Marc@AutoLavish
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On the 12th of August, Marc's 2004 Honda S2000 (built in December 2003) reached the 70,000 mile mark. He's heard many comments that it seems to having very few miles (for my primary car for 75% of the year), but take into account he purchased the vehicle in the spring of 2005 (after coming back from Iraq and a couple months of research), didn't drive it during a 15 month deployment to Afghanistan, and it was stored this past Winter from November-March. Having owned it since about 4,650 miles, this means Marc's put about over 60k miles on it in about 3 years of driving 
With this milestone reached, and the upcoming Woodward Dream Cruise, it was time to give her a proper cleaning. Luckily, Marc and Jacob (Jlb85 BKA Gasolina) have been doing a lot of work together, and he came over to give a much needed hand. Together we were determined to have it refreshed, renewed, and ready to show off.
We started with the interior
Having taken very good care overall of his baby, there's no way to avoid the normal things that happen with over 70k miles traveled. We began by pulling out the seats, careful to not scrape any interior pieces with the sharp metal edges of the seat brackets.
Seats were glossy from dirt and oil trapped on the surface. Leather should be sheen, not shiny and smooth.
Once this was done, we could fully see the nastiness that's been hiding for far too long...
Marc gave the carpeting a good thorough dry vacuuming, while Jacob starting cleaning the seats, then hit the roll hoops + speakers set inside them.
Once vacuumed over, they were looking much better, but could still use a little more loving. Folex carpet cleaner was sprayed then brushed the nap to get all the extra stuff loose, then revacuumed. Turned out perfect. Same process was used for the floor mats. Forgot pics of this - but trust it's perfect!
While finishing the carpeting/mats, Jacob applied Leatherique by hand to the seats as the first major step in a true deep-cleaning. The seats set for about an hour, then get a second helping of Leatherique to ensure proper even coverage/cleaning. While the seats continued to soak, degreaser was sprayed on/in all the tracks, agitated to loosen the nasty grime, then rinsed out with diluted Optimum No Rinse.
Finally the Leatherique was wiped clean with diluted Woolite
Once finished, the shine from build-up on the seats was completely gone, leaving a beautiful, smooth, clean, matte finish that felt better than the day the car was purchased
Attention was then turned to a couple other areas that could use some attention. Inside the door jams was cleaned using FK Body Prep Solvent to strip off any nasty grease, dirt, or gunk around the door hinges. Jacob had just done this a day earlier to his beautiful M3 and it came out beautifully. The S was no different.
During
After
Earlier in the year Marc removed the factory tape around the windshield. Until recently, all s2000's (expect Berlina Black) came with black tape around the windshield for a reason not officially named. While it gives a better look with the top up, Marc's more concerned with how the car looks top-down. The bad side of removing the tape is the serious residue that can be left behind. Jacob took to the problem areas with 3M addhesive remover and the trusty autoLavish business credit card to carefully remove the dried tough adhesive.
Marc took the time to give some overdue attention to his plastic headlight housings that were beginning to look a little hazy. Meguiar's M205 on an orange 3 inch pad did the trick. While he could have wet-sanded with 2500 grit first, it wasn't worth the extra time as it wasn't to become a rarely driven show-car, but rather needed a good clean-up.
Taped and ready....
Before
After
The clarity gained was quite impressive, especially at night. With these cleaned up, the car looked years younger. The Mutt then used the same process on the third brake light housing and taillight housings to clear them all up.
Lucy was not happy. The car still needed quite a bit of work.
APC 10:1 and a junk microfiber were used to quicky clean-up the exhaust tips which then recieved a coat of Blackfire Metal Sealant after paint correction later. Marc's been really loving this stuff and has said to see a huge increase in how long my tips stay clean. Additionally, light APC was used for the license plate area
Jacob went over the interior surfaces with 1Z Cockpit Premium, then put Leatherique on the steering wheel. The finished beautiful matte look was both clean and beautiful.
Putting the seats back in the car, we pulled it back into the garage and got prepped for cleaning the exterior. With temperatures in the 90's, we set up a pop-up tint to provide shade for a proper wash. There were some problem areas...
Meguiar's Wheel Brightener was used on the horribly dirty rims to quickly cut through the brake dust build up. Marc then agitated with various brushes to ensure all areas were cleaned properly.
During that time, Jacob hit the engine bay with a light degreaser
Next was a foam bath to loosen all residue/grime sitting on the surface of the vehicle/engine bay. Chemical Guy's Citrus Wash&Clear was used for occasion.
Washed, rinsed, and dried using a combo of a leaf-blower and waffle weave microfiber towels, the car was set for polishing. After layer after layer of waxing since the last claying less than 6 months ago, the surface wasn't in the need of claying.
Taped off ready for machine polishing. This insured proper safety to any rubber trim that could be damaged during paint correction.
Despite doing a light one-step polish earlier in the year, Marc has grown increasingly discontent with the finish of his S2k. The super soft Honda paint is a upkeep nightmare that seems to grow defects and light marring/swirls if looked at wrong. The Last combo used was Menzerna 106 with a black Lake Country pad. We figured we could use 106+white followed by 85RD and be fine.... WRONG.
All seemed to be fine and dandy until afterwards when we did a final wipe-down to discover the oils in the polish residue were covering HALOGRAMS!!!! AAARRGGG!!! They were barely there- but there and could only be seen if light was positioned in the right way. This was not good enough and below our standards. Back to the drawing board.
We ended up with Menzerna 106+black Lake Country Pad followed by a PC using 3M Ultrafina. Beautiful finish. Rewashed to rid any polishing dust agitated areas with a dedicated brush on crevices that had polish, then dried off.
To finish her out, we wanted a "Pam on Crisco" slick combo: Danase Wet Glaze applied by PC on a red pad, then what wax over? Choices choices...
Wet Obsession was the winner due to its clarity, ease of use, and slickness. Used an hour after the DWG was buffed off, the result truly felt like Pam over Crisco. Stupid slick with a high amount of gloss, clarity, and wetness. Then finished off by using WD-40 on the screws to hold the license plate and put it back on.
Obsessive Detail Paint Sealant was used on the rims, Chemical Guy's Bare Bones on the wheel wells, No Touch High Shine on the tires, Meguiar's Ultimate Quick Wax spray on the underside of the trunk and door jams.
Two days later, Jacob and Marc rolled out in their rides (Marc in the New Formula Red AP2 S2000, Jacob in his Estoril Blue E36 M3) along with their latest client in his black Evo XIII (to be posted soon) to a local car event. First, the S2000 was wiped down with Meguiar's Ultimate Quick Detailer, then hit with Dodo Juice Red Mist Tropical. Here are the afters...
stay tuned for the Evo+M3 write-up.....
With this milestone reached, and the upcoming Woodward Dream Cruise, it was time to give her a proper cleaning. Luckily, Marc and Jacob (Jlb85 BKA Gasolina) have been doing a lot of work together, and he came over to give a much needed hand. Together we were determined to have it refreshed, renewed, and ready to show off.
We started with the interior
Having taken very good care overall of his baby, there's no way to avoid the normal things that happen with over 70k miles traveled. We began by pulling out the seats, careful to not scrape any interior pieces with the sharp metal edges of the seat brackets.
Seats were glossy from dirt and oil trapped on the surface. Leather should be sheen, not shiny and smooth.
Once this was done, we could fully see the nastiness that's been hiding for far too long...
Marc gave the carpeting a good thorough dry vacuuming, while Jacob starting cleaning the seats, then hit the roll hoops + speakers set inside them.
Once vacuumed over, they were looking much better, but could still use a little more loving. Folex carpet cleaner was sprayed then brushed the nap to get all the extra stuff loose, then revacuumed. Turned out perfect. Same process was used for the floor mats. Forgot pics of this - but trust it's perfect!
While finishing the carpeting/mats, Jacob applied Leatherique by hand to the seats as the first major step in a true deep-cleaning. The seats set for about an hour, then get a second helping of Leatherique to ensure proper even coverage/cleaning. While the seats continued to soak, degreaser was sprayed on/in all the tracks, agitated to loosen the nasty grime, then rinsed out with diluted Optimum No Rinse.
Finally the Leatherique was wiped clean with diluted Woolite
Once finished, the shine from build-up on the seats was completely gone, leaving a beautiful, smooth, clean, matte finish that felt better than the day the car was purchased
Attention was then turned to a couple other areas that could use some attention. Inside the door jams was cleaned using FK Body Prep Solvent to strip off any nasty grease, dirt, or gunk around the door hinges. Jacob had just done this a day earlier to his beautiful M3 and it came out beautifully. The S was no different.
During
After
Earlier in the year Marc removed the factory tape around the windshield. Until recently, all s2000's (expect Berlina Black) came with black tape around the windshield for a reason not officially named. While it gives a better look with the top up, Marc's more concerned with how the car looks top-down. The bad side of removing the tape is the serious residue that can be left behind. Jacob took to the problem areas with 3M addhesive remover and the trusty autoLavish business credit card to carefully remove the dried tough adhesive.
Marc took the time to give some overdue attention to his plastic headlight housings that were beginning to look a little hazy. Meguiar's M205 on an orange 3 inch pad did the trick. While he could have wet-sanded with 2500 grit first, it wasn't worth the extra time as it wasn't to become a rarely driven show-car, but rather needed a good clean-up.
Taped and ready....
Before
After
The clarity gained was quite impressive, especially at night. With these cleaned up, the car looked years younger. The Mutt then used the same process on the third brake light housing and taillight housings to clear them all up.
Lucy was not happy. The car still needed quite a bit of work.
APC 10:1 and a junk microfiber were used to quicky clean-up the exhaust tips which then recieved a coat of Blackfire Metal Sealant after paint correction later. Marc's been really loving this stuff and has said to see a huge increase in how long my tips stay clean. Additionally, light APC was used for the license plate area
Jacob went over the interior surfaces with 1Z Cockpit Premium, then put Leatherique on the steering wheel. The finished beautiful matte look was both clean and beautiful.
Putting the seats back in the car, we pulled it back into the garage and got prepped for cleaning the exterior. With temperatures in the 90's, we set up a pop-up tint to provide shade for a proper wash. There were some problem areas...
Meguiar's Wheel Brightener was used on the horribly dirty rims to quickly cut through the brake dust build up. Marc then agitated with various brushes to ensure all areas were cleaned properly.
During that time, Jacob hit the engine bay with a light degreaser
Next was a foam bath to loosen all residue/grime sitting on the surface of the vehicle/engine bay. Chemical Guy's Citrus Wash&Clear was used for occasion.
Washed, rinsed, and dried using a combo of a leaf-blower and waffle weave microfiber towels, the car was set for polishing. After layer after layer of waxing since the last claying less than 6 months ago, the surface wasn't in the need of claying.
Taped off ready for machine polishing. This insured proper safety to any rubber trim that could be damaged during paint correction.
Despite doing a light one-step polish earlier in the year, Marc has grown increasingly discontent with the finish of his S2k. The super soft Honda paint is a upkeep nightmare that seems to grow defects and light marring/swirls if looked at wrong. The Last combo used was Menzerna 106 with a black Lake Country pad. We figured we could use 106+white followed by 85RD and be fine.... WRONG.
All seemed to be fine and dandy until afterwards when we did a final wipe-down to discover the oils in the polish residue were covering HALOGRAMS!!!! AAARRGGG!!! They were barely there- but there and could only be seen if light was positioned in the right way. This was not good enough and below our standards. Back to the drawing board.
We ended up with Menzerna 106+black Lake Country Pad followed by a PC using 3M Ultrafina. Beautiful finish. Rewashed to rid any polishing dust agitated areas with a dedicated brush on crevices that had polish, then dried off.
To finish her out, we wanted a "Pam on Crisco" slick combo: Danase Wet Glaze applied by PC on a red pad, then what wax over? Choices choices...
Wet Obsession was the winner due to its clarity, ease of use, and slickness. Used an hour after the DWG was buffed off, the result truly felt like Pam over Crisco. Stupid slick with a high amount of gloss, clarity, and wetness. Then finished off by using WD-40 on the screws to hold the license plate and put it back on.
Obsessive Detail Paint Sealant was used on the rims, Chemical Guy's Bare Bones on the wheel wells, No Touch High Shine on the tires, Meguiar's Ultimate Quick Wax spray on the underside of the trunk and door jams.
Two days later, Jacob and Marc rolled out in their rides (Marc in the New Formula Red AP2 S2000, Jacob in his Estoril Blue E36 M3) along with their latest client in his black Evo XIII (to be posted soon) to a local car event. First, the S2000 was wiped down with Meguiar's Ultimate Quick Detailer, then hit with Dodo Juice Red Mist Tropical. Here are the afters...
stay tuned for the Evo+M3 write-up.....
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