2008 Hyundai Sonata - First "real" Job

**landshark** · 05-29-2012, 07:28 PM

A little back-story: years and years (and YEARS

) ago, I had a small, un-official mobile detailing business (talking high school years). I had a lot of clients and made excellent money. Fast-forward about 20 years and I started to get back into really taking good care of my cars. I explored the better products and bought myself a PC 7336 (actually marketed as a sander back then). I got into claying, polishing, swirl removal, etc. After a while, I grew tired of that and didn`t do much detailing.

The past couple of years I`ve regained an interest in taking better care of our vehicles (2011 Subaru Outback, 2004 Toyota Echo, 2006 BMW R1200RT). I found this forum and Autopia. I`ve practiced on my own cars and stocked up on some of the best products available. Our cars look great - the paint looks glossy and deep, is super-smooth and is free of RIDs. The LSP goes a long way through our Michigan climate (Collinite 845 is still beading on the outdoor-parked Outback from last September).

Recently, a buddy`s girlfriend had a birthday. My wife and I were CLUELESS as to what to get her. I thought about a free detailing. My wife, a paper-crafter, made her an excellent gift certificate. She loved it! She said that her car "really needed it too."

This past weekend our schedules were clear so we arranged for her to drop off the car. Keep in mind, I`d never seen this car so I didn`t know what to expect. I apologize, but I don`t have any before shots of the exterior. It was really cloudy and rainy (storming, actually), and to be honest, it looked like any old 2008 silver Sonata. I was quite surprised to find pretty smooth paint. The only problem areas where the hubcaps, some road tar and dull plastic trim. There were some deep scratches on the hood and trunk which I could only hope to minimize. I`m not up to speed on wet sanding...yet

BEFORE:

We set off on the job with a wash. The car was pretty clean. It got stripped with Dawn. I treated the entire car with Iron-X. The hubcaps were covered in brake dust. I broke out the Megs D-101. It didn`t even touch it! I was starting to panic but then I tried the Iron-X. It ate away ALL of the yucky black brake dust! I did a quick cleaning of the engine with a pressure wash and D-101 (sorry again, no pics)

Drying the car, we opened up the hood, doors and trunk to dry the door jambs. I was disgusted when I found this in the trunk:

YUCK! A lot of careful work with the pressure washer was needed, plus the APC and brushes got a workout. Not only did we have to contend with the leaves and debris, but the staining and goo left behind. Not fun!

Next, we clayed the paint with Pinnacle Ultra-Poly. No real issues there. It went quickly. For the most part, the paint was treated with Poorboys Polish with Carnuba. I didn`t want to be too into this car, both time-wise and money. However, those bad scratches mentioned above were too much for me to ignore. Those were attacked with M-105 and a yellow pad. Not great, but a lot better, I think:

Next up was the interior...a real challenge! The seats were mottled with stains, spills, and debris embedded in the stitching. The carpet...well, see for yourself. Gross! In addition, the interior was quite dusty.

My wife and I tag-teamed the interior. She spot-treated the carpet while I shampooed and rinsed the upholstery with our LGM and Megs D-101. The carpet got the APC full-strength while the seats got a diluted mixture. I gotta say, the LGM got a real workout...for $89, it really saved us a ton of time and headaches. It rocked!

AFTER:

My wife did all of the detail work - cleaning the vents, switches, console. Our friend had left little parts all over the car too: plastic fasteners for the dead pedal, bulb housing covers in the trunk and the right front passenger grab handle was in the console with only one screw for it. I sourced a replacement screw and reinstalled it. I also reinstalled all of the loose and missing covers...people really notice that stuff. Heck, I even found an ancient cell phone jammed between the rear seat cushions!

We finished up with a thorough vacuuming, washed all of the windows, moon roof and moon roof channel, dressed the tires and exterior plastic trim.

All in all, I think it came out great. Our friend was shocked and said that she should put the car up for sale because it`s in better condition now than when she bought it! So, I think I`ve gained a new client. She`s a realtor so maybe word-of-mouth will bring some more business my way.

I really have to thank my wife for helping me this job. We spent a good 15 hours on this car and she was working with me the whole time. I had to coach her on a few things but she didn`t give up until the stains were gone and the interior was perfect. She admitted that her favorite part was the claying

Thanks Honey!

Today, my fingers wrists and back are killing me. It was worth it though. The results are quite satisfying and it`s a complete 180 from my regular job...pretty stress relieving as I can just concentrate on the task and see it through to the end. Thanks too have to go out to the great folks here that lend their suggestions on techniques and products, and Autopia for the source of the tools of the trade

I think my next job is a 2010 Camry LE. I`ll be sure to document that one with better pictures. Thanks for reading!