Drive with Distinction

MG B ready for fun!

2010-08-12T10:54:00.001-04:00

This little guy came in for a refresher this week. The owner has had it since he and his brothers have been driving. In addition to restoring it recently, he had the opportunity to have it used in a commercial recently. Very cool!

Not cool was that they threw dirt all over it as part of the commercial. So, not that the shoot is over, it was time to clean it up and restore the finish. To do this we scheduled the 3 Piece which included a wash, clay, polish, and wax. I then restored the seals and external black pieces (mainly the bumpers). Finally I vac'd the interior, performed a Leatherique treament on the seats, protected the dash and door panels, and protected the convertible top. The tires were treated to a period correct shine and all the bright work received a light polish.

Here are the before pics:

Here is the little guy taking a bath:

And the Reveal!

Thanks for looking and feel free to ask a question! All photos are untouched and taken with a Droid X.

A Tale of Two Roadsters

2010-05-13T09:58:00.001-04:00

See how a Mazda Miata M Edition and a Jaguar XK8 make their way out of a "winter of despair". Click Here.

The Power of ONR and a Little Elbow Grease

2010-05-07T09:55:00.000-04:00

Wondering what you can do with two empty 5 gallon buckets? Try filling one up with water and the other with water and 5 ounces of Optimum No Rinse. In a parking lot with no hose, no water tanks, and a little bit of planning, I was able to transform a 2008 Tahoe from this:

To this:

Then using Eagle One Never Dull, Mother's Mag Polish, and Mother's Billet Polish, I was able to turn the wheels from this:

To this:

A little shy of 4 hours after I started, I ended up with this:

Not bad for an evening in a parking lot. :)

Safely Removing Pollen from Your Paint

2010-05-06T07:51:00.000-04:00

Check out my article on Pollen and how to safely remove it from your paint. You can view the article here in the Ask-a-Pro section of Detailed Image.

Wax Like a Pro!

2010-04-30T08:37:00.000-04:00

Check out my latest article for Detailed Image on How to Wax Like A Pro

Attack on Mold: Tailored wins in a Landslide Victory!

2010-03-30T19:03:00.000-04:00

I got a call from a woman that suffers from a pulmonary disease. After a brief discussion on the phone we setup an appraisal time and date. During our short discussion, she told me that her father had used her car to go to the airport recently and left her car in the long-term parking. He left it with the back windows down. Well, we have had quite a bit of rain in the past month, and that week was no exception. Since then, mold had bloomed and she was now unable to drive the car.

Between the time of the call and our meeting, I called a friend of mine who works for a mold removal company and he gave me some suggestions. SO I made a preliminary list of items I would need to attack the blooms: Distilled White Vinegar, LeatherMasters Mold Killer, Biocide Auto Vaccine, Protein stain remover, 1Z Klima Cleaner, and a new Cabin Filter. I had some of these already, but some I would have to get.

When I met with my potential client, I took a walk around the car and then looked inside. It wasn't as bad as I had thought, but it was not good. It smelled awful and I could see where she would not only be afraid to drive it but didn't want to either.
We went inside to discuss my plan for the vehicle where I described how I would work through our 5-Step detailing procedure called Godspeed Precision.

I created some personalized price point packages for her vehicle and explained each one thoroughly. I also let her know that no mold removal is absolute 100%, there may be spores that will escape my reach. But the goal is to significantly reduce/eliminate the mold on the car's textiles and improve air quality. She finally decided on one that involved a extensive interior restoration and a wash/clay/wax exterior. I was going to pick the car up and have it for a few days. We thanked each other and I took off and went back to the shop to place some orders.

Here's the car when I brought it home a few days after our original meeting:

A few summers ago, so kids were pouring acid on cars in her neighborhood and hers was one of the unlucky ones.

The Mold!!

The Crud!!

Here's the stuff I had to buy to get this job done the right way...bye-bye mold.

The Auto Vaccine in Action- I let it sit in the car for 24 hours to do it's job. It did a wonderful job of permeating the pores of the vehicles textiles as well as every nook and cranny. Whether it killed the spores I won't know, but the smell was gone 100%! After 24 hours, I removed the vaccine and opened the doors for about 3 hours. During this time, I also mixed the Vinegar and the Mold Killer into a sprayer and began to spray the entire car's interior (including vents with the air on recirc).

Once I felt like I had sufficiently done what I could to kill the mold, and I let the interior dry out. I began my more traditional interior work. I set up a table and brought the mats out. I mixed Hit-temp Protein Stain remover and diluted TOL APC and began to pretreat the mats and upholstery.

Also at this point, since I was going to have the doors open for a long time, I setup a battery tender. I like doing this to ensure I have no problems starting a car up after a long detail.

I also got my tunes, ryobi noise supressing headset, and my new griots DA setup with a blue carpet brush (guess who in the reflection).

After working the brush into all four mats and the entire upholstery, I broke out some lane cleaner and the Aztec. Here's a good 50/50 of what an extractor can do even after you've cleaned the mats.

I also extracted the entire upoholstery of the car.

Once the carpet fiber were done, it was time for the leather. I again used TOL APC diluted 10:1 mixed with some mold killer I had left. Here are some 50/50 shots (after only one pass with the cleaner).

AT this point the interior was coming along nicely and the product selection, time, and effort were paying off huge dividends. I picked up some BH brushes, my previous leather cleaner solution, and went to town over all of the dash, console, seats, etc. I then dressed it all with Wolfgang's INterior Protectant.

Before I finished up I wanted to ensure no spores made their way back into the cabin, so I replaced the cabin filter. Good thing too.....I think it has missed it's 15K mile replacement mark! You can see the old one and new one side by side.

Just the new going back into place.

Almost done!! I went around with the vaccum again wiped everything down. I then nourished the leather with Leatherique Pristine Clean. One more wipe to inspect everything. Finally I got around to putting the mats back in.

End in site. I washed the car using my Karcher 3.49, hot water, AG Foam Cannon, a Dodo Wookie Mitt, and TOL Soap. After blasting the crud, I worked in the soap and cleansed the pores. Then I clayed using WG Poly Clay and ONR. I then did a final wash. Paint was topped with PB EX-P and OCW. Tires were dressed with Hotshine (she wanted them shiney) and undercarriage with Griots UCS. Windows go IG. Here are the afters (INterior too):

Finally, before I valeted the vehicle back to the owner, it was time to treat the AC core for any little guys that may be left in there. 1Z Klima Clean does a great job and leave a hint of citrus behindwhen you turn on the air. I took a cell phone pic as I began inserting the tube into the vent.

The owner was thrilled to death and has scheduled some follow-up services already. She has also begun telling her family who to have detail their cars from now on! I hope you enjoyed the cleanup and transformation

How to Choose a Professional Detailer

2010-03-07T13:18:00.000-05:00

The entry below is from an article posted by Marc Harris here.

How to Choose a Professional Detailer

The professionals that make up the Ask A Pro section of Detailed Image try to do all we can to help fellow car enthusiasts treat their cars better and achieve higher and higher levels of gloss and personal satisfaction. That being said, there are many cases in which an individual simply doesn’t have the time or energy to get their car back into proper shape. This article will focus on helping you choose the right detailer to satisfy your car care needs.
Here is some advice on how to choose a professional detailer:

Don’t automatically think that anyone that calls themself a pro, is in fact a pro. There are many people in detailing looking to make a quick buck with limited knowledge and supplies. On numerous occasions, images of work professionals have done has been stolen and used illegally without their permission.

Do research on potential detailers within driving range of your area or detailers that are willing to come to you. Individuals should be able and willing to share some of the work they’ve done for other clients with you and answer questions on the type of work they offer.

Don’t expect a professional to be able to give you the most accurate quote price over the phone. Until we see a car in person under light, we can’t be sure what to fully expect. In some cases, odd or rare problems arise and require extra time to work on them.

Do expect to pay a fair price for a fair amount of work. Many professionals will need 10+ hours of work to transform your car back to like-new condition (and in some cases nearly 40!). A Professional using a lot of high quality products may spend over $100 in product use alone on your vehicle: don’t expect to get a miracle turn-around performed for $75.
Don’t hesitate to ask about a detailer’s background, why and how they got into detailing, or questions about your specific type of car. Many of the top detailers are passionate about their work and avid car enthusiasts. A professional that truly loves cars is more likely to provide a higher level of work than someone who’s indifferent about automobiles. Put your car in the hands of someone that will treat it as good, if not better, than their own car.

Do be sure to find out about payment options, safety precautions, and scheduling information as soon as possible. You’ll need to make sure a detailer accepts your form of payment before they start on your car. It is additionally important to find out about various safety precautions a detailer takes. To begin, your detailer should be insured and his or her business should be registered. Other important factors to some clients include but is not limited to: does a detailer take paint thickness measurements, what risky areas are on your car that may need special attention, what type of wheel cleaner will be used on your specific type of wheels, and if the detailer has an opening for the time of the year in which you want work performed?

Some other keys to discuss with your detailer or to think about:

o Do you have options in the look / finish of interior surfaces? Matte finish vs satin finish vs gloss. This also applies to tire-dressing

o Are no-slip products used on interior surfaces, especially pedals?

o Is the detailer well organized?

o Does the detailers have untouched photos of cars they’ve worked on in full sunlight or under intense halogen lights?

o For those looking for something special to brag about; are luxury wax options, or concours prep details offered?

Give us a call at 717.283.5946 or email us to inquire about us becoming your personal, professional detailer.

2006 330xi gets a makeover

2010-02-28T08:08:00.007-05:00

Check out our latest detail here: 2006 BMW 330xi

From this:

To this:

See the whole story here: Luxury4Play.com

The Perfect Wash: No More Gremlins

2010-02-25T15:54:00.006-05:00

Soon enough, the snow will melt, the roads will dry, and we can go back to taking pride in driving a shiny automobile. But as we wait for that to happen, we want to share some information about our washing methods and some technology that helps us come close to a "prefect wash".

Did you know that whenever you wash your car, no matter how careful you are, you are adding to the scratches and swirls that take away from the original beauty of its paint. These defects then multiply and finally overtake the paint (when left alone) and rob the vehicle of its overall lines and designed beauty. Kind of like gremlins! Remember how Gizmo turned into a vile creature when combined with water?

But don't worry there are ways to prevent those ugly, swirly, scratchy gremlins! At Tailored Automotive Detailing we use various methods and tools to avoid them from attacking your car as we prepare it to perfection:

The Two Bucket Method: Most people wouldn't drive to the beach and fill their wash bucket with a shovel full of sand before adding soap and water. Sadly, most of the dirt removed during washing is released into the soap bucket each time the mitt or sponge is reloaded with soap. After washing a couple of sections the soap solution becomes gritty and contaminated, and that grit is scrubbed against the paint. Even rinsing out the wash media after every section is ineffective. Flowing water may remove some of the grit, but most of it is pushed back into the mitt or sponge. It is much easier, and far more effective, to use a second bucket to rinse the wash media in prior to loading it with more soap solution. Two buckets: The soap bucket and the rinse bucket.
Grit Guards ™: They are an ingenious design that uses a grate and vane system to allow releaed dirt to sink to the bottom and prevents them from remixing into the water or soap solution. Tailored Automotive uses one Grit Guard ™ per bucket to give the best possible protection against scratching the paint with contaminated soap solution. When rising the wash media out in the rinse bucket, we lightly scrub it against the grating of the Grit Guard ™ to help release grit.
High Quality Car Soap Designed for Automotive Finishes.

Automotive soap is designed to remove dirty and road grime safely from the paint, with stripping the existing wax or sealant and will out scratching. Automotive soaps use surfactants to break the surface tension of water, allowing the lubricated solution to penetrate and encapsulate the dirt, reducing the potential for marring. We use soap known for its high-lube qualities and its ability to encapsulate dirt. Also, we look for PH-Balanced formulas to help combat acidic levels of various fallout and dirt we may be faced with.
Pre-Rinse: Automobiles generally come to us with varying levels of road grime and debris. Before we start soaping and cleansing, we pretreat heavily soiled areas and areas with "caked" bug and road debris" with special cleansers designed to loosen up those areas and encapsulate the particles. We then pressure wash the entire vehicle's exterior, including the wheel wells and undercarriage to knock down the dirt and debris.
Sheepskin and Boar's Hair Wash Mediums: These two mediums are well-known for their ability to pickup dirt safely from the paint and hold large amounts of water and soap to help with lubricity that will allow them to cleanse the paint without dragging dirt and debris all over it.
Foam Cannon:

The Foam Cannon HP works with a pressure washer. The velocity of the water combined with a quality car shampoo will generate amazing suds. This wash process actually uses less water at a higher pressure, so its eco-friendly, too. With the appropriate settings and mixture ratios, this type of technology creates a layer of foam over your vehicle that allows surface dirt to be encapsulated and minimal touching to do maximum cleaning. After a dousing of foam...your car will look like this:

7. CR Spotless Water De-Ionizer: Your water can have anywhere from coarse salt to very small particulate matter that can cause scratches at all different levels. Most people don't even think of their water as being a primary source for Gremlins! Tailored uses a CR Spotless to filter the water we use before it touches your car...during any step of GSP. Sure it is a costly thing to incorporate, but when perfection is what we're after, its a small cost. While we have used other in-line filters and softening systems before, we believe CR Spotless De-Ionized water is the best available for what we want to achieve. It not only removes big stuff, but the little stuff as well. In the end, when we final rinse your car, the sun can hit the paint all it want...no mineral spots will remain- GUARANTEED!

8. Careful Washing: Once your car is foamed up, the sheepskin and/or Boar's Hair mediums are soaked in the soap bucket and panels are washed carefully and without lots of pressure. We start on the roof and rinse and resoak the mediums every after every panel. Doors, front/rear ends, and quarter panels are washed up and down, while bonnets, roofs, and deck lids are washed front to back.

9. Final Rinse: Though we continuously rinse while washing, we complete a low-pressure, de-ionized final rinse when we are complete. This removes any lingering soap, any beads that are on the surface, and prepares the vehicle for proper drying.

10. The last step of Washing is Drying: Creating Gremlins in your paint can happen at this point. No matter how safely you've washed. To dry safely and thoroughly we use two things: High Velocity Air and Waffle Weave Microfibers. Our Metro Blo n Vac provides 200 mph winds to move water off of the flat surfaces and out of the crevices. We use it to blow out the mirrors, emblems, handles, moulding, grill, etc. The more water we can blow off, the less we have to touch the paint. Then, we use Waffle Weave Microfiber Towels (WWMT). While Chamois traditionally do a great job of soaking up water, if you have any remaining dirt, they will drag it along the paint. WWMTs do a great job of soaking up to 10 times their weight, but they also have a woven fiber nap that holds the dirt away from the paint.

So that's how we keep the Gremlinis away from your paint. Have any questions, let us know...we'd be glad to answer them and help you keep them away too.