Herro again MM,

Been quite busy the past two weeks and I finally have some time to sit down and do some write-ups. Here is an E92 M3 in Mineral White that I performed a one-step correction on. The paint was pretty easy to work with. The owner takes good care of the car and for a daily driver that is kept in a garage only a couple days out of the week....this one had me puzzled at the very very minimal swirling, chips and oxidation present. The owner also was concerned with the iron deposits on the rear area and lower panels- full decon with iron x was performed.

Onto the pics

Before:

Interior pretty well maintained:




Heavy dusting on the wheels:





Tips needed some attention




The interior was blown out via my compressor, vacuumed, Leatherique Rej. oil applied and removed with hot water- leather cleaned afterwards. All dash, interior trim etc. was cleaned and degreased and the mats were lightly cleaned and extracted.





The interior took only under 2 hours to complete.

On to the wash process- 2 bucket method- Sonax on the wheels agitated with My SV spoke brush, APC on the sidewalls and inner fenders. Some areas pre-sprayed with APC to loosen some stubborn dirt. Before this however IronX gel was applied and left to dwell for 10 or so minutes. Wash process was carried out with Lusso and two Lambs wool mitts- clayed directly after with a fine clay and ONR as lube. Blown dry and moved into the garage.





Gel doing its thing:



















Correctional Phase:

Light swirling and marring were present- Flex DA and PC DA used with various pad/plate sizes- Orange pad and Menzerna SIP used which removed around 90% of the defects- 100% achieved in most areas.
This color was REALLY challenging to get my SLR to pick up the fine-line defects....I tried my best guys!

Befores:












Small scratch that appears the dealership attempted to cover up with some touch up paint- wetsanded with 2000 grit



Afters:


































Interior


























LSP was two coats of CG JetSeal 109.

Thanks for looking!
- Dan

Hey all,

Spent close to 20 hours on this one over a two day period performing a full correction on my clients GTR. The car had some trouble areas where scuffs and marring were present- the car is driven several times a week and he has taken it on many trips including the recent GTR experience at Monticello close by here in NY.

Corrective materials and tools:
Flex DA
PC DA
Surbuf R- M105
Yellow foam- M105
Green foam- Sonax Perfect Finish- Thanks Todd C!
LSP- two coats of CG JetSeal 109- durability was important to client as the car is driven very regularly!

Onto the befores:

Heavy soil and dull finish noticeable right away


Defects under natural light








One of two scuffs found on body



Many bugs on the front end


Wheels were caked with heavy break dust- as were the brembo calipers



Massive exhaust tips were in much need of some help!


Lets get started


Motor before:



Thats funny.





The motor was gently brushed down with an SV brush, ONR / Megs APC and dressed carefully with 303 AEP


Thorough decon washed performed- Megs APC to pre-treat/ clean wells
- wash was performed with lambs wool mitts and CG citrus wash and clear/ Dawn mix to strip off old LSP

Sonax here breaking own the heavy dust



The car was dried and pulled into garage for a thorough clay with an Uber fine grade bar

Masked up and under the lights before correection
















50/50's after two passes with M105 Surbuf R then Yellow





Full after compounding


More 50/50's




Passenger side door defects





Rear area showed the heaviest damage- very easy area to correct and LARGE
Befores:







50/50 and afters


Under natural dim light- NOTICE the difference between left and right






DAY TWO:

After a thorough IPA wipedown it was time to finish down. Due to the softness of the GTR's paint, which is comparable to the Brilliant Black paint found on the GT2 RS that I take care of (much like BMW JB) I knew I was going to need a proper finishing polish that would not only be aggresive enough to remove the compounding haze left from M105/ Yellow foam and still be finish down properly without leaving very fine-line micro swirls. Out of all my correction materials (mostly the Menzerna line) I have not found a perfect finishing polish that finishes down 100% PERFECTLY and works well to my taste.....well, not until now.

After seeing a blog post by Todd C. of Esoteric featuring Sonax new Perfect Finish polish and how stellar it performed as a one-stepper while finishing down perfectly on soft dark paints (what is was designed for) I had to give it a try. The week before I had been up to my clients estate to perform basic mantenance washes on his collection, I took 15 to try it out on the GT2 RS and I was ecstatic as to how it performed!



I spent close to 5 hours going around the GTR with Perfect vinish via a Green foam pad and loved every second of it. Dusting was VERY minimal to nothing, quickly finished down around speeds 4.5 to 5 on the Flex and kept the surface very cool- wipe down was a breeze.

Before LSP app







Time for the finer points and wrap-up

Now that the main parts of the body were finished down and LSP ready I turned to the smaller areas-
In order of completion
- 2 stepped the A-pillars
- Corrected out the headlight lenses with Sonax Perfect Finish on an orange pad via PC
- Polishd the wheel faces (1 hr) via PC



Wheel faces before




Afters:




Random Afters



First coat of Sealant curing here


Meanwhile I took to finishing up the big Brembo calipers with several Q-tips (the long ones Docs use) soaked in APC to hit the tighters areas I missed with my SV brush.

The interior was vacuumed out, blown out with compressed air and wiped/brushed down with a boars hair brush and APC- glass cleaned in and out.

The exhaust tips had been de-ironized with Carpros ironx gel, hit with #0000 steel wool, hand polished with P21s polishing soap and then handpolished again with Megs all metal polish to bring them to perfection.

2 coats also going on the wheels of course as well


_____Afters______
























Motor after

Hey all,

Spent just under 15 hours on this F430 in Rosso Corsa- aim was a simple one-step correction with a target of around 65-75% correction- Client did not want to go all out- due to time constraints and the many other vehicles I will be working on for him soon.....it was a good choice.

Correctional work was done via my Flex DA and my PC- all on green Uber foam & correctional product was Sonax Perfect Finish- a newly developed product specifically developed for soft finishes- cuts very well and finishes down perfectly- so far it is embarrassing half of the Menzerna line which I carry! Thanks go again to Todd C. for the hookup.

Why I LOVE Perfect Finish- I achieved around 85-95% correction in just one step.

I first tried it on the Brilliant Black GT2RS I take care of and also more recently here on a black GTR- http://www.detailingbliss.com/forum/show...-shine.htm

Onto the befores:

Full decon wash performed with CG Citrus Wash and Clear/ Dawn mix

Motor was pretty clean however needed a thorough wipe down


Exhaust needed light attention


Sonax FE- the barrels needed it the most- agitated with SV wheel brush/ Uber Spoke brush








Dried, tons of micro marring and swirls- light improper machine use all over the car




Defects under the LED














After (One-step with Sonax Perfect Finish on green foam)










Before LSP








JetSeal 109 setting up


Layered around a half hour later with Petes 53 Black Pearl


The motor was wiped down and gone over a boars hair brush & ONR.

Calipers were also touched up with q-tips and ONR

The rear Diffuser was also wiped down with ONR and Dressed with 303 AP.

The interior was brushed with my SV brush/ wiped down with Megs APC 5:1

All seals were hit with 303, as were the wheel wells

Afters:













































































Thanks for looking!
- Dan K.

Hey all,

This black XK-R took me around 14 hours to finish- client had requested a full correction after initial inspection of the heavy amount of defects.

Correction was performed with my Flex DA/ PC DA, M105 via yellow foam and finished down with Sonax's Perfect Finish on green foam. Sealed with Menzerna Powerlock.

Correction level achieved was 95% and in most areas around 100%, other than a couple deep RIDS the clear was flawless afterwards

Befores:

Decon wash performed with CG citrus wash and clear/ Dawn mix- Sonax on the Asanti wheels- heavily soiled areas pre-sprayed with Megs APC @ 3:1





Beautiful Forged Asanti's, loved how they fit perfectly with the mesh grille/ painted hood vents



50/50 taped up to perform a test panel- M105 on an orange foam didn't cut it well enough for me- yellow foam took down everything- Sonax Perfect Finish finished this soft finish down perfectly and cleaned up all the compounding haze effortlessly.

Heavy defects visible underneath garage lights and under natural light as well






















50/50- left after compounding- right untouched






After day one- hood looking perfect now as is 85% of the vehicle





Day two- wrap up, IPA wipedowns and final inspections

Afters (before LSP)










Menzerna PL applied, glass cleaned in and out, OPT dressing for the tires, 303 on all the other trim pieces/ rubber pieces.
Asanti wheels were cleaned with Eagle One NVR dull wadding- wiped down with ONR, then finally wiped again with a dry, plush MF towel.

Final pics





































Sun poked out for a couple secs







Back in the garage:










Thanks for looking!
- Dan K.

Hey guys,

I'm several write-ups behind and finally getting a chance (syllabus week for me now) to sit down and slowly compile them. Up right now is my clients 1994 Viper RT-10 with only 5,000 ORIGINAL miles on the car!!

I decided to perform a simple one to two step correction with a target of around 65-80% correction.

Correction took just under 10 hours and consisted of various correctional methods, mostly performed with M105 on an orange foam and finished down with Sonax Perfect Finish on a green pad.

Befores

Swirling visually apparent under natural sunlight






Wheels were lightly covered in dust but needed some attention in the inner barrels


Interior needed some attention


Motor also needed to be tended to
- Misted down heavily with ONR and agitated with boars hair brushes
- all components dressed with 303

Before




Wash/ decon process

Sonax doing its thing:






Clayed with Uber Blue clay and pulled in the garage, taped up and put underneath the halogens and LED light....












After 2 step- M105 orange foam, Sonax Perfect finish- 90 plus percent was achieved in some areas...while only 65-80% was achieved on others




































































Thanks for looking!
- Dan K.

Yes. Prepare for scroll and grab a towel.

Up next is a brand new Mclaren MP4-12C in an amazing Volcano Red, the client picked up this Mclaren not too long after I completed work on their F430 and Viper RT-10. After going over the car with both the halogens and the LED light, they were as surprised as I was over the numerous amounts of sanding scratches and large areas that had not been finished down properly- light rotary swirls present!

The aim was solely on perfecting the Volcano red exterior- Interior was vacuumed out and lightly brushed down with my boars hair brushes.

Befores

Such a radical and beautiful design by Mclaren


Dust, dust, dust- owner drove this one home in the rain unfortunately





Light dusting on these optional forged wheels


Admiring this unique color


Sonax setting up





Wash and decon process


Only two areas needed to be hit with the fine grade clay bar- the car was dried and pulled inside to be inspected

Correction Items used:
FLEX DA
PC DA
Foams- Yellow, Orange, Green, Black
Menzerna SIP, Menzerna Power Finish, Sonax Perfect Finish, Megs M105

NOTE- the black marks in the paint are from my wax pen- I gently right on the surface when performing new car preps- it does not damage the clear in ANY way and is removed during the spreading phase when polishing.

Copious amounts of dried wax/ compound material EVERYWHERE


There were 2 sections on the hood where the factory did not fully finish down there sanding/ compounding



The other section found above the drivers side tire on the upper fender and also down the slope of the hood



Afters with Menz SIP and followed up by Sonax Perfect Finish




Section of the hood after


The ENTIRE Front bumper had sanding marks along virtually along all of its edges- caution was taken when performing work on these areas- proper taping, slow speeds etc. were used.

Front bumper After


Both doors were riddled in light marring and fine line spider-webbing, unfinished sand-marks......etc etc.

Shoulder line of door


By far the two WORST areas were found right where the edge of the doors met the rear panel before heading into the massive air inlets carved into the Mclarens body........seen below. These took quite some time and caution to perfect!

Some nice sanding haze mmmmm




Below shoulder line of door and a couple other shots of the clear on the door itself







Afters- the door and shoulder line was hit with a pass of Menz SIP on an orange foam- finished down with Sonax Perfect Finish/ Green foam. The area going into the carved out inlets (heavier damage) was hit with M105 on an orange foam and then finished down with Menz Power FInish
Ahhhhh now there is clarity!








O look........more dried up wax/ compound! Your far too kind Mclaren.......


Even better! You forgot to tape off the trim!


Roof- unfinished sanding marks.....light swirling...... wasn't surprised after getting this far along. Befores:






M105 on an orange foam- Menz PF to follow up
Afters:





Moving on to the rear drivers side panel- entire panel needed to be hit- Menz SIP and Sonax PF here...

After


Engine decklid area- below the rear window covering the Carbon dressed moto there is an area where the panel is disected into two by a black vent- the left side (drivers) was clear and finished down perfecly....... the passenger side......not so much.
Before

After


Passenger side door:

Rear passenger fender/panel


O look- just as the drivers side!


Slight swirling in the door


These areas were all corrected and finished down as the drivers side was!

IPA wipedown performed- 303 applied to all needed areas- OPT water based dressing on the tires
LSP= Two coats of Menzerna Powerlock

Fast forward 4 hours after completing the passenger side defects and addressing the rear area......
Afters:
The cockpit (before vacuuming)

Displays were birght and intense























































































Thanks for looking!
- Dan K.

Yeah so I won't make the first meeting because I am in Vegas. I'll be at some others I promise. Anyway I am here for Chrysler's new car and technology show. I teased one of the corp people last night at the free booze party about seeing it all on the web way before now. His reply "Why do you think there are metal detectors and no electronics allowed in? This is all new stuff". I'm stoked to see if he is fo real.

So. I've got a CSB to share with you.

Those of you who know me know, I've never been what you'd call an "athlete". I was homeschooled, and bookish to boot, so I didn't do any sports or anything like that. Any muscle tone I had as a young man came from riding my bicycle around the neighborhood or stacking firewood for the winter. To top that off, I decided that I.T. was my field of choice for a career, so I've spent the time since high school sitting in front of a computer screen.

This April, I found myself staring at the precipice of my thirties, looking at death off in the (not as distant as it once was) distance, and noticing that I couldn't see my toes very well over my belly. Coincidentally, a friend of a friend had just finished her second Tough Mudder and had posted pictures of her adventure. "Wow," I said to her. "I could never do that." She simply replied: "Why not?"

Why not?

So yesterday I found myself here:


I did not train enough.

The first problem I encountered was an overabundance of hair:


Bic was happy to take care of that situation for me, and make a donation to WW in the process:



The fact I had to go to work monday looking like either Robert DeNiro from Taxi Driver or Judge Doom from Who Framed Roger Rabbit (depending on how the wind blew my 'hawk) did not concern me at the time.

Following the construction of my Most Bitchin' Hawk, I met up with my Team Captain, (who we will call T.C.) who would be attempting her third orange headband today.


Immediately after this picture was taken she asked 'Did my hair look Fierce?' lol. TC you so crazy.

So to even get to the Start, you had a wall. It would have been cheating to go around, no?


Then the EmCee got us all pumped up,

You can tell by the smile on my face that I have no idea what I'm about to do, and that ignorance is bliss.

First obstacle (after a short warm up run) was the Arctic Enema, a dumpster full of ice water and at the middle, some wood and barbed wire, ensuring you had to get your whole body under the ice.

(here I am, helping my team mates out of their baths)

"Rex, how did that feel?"


Not sure if I could trust my legs to run at this point:


So, yeah. Nothing like starting a 10 mile run soaking wet, right?


The next 3 hours or so, my Photographer couldn't catch me, so I'll post some Official Tough Mudder pictures of the obstacles I had to face:

(my tank had ALOT more ice...we were earlier in the morning...)

Yeah, that's more like it.

Now JUMP


Then, how do you feel about some Walls?


Or crawling through mud?


Climbing haybales should be nbd:


Or carrying logs around a cornfield:


Run. Run. Run. Run. Oh, have you dried off? Here, crawl through some mud more...in a tunnel underground.

Has that dried mud made your clothes heavy and slowed you down? Let us rinse you off:

(Hope you're not scared of heights)

Up and over, buddy:


Now, crawl through the mud again, but this time under electrified wires:


More crawling, this time down into mud and then up a sewer pipe!


You getting the picture? My photographer caught up with us about Mile Marker 8:
Mud Hills.



This looks easy. It wasn't. It was slick as snail shit and I'd been running for miles. I was exhausted.

TC grabbed my hand here after I'd pushed her up and over, and we both slid down into the mud...gravity is sometimes your friend, but mostly your enemy:




But even as exhausted as we were, we knew we had miles yet to go:


Monkey Bars actually were welcome, as I couldn't get all the way across and fell into some lovely cool water:


Balance beams...I took them really slow, made it across without incident...only two more obstacles to go:


And that's when my body failed me:
I was trying to climb Everest. You pretty much can't do it by yourself, just get as high as you can and have the people above haul you up:


It's steep. On my third try up, my calf seized up:


I never made it up. Only a half more mile to go, and it's just more electrified wires. Same as the last ones, right? They weren't too bad:


No. I was wrong. These were turned up much higher. I got shocked and it literally knocked me over:


I tried to get up, knocked to my feet again. Tried to crawl, shocked into the mud.


One particularly bad jolt made me spasm into the mud either so fast I didn't notice or I blacked out, as when I "came to" I found mud in my open mouth, up my nose, an in my right eye.

The last few feet I could barely walk, much less run.


But. I did it. The rain that had been threatening all morning began to pour as I hosed myself off.


It was, simply, the hardest thing I've ever done. Today I am so sore I can barely move, but I can't wait for the next one.



Self-portrait of the waterlogged photographer:


(course map, for anyone curious: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://toughmudder.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/12.09.08.MD-08.28.12-Marketing-Map.pdf">http://toughmudder.com/wp-content/uploa ... ng-Map.pdf</a><!-- m -->)

Gawd I'm glad the NFL is back...even if my gmen sucked a cowboy D on opening night.

Also went to my first jmu game last night. That was hella fun! And I was real impressed with the band

Does anyone go offroading in northern va?