Marc@AutoLavish
Club Sponsor
In each of our write-ups we try to cover something different, maybe new, to keep things interesting. This is also why the amount of write-ups we post lately is fewer. Here is a perfect case of what we could call a “typical” paint correction and vehicle “prep for sale” cleaning, but with the distinction that everything was done specifically for this client. This shows how AutoLavish accommodates our clients’ requirements.
The potential client contacted us through one of the forums. He was coordinating getting this vehicle from one family member to another, and from Michigan to Florida, within a week. He would like to have it cleaned and protected before it gets to its final destination. Within a few days I picked up the vehicle at the client’s house and drive it to our shop. Our insurance covers us in any aspect of our work, including driving and transporting client’s vehicles wherever we need to get the job done. We would work on the vehicle, and have the Vehicle Shipping Service pick it up at our location. There were a few dents that we would also address at our shop after a phone call to a Paintless Dent Removal company.
Upon arrival the vehicle had to be left outside during the snow as the bay was full with another client’s vehicle. By the time we would pull the vehicle inside it would be covered with snow.
We removed as much snow as we needed to get inside the vehicle. Tim and I attacked the interior with fierce vengeance, using Leather Masters Strong Cleaner / Super Remover / Ink lifter, 1Z Cockpit Premium, Klasse All In One (KAIO), and Meguiar's APC+. All seats got 2 coats of the LM Protection Crème as well. Glass was polished inside with KAIO after it was cleaned with Meg’s Glass Cleaner. Trim was sealed with KAIO. Pedals were cleaned with APC and a stiff brush. Carpet was vacuumed and spot treated were necessary. Everything was wiped down with 1ZCP.
Overall great condition...
Cleaning started with vacuuming all surfaces and crevices:
And scrubbing where needed:
Vacuuming the carpets. Working with high quality carpet is very enjoyable. We love these Mercedes carpets.
Seats:
We started with Leatherique Prestine Clean:
But the dye transfer remained:
So we stepped it up to Leather Masters, which improved the dye transfer situation remarkably:
Afters:
floor mats:
The jambs are one of the most important places to clean a car that will be sold. NOTHING screams at you more than a filthy jamb on a white car. Although this car would not be sold per se, we wanted the new owner to feel as if the car was brand spanking new. The jambs were hit hard with cleaners and the steamer, then sealed with Sonus, including the liftgate and underside of bonnet.
Sonus spray:
trunk sonus:
The engine was decently clean overall, and needed just a quick degreasing and rinse to clean up the accumulated dust. Once done, we wiped the plastics down with 1Z Cockpit Premium just to even out the black a little better. No other dressings were used. Again, for a vehicle that is about to be sold the trick is to make it look like it has NOT just been detailed but rather it never was dirty in the first place. Dressings are a dead giveaway of cutting corners to make things look better than they really are for the sale. I love dressing on my personal cars and use then all the time, but if I am going to sell the car I keep the surfaces clean and dry. My buyers always comment on how clean the engines are. The underside of the hood received Sonus Spray Sealant as well.
Sonus on underside of hood:
Wheels:
After:
Running boards:
Next we washed the vehicle. We would prepare it for the PDR guy to do his magic. We wanted to make sure the surface and surroundings were as clean as possible, but not do any polishing yet.
The initial foam bath helps break down the grime so the pressured water can remove it. The second foam bath is when we wipe the wash mitt over the vehicle, removing the stuff the jet of water left behind. Rinsed, we next applied an Iron-Dissolving Paint Cleaner, which works by chemically removing embedded ferrous materials like brake dust and rail dust. White vehicles suffer the most from these pesky little specs since they are most visible against this color. Clay will remove them, but pre-treating them with Iron-X will make claying go much faster. We apply the Iron-X via spray bottle, directly onto the clean but wet paint. As the product works, iron is dissolved into a solution that runs off purple in color.
Anywhere you see purple, there was an embedded particle of iron-ous junk:
One more rinse to remove the purple and it is straight to claying. We could foam the vehicle again to clay, but in harsh weather especially we prefer to use a dedicated clay lube.
One more foam and rinse and it is ready to be dried. A few MF towels and a leaf blower help dry before it get to cold. We want to make sure there will be no drips that will leave vertical marks that could throw off the PDR guy’s line of sight.
The potential client contacted us through one of the forums. He was coordinating getting this vehicle from one family member to another, and from Michigan to Florida, within a week. He would like to have it cleaned and protected before it gets to its final destination. Within a few days I picked up the vehicle at the client’s house and drive it to our shop. Our insurance covers us in any aspect of our work, including driving and transporting client’s vehicles wherever we need to get the job done. We would work on the vehicle, and have the Vehicle Shipping Service pick it up at our location. There were a few dents that we would also address at our shop after a phone call to a Paintless Dent Removal company.
Upon arrival the vehicle had to be left outside during the snow as the bay was full with another client’s vehicle. By the time we would pull the vehicle inside it would be covered with snow.
We removed as much snow as we needed to get inside the vehicle. Tim and I attacked the interior with fierce vengeance, using Leather Masters Strong Cleaner / Super Remover / Ink lifter, 1Z Cockpit Premium, Klasse All In One (KAIO), and Meguiar's APC+. All seats got 2 coats of the LM Protection Crème as well. Glass was polished inside with KAIO after it was cleaned with Meg’s Glass Cleaner. Trim was sealed with KAIO. Pedals were cleaned with APC and a stiff brush. Carpet was vacuumed and spot treated were necessary. Everything was wiped down with 1ZCP.
Overall great condition...
Cleaning started with vacuuming all surfaces and crevices:
And scrubbing where needed:
Vacuuming the carpets. Working with high quality carpet is very enjoyable. We love these Mercedes carpets.
Seats:
We started with Leatherique Prestine Clean:
But the dye transfer remained:
So we stepped it up to Leather Masters, which improved the dye transfer situation remarkably:
Afters:
floor mats:
The jambs are one of the most important places to clean a car that will be sold. NOTHING screams at you more than a filthy jamb on a white car. Although this car would not be sold per se, we wanted the new owner to feel as if the car was brand spanking new. The jambs were hit hard with cleaners and the steamer, then sealed with Sonus, including the liftgate and underside of bonnet.
Sonus spray:
trunk sonus:
The engine was decently clean overall, and needed just a quick degreasing and rinse to clean up the accumulated dust. Once done, we wiped the plastics down with 1Z Cockpit Premium just to even out the black a little better. No other dressings were used. Again, for a vehicle that is about to be sold the trick is to make it look like it has NOT just been detailed but rather it never was dirty in the first place. Dressings are a dead giveaway of cutting corners to make things look better than they really are for the sale. I love dressing on my personal cars and use then all the time, but if I am going to sell the car I keep the surfaces clean and dry. My buyers always comment on how clean the engines are. The underside of the hood received Sonus Spray Sealant as well.
Sonus on underside of hood:
Wheels:
After:
Running boards:
Next we washed the vehicle. We would prepare it for the PDR guy to do his magic. We wanted to make sure the surface and surroundings were as clean as possible, but not do any polishing yet.
The initial foam bath helps break down the grime so the pressured water can remove it. The second foam bath is when we wipe the wash mitt over the vehicle, removing the stuff the jet of water left behind. Rinsed, we next applied an Iron-Dissolving Paint Cleaner, which works by chemically removing embedded ferrous materials like brake dust and rail dust. White vehicles suffer the most from these pesky little specs since they are most visible against this color. Clay will remove them, but pre-treating them with Iron-X will make claying go much faster. We apply the Iron-X via spray bottle, directly onto the clean but wet paint. As the product works, iron is dissolved into a solution that runs off purple in color.
Anywhere you see purple, there was an embedded particle of iron-ous junk:
One more rinse to remove the purple and it is straight to claying. We could foam the vehicle again to clay, but in harsh weather especially we prefer to use a dedicated clay lube.
One more foam and rinse and it is ready to be dried. A few MF towels and a leaf blower help dry before it get to cold. We want to make sure there will be no drips that will leave vertical marks that could throw off the PDR guy’s line of sight.
