Challenging Range Rover

richy

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This vehicle belongs to my dentist whom had bought it used. I really wanted to make sure I didn't screw it up, so as to have pain-free visits in the future!!:D What I found challenging about this vehicle, was the paint hardness. The vehicle had never been detailed and had been run through a lot of car washes, so it had scratches on every panel...and what a big beast it is. Always wanting to start with the least aggresive method, I started with SIP and an orange pad with my rotary. That combo was not correcting very quickly at all, and in fact, the paint kept getting hot. I had my usual refrigerated H2O spray bottle with me to keep the temp under control. I then tried a green pad thinking it would generate less heat. It did, but not much. It was taking a long time to do the job..longer than I thought it should. The SIP was working and finished to a gloss. I had thought to myself that if the foam was generating this much heat, what would the wool do? How much hotter would it get? After doing most of the car this way, I tried my wool pad with my fixed speed (2300 rpm) rotary on a particularly difficult scratch. Lo and behold, with the wool, the paint corrected quickly and beautifully. Lesson learned here was I should have tried this first after my initial attempts with the orange pad. So my motto is now ''EMBRACE THE SHEEP!" :awesome: In the end, I cut my time by over an hour that I charged my clients, so they did not pay for needless time. However, I was still not satisfied with how it looked (thought I could do better) and then followed it with 106ff. That really brought out the gloss..it looked really good. But, I thought I could still improve the finish..out came the RMG. NOW it looked like it should..my perpetual goal for a black car..a wet, black mirror! In the end, I was very satisfied with the result. The clients said it looked better than it did when they took delivery of it. On to the process:

1st Up:
Wheels detailed with OTC products (ARO just arrived) (badly caked brake dust)
Tires and wells done with Fanatastic
Wash
Clay entire surface including glass
Multiple treatment of touch up paint (base/clear)
wet sand touched up areas to flatten out
SIP with orange and/or green pad (all buffing done with rotaries)
wool pad with SIP
106ff with blue pad
RMG with gray pad
FMJ applied/removed by hand
Collintite applied/removed by hand
XMT 360 on wheels followed by FMJ
Tires dressed with Megs Endurance

Interior:
woolite/H2O 1:10 to clean int surfaces
303 treated on int surfaces incl leather
door jams with woolite mixture then done with 303 (try that if you haven't-nice shine to it)
carpet mats shampoo'd
thorough vacuum
carpeting spot treated with Folex (including a nasty spot on passenger side that came right out..love that stuff, just bought a gallon of it)
glass with IG

Total time: over 14 hours, charged 13 hours

BEFORES:
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AFTERS:
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MY SIGNATURE SHOT:
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Beautiful work. What did you use on all of that exterior trim? Looks good.
 
Surprises me people will pay all that money for a vehicle and then cut corners on maintaining it... You did very well with the time they gave you! Black is such a joy to work with, nice that they have you to keep it looking good!
I wish people that buy black vehicles could appreciate the hard work detailers put into them.... but heck thats why I hate white cars they are no fun!
 
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Jimmie said:
Beautiful work. What did you use on all of that exterior trim? Looks good.

Thanks Jimmie! I used Mothers Back to Black on most and 303 on some else. I don't recommend the Mothers..the AG black again i think is way better.

Meghan said:
Surprises me people will pay all that money for a vehicle and then cut corners on maintaining it... You did very well with the time they gave you! Black is such a joy to work with, nice that they have you to keep it looking good!
I wish people that buy black vehicles could appreciate the hard work detailers put into them.... but heck thats why I hate white cars they are no fun!

Meghan, thanks very much. I love a challenge and black is my favourite colour. I find it rewarding to see a big difference in the end.
 
Very nice work! It a shame that a car like that was in so bad shape! Good that you got it nice again!! Nice house ;)
 
Wow looking good! I bet he was really happy, and you won't have any painful visits :D. Did you let ARO dwell on the wheels? If so, how long? Did you agitate as well? Sorry for the questions, I'm curious about this stuff :)
 
klumzypinoy said:
Wow looking good! I bet he was really happy, and you won't have any painful visits :D. Did you let ARO dwell on the wheels? If so, how long? Did you agitate as well? Sorry for the questions, I'm curious about this stuff :)

Klum..my ARO arrived yesterday..haven't used it yet. I used Fantastic (cut 50%) on the tires and wells. I agitated the tires and as much as I could reach on the wells. I blasted it off with the power washer.
 
pirex said:
Very nice work! It a shame that a car like that was in so bad shape! Good that you got it nice again!! Nice house ;)

Pirex..thanks and thanks:)
 
Very nice job there richy, glad to hear Menzerna came through for you as for wool pads they are the BOMB to use. I have a few sets of them, the advantage with wool pads are they cut/correct and finish off really well, less heat build up and much faster. Definetly worth investing on some good wool pads for those tough jobs.

The vehicle looks incredable though, I'm curious though. Could you ilaborate on the touch up. I'm curious to hear how you use do it, I use a three step system when ever I do any touch up paint and I'd love to hear how you do it.

Thank you for sharing buddy, you did a wicked job :righton:
 
Really nice work there! That Rover looks great! Love the signature shot!
I would like to know your touch up paint method too!
 
most people dont take care of there cars mostly because there leased so they dont give a crap. its sad:confused: my brothere leased a car for 3 years and only changed the oil once:p
 
Nica said:
Very nice job there richy, glad to hear Menzerna came through for you as for wool pads they are the BOMB to use. I have a few sets of them, the advantage with wool pads are they cut/correct and finish off really well, less heat build up and much faster. Definetly worth investing on some good wool pads for those tough jobs.

The vehicle looks incredable though, I'm curious though. Could you ilaborate on the touch up. I'm curious to hear how you use do it, I use a three step system when ever I do any touch up paint and I'd love to hear how you do it.

Thank you for sharing buddy, you did a wicked job :righton:
Carlos..Thanks for the compliment. I passed on my experience hoping others could learn from it..I know I have! Did you like my "EMBRACE THE SHEEP" comment? I know I have a weird sense of humour..comes with the job I think! As for the touch up process I use..I first apply the base coat lightly ..just enough to get the colour uniform. Then I let it dry..usually up to an hour. Then I apply a dab of clear and let it dry. (This is for the newer style of touch up pens that have colour on one end and clear on the other.) I then apply more clear when it has dried so it is above the level of the paint around it. I usually do this at night as the last thing I do and let it dry overnight. The next morning I wetsand the area flat. The spot all but disappears on solid colours. Metallic paints are harder to conceal as the base is never the same with the flake content and how it flows, but it's still pretty good.

alban61 said:
Really nice work there! That Rover looks great! Love the signature shot!
I would like to know your touch up paint method too!
Alban..Thanks for the compliment..see above for the method.

trhland said:
most people dont take care of there cars mostly because there leased so they dont give a crap. its sad:confused: my brothere leased a car for 3 years and only changed the oil once:p
Trhland..these people owned this car..most people don't really know or want to take the time to do it. At least they care enough to periodically send it to someone who can vastly improve it for them. I usually give some cleaning and care advice when I am going over the car with them.

Tonya said:
WOW Great job! Love the signature shot!
Tonya..thanks a lot! That shot has become how I judge the outcome of the reflection..don't know what I'll do in the winter..guess it'll have to be in the garage, LOL.
 
Thanks for the info richy, oh and as for "EMBRACE THE SHEEP" couldn't help but laugh buddy :D :D :D

Always enjoy hearing others methods/opinions as that's the best way to learn.
 
Nica said:
Thanks for the info richy, oh and as for "EMBRACE THE SHEEP" couldn't help but laugh buddy :D :D :D

Always enjoy hearing others methods/opinions as that's the best way to learn.

What's your method for touch up?
 
Well I use a three step system. My friend that owns his own paint shop gave it to me. First I use a cleaner that prepares the chip for the paint. Then I use a fine tip brush to apply touch-up paint, the fine tip brush I picked up at a craft store. Last I apply the clear coat and wet sand as required.

I've used it on a few vehicles now and it seems to be working really good. I can't remember the name of the stuff my friend gave me but it works really good. It's like the LANGKA Complete Paint Chip Repair Kit, just not sure if it's the same thing. The bottles I got are not labeled.
 
Very Nice Richy !! I know that one was tough, but you did a great job transforming it back to showroom quality.
 
ehuth1 said:
Very Nice Richy !! I know that one was tough, but you did a great job transforming it back to showroom quality.

Thanks a bunch!
 
Great job , but what i like to no how long was your process !!!
 
richy said:
Thanks a bunch!

Ah an Ontario plate, that's great! I don't find too many detailers in Ontario that frequent AG. Great work on it, what kind of Fantastik did you use and what kind of OTC stuff did you use? Because it seemed to turn around great and if you used it, it will probably be available to myself.

I tried using Simioniz APC (orange scent). It doesn't say dilute it, but I did anyway because the fumes were really strong.
 
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