" at Academy (local sporting goods store...not sure your location or if you have them)

"Before" shots are what it's all about. Anyone can show nice after shots, but you don't have an appreciation of it unless you see where it came from.

I also make a habit to take good before/after shots so that I can show the owner just how much change really took place. I take at least 50 pictures of every detail (none of which are just pictures of dirt and grime...all cars get that and it's just a matter of washing it off; nothing impressive there, lol).

bimmer325! said:
Its guys like you that motivate us and want to do the kind of work you did.
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That's the best compliment I've received since I've been detailing...thanks a lot :dblthumb2:

soonermike said:
Great Job! I love working on Black cars and it helps it's a cool car on top of that. I like they are "Sooner" fans... ;P
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Black cars keep detailers in business :)
 
Good work, Shawn! After working on a few of these, I can definitely relate to your frustration finishing down on them ;) I took Ultrafina to an entire CTS-V we did recently after we found some trails during the final wash. It was driving me mad! M205 on black still left some slight haze under the right light. But there was no way to correct without using multiple passes of M105! So the worst of both worlds :)

You made the car look amazingly reflective and glossy! Well done, sir!
 
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