2005 TL: "My son took the snow off with a steel shovel"

[G35stilez]

I thought the same thing...


I went and visited mgm2003 this weekend in Delaware. It was more of a leisure and post college planning visit, but he asked for my help on his friend's TL. It's a 2005 that hasn't been cared for well. He had to run inside for something and while doing so his young son decided to clear the snow off his TL with a steel snow shovel. John attached only 3 pictures when I heard about this but upon further review, this thing was cut up bad.

The hood, I was almost sure, would need a respray. He really took the paint with him on there. The fenders were both bruised nicely as were both the A-pillars, rear bumper, roof, and skirts. I didn't photograph every area as I wanted to get cracking on this one. I ended up touching up for about an hour straight! If I had to estimate, there were well over 50 R.I.D.S. and the ones on the hood were far longer than 6 inches.

The rest of the vehicle wasn't too bad. The clay picked up a lot of junk on the rear bumper and was rather normal for the rest of the vehicle. All in all, not an Autopian owner . Here's what we did:


Cleaning
-Optimum Wash with vinegar pre-soak
-Optimum Clay
-Poorboy's Spray and Rinse on wheels
-Optimum APC on tires/wells
-Flitz on exhaust
-Natural Look on wells/tires


Scratches
-PrepSol wipedown on all scratches
-Touch up each scratch very gently with enough paint to allow a "blob"
-Allow to dry for 60-90 minutes in heated garage
-Sand with variations between 1000>2400 grit papers (3m and Micromesh)
-Menzerna Powergloss via rotary and LC Foamed Wool Cutting Pad @ 1500-1700 rpm x 2-5

These steps took about 3 hours in total



Polishing and Protecting
-Menzerna Final Polish II via PC @ 5 on vertical surfaces (John polishing)
-Menzerna Final Polish II via rotary and LC Finishing Pad @ 1500 rpm on horizontal surfaces (me polishing)
-IPA wipedown
-Z5 on paint, wheels, windows, and tailpipes
-Z8 final wipedown



Before



Before :down


After



Before


After



Before


After



After polishing





After Zaino





A critic





I want to thank John for this opportunity. While it was a lot of work, it was great practice for touching up and sanding. I became very confident over the course of this detail. On portions of the hood, I Powerglossed 4-5 times. The owner wanted it good enough that the dealer wouldn't notice when he turned it in for a lease. I'd say the scratches were 90% as new. You could see minor scarring on some spots of the hood but only up close and under certain lighting.


Questions/Comments, feel free.

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[MARTIN]

Questions/Comments, feel free.

WOW!! that´s a very nice work!

[Bigs]

OMG... The results came out great! Man I got a head ache now just thinking that would happen to me... Whoa...

Great work to bring it back!

[joyriide1113]

WOW! JUST FRIGGIN WOW!

you really have some skill and patience. amazing how u can make something that looked soo bad, look soo good again...

SHOWOFF!

my wetsanding jobs look soo mediocre i try not to do them.

[agentxc_02]

don't feel bad!!
I did the exact same thing when i was younger. It was after we got a big snow. I decide to clear the snow off our silver honda civic hatchback and i regret it to this day. Darn my younger years. All I can say we all make mistakes.

[cwcad]

This is a classic. What a wonderful procedure. I could of said process but chose procedure because this was an operation of talent and expertise.

You have truly honed your skills as a detailer. Something that you should be as proud of as I am in awe of your work. This a Hall of Fame type post. if there is such a thing on this forum!!

Interesting choice of pads with FPll after using the rotary and Powergloss. I would have use a more aggressive pad but I am not any where in your league as far as detailing expertise is concerned. Having used Powergloss on other vehicles I needed IP as well as FPll to complete the look.

[Jngrbrdman]

Very nice work. What would you charge for that job? I'm finally getting to the point with my touch up skills that I feel comfortable offering it when I see an opportunity. I don't know what to charge on it since it is a lot of work and takes some time.

[jaybs02]

Great Job Sean.
The guy must be thrilled, and I'm sure that you saved his plenty of money with that

"J"

[G35stilez]

Thanks folks .

cwcad: The foamed wool pad from LC finishes cleaner than standard wool, but cuts just as hard. I like it a lot and saves a step of polishing .

Jngrbrdman: I would normally charge $30-40/hour for standard procedure detailing and $50/hour for touching up/wetsanding work. For the same vehicle all over again, the price for the exterior alone would be about $300...Add another $50 for the interior. I think $50/hour is fair if you are really putting your time/effort into making sure the owner doesn't need to repaint.

[05SilverTRD]

That is freakin amazing. I am very impressed with that.

[C. Charles Hahn]

Oh wow.... nicely done! I've always said, the darker the color, the harder to match the touch-up; I'm impressed!

[SilverLexus]

Superb job Sean. Looks like it just got painted.

[Anthony A]

Originally Posted by Shiny Lil Detlr

Oh wow.... nicely done! I've always said, the darker the color, the harder to match the touch-up; I'm impressed!

I have found the opposite. I find silver metallic to be the hardest. Every time I get the chip filled and looking good, as far as color match, I have to wet sand to level the blob and the color is totally off after that.


Sean very nice work. How do you get away with wet sanding so quickly after applying touch up paint? Is there a special quick drying paint that you use?

[Anthony A]

Originally Posted by GSRstilez

I ended up touching up for about an hour straight! If I had to estimate, there were well over 50 R.I.D.S. and the ones on the hood were far longer than 6 inches.


I'd say the scratches were 90% as new. You could see minor scarring on some spots of the hood but only up close and under certain lighting.


Questions/Comments, feel free.

I could easily spend an hour or more on one little chip. By the time I prep, apply touch up paint, let it dry and apply some more untill there is a blob, than wet sand or Lanka it would take more than an hour. It takes hours for the paint to dry never mind the sanding step. What am I missing here?

[GregCavi]

Amazing!! Wanna fly up to MN this spring and touch up a couple chips for me? haha. Great Job!

Greg