Detailing: Interior and Exterior

pm'd you, Q.

I'd be happy to work on your car.

Started cleaning up the garage after a wheel bearing and knuckle install last night. Decided to start on a long overdue cleanup and detail. I'm expecting the whole thing to take 30-40 hours over the course of several days. I'll post up pics of my progress.

She's a dirty girl!



Gotta get all the nooks and crannies!



These will need to be cleaned and rewaxed



Later today I'll be pulling off the front and rear bumpers, talilights, sideskirts, and wheels then formulating my plan of attack. Tomorrow night I'll give her a thorough bath, clay bar, and start masking off the panel gaps.

 

That's up to you but I've definitely brought cars "back to life." Cost will depend entirely on what you want done. Others can chime in on how long my work and products have lasted them, but I don't cover up swirls with filler waxes, so assuming you take care of it, the wax should last ~6 months in the warm months and 3-4 in harsher weather. The finish left after polishing will "last" until it's scratched again. PM me and we can talk about what you want, what you expect, how you plan to care for the car, etc... I'm sure we can come up with something that's reasonable for both of us.

 

Nope. Just getting all the nooks and crannies clean. Removing the headlights and bumper will also let me get all the way to the edge of the fender without gunking up the panel gaps with product.

 

Thanks again, Q! I'm still in awe at how great of shape your car is in!

Here are a few pics from the process today:

Seats out:



I used the leatherique combo... lightly vacuumed the seams then hand applied Leatherique Rejuvenator. Then wrapped the seats and baked them for half a day:



Then finished them up with a horse hair brush and some Leatherique Pristine Clean in a spray bottle.

Here's a 50/50 of one of the floor mats. They cleaned up nicely:

 

Very nice work Sheen! You will be seeing my wife's XT very soon

 

Thanks for the kind words! It's always a pleasure. btw I owe $10 change!


Here are some before pictures of a car I worked on today. This is an extreme example of surface rust and contaminated paint:

 

It took 4 hours of paint cleansing and clay barring to get a workable surface, but after that it polished up nicely...

The side skirts were in rough shape before:



After clay bar (pre-polish and wax):



all done:



Door sills and jambs all looked like this before:



and after:



Handles all looked like this before:



then after (pre-polish and wax):



Overall the car cleaned up nicely:

 

I have 2 sitting here that will need some attention from you. We just need to work out a day/time that you can do them.

Russ

 

Oh, you're driving your car now pmd you

Thanks again! I'll remember to take pics when I see you again next week.

Thank you, Will! It was fun turning a brown and gray car white

 

Had the opportunity to work on a gorgeous STI today.

MN winters put a beating on the carpet. Driver's side interior before:



after:



Black carpet shows even the smallest (and sometimes not so small) imperfections. Passenger side before:



But once clean, black is my favorite interior color:



I didn't remember to take a before shot and the finished product isn't quite perfect like I wanted it to be, but it cleaned up nicely:

 

It was my pleasure.Enjoy in good health!



Worked on slacker's exterior today. I think I want an '11 wrx sedan now:

 

My pleasure! PMing you with a grocery list hopefully tomorrow!


It's been a while since I worked on a red Subaru. They definitely have a lot of depth once shined up. The gold summer wheels will match the metallic flake in the paint well, Brian. Can't wait to see them on.

 

Thanks for the kind words! I'm glad you're happy with the outcome! I would have liked to get rid of the scratches 100% but some of them were just too deep

 

Didn't make time to take pictures, but this past weekend was Legacy central in my garage. Finished 3 turbo legacies in 3 days.

I have openings on Saturday the 14th and Sunday the 22nd due to reschedules. Please pm me if you're interested in booking either of those days!

 

I didn't receive it. Can you send it again? Thanks!

No secret, just lots of time and care! I take a shop vac to it then a steam cleaner. Hit it with a couple different brushes to loosen it up some more then steam clean it again. Some carpets need some spot cleaner in addition, but others aren't too caked on and can be handled fairly easily.

If you'd like to try it at home with things around the house and have a wet/dry vac, try a damp towel with some mild carpet shampoo, wet a small area and vac it up. Use the 2 bucket method so you aren't spreading around more dirt/salt. You can use a toothbrush (or a modified toothbrush with the head cut off and melted/superglued into a "T") to loosen the tough parts. Take care in the direction you brush and work in small areas. If that sounds like too much of a pita, give me a buzz!

 

PM incoming. Thanks for the interest!

I'm not doing another wheel bearing on that thing!

If accord917 can't make it, no problem. Otherwise text me and we'll work something out during the week bud.

 

Thanks! It was a challenge and I'm glad you're happy with how it turned out!

Thanks Jay! Don't be sad, I'll get the Forester looking as good or better than the Saab!


We spent my day off getting our Legacy shined up today. We haven't really ever polished it in our 3 years of ownership, but it was in surprisingly good shape despite that. I found 3 scratches, 1 dent, and a couple rock chips. Some minor swirling, but proper washing technique and consistent waxing has kept the marring to a minimum.

You've heard the term "mirror shine" before, right? Well, it's not always an exaggeration! I used the lgt as my mirror to buzz my hair in the garage today lol

(pardon the messy garage, I've had a lot of installs and repairs this month)

 

Finally found the pics I took of your car:

Engine bay before:






and all done:



Interior before:




and after:

 

Lol! I can has believable?

 

I'll be unavailable until the end of the month. Sorry if I wasn't able to fit you in!

If you're looking to get your interior done over the next few weeks, drop a line to [email protected]

Some of the more recent before/after interior shots in this thread are of her (my apprentice lol) work.