Black 1990 Skyline GTR get a showcar detailing!

[cobraa]

Due to the limitation of 30 images per post, I will post my work in section/chapters!

ENJOY!!

This week-end, I had the chance to work on a beautiful Skyline GTR. My goal was to put it back to its SHOWROOM condition. Time and money was not a restreint for me, the goal was to achieve a 99% correction on it.I'm very proud to show you the result on this JDM godness!

Before :

Hard to see, but there are some holograms due to the tiny swirls on the paint.

Wheel well needs detailing!

Contaminants on windows

Bournish tires!

CHAPTER 1 : WASHING

2 bucket method

Real sheapskin mitt
Meguiars Shampoo +
Distilled water to avoid water spot
MF Drying towel
Air compressor with rubber tips for cracks/molding/mirror etc.
Meguiar’s APC+ 4:1
Ultra soft brush
E-Z mini Wheel brush

Did you really think I'd forget the gas door!

Usually it’s Difficult to wash tight corner on wing, not with this brush!

Drying the various crack and blowing all the debris stuck between, You’d be surprise by how much dirt a air compressor can lift from molding!

Very important to have a rubber tip to avoid scratching the paint!

See how clean one bucket is and the other is turning dark!? After I dipped my mitt in the bucket on the right, I dip it in the left bucket where there's barely any grimes so I'm less likely to scratch my paint.

CHAPTER 2: Clay bar



This clay bar is ideal for removing paint overspray, tar, sap, road grimes and other contaminants that do not come off whith a regular wash. Rims, paint, windows, everything was clayed!


Product:
'Poorboys spray and wipe as a clay lube. Make the clay glide and smell good!

Riccardo blue clay bar

Not that bad seriously!

Not a lot of debris on windows but still, It had to be done!

 

[cobraa]

CHAPTER 3 : PREPPING.

3M masking tape
Defelsko Positest DFT Combo Paint gauge


The preparation consists in taping trims, plastic, badges and any other thing that could be damaged by the polisher. Then, I take many measures on the paint to see how thick it is so I know what kind of correction I will be doing.

Paint is in EXCELLENT SHAPE with lot of thickness and ready for a full correction.( I actually took like 50 measurements but one pic will do!)

Chapter 4: CORRECTION

product:

Makita 9227 rotary polisher
Poorboy’s SSR3 | Yellow LC CCS pad
Poorboy’s SSR2.5 | Orange LC CCS pad
Wolfgang TSR3.0 | Green coarse LC CCS pad
Wolfgang TSR3.0 | White LC CCS pad
Wolfgang FG 3.0 | Blue LC CCS pad
Chemical Guys apron micro-fiber to avoid scratching the paint will working on hood and roof.
DP pad conditioner (man that stuff last for years! Really help the polishing process)
The pad cleaner ( just read what M. Phillips has to say about this item, he’s always saying you need very clean pad to work with! Well this tool does a great job at cleaning them on the fly )
2x 250w spot light to inspect work
Brinkmann DUAL pivot LED to inspect holograms
Wolfgang twin applicator pad for polishing under the wing.
Plenty of Microfibers ( do I really have to name it lol !?)

Before starting any correction on the paint, you have to do a test spot to make sure that the correction you are about to do is safe, doesn't create haze, have the correction you want.


Here's an exemple of a square test spot

Now, here’s a 50/50 shot.

Before :

After :

Before: Rear fender

HÉHÉ tadam!:

Now, that I know my combination is good, I can start working my compound!

Here's an exemple where the WG applicator comes really handy and show what *detailing* is all about. I couldn't leave a big spot like this uncorrected. I had to do it even if you barely see it.

See the circular marks on the right? My pad must have been too caked of polish and needed to get a few spritz of pad conditionner and the orange tool to clean my pad. Obviously, I redid my section to make sure I didn't create any marks.

Here’s a video I made showing how the tool works: Excellent when you are on the road.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzBP8ohfWRo]YouTube - MOV01361[/video]

Here's some after-shot after my 5 compounding passes!

 

[cobraa]

Chapter 5 : Wheels

Product:
Wolfgang hand applicator for applying sealant.
Poorboys SSR3 | Orange 4' LC flat pad
Poorboys SSR2 | White 4' LC CCS pad
Pad conditionner
1x Klasse sealant
2x Poorboys Wheel sealant
1x Collonite 476 wax
3 coat of 303 protectant on the tire.




Here's how you can find out if your wheel has a clear coat or not: if your metal polish remains white after buffing, your wheels are clear coated. This means that I can polish them using paint compound.

Some imperfections:

After: No more scratches! I actually tried to take pictures of them but I couldn’t see any and I had to move the car so, I couldn’t remember where the scratches were lol. Sorry!

Chapter 6: Polishing plastics and windows

Meguiar’s Plastic polish: that stuff works very well on any plastic. An excellent AIO, removes swirls too but for bigger corrections, you should use a compound prior
Duragloss Glass polish: It’s very liquid, so don’t apply a lot or else you will have to buff your paint!!
3.5 inch white LC CCS PAD
Pad conditioner: Just a little spray; else the glass polish will splash everywhere; it’s very liquid
AQUAPEL
AG drill adaptor




Polishing the taillights using my drill adaptor and a plastic polish:

It's really hard to show what a window’s polishing does but it removes all contaminants and leaves the glass smoother. After applying AQUAPEL rain repellent to the glass, the water will bleed crazy time and glass will be protected for the next 6 months.

Chapter 7: Engine compartment.

Tons of sandpaper:
For the twin turbo piping:
150
220
320
400
WET 400
WET 600
WET 800
WET 1000 Unigrit
WET 1500 Unigrit
WET 2000 Unigrit

For the engine cover, I started at 600 dry.


1HP grinder with a polishing wheel
Metal compound (green bar and red bar)
Duragloss Metal polish
Poorboys Wheel sealant
Tons of Microfiber not to scratch my freshly polished metal (man that stuff scratches more easily than a clear coat!)
Paint thinner
Brake cleaner
Steel wool #0000



Rear strut bar (before):

After: ( I started at 1000 wet, to finish at 2000 wet and then 0000 steel wool + metal polish)

Before: This was the condition of the twin turbo pipe when I got it.

Here's how the motor was last summer, the aluminum cover was not polished.

Now it's finally polished; but still dirty!

After: Keep in mind this engine is 20yr old, so even if I keep scrubbing like crazy, those stains don’t seem like they want to go.

Another small thing I polished: this is the mounting for the rad.
Before on the left and after on the right.

Hey guys, I'm sure you were like: ''hey dude, you are not done, you forgot the gaz tank under the car!'' HAHA, you guys don't know me well then! Ultra-look opti-flash II has been applied everywhere underneath the car.

 

[cobraa]

Chapter 8: Final result: the skyline GTR like it was meant to be in 1990!

Clay bar
5 polishing and compound passes
2 coats of Menzerna Powerlock sealant at a12 hour interval
3 coats of Pinnacle souveran
3 coats of 303 protectant
Aquapel
Etc. etc.

For the wheels:
1 coat of Klasse sealant
2 coats of PB Wheel sealant
1 coat of collonite 476 wax

 

[cobraa]

Here’s another set of pictures three weeks later:

Here's the car at the recent CAD SHOW in Québec. the car finished 2nd in both ‘best skyline’ and ‘best Nissan’ categories .

Here’s my own personal set of pictures 12 hours after the CAD SHOW :

On top of everything that was there 3 weeks ago,

I gave 2 coats of Menzerna Finishing glaze with a Wolfgang black applicator;
Another 3 coats of Pinnacle Souveran;
1 coat of Poorboy’s QD+ to remove any dust and give it an incredible slickness!
1 coat of PB Wheel sealant.

I really don’t think it’s possible to make it look wetter than this!

Here’s 2 money shots hehe:

Video of the sheeting action after all those LSP applied:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHWNlDE3Knw]YouTube - MOV01105[/video]

Finally, this is some pictures of how I manage to put everything clean ( well, I try!) and I almost used all these products on the shelf. Some products are not there, like my grinder for polishing metal (too big, it’s mounted on my working table).

Yeah Yeah, I’m ballin with my 700$ PTG haha.

Here’s my little invention to dry my pad : I took some Velcro I have at my upholstery shop. This Velcro have a double side tape, so I took like 3 meters long and stick it on one of my wood pillar in my basement. Pad stick very well and they dry very well. I have no problem with backing sticking out because all the water got stock between the foam and backing!

That it, Hope you enjoy it and that it was fun to read!

See ya,
Dan

 

[gibbsj87]

Great work.. love that car!

 

[Harleyguy]

Very nice write and turn around thanks for sharing

 

[TheGLL]

WOW great job there and :dblthumb2: for the write-up!

 

[2kredbb6]

The Skyline GODS have made you a Savior..:dblthumb2:

 

[kronos]

Awesome job! That is not a detail, that is a restoration! Very very nice.

 

[jlb85]

Yes! Great restoration! The car, the color, the outcome, all beautiful

 

[cobraa]

Maybe I should have used the terms restoration instead of showcar detailing. hihi.

 

[CEE DOG]

Excellent work! Love the writeup!

 

[RaskyR1]

Excellent work and very thorough write up too! rops:


LOL, That wasn't "The Claws" Skyline was it?

 

[cobraa]

Excellent work and very thorough write up too! rops:


LOL, That wasn't "The Claws" Skyline was it?

I don't know what your are talking about, so I guess my answer would be no lol..

 

[Rsurfer]

Very nice. Very detailed. Might I add that holograms are not caused by swrils. Where's the grit guard in your rinse bucket. Just needling you (hope you take it well) Wish I had 238 mic of clear, down to around 110 so no more compounding. Again, you did an awesome job.

 

[RaskyR1]

I don't know what your are talking about, so I guess my answer would be no lol..

LOL, if you Google "The claw Skyline" you'll know what I mean!

It has to do with a stolen Skyline.

 

[cobraa]

Very nice. Very detailed. Might I add that holograms are not caused by swrils. Where's the grit guard in your rinse bucket. Just needling you (hope you take it well) Wish I had 238 mic of clear, down to around 110 so no more compounding. Again, you did an awesome job.

Seriously, I can afford to have 2 grit guard, I just don't think it work. IMO, it's only gimmick.

When you have tiny swirls ( not a lot) IMO it shows even more than a car with lot of swirls. Hope you know what I meant to say haha!:xyxthumbs:

 

[Rsurfer]

Seriously, I can afford to have 2 grit guard, I just don't think it work. IMO, it's only gimmick.

When you have tiny swirls ( not a lot) IMO it shows even more than a car with lot of swirls. Hope you know what I meant to say haha!:xyxthumbs:

I beleive the grit guard works as I can see grit on the bottom of my rinse bucket. I know what you mean about swirls, but the fact remains that holograms are not caused by swrils. It's caused by buffing with a wool pad on a rotary.

 

[Reddwarf]

Absolutely stunning! What a tremendous amount of work you put in, but it really paid off.