First day back at the 'Office'...Part I

[Carn]

So this past weekend saw Mobile Image's 1st detailing adventures for the new year...and what a way to get started!


1st up was some spot repairs to a Porsche 997 GT3 RS in silver with orange accents. Not my 1st choice of colour when it comes to these cars, but hey, it's a frikken GT3 RS

The beast as she arrived




Overall the car was pretty clean aside from some dirt from being driven in the wet..



As I mentioned this particular car was in for some spot repairs and will probably get the full treatment shortly. The owner had an unfortunate incident with the xenon headlight washers which sprayed the roof and drivers side door. Whatever was in the wash tank wound up etching the paint quite badly and despite having tried various home remedies, had came up empty handed.

Some close ups of the etching







The second area of concern to the owner was the rear plexiglass window which was badly scratched at some point. Someone tried to fix the scratches but only wound up causing further damage






Having been over the defects the client left and I got on with the wash process...

1st up (surprise surprise) was the foaming step



Hyperwash/APC/Shampoo Plus combo


Lots of dirt in the runoff



Those of you who regularly read my write-ups will probably be wondering about the Sonax wheel cleaning steps...This particular vehicle was fitted with the optional carbon ceramic brakes which leave very little in terms of brake dust. All it took was some Sonax Hi -Gloss shampoo in a bucket with the usual brushes and they turned up good as new


Once the car was foamed I pressure washed the entire car down before foaming again and washing using the TBM. After a final rinse the car was clayed with Meg's fine clay and then dried using the super plush drying towel of Polished Bliss origins





This particular towel has really impressed me with it's ability to soak up water and provide streak free drying of all surfaces. Expect to see some available soon


With the wash process completed I set about measuring the paint with my Paint Detective PD7 coating thickness gauge. I'm really enjoying the added confidence that comes with knowing exactly what you have to work with in terms of paint thickness and integrity!

Calibration


And some measurements...Drivers side door




And roof





At this point unfortunately the pics run out

The etching on the roof were corrected to around 90% with a combination of multiple passes with FCP followed by SIP and 106FA whilst on the drivers side door we weren't so lucky! The etchings on the door were too deep to significantly remove without resorting to more aggressive forms of correction such as wet sanding.

The rear plexiglass window also turned out to be incredibly hard and will require wetsanding to correct to a decent level.


After doing what I could for the time being the car was rewashed and dried upon which the owner gratiously took me for a 'test drive'...All I can say is HOLY MOTHER OF BATMAN, the GT3 RS is an incredible machine

Having returned from the test drive I completely forgot about taking after pics, hence the need to cut this one short and continue another time

[calypso]

[Woodie]

Now this is what I call getting back to the office in style. I look forward to the write up and lots more pics when you return for the full treatment.

By the way - I thought that James Bond's car of choice was the Aston Martin, but this picture seems to indicate otherwise .

(11-01-2010 06:50 PM)Carn Wrote:  

[mbl]

One day , when I'm all grown up. I want one of these...
You a master at what you do carn, well done.

[onyx]

What a machine..... That Plexiglass looks like its been butchered!

[Rich]

wow! That thing is mean. I have a cousin in JHB with one of those, but the std version, GT3! After pic's bro.... this thread is pointless without them but I love the SNOW!!!

[Carn]

Thanks guys

Woodie, James has seen the light and ditched the Aston in favour of the Porker

[Kido]

Well you just have to see the car in person with its semi-slick tires dangerous!