I recently had the pleasure of working on this classic 1967 Corvette Sting Ray. The owner takes phenomenal care of, and actually drives it, so we wanted to make sure the surfaces were well protected with a ceramic coating. Join me in this 3 part series to get a glimpse into the process of prepping, correcting, and coating a vehicle at High-Def Detailing.
I always start off with wheels and tires. I used a mild all purpose cleaner on the tires to remove previous tire dressings and dirt and grime from the road, and ph neutral iron remove on the wheels to remove brake dust and fallout. Since there were many intricate spokes on these wheels I stuck with my detail brush to get in all of the cracks and crevices!
I then moved on to tackle the bug guts that had settled into the front bumper after some drives. Careful to preserve the older materials on this vehicle, I used a non-caustic bug remover, Gtechniq W8, and a very controlled stream of water to flush them away safely.
After taking care of the wheels and bugs outside, I pulled the vehicle into the shop to perform what is called a "rinseless wash." Rinseless washing is great for vehicles that aren't that dirty to begin with, or in this case, a classic car where we don't want to use a pressure washer at the risk of damaging older seals. Even though we don't use high psi pressure washers when detailing, it's always a good practice to go with the least aggressive method possible.
You can see how the rinseless wash, in this case Optimum No Rinse (ONR), encapsulates the light dirt on the surface. It is then safe and easy to dry with a high quality drying towel. While I was rinseless washing the vehicle I also used a fine clay bar to remove any bonded contaminants on the paint and glass.
After the clay bar step I like to wipe the surfaces down with a light paint prep solvent to make sure there aren't any silicones or waxes left over. This is an extra step in the preparation process, but I think it's worth it to really be able to see what I'm working with before diving into the paint correction!
Continue on to Part II: Paint Correction!
Looking to have this level of work done to your vehicle? Give me a call at (574) 333-9976
Email: ben@highdefdetailing.com
Ben Runkel, Owner/Operator
High-Def Detailing, LLC
