Hey Guys,

First post/thread here and I wanted to make it meaningful and Nissan related. Hopefully you guys enjoy reading through and can pick up some tips to keep your Maximas in top shape.



I had spoken to this owner over the span of a year and we had finally set up a date to 2 stage polish this Solid Red GT-R some time in the beginning of August. The car was a garage queen and the swirling was not so bad... actually one of the better condition GT-Rs I had worked on but we wanted to get a 9, 9.5 out of 10 correction so we agreed on a 2 stage polish.







Moving on to the write up here is the first walk around the car.








Already noticed a buffer trail that needed to be corrected






As usual starting with the rims, I cleaned the face and behind with a microfiber wash mitt




Used my brush to clean the calipers


A stiff brush to clean the tire wall


And my EZ Brush to clean the inner barrel




The wheel wells were cleaned also with APC and a curved handle brush






The exhaust was not to bad and was sort of an easy clean up

 

Moving on to the engine, it was not at all in bad shape but just a little dusty and could use a quick clean up and dressing to make it look new again


Dusty


All clean and dressed up


Artsy Fartsy shot


Stop lying




I pulled out another detail brush and took care of the tight areas like the vents etc








Finally getting onto the wash stage the car was foamed down




While the car was foaming I realized I had forgotten to clean the gas tank




I 2 Bucket Method washed the car with my natural sea sponge




And rinsed off my sponge in the water only bucket after every panel or half a panel





Then dried the car with a plush microfiber towel

 

Brought the car in to clay


And it was not in bad shape at all




After the claying I measured the paint to see what levels I was working with




I found a section that was repainted and learned that the car had come with a huge scratch from the factory and this section was repainted under warranty which I guess also explains the buffer trail I first noticed


repaint






I masked all the rubber trim




And now could begin polishing. The combo I opted for was Menzerna SIP with a Orange Lake Country Pad on a Makita rotary. Here are the befores and afters of a few panels

Before


After


Before


After


A quick shot of yours truly polishing


Before


After

 

Before


After




I alcohol wiped down the car and begin to prepare for the 2nd stage of polishing. The paint was already shining very well but I wanted to push the gloss a little higher so I jeweled the paint with Menzerna Po85RD a white Lake Country pad and my Flex3401.


Here is a the gloss I was achieving with this combination




I gave the paint a 2nd and final alcohol wipe down to clean off the polishing oils then unmasked the car








After unmasking and cleaning off the polishing oils I inspected the paint with my 3M Sun Gun which omits the same spectrum light as the sun.


Perfect




I had to take another shot of the gloss, and this was with no wax on, only polishing




Wax of the day was Swissvax Concorso


Applied




While the wax was curing I attended to other areas like putting Poor Boys Wheel Sealant on the rims and exhaust

 

Here are a couple after pics of the exhaust




And I cleaned the windows with my Glass Master Pro.




Unfortunately it had rained but I got a small window to quickly take a few after shots which I don't think turned out that bad and actually it was kind of cool to still see the paint looking very glossy on a cloudy day







The gloss was looking very nice in this pic


Some nice reflections














I liked the reflection in this shot

 

And to complete the walk around




Finally my last 2 favorite pics






Not wanting to push my luck with the rain I quickly put away the GT-R in the garage.

Hope you enjoyed the write up and seeing the different steps of the detail.

Best regards!
Wes

 

Wow, stellar job.

 

amazing. how long did this take?/

 

good lord. This is great work right here !

 

Awesome job and thanks for sharing!

 

Nothing short of Incredible!

How much does a detail job like that run?



My vote for n00b thead of the year, right here!

 

Incredible job!! That's a professional, magazine-quality finish on such a beautiful car! Props!!

 

How much did you charge to do the job?

 

great job deff worthy of a autopia thread

 

That's a crazy job. Nice!

 

V-E-R-Y nice. I need to find a local orger in the south florida area that does this type of quality work. Everyone claims to be a detailer, but not everyone has this level of expertise.

 

nice car great job!

 

Looks great! Good job, I so wish I had the patience and energy to do that! Keep it up

 

true craftsmanship in your profession- you should be very proud

 

Amazing job. Would love to find someone locally to do my roof and trunk lid.

 

WOW. Nice job. It clearly shows that with dedication, the results are positive.